What is Your Orientation Toward Exercise?
In the health and wellness space, we all know that exercise is key for physical health.
A regular movement practice, such as going to the gym, taking daily walks, practicing yoga, or simply leading a life that is more active than sedentary will serve you well on your path to physical wellbeing.
Yet there is perhaps a misconception that being physically active, that prioritizing your physical health through exercise, is synonymous with having a healthy and body-honoring approach to movement.
“Just because you have an active lifestyle or move regularly doesn’t mean you are truly in touch with your body.”
In the West, the intellect of the mind is prized above the wisdom of the body. Many of us were taught to let our minds lead with everything we do in life, including how we exercise.
But being conscious of your body from a mental standpoint isn't the same as being attuned to your body's experience in the moment. Having ideas and beliefs about what is healthy isn't the same as possessing the ability to discern how your body actually desires to move.
With cultural messages delineating what healthy looks like, the glorification of 5 a.m. workouts, and the prevalence of health-related tech that teaches us to relentlessly track and optimize our movements, it’s less common to hear women talking about moving just to feel good in their bodies.
This mental orientation toward exercise has resulted in a spectrum of unhealthy behaviors, from occasionally overriding our body’s messages or mindlessly checking workouts off our to-do lists to being fully out of touch with our body’s wisdom and risking serious injury or poor health outcomes in the long term.
How many of the following behaviors have you engaged in?
being consistent with your exercise routine regardless of how you feel any particular day
refusing to skip a workout even though you didn’t get enough sleep the night before
pushing yourself to finish a workout despite feeling depleted halfway through
approaching exercise through the lens of burning calories or losing weight
overexercising to the point losing your period
trying to get your pre-baby body back as soon as possible
On the surface we might look at a woman engaging in these behaviors as healthy, as someone who takes care of her body, who prioritizes her physical wellbeing even when it’s hard. We might especially applaud someone who engages in these behaviors if she appears fit and matches the cultural aesthetic of a healthy woman.
Yet at their core, these behaviors are examples of pushing past your capacity, of being unable to decipher your body’s messages, of approaching fitness as an obligation or punishment. These behaviors are examples of not knowing when or how to slow down, of being unwilling to listen and adapt to your body’s needs in real time.
“Approaching exercising solely through a mental lens neglects the body’s innate knowing of how to move in a way that naturally contributes to our wellbeing.”
My own experience with listening to my body about exercise has evolved from a more outward-oriented process involving some of the behaviors listed above to one of deeper inner listening over the years.
In my mid-twenties, I was very physically active, doing multiple high-intensity interval training workouts and strength training sessions, in addition to swimming laps, each week. I was active nearly every day without integrating adequate time for rest and recovery.
I was overexercising without realizing it, following external fitness guidelines in an attempt to be healthy. This pace continued until I badly injured my ankle and was forced to give up more rigorous forms of exercise for close to a year.
By my early thirties, I had developed more body awareness after having a consistent hatha yoga practice for 3+ years. At the time I thought this style of yoga was the perfect balance of gentleness and strength for my body, yet one morning I woke up and realized my body did not wish to practice yoga any longer.
“My mind was quite confused, as I still loved the idea of continuing a movement practice I enjoyed, but the signals from my body were clear.”
I decided to take a break and listen for any signs that it was time to get back into yoga. The desire to practice didn’t fully return for another 4 years.
I struggled to mentally accept that I wasn’t as active as I had once been yet chose to honor my body’s wisdom regardless. Now in my mid-thirties, my body is asking to balance rest with activity, to take regular walks and add in yoga when I have the energy.
My orientation toward exercise has shifted dramatically over the last 10 years. It’s rare that I push myself based on my internal beliefs when I recognize that my body is saying no. But this body-honoring approach and the willingness to not always follow mainstream exercise advice took time to get comfortable with.
“We have a lot of ideas about how we should move but we’re not often taught to consult our bodies, even though our bodies are the natural experts.”
Our bodies know how they want to move. All we have to do is listen.
If we follow this wisdom, that means each of us must choose the types and intensity of exercise that work best for us, regardless of what anyone else is doing.
My body is not the same as yours. My exercise routine shouldn't be the same as yours either.
How you relate to exercise, how you approach your movement practice, reveals a lot about your overall relationship with your body.
Consider the following questions to more deeply understand how you relate to exercise:
Do you have preconceived ideas about what it means to be fit?
Are you setting goals in your mind rather than asking your body what she wants?
Are you trying to achieve a certain weight?
Trying to sculpt a certain physique?
Punishing or judging yourself?
Are you exercising too often?
Pushing past your body's signals?
Are you using exercise as a distraction or way to numb your feelings?
Are you motivated to exercise out of shame?
Trying to avoid other people's comments and criticism?
Are you choosing forms of exercise that aren't appropriate for your body type or phase of life?
Are you focused on efficiency, performance, and optics?
Are you staying still when your body wants to move?
Or….
Are you welcoming embodied movement, feeling good physically, and creating health?
Celebrating your body's capacity to move the way she does?
Are you moving with joy?
Choosing to move your body because it feels good?
Moving your body the way she wants to move?
Are you building flexibility and strength to avoid injury?
Are you inhabiting your body during exercise?
Fully present to the sensations and responses?
Are you aware of what phase of your menstrual cycle you're in and modifying your exercise routine accordingly?
Are you adjusting your exercise routine when you're tired, emotional, stressed, drained, or sleep deprived?
Are you able to honor when your body says no and prefers to rest?
After reading the questions above, how would you characterize your orientation toward exercise?
