Our guest today is Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., and author of The Joy of Movement. Kelly is a health psychologist at Stanford whose Ted Talk on stress has over 22 million views.  The Joy Of Movement is an exceptional book that blends the science behind the psychological benefits of exercise and physical activity with compelling stories of how exercise has helped people overcome challenges and thrive. It’s a great time of year to (carefully) start or resume working out and this book has inspiring messages that will get you moving. You’ll find this book to be helpful for people of any age and any level of fitness, including exercise for seniors.

Our Conversation with Kelly McGonigal

We talk with Kelly about:

Her personal story with exercise and the role it plays in her life

How movement affects our moods

How movement can bring out the best version of ourselves – and a braver version of ourselves

The social side of movement and exercise

How the people she interviewed for her new book showed her how exercise, hope, and courage are connected

The mind-body connection – and what a rock-climbing experience taught her about overcoming fear

The story of her grandparents and the role of music and movement in their lives

Her advice if you want to start exercising, resume exercising or take it up a notch

Bio

Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University, and a leading expert in the new field of “science-help.” She is passionate about translating cutting-edge research from psychology, neuroscience, and medicine into practical strategies for health, happiness, and personal success. Kelly’s latest book is The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage.

She is also the author of The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It (Penguin 2012), which explores the latest research on motivation, temptation, and procrastination, as well as what it takes to transform habits, persevere at challenges, and make a successful change. Her audio series The Neuroscience of Change (Sounds True 2012) weaves the newest findings of science with Eastern contemplative wisdom to give listeners a revolutionary process for personal transformation. She is also the author of Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Pain (New Harbinger, 2009), which translates recent advances in neuroscience and medicine into mind-body strategies for relieving chronic pain, stress, depression, and anxiety.

She teaches for a wide range of programs at Stanford University, including the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, the Graduate School of Business, and the School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program. She has received a number of teaching awards for her undergraduate psychology courses, including Stanford University’s highest teaching honor, the Walter J. Gores award. Her popular public courses through Stanford’s Continuing Studies program—including the Science of Willpower and the Science of Compassion—demonstrate the applications of psychological science to personal health and happiness, as well as organizational success and social change. Through a wide range of conferences, workshops, university-affiliated programs, and consulting, Dr. McGonigal also provides continuing education and training to executives, teachers, healthcare providers, and other professionals.

Her psychology research (on compassion, mindfulness, and emotion regulation) has been published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Motivation and Emotion, The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, and The Journal of Happiness Studies. From 2005-2012, Dr. McGonigal served as the Editor in Chief of the ...