Why Rituals Exist Everywhere & The Exercise Paradox - SYSK Choice

We know that smiling is a universal human expression of happiness. Everyone smiles - in fact, even babies born blind smile. What is the purpose of smiling? So, what does smiling do for you? Why are we attracted to a person’s smile? Listen as I begin this episode with a brief look at smiling. https://www.livescience.com/5254-smiles-innate-learned.html We have all kinds of rituals. There are religious rituals, family rituals, holidays rituals, personal rituals – rituals are everywhere. By definition, rituals don’t actually do anything really. They are just rituals. So why do we have them at all? It appears we have them because they are important and necessary according to my guest, Dimitris Xygalatas. He is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who runs the Experimental Anthropology Lab at the University of Connecticut. He is also author of the book Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living (https://amzn.to/3Pq7U4b). We all know exercise is important for our health. Still, a lot of people hate it. Why is something so vital to human health so despised and avoided by so many? Maybe we never really evolved to exercise – at least not the way exercise is done today.…