Move Your Body For Enjoyment
Not Because You Hate Yourself or Your Body
Move your body because you RESPECT and want to CARE for yourself, not because you hate yourself or your body and want to punish it.
Up until the last three years, I believed that exercise was something you endured. It was a punishment for what I had eaten and a way to change the body I was so uncomfortable in. And if I wasn’t losing weight, getting leaner & visibly seeing results, then I wasn’t doing it “right.”
Perhaps you’ve felt the same way? My old mindset looked like this:
I put myself through workouts I did not enjoy
I sacrificed part of my life for gym time
My motivation was directly linked to losing weight & inches * I believed I had to work out for at least an hour for “it to count” / “be effective”
The more calories I burned, the better
If I didn’t sweat, “it wasn’t a good workout”
If I wasn’t super sore the next day, I didn’t work hard enough
I felt guilty for missing a workout & feared what would happen to my body.
Finally, after years of this way of thinking, I couldn’t handle it anymore, and something had to give. Then I discovered intuitive/joyful movement. It moves away from looking at exercise and working out to control our body and towards a way of grounding into and being in our body. My current mindset looks like this:
I only move my body in ways that I enjoy
I can be flexible in my day to make time for the things that are important to me
I have a greater connection with my body & have been able to honor what it needs
I focus solely on how I feel, not on numbers
There’s no minimum time requirement. Depending on the day, it may be 15 min and others; it may be 40 min.
Sweat doesn’t mean anything more than my body trying to cool itself off
Moving my body isn’t just about challenging my muscles; sometimes, it’s about having fun, focusing on techniques, or getting some headspace
Rest is just as crucial as moving my body, and I allow my body, not a schedule to dictate whether or not I move my body
If you’re looking to find consistent ways of being active that work for you and complement your life, then please schedule a Discovery Call today!