Group exercise has managed to capitalize on many of the conditions that intensify the benefits of synchronized movement. For example, the more you get your heart rate up, the closer you feel to the people you move in unison with. Adding music has the same enhancing effect. Whether by design or accident, many exercise classes also take advantage of the “close clustering” phenomenon. Maintaining less personal space amplifies the social cohesion felt while moving in synchrony, perhaps because physical closeness further blurs the boundary between self and other. When we’re close enough to smell
...more
