Why do you workout?

There’s a lot of talk these days on body positivity and body image, especially within the world of social media. This question, or the simple idea of what motivates us to exercise/ what kind of exercise we do that day has been on my mind lately, and how those choices change the relationship that we have with our body. Do you workout to solely maintain the physical shape of your body?  Do you do it for the feeling that accompanies movement? Is it a mixture of both?

I’ve always loved being active, but i’ve become so much more aware of why I choose certain activities. Yoga has been a ‘workout routine’ like no other, because it intertwines so much more than just focusing on the physical aspect of exercise – but even so I have always been drawn so much more to the power flows & challenging styles. Before yoga I ran, spinned, boot-camped & played hockey and soccer, I never put too much thought into why I enjoyed them so much (and still do.. except for running LOL) but I see now that a huge part of that was to maintain a certain size.

Now before we get much further, there is ZERO shame in working out for aesthetic reasons. It doesn’t always imply that we aren’t happy with the body we have and especially within the world of social media it’s so easy to assume we know what’s going on in someone else’s life or place a judgement on them.  It’s important to recognize when you do have a poor relationship with food or exercise, but it’s also important to know that it’s okay to want to look good and there should be no shame in that. And remember that looking good to one person is very different to the next, as is feeling good.

We just got back from a two week vacation where I was able to squeeze in my yoga routine most days (yay!) but I also ate my face off with all the ice cream & yummy foods (no shame in my junk food game.). But this is where my awareness kicked in, I noticed that every morning I was picking the sweaty power flows so that I felt justified to keep eating what I wanted and to stay comfortable in what I looked like in my bathing suits. One day I woke up and I was achy from sleeping poorly and being on the boat the day before.. and I actively had to tell myself that it was totally okay to do an easy no sweat stretch instead of feeling like I needed to do a full, more strength based class to feel good for the rest of the day. Crazy right? I have such a deep connection to my yoga practice & to my body, and I still have to create awareness over WHY I am practicing. So that day I told myself that I should be giving myself what I actually need, not what I THINK I need.  So I did a super chill stretch that morning and proceeded to eat ice cream (twice.. again no regrets) and chose to love my body exactly as it was showing up.

Do you feel the pressure to only be working out for aesthetic reasons OR only for mental health reasons? We can sway so far one way or the other depending on the day, and that is okay. There are so many times I hop on my mat where I am solely looking for mental clarity & recharge.  I am so okay to chill out on my bolster in a Yin sequence for an hour and walk away feeling so good about myself.  But I also love the feeling of finishing a sweaty, challenging Vinyasa class knowing that I challenged my physical & mental state, leaving feeling refreshed & powerful. Whatever the case, you are SO much more than your body. You have a soul that no doubt lights up a room when you walk in regardless of what form of exercise you did that day.

So, I do have an underlying desire of ‘looking good’, but it is so much more than that. I’ve said this so many times within our community & on social media and I will say it again here – do something that you enjoy, find something that lights you up and you don’t dread doing.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and why you workout. Do you do it to look good? Do you do it for your mental health? Personally I think all of these things are ok, as long as the messaging is healthy.

Love, Kate