As a lot of you see through my Instagram stories, I work out a lot. I walk a lot, I go to the gym at least twice a week, I swim, and I’ve finally got back into dance classes.
And because of that, a lot of you have asked me how I got started and how I stay body positive in an environment that usually is full of body shame. Well I answer those questions and more!
All of my exercise started when I was 19 years old after I was bedridden and lost the ability to walk for 6 weeks. It made me so angry that I had spent my whole life taking my body for granted and not doing things like walking to my friend’s house because it was too much effort to walk 20 minutes so I made myself one promise when I could walk again: to learn how to run! I was going to run for the people who couldn’t. Exercise became my solace when it came to processing my hospitalisation, then shortly after, I became how I processed boy stuff and then it was my sanctuary when I had PTSD. My mental health and my body positivity wouldn’t be where it is today if I hadn’t discovered so many of the things I love to do that happened to be classed as “exercise” – things like dance classes, paddleboarding, or hiking with friends.
Click the link and watch one of my favourite videos. I literally light up when I talk about exercise and it has NEVER EVER been about weight loss or burning calories to me. It’s not how I was brought up, and it’s why I am able to enjoy it because it’s not a punishment