ARTICLE
Five Surprising Ways Exercise Changes Your Brain
By Kelly McGonigal — 2020
Moving your body is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your mind.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
CLEAR ALL
BY TOPIC
BY TEACHER
BY TYPE
FILTER
TOPIC
- Talk Therapy (78)
- Courage (61)
- Brain Health (59)
- Neuroscience (56)
- Physical Health (55)
- Anxiety (53)
- Depression (49)
- Self-Healing (48)
- Athlete Well-Being (46)
- Joy (42)
- Healing Approaches (40)
- Stress Management (39)
- Exercise (38)
- Mental Health Challenges (38)
- Somatic Practices (38)
- Trauma Healing (37)
- Meditation (36)
- Disconnection (35)
- Fear (35)
- Honoring Emotion (34)
- Self-Development (32)
- Stress (31)
- Mindfulness (30)
- Self-Discovery (30)
- Well-Being (30)
- Awareness (29)
- Self-Care (28)
- Diet and Nutrition (27)
- Resilience (26)
- Self-Reflection Practices (26)
- Chronic Health Conditions (25)
- Finding Meaning (25)
- Cancer (23)
- Chronic Pain (23)
- Neuroplasticity (22)
- Aging (21)
- Anger (21)
- Gratitude (21)
- Habit Formation (21)
- Parenting (21)
- Self-Love (21)
- PTSD (20)
- Building Character (19)
- Psychology (19)
- Relationship Challenges (19)
- Search for Purpose (19)
- Authenticity (18)
- Inner Peace (18)
- Self-Esteem (18)
- The Feldenkrais Method (18)
- BIPOC Well-Being (17)
- Buddhism (17)
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ) (17)
- Positive Thinking (17)
- Women’s Well-Being (17)
- Children’s Well-Being (16)
- Fellowship and Community (16)
- Integrative Medicine (16)
- Life Challenges (16)
- Mindfulness Practices (16)
- Vulnerability (16)
- Black Well-Being (15)
- Human Potential (15)
- Presence (15)
- Self-Acceptance (15)
- Spiritual Growth (15)
- Transformation (15)
- Trauma (15)
- Compassion (14)
- Kindness (14)
- Longevity (14)
- Negative Self-Talk (14)
- Positive Psychology (14)
- Self-Mastery (14)
- Addiction (13)
- Breathwork (13)
- Consciousness (13)
- Goal Setting (13)
- Imagination and Creativity (13)
- Romantic Relationships (13)
- Self-Limiting Beliefs (13)
- Shame (13)
- Activism/Service (12)
- Child’s Emotional Growth (12)
- Communication Skills (12)
- Community Healing (12)
- Connection (12)
- Embodiment (12)
- Habits of Mind (12)
- Motivation (12)
- Self-Compassion (12)
- Self-Worth (12)
- Spiritual Awakening (12)
- Suicide (12)
- Belonging (11)
- Confidence (11)
- Guided Meditation (11)
- Illness and Injury (11)
- Inner Life (11)
- Intention (11)
- Living with Illness (11)
- Loneliness (11)
- Memory (11)
- Offering Support to Others (11)
- Peak Performance (11)
- Somatic Experiencing (11)
- Visualization (11)
- Addiction Recovery (10)
- Chronic Anxiety (10)
- Criticism and Rejection (10)
- Dementia (10)
- Dysfunctional Childhood (10)
- Empowerment (10)
- Growth Mindset (10)
- Healthy Eating (10)
- Optimism (10)
- Self-Actualization (10)
- Self-Realization (10)
- Setting Limits and Boundaries (10)
- Suffering (10)
- Body Image (9)
- Child’s Trauma (9)
- Energy Healing (9)
- Entrepreneurship (9)
- Inner Strengths (9)
- Leadership (9)
- Love (9)
- Spirituality and Health (9)
- Anger Management (8)
- Autoimmune Disease (8)
- Forgiveness (8)
- Grief (8)
- Mindfulness Meditation (8)
- Perception (8)
- Racial Healing (8)
- Science and Spirituality (8)
- Acceptance (7)
- Connection with Nature (7)
- Family Dynamics (7)
- Female Empowerment (7)
- Letting Go (7)
- Memoir (7)
- Nutritional Medicine (7)
- Racism (7)
- Self-Reliance (7)
- Social Justice (7)
- Spiritual Healing (7)
- Tibetan Buddhism (7)
- Body Positivity (6)
- Curiosity (6)
- Epigenetics (6)
- Focus (6)
- Identity (6)
- Intergenerational Trauma (6)
- Positive Self-Talk (6)
- Quantum Physics (6)
- Self-Control (6)
- Trauma-Informed Therapy (6)
- Values (6)
- Young Adult Well-Being (6)
- ADD/ADHD (5)
- Asking for Help (5)
- Challenges with Teens (5)
- Child’s Anxiety (5)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (5)
- Collective Trauma (5)
- Creative Well-Being (5)
- Eating Disorders (5)
- Empathy (5)
- Endurance (5)
- Enlightenment (5)
- Failure (5)
- Friendship (5)
- Genetics (5)
- Global Challenges (5)
- Holism (5)
- Inner Child (5)
- Lifestyle Medicine (5)
- Neuropsychology (5)
- Post-Traumatic Growth (5)
- Psychology and Spirituality (5)
- Ritual (5)
- Self-Expression (5)
- Self-Pressure (5)
- Shadow (5)
- Social Anxiety (5)
- Social Psychology (5)
- Speaking Your Truth (5)
- Spiritual Development (5)
- Spiritual Life (5)
- Spiritual Practices (5)
- Wholeness (5)
- Yoga (5)
- Accepting Love (4)
- Ayurveda (4)
- Bodywork (4)
- Child’s ADD/ADHD (4)
- Child’s Challenging Behavior (4)
- Cognitive Psychology (4)
- Cross-Cultural Dynamics (4)
- Divorce and Breakup (4)
- Dreamwork (4)
- Fatigue (4)
- Freedom (4)
- Generosity (4)
- Guilt (4)
- Humility (4)
- Integrity (4)
- Intimacy (4)
- Journaling (4)
- Managing Energy (4)
- Moral Philosophy (4)
- Neurodiversity (4)
- Non-Duality (4)
- Oneness (4)
- Performance Anxiety (4)
- Performance Pressure (4)
- Relationship with Money (4)
- Relationship with Time (4)
- Self-Reckoning (4)
- Sexuality (4)
- Situational Depression (4)
- Sleep (4)
- Transitions (4)
- Trust (4)
- Veteran Well-Being (4)
- Willpower (4)
- Adaptability (3)
- Affirmations (3)
- Afterlife (3)
- Alcohol Addiction (3)
- Altered States (3)
- Archetypes (3)
- Biohacking (3)
- Burnout (3)
- Christianity (3)
- Chronic Fatigue (3)
- Clinical Depression (3)
- Cognition (3)
- Digital Life (3)
- Disabled Well-Being (3)
- Ego Transcendence (3)
- Facing Own Death (3)
- Functional Medicine (3)
- Inflammation (3)
- Jungian Analysis (3)
- Lovingkindness (3)
- Manifestation (3)
- Marriage (3)
- Military to Civilian Re-entry (3)
- Movement Meditation (3)
- Naturopathy (3)
- Near-Death Experience (3)
- OCD (3)
- Othering (3)
- Panic Attacks (3)
- Parapsychology (3)
- Past Lives and Reincarnation (3)
- Psychoanalysis (3)
- Psychological Approaches (3)
- Qi (3)
- Race and Gender (3)
- Racial Discrimination (3)
- Racial Justice (3)
- Reproductive Health (3)
- Rest (3)
- Sacred Feminine (3)
- Social Media Addiction (3)
- Social Responsibility (3)
- Spirituality and Politics (3)
- Storytelling (3)
- Taoism (3)
- Weight Concerns (3)
- Work-Life Balance (3)
- A Course in Miracles (2)
- Abandonment (2)
- Academic Struggles (2)
- Attachment Theory (2)
- Biofeedback (2)
- Body Mapping (2)
- Caregiver Well-Being (2)
- Changes in Libido (2)
- Child Depression (2)
- Codependency (2)
- Comparing Belief Traditions (2)
- Death and Dying (2)
- Death or Loss of a Loved One (2)
- Decision Making (2)
- Despair (2)
- Doubt (2)
- Energy Balancing (2)
- Faith (2)
- Fiction (2)
- Forest Bathing (2)
- Generational Healing (2)
- Handling a Loved One’s Illness (2)
- Hero’s Journey (2)
- Higher Calling (2)
- Hypnosis (2)
- Indigenous Healing Approaches (2)
- Infidelity (2)
- Inspiration (2)
- Intuition (2)
- Jealousy/Envy (2)
- Karma (2)
- Kids and Sports (2)
- Learning Styles (2)
- LGBTQIA Children (2)
- LGBTQIA Well-Being (2)
- Light Therapy (2)
- LSD (2)
- Masculine/Feminine Dynamics (2)
- Mentoring (2)
- Motherhood (2)
- Mysticism (2)
- Paleo Diet (2)
- Passion (2)
- Patience (2)
- Physical Therapy (2)
- Play (2)
- Poetry (2)
- Prayer (2)
- Problem Solving (2)
- Productivity (2)
- Psychedelic Journey (2)
- Psychedelic Research (2)
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (2)
- Racial Identity (2)
- Retirement (2)
- Rolfing (2)
- Sex (2)
- Sexual Health (2)
- Social Presence (2)
- Spiritual Crisis (2)
- Spiritual Quest (2)
- Synchronicity (2)
- The Unconscious (2)
- The Yips (2)
- Toxic Relationships (2)
- Unfulfilled Career (2)
- Work Challenges (2)
- Work Relationships (2)
- AAPI Well-Being (1)
- Access to Education (1)
- Acupressure (1)
- Acupuncture (1)
- Adjusting to Parenthood (1)
- Alexander Technique (1)
- Anorexia (1)
- Art Therapy (1)
- Astral Projection (1)
- Autism (1)
- Awe (1)
- Building Culture (1)
- Bullying (1)
- Cannabis/CBD (1)
- Chakras (1)
- Child’s Autism (1)
- Climate Change (1)
- Collaboration (1)
- Compassion Fatigue (1)
- Compassion Meditation (1)
- Competition (1)
- Conflict Resolution (1)
- Cross-Cultural Parenting (1)
- Dark Night of the Soul (1)
- Deciding to Have Children (1)
- Dharma (1)
- Domestic Abuse (1)
- Dream Analysis (1)
- Ecospirituality (1)
- Ego (1)
- Environmental Exploitation (1)
- Environmental Justice (1)
- Existentialism (1)
- Fasting for Health (1)
- Fatherhood (1)
- Female Friendship (1)
- Gender Discrimination (1)
- Goddess (1)
- Grace (1)
- Guided Imagery (1)
- Handling a Child’s Illness (1)
- Healing Touch (1)
- Heartmath (1)
- Herbal Supplementation (1)
- Highly Sensitive People (1)
- Holotropic Breathwork (1)
- Homeopathy (1)
- Hope (1)
- Identity Shifts (1)
- Interdependence (1)
- Islam (1)
- Kundalini Yoga (1)
- Latinx Well-Being (1)
- Life Force Energy (1)
- Living as an Empath (1)
- Loss of Partner/Spouse (1)
- Lovingkindness Meditation (1)
- MDMA (1)
- Medical Intuition (1)
- Mythology (1)
- Narcissism (1)
- Native American Beliefs (1)
- Obsessions/Compulsions (1)
- Past Life Regression (1)
- Personality Disorders (1)
- Philosophical Approaches (1)
- Poverty/Economic Inequality (1)
- Pregnancy and Childbirth (1)
- Psilocybin (1)
- Qigong (1)
- Raising Daughters (1)
- Regret (1)
- Reiki (1)
- Rosen Method (1)
- Shamanism (1)
- Slumps (1)
- Soul Mission (1)
- Sound Healing (1)
- Spiritual Direction (1)
- Stoicism (1)
- Sudden Weight Change (1)
- Superfoods (1)
- Tapping/EFT (1)
- Time Management (1)
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (1)
- Transpersonal Psychology (1)
- Unity (1)
- Veganism (1)
- Vegetarianism (1)
- Visions and Hallucinations (1)
- Vitamin Supplementation (1)
- War (1)
- Women’s Rights (1)
- Yoga Therapy (1)
- Youth Activism (1)
- Zen Buddhism (1)
FILTER
TEACHER
- Richard Davidson (10)
- Brené Brown (9)
- Herbert Benson (9)
- Bernie S. Siegel (7)
- Dan Buettner (7)
- Martin Luther King Jr. (7)
- Neil Pasricha (7)
- The Dalai Lama (7)
- Andrew Weil (6)
- Ed Diener (6)
- Gabor Maté (6)
- Peter A. Levine (6)
- Chalene Johnson (5)
- Christine Caldwell (5)
- David Perlmutter (5)
- Don Hanlon Johnson (5)
- Joe Dispenza (5)
- John Bradshaw (5)
- John Sarno (5)
- Lisa Feldman Barrett (5)
- Reginald Ray (5)
- Rick Hanson (5)
- Arnold Mindell (4)
- Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (4)
- Queen Afua (4)
- Daniel Goleman (3)
- Daniel J. Siegel (3)
- Edward Hallowell (3)
- Franz Alexander (3)
- Gretchen Rubin (3)
- Harriet Lerner (3)
- Jon Kabat-Zinn (3)
- Kelly McGonigal (3)
- Mantak Chia (3)
- Marci Shimoff (3)
- Martin Seligman (3)
- Resmaa Menakem (3)
- Terri Cole (3)
- Andrew Solomon (2)
- Ashley Neese (2)
- Brian Tracy (2)
- Bruce Lipton (2)
- Brynn Putnam (2)
- Connie Zweig (2)
- Daniel Gilbert (2)
- David Spiegel (2)
- Gabrielle Bernstein (2)
- Howard Gardner (2)
- Ida Rolf (2)
- James Baraz (2)
- James Doty (2)
- Jane E. Brody (2)
- Joan Borysenko (2)
- Joan Chittister (2)
- JoAnna Hardy (2)
- John C. Parkin (2)
- Judith Blackstone (2)
- Karla McLaren (2)
- Ken Wilber (2)
- Larry Dossey (2)
- Leah Guy (2)
- Lodro Rinzler (2)
- Louise Hay (2)
- Luisah Teish (2)
- Martha Beck (2)
- Matthieu Ricard (2)
- Maya Angelou (2)
- Nicole Sachs (2)
- Paulo Coelho (2)
- Pema Chödrön (2)
- Ralph De La Rosa (2)
- Ram Dass (2)
- Risa Kaparo (2)
- Ruby Wax (2)
- Rudolph Ballentine (2)
- Russell Brand (2)
- Sanjay Gupta (2)
- Sharon Salzberg (2)
- Stephen Levine (2)
- Tal Ben-Shahar (2)
- Tara Brach (2)
- Thomas Hübl (2)
- Wim Hof (2)
- Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (2)
- Adyashanti (1)
- Alain de Botton (1)
- Alan Watts (1)
- Albert Camus (1)
- Alice Miller (1)
- Amishi Jha (1)
- Amit Goswami (1)
- Andrew Harvey (1)
- Angela Duckworth (1)
- Anita Moorjani (1)
- Anodea Judith (1)
- Barbara Fredrickson (1)
- Bayo Akomolafe (1)
- bell hooks (1)
- Bertrand Russell (1)
- Bessel van der Kolk (1)
- Biet Simkin (1)
- Blaise Aguirre (1)
- Caleb Marshall (1)
- Carolyn Baker (1)
- Charles Eisenstein (1)
- Charles Tart (1)
- Chip Conley (1)
- Chögyam Trungpa (1)
- Christiane Northrup (1)
- Dave Asprey (1)
- David Eagleman (1)
- Debbie Ford (1)
- Desmond Tutu (1)
- Diane Stein (1)
- don Jose Ruiz (1)
- Dondi Dahlin (1)
- Donna Jackson Nakazawa (1)
- Dorothy Day (1)
- Edward Hoffman (1)
- Elaine Aron (1)
- Elizabeth Lesser (1)
- Ellen Langer (1)
- Elson Haas (1)
- Emiliana Simon-Thomas (1)
- Ervin László (1)
- Forrest Hanson (1)
- Frans Stiene (1)
- Gary Zukav (1)
- Gay Hendricks (1)
- Geneen Roth (1)
- Gordon Neufeld (1)
- Gregg Braden (1)
- Huston Smith (1)
- Hyla Cass (1)
- Iskra Lawrence (1)
- Jack Canfield (1)
- Jack Kornfield (1)
- James Gordon (1)
- James Hillman (1)
- James Oschman (1)
- Jan Willis (1)
- Jana Long (1)
- Jay Shetty (1)
- Jeff Foster (1)
- Jeffrey Mishlove (1)
- Jill Bolte Taylor (1)
- Joan Halifax (1)
- Joel Kahn (1)
- Jon Bernie (1)
- Jonathan Haidt (1)
- Joseph M. Marshall III (1)
- Judith Orloff (1)
- Justin Michael Williams (1)
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1)
- Kathlyn Hendricks (1)
- Ken Dychtwald (1)
- Kenneth Pelletier (1)
- Kris Carr (1)
- Krista Tippett (1)
- Kristin Neff (1)
- Lindo Bacon (1)
- Lisa Wimberger (1)
- Lise Van Susteren (1)
- Lissa Rankin (1)
- Lori Gottlieb (1)
- Lorin Roche (1)
- Lynne McTaggart (1)
- Malala Yousafzai (1)
- Marc Ian Barasch (1)
- Marianne Williamson (1)
- Marie Forleo (1)
- Marion Rosen (1)
- Mark Nepo (1)
- Mark Sisson (1)
- Mark Wolynn (1)
- Mary Pryor (1)
- Mel Robbins (1)
- Michael A. Singer (1)
- Michael Bernard Beckwith (1)
- Mona Lisa Schulz (1)
- Mooji (1)
- Nataly Kogan (1)
- Neale Donald Walsch (1)
- Nelson Mandela (1)
- Nicole LePera (1)
- Nikki Mirghafori (1)
- Noah Levine (1)
- Norman Fischer (1)
- Ondrea Levine (1)
- Panache Desai (1)
- Paramahansa Yogananda (1)
- Peter Crone (1)
- Philip Goldberg (1)
- Piero Ferrucci (1)
- Poppy Jamie (1)
- Prince EA (1)
- Rachel Naomi Remen (1)
- Rebecca Solnit (1)
- Riane Eisler (1)
- Rich Roll (1)
- Rob Bell (1)
- Robb Wolf (1)
- Robert A. Johnson (1)
- Roxanne Dault (1)
- Sadhguru (1)
- Serena Williams (1)
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1)
- Shakti Gawain (1)
- Shauna Shapiro (1)
- Sheila Rubin (1)
- Shinzen Young (1)
- Sigmund Freud (1)
- Simone Biles (1)
- Stanislav Grof (1)
- Stephanie Y. Evans (1)
- Steven Kotler (1)
- Swami Mukundananda (1)
- Thubten Chodron (1)
- Timothy Leary (1)
- Toni Bernhard (1)
- Tony Gaskins Jr. (1)
- William Bloom (1)
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.