I’ve long had an ambivalent relationship with movement. As a child, I’d spend hours wandering the creek behind my house, searching for nasturtium flowers—driven by wonder and a need for solitude. But in my teens and 20s, those hours were spent climbing a StairMaster to nowhere.
Over the past two decades, I’ve worked to reclaim my love for movement—and in the process, I’ve rediscovered my movement genius. (We all have one!)
Your movement genius is the unique energy you feel when moving your body in a way that expresses your talents, character strengths, emotional intelligence, personality, and interests.
For example:
What’s your movement genius? Has it been a while since you felt it?
Building on the genius work of Betsy Willis and Alex Ellison in Your Hidden Genius, I define movement genius as emerging from five key qualities expressed through movement.
Take a moment to reflect on these:
- Your Interests: What draws you to move? When are you in flow?
- Your Abilities and Talents: What types of movement come naturally to you? What are you best at?
- Your Character Strengths: How do you express leadership, creativity, or zest for life through movement?
- Your Personality Patterns: Do you prefer movement in solitude or with others? Do you seek adventure and risk, or do you find joy in slower, intentional movement?
- Your Emotional Intelligence: How does movement help you regulate emotions or attune to the emotions of others?
When you discover your movement genius, you tap into an intrinsic energy source—one that makes movement feel effortless and fulfilling. And when you align this energy with your values—whether it’s caring for your body, connecting with others, or expressing creativity—movement becomes a lifelong, adaptable, and deeply personal experience.
Now, ask yourself:
- When am I most energized, in flow, and in love with moving my body?
- How could I bring more of that kind of energy into my life today?
For me, that means walking along the path to my garden, gathering a few flowers, and placing them in a jar in my office. Whatever it is for you, I encourage you to start thinking about movement in this way.
What’s Your Movement Genius?
When I asked my newsletter audience this question, their responses came rolling in:
- Backpacking in the Redwoods
- Shoveling snow
- Just completed a three-week foster of these now 1-month-old pups (rescue)
- Currently, at age 56, I am a passionate pole dance educator, artist, and mover
- I’m currently teaching English in Bilbao, Spain, and have been enjoying lots of long runs along the coast alone and with friends
- I’m a dance and movement therapist, so my movement genius is being that
Our movement genius is as unique as we are. And when we channel this energy toward our values—whether that’s nature connection, pet rescue, therapy, or teaching—we are engaging in wise effort.
What Gets in the Way?
What stops us from moving in the ways our bodies and souls crave?
That’s exactly what I explored in a real play session with Maya, a dancer and mother who has felt disconnected from her movement genius.
But before you listen, I want you to try an exercise:
A Drawing Exercise to Explore Your Movement Genius
1. Grab a blank sheet of paper and draw a vertical line down the middle.
2. At the top of the page, draw what it feels like in your body when you are in your movement genius—when you are in flow, fully embodied, and moving in a way that feels natural and joyful.
3. At the bottom, draw yourself when you feel disconnected from movement—when it feels forced, out of alignment, or uninspired.
4. Now, ask yourself:
- What is blocking me from moving from the bottom of the page to the top?
- What difficult thoughts would I need to defuse from, what difficult emotions would I need to open to, what perspective would I need to shift, and what environmental contexts would I need to change for me to move my body in this way?
In my new book with Katy Bowman, I Know I Should Exercise But…, we explore the psychological and contextual barriers that keep us from moving the way we long to. You may be surprised—it’s more personal and complex than many people first think. Your movement genius needs to be expressed; let us help you overcome the psychological and contextual barriers to getting there!