Beyond Lifespan and Healthspan: The Case for Joyspan
Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman
Nutritious Movement
4.8 • 686 Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2026
⏱️ 76 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Biomechanist Katy Bowman speaks with gerontologist and author Dr. Kerry Burnight about her concept of joyspan—a missing piece in how we think about aging well.
We often hear about lifespan (how long we live) and healthspan (how long we stay physically well), but what about the quality of those years? Dr. Burnight introduces joyspan as our capacity to experience a meaningful, fulfilling life as we age. In this framework, joy is not simple happiness, but a deeper sense of wellbeing that can coexist with challenge, grief, and change.
Katy and Dr. Burnight explore the Joyspan Matrix—Give, Connect, Adapt, and Grow—and how these actions enable us to thrive as we age. Rather than viewing aging as inevitable decline they discuss aging as development, the positives of aging and how to step into eldership.
Katy also speaks with our sponsor, Sohail Shariff of Movemate, creators of a unique dynamic wooden standing board that provides continuous, wave-like movement in the body while you are working at your desk or at home.
They discuss how the board supports musculoskeletal health, while also improving focus, creativity, and calm—reducing fatigue and the mental boredom and stagnation that comes from prolonged stillness. They also explore the role of play in the design, and how a serious problem—sedentary behavior—can be addressed in a way that is engaging, enjoyable, and even joyful.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:00 – Lifespan, Healthspan… and Joyspan
01:20 – Dynamic Collective Sponsors
02:30 – Dr Kerry Burnight Explains Joyspan: The Science of Thriving As You Age
09:40 – The Joyspan Matrix: Grow, Connect, Adapt, Give
19:30 – Giving, Purpose & Becoming an Elder (Rethinking Aging)
42:00 – Meet Movemate: A Dynamic Standing Board for Work and Play
46:00 – How Movemate Works: Movement, Feeling & Physical Benefits
49:15 – Cognitive & Emotional Effects of the Movemate Board
54:00 – Play & Solving Sedentary Behavior With Enjoyable Movement Tools
1:05:20 – Listener question: resolving amenorrhea, sponsored by Ikaria DesignÂ
Books, Links and Resources:
Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half – Dr Kerry Burnight
 About Dr Kerry Burnight (gerontologist, author of Joyspan)
 Dr Kerry Burnight on Instagram
Movemate – Dynamic Active Standing Board for Work & Play
Movemate on Instagram
Connect, Move & Learn:
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
Made Possible By Our Wonderful Sponsors:
.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 10% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT
Movemate:Â Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10
Thoughts/questions email us at podcast@nutritiousmovement.com
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The CreditsÂ
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Listen up, minimal footwear lovers. It's that time of year again. The Barefoot Shoe Expo is happening |
| 0:06.8 | May 16th and 17th of the Schaumburg Convention Center in the Chicago area. This is my third year |
| 0:13.6 | presenting a workshop there, but who am I fooling? Everyone goes there for the shoes. I know. If you hate |
| 0:19.2 | ordering shoes online and having to return so many |
| 0:21.8 | because things just don't fit, this event is a game changer. You can actually try on and compare a |
| 0:28.3 | huge range of options in person from super minimal styles to more cushion designs in widths from |
| 0:34.7 | average to extra wide. There are shoes for everything. |
| 0:39.7 | Athletic, everyday, dressy, even kids' options and specialty footwear like cycling shoes and |
| 0:45.9 | sports cleats. |
| 0:46.9 | That are minimal. |
| 0:48.8 | There's also a full lineup of free workshops running throughout the event. |
| 0:52.9 | You'll get to hear from podiatrist, biomechanists like me, |
| 0:56.2 | and other health professionals about foot health and movement mechanics. I'm going to be there |
| 1:00.7 | signing books and teaching a free workshop myself, so please come by and say hi. If you're planning |
| 1:07.0 | to go, I've got a little bonus for you. Use the code nutritious movement, one word, |
| 1:12.3 | at checkout to get a multi-day ticket for the price of a single-day ticket, because there are a lot |
| 1:17.4 | of shoes. And there's also lots of very happy, excited people to connect with. And this is actually |
| 1:25.4 | my favorite thing about the event, it's a massive dose |
| 1:28.8 | of vitamin community. So you know how you're like walking around and how excited you get when |
| 1:33.9 | you happen to see someone else in minimal shoes? Imagine an entire room full of your people, |
| 1:39.5 | an entire weekend full of just recognizing that we're all in this minimal shoe thing together. |
| 1:46.2 | It's a very exciting event. |
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