Have you ever walked into a room and the music playing and the vibe was dope? I’m talking like dance party 👯♂️ 🎉 fun 🤩. If you have experienced this, you’ll know the music had a LOT to do with it. Music is used in all kinds of situations from dentist offices (calming patients nerves down) to the movies (insert your favorite Jaws scene “da-dah”). There is something supernatural about music that gets us moving. Across 7 continents you can’t find a better way to get people to move than through music. I challenge you to find a way and email me your ideas 😂. But on the real, this blog is all about music that empowers individuals to want to get up and dance 💃 fast, slow or in between. Dance is a powerful tool to up our mood and I want you utilizing the best tools possible for your audience! I incorporate stories, science and even include your contributions if you’ve added value this week in the “solutions” section. Make sure to stay all the way to the end to read about a program I designed.
Must Know #1: 
Know What the power of music is to move us to want to dance.
I found this really interesting article titled: “Developmental Passages to Dance Improvisation: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study of Lived and Living Conscious Experiences.” The 2 institutions were in New Zealand and Japan respectively. They did a great job summarizing the study and results. They are as follows:
“Six experienced improvisational dancers and one dance piano accompanist were interviewed individually, and shared the past lived experience of improvisational dance. After the interviews, the six dancers agreed to perform solo improvisational dance, which was video-recorded and immediately followed up by another individual interview to comment on the current living experience, while watching the recorded video. Transcribed interviews were analysed from an interpretative phenomenological framework, and three major themes were identified: (a) spontaneous free expression as a definitive theme; (b) inhibitory self-conscious state of mind and emotion; (c) reaching the aspirational level of improvisation in synchronicity. The dancers in this research experienced improvisational dance as a break away from the dynamic tension between freedom and inhibition, guided by images and stimuli. When the dancers reached the aspirational level of improvisation, they felt that the mind and body were united at the individual level, and that the dancers were in harmony with other dancers at the group level.”
Personally I chose this study because its a pretty new study conducted in 2017. Additionally, dance like music is a great way to connect across cultural boundaries. The study interview results said the dancers felt both united individually and in harmony with other dancers at the group level. We could translate this to working with other co-workers and having the satisfaction of group work as well as taking pride in our individual level of contribution. If you’ve been paying attention to the way I conduct my content as of late, I incorporate your ideas and give you credit by promoting your channels. This wasn’t on accident. I believe a lot can be learned from my audience, and we all have a way of contributing and adding value. I wonder if this knowing came from my time and passion being a dancer? Either way, I encourage you to find some music you enjoy and just dance! Don’t worry about what others will think of you. You never know how it’ll help with your mood and even how others perceive you.
My co-facilitator of the ORIGINAL Move Happy Group Therapy program I designed in the psych hospital where this all began is 100% Japanese #Collaboration across #Cultures is key 
.
What are your thoughts/questions/stories that have come out after reading the article? Please take a screenshot of this blog title and tag us with your thoughts on Facebook @ TheRealMoveHappy.
Must Know #2: 
Know What science says about music that moves us to want to dance.
I found an ebook on google scholar titled” “The World of Goods.” In the book they discuss how dance is used an expression of wealth in certain cultures. Personally, I believe this to be true! When I was selling for one of the top direct sales companies in the world, we had an annual conference with all the top level leaders providing us additional training. At the end of the 3-4 day conference we had a dance party with people from all over the world, a live band and dancing of ALL kinds of music! We all dressed in white and it was a fun way to bring community together, bring fun memories out, and make positive connections no matter how many 0’s were at the end of our weekly checks.
I met with one of the top leaders in the gift shop, Aaron Dinh and had been following him on Facebook for about a year. He stopped me and said, “hey Erin want to take a picture?” He knew ME! I had actually ordered a book from someone off of Instagram to help me improve my sales practices and this guy that spoke from on stage to like 17,000 of us KNEW MY NAME and was featured in some other guy’s book as legit! He and his wife and daughter dance often and showcase fun vids of a real fun lifestyle. He’s encouraged me through the years and I’m grateful for him and the culture that I got to absorb while that company was my side hustle.
I’d love to know what science you’ve found regarding this topic or interesting stories! Please take a screenshot of this section and tag us on instagram along with a few sentences of your own stories or wisdom. Tag us @ TheRealMoveHappy
Must Know #3: 
Know what the global impact of music is in persuading us to dance more.
I found a really long article titled: “The Sounds of Development Musical Representation as Another Source of Development Knowledge.” It discusses the breakdown of global north vs global south. Its very sciency so please have a look in the the comments if you’re good at scanning information quickly!
Personally, I have had the blessing of being exposed to a variety of music since I was a child. We spent a lot of time at church growing up including singing in choirs, big performances for the community from 5-10 years old, and watching guest musicians from around the world share their gifts. I also was blessed in the public school district I grew up in had a strong focus for the arts and funded extra fun music experiences like the annual festival at Pacific Lutheran University where top elementary students, middle and high school students performed for the community and we got to watch a guest group perform. One year we watched The Coats sing live and my passion for A cappella music came out in addition to wanting to learn how to beatbox (which I have btw 
). You can’t help but want to get up and dance when you’re beatboxing or move your arm and hand like you’re turning tables on the DJ dance floor.
I’m curious what your thoughts are on this globally and where you’re tuning in from? Please drop your flag emoji in the comments and share your insights, wisdom and ah-ha’s from this article ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Must Know #4: Know what some simple solutions are to incorporating more music and dance into your life.
Super simple. Pop in your fav jams and put your socks on. Enter the kitchen and have fun! Haha but seriously, I’d love to know your ideas of how to incorporate more music that makes you want to dance daily! I’ll give you one. When I worked for a fun tech company, they asked us in our entrance Google doc hiring sheet what our favorite song or artist was. They made customized playlists for us to listen to on the daily at work! Talk about fun!! I would find myself be boppin in my chair while making boring sales calls haha.
A special thank you to all who have contributed to this week’s topic on this particular question! If you’re not currently connected to these people, make sure to reach out to them and tell them I sent you! Ramona Patterson is an artist and super dependable person! Israel Vargas is an encourager and supports transitioning people through Goodwill Workforce Connections. John Petty is CEO of Precision Tinning Solutions and a great leader. Dr. Bryan Hill is a mentor of mine, helped me earn a promotion at the psych hospital where Move Happy®️ was first birthed, and is supporting my new non profit Erin Nicole Ministries 🎶 even when he misses the concert for medical appointments! Richard Kaufman is Global #8 Podcast Host for Veteran Podcasts and welcomed me onto his show to help spread the word about my new non profit. He shared his truth on my show this week in a special podcast release. You can listen to it here. Mary Stewart and her non profit foundation have agreed to support my non profit in the coming year to help spread the word 💜. She has over 8000 volunteers across the world and they donate their time and talents and do not ask for credit or anything. They do it because they believe God is leading them to help others. I am honored she found me and believes in what I am doing. Please follow her and if you are wealthy and looking to serve your community, see how you can help her. Chad Kennedy shared his story on the Move Happy Movement Podcast©️ and Vlog©️ and will be released Monday! He is traveling across Canada to spread awareness for PTSD and Suicide Prevention. Make sure to connect with him if you love highway patrol and want to help bring awareness too! Kristen Foster shared some great value from overcoming difficulties in life and starting fresh. She’s based in Australia and has a heart for serving her community through her role as CIO.
Make sure you’re tuning in on all Move Happy®️ Social Media Channels All Week Long if you want to be featured next week! Tweet us @ MoveHappyTeam for the handles on all social media 😉
Move Happy®️ and Erin Nicole Ministries Updates:
The Move Happy Movement Podcast©️ is going strong. Check it out on iTunes , podbean Spotify (1st 40 or so episodes- they stopped converting and don’t have the most current episodes sawwy), and someone added it to Listen Notes #NotMe 😂. We are going strong thanks to YOU! No ads, no bots creating fake downloads. You are spreading the word! I hope to help at least 1 person a day with the guests I bring or when I talk about important leadership topics by myself. Thank you for helping spread the mission of empowering depressed people globally to find their own happiness through mindset, community, fitness and a splash of music 🎶 !
This coming Monday I’ll be releasing an interview with a Canadian LinkedIn influencer. He’s a highway patrol officer out of Canada and proud PTSD and Suicide Prevention Advocate. He’s actually traveling across Canada next year to bring awareness on foot! 🦶 I might even join in for a bit pending sponsors support and shoot some content for collaborative purposes 🙌. I’m SO excited for you to hear it!!
Make sure to follow me on Twitter @MoveHappyTeam as my distribution platform has an AI setting that releases it there first 😃.
Also speaking of Veterans and First Responders Non Profit Concert Series, this past week I finalized application paperwork at the state and set up the bank account for donors/sponsors to send money to help cover the costs of the concert series! If you love Veterans and First Responders, you can donate via Zelle right now using my email account erin@themovehappy.com. The non profit is called “Erin Nicole Ministries” and moneys received will be used to cover the costs to have the non profit possible (i.e. internet, housing for me to host and eventually a building once the pandemic opens up, mic equipment for musicians and lighting equipment to help it look professional, and any other costs once we can begin traveling like covering flight and hotel costs for musicians and guests. I’d love to keep it intimate online as audience members not only are entertained they are able to connect with other guests too.
Maybe you see an old battle buddy you were stationed with overseas, or maybe you meet your next wife as she’s a black star and lost her spouse in battle? You never know what could happen at our concerts 💜. The next concert is April 29th and it’s a Jazz and patriotic theme with Ramona Patterson as our Veteran Performer guest, my mom and Aunt Carol have a set they’ve sung for retired and assisted living facilities. They have sung for over 30+ years together and haven’t been able to perform for the facilities since covid restrictions.
If you have a family member that’s a veteran or parent/grandparent in an assisted living facility place, get in touch with their director and have them email me to get added to the list. It’s 100% free for guests unless they feel like tipping my guest performers. My mom and aunt have never taken any money 💰 for their ministry and I am doing the same with mine 💜. Any extra dollars donated will go right back to making the concert series better for our Veterans and First Responders and eventually covering travel costs for our annual in person event (including medical symposium to help improve how people with mental illness are treated in medical facilities and in the work place from top level medical providers around the globe 🌎).
Must Know #5: Know how can Move Happy
empower you to utilize more music and dance for your audience.
I’m super pumped about a program I designed for one of the most sensitive populations in the world, a locked psychiatric hospital. The Move Happy Facilitator Program©️ is a 16-week program: 4 days a week for 1 hour per session. It combines journaling, group discussion and workouts with minimal equipment. Included in the curricula is 60+ workout demo videos including dance moves so you don’t have to be an expert in dance to facilitate!
One of my patients in the first round cried daily in the hall between groups. She sadly had been gang raped. During our station day my colleague, Sayaka a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, noticed she was smiling and dancing. She pulled me aside after group that day and told me she’d been working with her one on one for 4 years and had never seen her smile or laugh before. She congratulated me and started spreading word to our colleagues who then in turn started sending the most severely depressed to be enrolled in our group.
If that’s not convincing enough, 30% of your purchase will go back to your preferred mental health org. Simply email me a copy of the receipt and link to where we’re donating on behalf of your purchase. An additional 10% will be donated to your local chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters or your preferred youth organization if your local chapter has been closed due to the pandemic. Order 1 license here or email me (erin@themovehappy.com) for multiple license requests at bulk pricing optionality.
So there you have it folks. Music can get you up and dancing and can really improve your mood. I know personally that music 🎶 is within me even if the player battery dies. I am always dancing between activities because I am a busy body and enjoy moving 😆. For those that might need a little encouragement, pop in your fav jams 🎼 and enjoy! Even if you’re spending 1-2 mins a day listening to music in your kitchen with your socks on, its better than 0 minutes! Gradually add more music over time and more movement. If you’re able to get 60 minutes in a day, that’s the sweet spot. Some people move more than that, and we’re happy for them. For the rest of us that have work, family and life obligations, 1 hour can be life changing.
If this blog added any value to you, it would mean the world to me if you’d share it with someone you care about.
PS: Don’t forget to tell someone you love them today
Recent Comments