Autonomy. Did you know that this is one of the forces behind motivation, passion, and even burnout? Having autonomy helps you feel most... yourself. It helps to grow your intrinsic (inner) motivation. It is what makes you feel whole in the moment and encourages you to keep going, even when things get difficult. I spoke with the brilliant Dr. Sanna Nordin-Bates, a leading sports psychologist and lecturer in the dance field at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences. Her research spans topics like creativity, disordered eating, and so many more. We sat down to chat about what autonomy is and how it can help dancers young and old. We cover everything from motivation, burnout, teaching ideas and so much more.  To learn more about Sanna’s research, click here. You can follow her on Twitter @DancePsychSanna Please remember that I am not a mental health professional, and anything you hear me say on the show is based on personal experience and perspectives, and should not be considered medical advice. If you are in crisis, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room. To find a local MHA affiliate who can provide services, check out https://www.mhanational.org/ Theme music is, "A Journey" by Kevin Hartnell It has been edited and reproduced under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Also, a special thanks to the show sponsor, Minding the Gap. Follow us on Instagram! Dance; Better Podcast @dancebetterpodcast Send in your questions or episode suggestions to [email protected] If you relate and found this episode helpful, please click follow/subscribe and leave the pod a review. (I might even read it on the next episode!) This helps to make our show more searchable, and will make it more accessible to more people...plus, I'd love to hear from you!