Fitness
The unique exercise this neuroscientist does for optimal brain health: 'Physical activity is so powerful for our brain'
To keep your brain health in good shape, you should engage in physical activity as often as you can.
“Physical activity is so powerful for our brain,” Dr. Wendy Suzuki, neuroscientist and dean of NYU College of Arts and Science, said in an episode of a recent MasterClass series that features neuroscientists and psychiatrists sharing advice for optimal brain health.
Suzuki mentioned how walking 10 minutes a day can do wonders for your mood and that strategic sports like soccer and basketball engage your prefrontal cortex more than other exercises. But the workout in Suzuki’s weekly routine is much different than most others.
“I got pulled back into exercise from couch potato land with this amazing form of workout,” Suzuki said. “It’s called intenSati.”
The front half of the name “inten” stems from the word “intention,” Suzuki said. “Sati is a Pali word that means mindfulness or awareness.”
Cardio plus mantras is this neuroscientist’s preferred exercise for brain health
IntenSati involves moving your body while speaking affirmations out loud, Suzuki said. It was created by Patricia Moreno in 2002.
“This workout pairs high-energy cardio moves with high-emotion mantras that will leave you uplifted, connected, and strong,” according to the official website for intenSati.
Speaking positive affirmations out loud can strongly impact your outlook on life and your overall mood, Suzuki said.
“If you shout out that you believe you will succeed, you are inspired, you are strong, for a whole hour with a whole bunch of other sweaty, affirmations-shouting people, you come out of that class feeling amazing.”
A recent study done at the University of California Berkeley encouraged 135 undergraduate students to say compassionate things to themselves for 20 seconds a day, coupled with compassionate touch like placing a hand on their heart. After one month of consistently doing this practice, students reported feeling less stress and seeing improvements in their mental health.
“But whatever the form of workout that you do, any time of day you can work out is the best time of day to workout because our lives are so busy,” Suzuki said.
A 2022 study that examined the health information of more than 500,000 people found that those who regularly engaged in vigorous physical activity like exercise and sports decreased their risk of developing dementia by 35%.
But even doing household chores regularly lowered an individual’s risk by 21%.
“Every single drop of sweat counts for your brain,” she said, “And that’s good news.”
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.
iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.
“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”
When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.
“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”
Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.
“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.
To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.
To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?
Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.
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Jan 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it will limit regulation of wearable devices and software designed to support healthy lifestyles, issuing new guidance to clarify its regulatory approach.
The guidance, along with comments from FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, adds to existing policy that classifies low-risk wellness tools, such as fitness apps and activity trackers that encourage exercise, as non-medical devices exempt from stringent regulation, provided they do not make claims related to disease diagnosis or treatment.
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“We have to promote these products and at the same time, just guard against major safety concerns,” Makary said in an interview with Fox Business about artificial intelligence software such as ChatGPT, adding that “if people are looking up a symptom on an AI-based tool, let’s have that conversation when they come in to see their doctor or do a virtual visit.”
“We want to let companies know, with very clear guidance, that if their device or software is simply providing information, they can do that without FDA regulation,” Makary told Fox Business.
“The only stipulation is if they make claims of something being medical grade … like blood pressure measurement. We don’t want people changing their medicines based on something that’s just a screening tool or an estimate of a physiologic parameter.”
The agency also sent out a broader warning to consumers about the risks posed by unauthorized devices.
Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson and Sherry Jacob-Phillips
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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