Dr. Sabiston discusses the physiological reasons behind the benefits of physical activity. Movement affects our brains and create more positive emotions, and also realigns the human body with the activities it was meant for. Dr. Sabiston also mentions the benefits of pairing mindfulness and physical activity, which helps to maximize the benefits of each practice. 

Dr. Sabiston talks about a 6-week physical activity program that she hosts on campus for students. Students often have assumptions about what types of activity they have to do, or what skills they need. The goal of the program is to teach them about the wide variety of possible ‘movement contexts’ you can partake in.

Dr. Joseph invites the listener to consider how “every space that we are occupying has been constructed be someone.” She speaks about the politics of space, pointing to the ways that gyms, parks and other outdoor spaces for leisure and wellness continue to be funded and created by and for white people, to the exclusion of Black, Indigenous and other marginalized communities. She also speaks about the importance of creating inclusive spaces that allow for other forms of expression, noting that feeling safe and included in a space allows for freedom of movement and self-expression. Dr. Joseph describes her research with student athletes, coaches and sports administrators about experiences of racism and anti-racist resistance.  

Dr. Joseph talks about The Sister Insiders, a graduate student group comprised of racialized women who share an interest in sport, leisure and kinesiology as well as equity, anti-racism and feminism. She describes how she incorporates embodied learning in her classes, including challenges she has encountered in engaging students who are resistant to movement practices and/or who feel threatened by the high pressure, evaluative culture at the University of Toronto.  

Dr. Farb explains how engaging in an intense experience can help to interfere with our ‘default mode network’ by breaking us out of mental habits. We fall into habits very easily because our brains prioritize efficiency, but this can lead to overthinking and a lack of ‘spaciousness’ in our lives. Intense experiences can have this re-set effect even without further reflection, but we do need to reflect upon our experiences and bring some intentionality to them if we want to use them to learn more about ourselves. Lastly, Dr. Farb discusses how intense sensory experiences can get us into ‘flow states,’ which happen when our expectations align with what we are experiencing. 

Jacqueline describes qigong as ‘dynamic meditation’ or ‘mindfulness in motion.’ She then leads us through a few different qigong practices. 

Dr. Sabiston emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of the small moments when we do want to move, even if it is only briefly. It is also important to use mindfulness to assess how you feel after times when you do physical activity, to help build an understanding of its positive effects. We can utilize our self-understanding to create routines that work best for us. Getting in touch with intrinsic reasons for engaging in movement (i.e., doing movement that we enjoy) and being kind to ourselves is key.