I once had someone ask me when the last time I was happy with my body. I stopped and thought about it… have I ever been truly happy with my body? Maybe not…
Over the past five years I’ve spent a huge amount of time investing in and developing my connection with my own energy, and with my spirit… learning meditation and clairvoyance… and it changed so much of my life. But in the same way I’ve developed those aspects of myself, I realized that I don’t often have a very strong connection to or communication with my body.
So it’s time to change that.
I’ve always gone through phases of working out consistently and then falling out of the habit for months at a time, until I end up feeling totally gross and having to drag myself back to the gym, usually in total effort and invalidation, where I work out, but not very hard if I’m being honest, and then get discouraged again. Not super validating for sure.
I had to shift something, but what? Was there any workout that I would love? I always see those super intense ripped people at the gym who seem to be obsessed with working out and know that that will never be me. And it’s not my goal. But I do want to shift the energy so that my body is healthier and validated, and going to the gym is something that I look forward to as opposed to feeling apathetic about or slightly dreading it. And who knows how my body will change once I set that kind of tone.
While recovering from an ankle sprain earlier in the year I tried a few lower impact workouts and ended up loving them. I also discovered that my body loves variety! It doesn’t only want one kind of workout all the time, it really likes high intensity classes but it also likes slower paces low impact workouts. Both are validating, both are challenging and leave me yearning for a massage the next morning, and both have gotten me really into working out again, in a way I maybe haven’t ever had before.
Don’t you love how I refer to my body as if it’s its own separate being? I kind of feel like it is, this meat suit that I am living in in this lifetime. I’m communicating with it, taking care of it, nurturing it, validating it, {or not} and that affects how I experience my life. And well, I want to be having an awesome experience that feels validating.
Over the past few months I’ve tried several new workouts and ended up integrating them all into my schedule, which is turning out to be really validating for my body, as it gets different kinds of challenges and stronger and more balanced… far more than just the same routine at the gym every day would. And I love them so I’m always trying to fit them into my schedule as often as possible, which is a noticeable shift. So in the spirit of trying new things and maybe discovering a new workout that you love, and maybe getting more validation running through your veins, I am sharing my current favorite workouts with you.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to include this because it’s kind of general. But I love the classes that my gym offers. Usually regular gyms have an entire lineup of group fitness classes that are different intensity levels taught by different teachers. I happen to love the trainers at my gym, the classes are all different and each week the teachers come up with different exercises within the class so you are never repeating. They are always super challenging and I leave feeling great. All I have to do is show up and do what they say, so effortless {for a hard ass gym class}, it rocks.
Chi50 {Pilates Plus}
I initially tried this without even knowing it was pilates and thought it was some amazing totally new type of workout {I just love when I perpetuate that blonde stereotype, lol}. What I love about it is that it is low impact, and focuses on slow movements, which is really challenging in a whole different way than my body is used to. It also focuses on building core strength and works out muscles that really don’t get a hello in traditional workouts. It’s a really balanced and thorough workout, usually I feel just as sore, if not more so, than I do from higher impact workouts.
I only discovered this type of workout because my office does all of these ‘mindfulness’ classes each month so I signed up. It’s an hour class broken up into four 15 minute segments where you switch between floor exercises and running on a treadmill. When I first walked in and found that out {the 15 minutes straight on a treadmill part} I almost left! I. Hate. Running. If someone were to rob me at gunpoint I’d have to talk them out of it because running away just isn’t going to happen. Seriously.} But I stayed and I’m so glad I did. If I’m being honest I do kind of hate the class while I’m there doing it, but when it’s over my body is so validated and feels amazing, maybe it’s that runner’s high people keep talking about? You definitely don’t feel like you’re just running for 15 straight minutes, which was a relief to experience. But so far I am only up for this class once or twice a month, it takes working out to a whole new intensity level.
One of my teammates raved about this workout when I was whining about being middle aged and needing to drop a few pounds and get back into shape because just breathing makes you gain wait when you’re middle aged. I had no idea what to expect, and during my first class I literally looked around wondering if I was actually exercising it’s so low impact. Is this a joke I thought? Is this the right class? How is this getting me into shape? Ridiculous I thought… but sure enough, the next day I was sore in places I didn’t even know I had muscles! It’s kind of a barre class, and focuses on more micro movements, really honing in on specific muscles and is designed to strengthen especially your back, core and knees. I notice that I slow down and really tune into my body, form, and movement a lot more in these classes which is definitely making me feel more connected to my body. Score!
This one is on my list of places to try. One of the owner’s, Antonio Coke, was a group fitness trainer at my gym until recently, and he is one of the best. His classes are intense and high energy, and no matter how in shape you are, somehow you feel like you might die before the end, but in a good way because you never want to miss the next one! I can’t wait to get a few of his new classes in my calendar and see what he’s up to now that he’s on his own.
So what does your body want these days, and are really listening to it? I can tell you, your body probably doesn’t actually want constant pizza and nights on the couch in front of the tv, as good as they do feel from time to time! I find that the more tired and uninspired I am, the more I want to just lie on the couch, the more my body actually wants and needs to get moving… I’m learning to listen to it and I’m feeling better and having more energy each day! And I think with so many classes I love there’s no skipping my workout anytime soon ~ hello happy body!
Haven by Design 