Exorcising Exercising—Part 2 of 2
by Golda Poretsky, H.H.C.September 21 2009
Last week, we talked about how to move through resistance to exercise. This week, let’s get physical!
Before we get started, I want to talk about why we’re doing this. Though it may be difficult, I don’t want you to go into this with the motivation of weight loss. Some people do lose a bit of weight via exercise, and others don’t. But I don’t want you to think that exercising is "not working" if you’re not losing weight. I want exercise to be about health, feeling good, and loving your body - not weight loss. These are the questions I want you to ask yourself about your workouts:
—Do I like this workout? Is it fun?
—Does my body feel better and/or stronger when I do this workout?
—Do I have more energy?
—Do I feel less stressed?
—Do I have more mobility?
—Do I have more endurance?
If you’re answering "yes" to at least one of these questions, I believe that your workout is working. You may start to answer yes to more of these questions the more you exercise. And if you find that you’re not getting these benefits, it may be time to change what you’re doing.
So where do you start?
First, I would be remiss if I didn’t point you to a great blog right here at More of Me To Love. Each week, Andrew’s Fitness for All blog gives great fitness tips, from exercises you can do while sitting at your desk to stretches to strength training techniques. And if you’re in the San Francisco area, you may just want to make an appointment.
Personally, as someone who used to join gyms only to religiously attend for approximately 3 weeks, I’m now a big fan of working out at home. I mainly use an assortment of fitness DVD’s. Some of my favorites are Megan Garcia’s Megayoga DVD (she’s a plus sized model who developed this yoga series for bigger bodies), Rochelle Rice’s workout DVDs (very empowering and also for bigger people), and Kelly Bliss’s workout DVDs (empowering, size positive, and includes workouts for people with mobility issues, including sitting workouts). Fitness DVDs are great because they’re relatively cheap or even free if you get them from the library, and you don’t have to add travel time to your workout schedule.
If you’re looking for size positive exercise classes, Ms. Garcia and Ms. Rice both teach their classes weekly in New York and Ms. Bliss teaches classes in Philadelphia. Ragen Chastain , a plus sized competitive dancer and dance teacher, teaches dance classes in Austin, Texas where students are specifically forbidden to engage in diet talk.
Whether or not you can find size positive classes in your area, if you want to take a class, just go. Decide that feeling good is worth the risk of being the fattest or newest or whatever. Connect with the way the movement feels in your body, rather than your perception of people’s perception of you. Do it for your body, even if you’re mind is coming up with reasons not to go.
And if you do nothing else, put on some music and get your body moving. To help you along, here’s one from the Gossip.
Comment below and let us know what you like to do to move that gorgeous body of yours!
By the way, we have lots of new and exciting offers at Body Love Wellness! Starting October 7, I’m teaching a 3 week teleclass to support you in your intuitive eating and body love journey. Sign up by September 25th to join the class for only $100! And for the New Yorkers, I will now have office hours in Manhattan on Wednesdays! Email me or leave a comment below to set up your consultation.
And as always, let’s stay connected. Please stop by my Facebook group and become a member of the Body Love Wellness Group! You can also follow me on Twitter.
This week, I really recommend you check out Andrew’s Fitness For All post. He discusses the recent John Cloud Time Magazine article that makes exercise all about thinness, and explains why we need to have a health-centered approach to exercise rather than a weight-centered one. Go Andrew!.