The Joy of Movement

Health is one of the fundamental reasons why people decide to do physical exercise, but fortunately it is not the only one. In this period of lockdown, Kelly McGonigall's book The Joy of Movement has been my bedtime reading, and has made me long for the good times that I have been deprived of in this crisis even more.

The book is an exhaustive examination of countless references that show us the intimate relationship between physical activity and happiness, social connection and nature. It draws on scientific sources of information, personal experiences and countless testimonies of people who have experienced the ideas defended by the author. Her theories are based on disciplines as varied as neuroscience, paleontology, musicology, anthropology and psychology.

At the time of writing this text, in a few hours the Spanish Government will announce under what conditions we are going to be able to go out on the street to do physical exercise. I am afraid that those who regulate this subject have not read this book. What a pity! Health is very important and I believe that the key to create a healthy society is to make people feel happy by leading a healthy lifestyle. The joy of movement is one of the main ingredients to achieve this goal. As is well known, without happiness health is not possible.