There was a time where I felt guilty for stretching.
It seems silly now, but in 2019 I had the intention to “practice being myself.” What that meant was to go to the gym and stretch in front of the treadmill before a run instead of HIDING in a gym bathroom to do so. YES. Hiding.
I never felt worthy of taking up too much space and therefore never gave myself permission to stretch out and move the energy around. Combine that with an eating disorder and you have yourself a beautiful twenty-something with way too many negative thoughts and way too many opportunities to stay stuck in her little self-created prison.
I know we all have these types of stories that we keep with us – and – although they hit us differently at different times, it’s good to reflect and share compassion whenever we’re ready to meet our past selves.
As I my sister recently told me, “we work out not to punish ourselves or to get skinny, we work out because we like moving our body.” And I think that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in a while…