Darling,

Every morning, I start my day the same way: I dance naked for 10 minutes. Two full songs on my playlist.
Every morning.
Even when I don’t want to — especially when I don’t want to —
I dance.
10 minutes in the morning. Then, little 30-second tune-ups throughout the day, when I start to feel my life force draining or my crankiness encroaching.

Why? Well, a woman’s body LOVES to move. In order to unlock the legend that lives inside her, a woman’s body needs to move.

The only way to blow the lid off your greatness is to practice the action of self-love. Not the thought of self-love. Not the kind of self-love that is a result of your hard work, how great you look, or how effective you have been — we are going for the kind of self-love you feel for absolutely no reason, just because.

The only way to practice this kind of self love — the turned on, lit up, legend-creating kind — is to get into that gorgeous body of yours. To feel it, to move it, to inhabit it. Your body will teach you self-love in a way that your intellect cannot. (Click to tweet!)

I have a proposition for you. It requires 30 seconds of your time. Ready?

I propose a worldwide dance break — right here, right now. Just because. Because it’s fun. Because it’s useful. Because it will orient you to pleasure, which will change the course of your day.

Now here’s the thing: the majority of you do not want to take me up on this. You will want to stay glued to your chair, staring at your computer screen, reading about moving, and not moving. How do I know this? Because I was you. I hated to move because I wasn’t very good at it. I am not a dancer, so I was in my head, disapproving of my awkwardness, when I attempted to dance. Being stuck in your head and not wanting to move is a perfect place to start. Awkward is the new sexy.

Just for fun, as a harmless experiment in service to your greatness, I’m going to ask you to trust me and do it anyway.

If you’re at home, crank your speakers. If you’re at work, head into the bathroom with headphones. Wherever you are, stop what you’re doing and press play. Dance with me for 30 seconds and see how your world shifts (and then read on to find out why).

The song of choice today has become a sort of theme song here at the Palace. Join the party:

Did you feel that? What you just did is you flooded your body with nitric oxide. Why is that important? Because nitric oxide is the antidote to cortisol, which is the stress hormone that courses through our veins when we’re in our heads, disapproving of ourselves, and hustling to get through the day.

When you dance, when you move, even for 30 seconds, you take the opportunity to shift your body chemistry just enough to point your day in a better direction.

The dance break is like a no-fail reset button. Use it.

So I really want to know in the comments: Did you dance with me? Did you like it? Did you get to the end of this post while still sitting in your chair? Did you at least dance in your chair?

Let’s join together in celebration of our women’s bodies, and the joy of moving them.

In celebration,
p.s. Today’s post was inspired by my keynote address for the Dare to Be Seen and Heard online conference. I had a blast sharing with these lovely ladies, and I’m thrilled to see so many familiar faces of my grads on their speaker roster. You can access my full interview (and all of the others) online, for free.