Joy As Medicine

We tend to think of joy as a luxury—something you get after the serious work is done, a reward at the end of the to-do list. But what if joy is the medicine? What if joy is the serious work?

When we give ourselves space to dance, laugh, or simply have fun, we’re not being frivolous. We’re relieving stress, balancing our inner chemistry, and restoring coherence to our system. Joy clears the emotional body and creates an inner reservoir we can draw from later, when life feels heavy.

Think of it as building an inner joy bank. Every time you let yourself truly play, every time you dance with abandon, every time you laugh until your stomach hurts, you’re making a deposit. And when the challenges of life arrive—as they always do—you’ll have something real to draw on.

Dancing, in particular, is one of the most natural forms of medicine we have. It combines rhythm, movement, and social entrainment. It turns chaos into flow. It lets the body move what’s been stuck in the emotional field. It reconnects us with the present moment in a way that words cannot.

So maybe the question isn’t “Do I have time for joy?” Maybe the real question is: Can I afford not to?