Moving your body, in any way you can, can be a liberating experience—to feel your power, your strength, your security and resiliency through a step forward, a dance, a roll or stroll through nature. 

Studies support this—movement has a profound impact on our brains: reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, encouraging creativity and ingenuity. Think about it: when we are babies, we move our bodies naturally. We are born with the desire to move because movement feels good to us. 

But as adults our natural inclination to move is co-opted and politicized by diet culture and the wellness industrial complex. We are told to move in ways or for purposes that hurt, make us feel weak, or ashamed. When we take back movement for ourselves, not as vigorous exercise or to lose weight, we find that joy, personal power, and meaning all are available to us through moving our bodies. 

So today, we’re going to explore how two efforts centered around movement are leading to transformative liberation for those involved, starting with Morgan Dixon and GirlTrek and following with AJ Williams, a documentarian working on a film about accessible recreation.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript and more.

For more, follow: 

Morgan @morgantreks

Aj @ajwdoc

@KendallCiesemier

@Ms_Magazine