Did You Move Today?

At its core, my research is fueled by wanting to help people WANT to move and live an active lifestyle. This type of motivation – the type that makes you really want to move – is referred to as autonomous motivation. The type of autonomous motivation that is most likely to sustain long-term physical activity behaviors is intrinsic motivation. When we are intrinsically motivated to move, we do so for the inherent rewards that come from moving such as enjoying the physical sensations or internal feelings of competence that come with engaging in physical challenges. My perspective is that if you are not intrinsically motivated to move, you simply haven’t been exposed to the right activity or the right physical activity environment. This has led to my recent interest in the role of mindfulness during physical activity. Mindfulness refers to open, nonjudgmental attention to the here and now and can include mental (e.g., thoughts) and physical (e.g., exertion, muscular sensations) objects of attention. Conceptually