EXERCISE IS SPIRITUAL WORK
"Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't."
Elle Woods (as played by Reese Witherspoon) in Legally Blonde
THINGS THAT MAKE ME MAD: THAT SOCIETY SOLD ME THE LIE THAT EXERCISE IS FOR PEOPLE TO BECOME THIN AND BEAUTIFUL AND IF YOU AREN’T TONED AND THIN YOU SHOULD FEEL SHAME AND DEFINITELY MAKE SURE YOU ARE SPENDING ALL YOUR TIME WORSHIPPING TINY, TONED, YOUTHFUL BODIES AND REMEMBER ABOVE ALL THAT IF YOUR BODY ISN’T THAT IDEAL BODY THEN YOU SHOULD REPENT.
I think a lot about how unconscious we are when participating in society. It’s like David Foster Wallace’s This is Water; we accept things and forget they exist to the point that we’re blind to them.
Beauty standards are so ingrained in our culture that we do not realize they are another layer of keeping people repressed and separated from our bodies, distracted from living our authenticity.
It is SO alarming to me that exercise is perceived mainly as a tool for weight loss and maintenance instead of an incredibly powerful spiritual tool for connection and clearing.
When I was a fitness instructor, it was eye-opening to see how many people engaged in exercise from a standpoint of body punishment. I’m here because I’ve been bad, I’m here because [insert someone pinching their own skin for dramatic effect]. UGHHHHH. NO. NO. NO.
Of course, I’m mad because I fell for it too. I used to exercise for all the wrong reasons. I wanted so desperately to make my body comply. I didn’t feel acceptable, so maybe if I could shrink my body, then maybe I’d earn the right to exist and take up space. I exercised in semi-secret, embarrassed at how much effort I put in to exercising and still then I didn’t feel the right to call attention to my athleticism, as I was never enough; not thin enough, not strong enough, just never enough.
It may seem wild to know that it was an episode of GIRLS triggered a change, but truly it was this scene that blew the lid off my world. I was like OH MY GOD. Exercise is for all of us. It’s for the endorphins, not the the physical aesthetic results.
What if instead of participating in exercise for weight loss + aesthetic reasons, I participated in moving my body purely from the standpoint of enjoying and experiencing endorphins?
I stopped punishing my body with grueling workouts and started only going to classes that helped me get in tune with my body; gentle yoga, yoga + reiki classes, yin, restorative, gentle heated yoga… mmmm.. places where I could tune in and let go of all the bs that had been weighing me DOWN.
Exercise and movement is one of the most powerful ways that we can connect with the moment, be present, and shift out stuck emotions and experiences.
In their amazing book, Burnout, the Nagoski sisters, Emily and Amelia talk about how you HAVE to move your body until you find a release otherwise you’re trapping stress emotions in your body, it’s why endorphins are so important. We’re moving and releasing all our stress and being rewarded with feel good chemicals, but if we feel like the only way to engage in exercise is from a standpoint of body control, we’re missing the purpose and losing out.
WE CANNOT LET THE PATRIARCHY TAKE THIS ONE.
Like Elle Woods, my observation is simple - what if we can let go of what our body looks like as the ultimate goal of a workout, but instead focus on the glow?
Can we choose to focus our energy on how our bodies feel instead of how they look?
What would it look like if we used movement and exercise as a time to connect and excavate stuck emotions instead of a time of punishment or escape?
I
LEARNING TO LOVE YOURSELF WITH MAGIC BODY METHOD!
A few days ago I caught my reflection in the mirror last night and decided to document it. I paused a moment to think about how far I’ve come. It wasn’t so long ago that I was so painfully self-conscious that I could not relax. I was on high alert wondering how I was being perceived, because we live in a beauty obsessed world that is engineered to drive everyone insane.
sending reverence to myself
When I was younger I would get as close to the mirror as possible and examine all my “flaws.” Not shockingly, this would send my self-esteem into a death spiral 🌀
It’s taken a lot of time for me to come to a place of peace and now celebration and love when I see my face and body. I hate that this is the world we live in - a place that’s making us sick through manufactured self hate. BUT through self-care practices (big fan of mirror work for clearing out negative self talk on appearance) and anti-diet philosophy - when I catch my reflection I now send reverence to myself.
This world puts too much pressure on us all to conform to norms - in my own work and in magic body method - this is about finding your own rhythm 🥁 - so that when you catch your reflection - you want to celebrate yourself or at least be like, hey that’s me, cool 😎
As Louise Hay says, “the point of power is always in the present moment.” magic body method is the prerequisite to being present.
In order to harness our magic and our power and truly work with the infinite resources that exist for us - we must be in our bodies.
We must ground ourselves in the now.
If you’ve protected yourself through disassociating, or are always future tripping, you need to FIRST practice being in your body. I’ve noticed in my own work and with my clients that no one is addressing this HUGE STEP of practicing being in the moment!!!
Magic Body Method is for those who need to work on letting go and being present without losing themselves to a future that doesn’t yet exist. Once you can be fully present, THEN you can begin to unlock your deeper levels of magic. if you’re ready to stop hating yourself and hop off the loop of beating yourself up - come join. Let’s have some fun.
Join Magic Body Method!