View exercise with compassion
This is for you if you are struggling as someone who hates exercising/movement OR you indulge in over exercising
Hi! I am Manasa Kannan and you are receiving this newsletter because you had expressed your interest to be a part of my world sometime! It is so nice to have you here! This is a tiny corner of the internet that I wanted to call mine and dedicate these words I write to myself and my audience (i.e. you!) so that we could all have a more personal touch with each other. I despise social media because of how public it gets with what you share but here, it is just you and I in this corner and I am here for you <3
On that note, if you would like to unsubscribe from my newsletter at any point, please feel free to do so (no hard feelings ;)
Before we begin today’s topic, I want you to reflect on some things.
Firstly, I want you to rate your relationship with exercise. 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. Either way, there is no right or wrong answer. Now, think of the scenario that led you to rate it this way. What factors have affected your relationship with exercise? Maybe it was a trainer, maybe it was what the society taught you or maybe it was just a YouTube video or an Instagram reel.
Now, think of exercise/movement as your best friend. What would that conversation look like?
Exercise: Hey friend, I am here to help you out and feel good!
You: Hey, are you? Really? But I don’t feel good when I am with you :(
Exercise: Oh no! I never meant to make you feel bad! I have so many options up my sleeve though. Have you tried them? I have walking, running, yoga, pilates, jumping on a trampoline, playing with your kids, dancing, swimming, cycling and so on!
You: Oh, I guess I have not tried some. I was always rigid to try out weight lifting* but I had an injury due to which I could not continue
Exercise: Oh no, that’s too bad! Well, I have 100 more options for you to try out. Why don’t you give, maybe running a try? That might be doable for you given your schedule and your personal commitments!
You: You know what? Maybe you are right! I should broaden my perspective on exercise, try out different formats, and see what fits my accessibility, affordability, schedule, and commitments. I deserve to feel good about the way I move and honor what my body craves! If I don’t like burpees, so what? I will do restorative yoga instead!
Exercise: Exactly! You are never out of options with me and I am always by your side to make you feel the best in your body! Because remember, different things call out to you at different phases of your life so try not to be rigid with how you continue following on this path! :)
Did you like that conversation? Have you viewed exercise this way before or were you keen on doing something particular because YOU HAD TO? I have trained so many women over the years who are so hard on themselves when they cannot stick to a particular exercise routine, they want to exercise all 7 days of the week, and they always have a go-go-go mentality (irony, because I was predominantly in this position for a long time and I am still learning lots from this experience)
They would never let themselves rest and recharge. It is so important to give yourself and the space around you some time to ease and relax into the cocoon of how things flow instead of forcing things onto your routine. Yes, it is important to have goals but at what cost if you are unable to take care of yourself? I want you to remember that exercising is a stress to the body in itself (although maybe the good kind, it is stress nevertheless) Hence, the question arises.
What does compassion with exercise look like?
Giving space in your calendar to not follow through with exercise plans entirely because of some life circumstances and not feeling guilty about it. For example, you fall sick and you feel guilty/bad that you are unable to exercise or reach your goals when all your body which works so hard for you wants you to rest and nothing more.
Checking if exercising gives you energy or drains you. If it is something that drains you, try to befriend exercise by trying out other formats that would energize you.
Make a note of the way your trainer guides you. It should feel empowering, welcoming and you would want to leave the class feeling accomplished
Giving yourself enough rest days (I ideally recommend 2 days out of the week of either not exercising at all or moving a bit so maybe walking with your friends to grab a coffee/doing some light stretches)
Recognize that if you have a menstrual cycle, your energy levels will dip and return throughout the month and you want to honor those needs instead of trying to show up to classes with little to no energy
Trying to minimize or remove the exercises that do not lift you up (yes really, because if you indulge in something you hate; guess what? you are not going to keep up with it long term)
Learn that exercising has very little relation with how much you weigh, or how you look but it 100% has a relation to how you feel, how much energy it provides you to take on the day, how well it helps you to sleep and SO MUCH MORE
Put on your lens that lets you be less judgmental about yourself or about following a rigid plan and be much more kinder to yourself.
If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, I want you to sit and ponder about it. Movement is something we want to be able to do life long and it is definitely not a short-term goal. We need to have the skills and the ability to understand what kind of movement is required at what phase of our life. Going back to the question I asked initially, what are some of the steps you can take today to view exercise with compassion?
I will share a small experiment for you to try here - the next time you want to plan to hang out with your best friend, try going to a group workout class. It is so much fun and you get to watch each other get strong, laugh about how hard the class is and just have a good experience to remember!
*Please note that I am not biased on any formats here and they all have their place in the fitness industry. This was just a representation to put a point across. This post is entirely taken from my own experience in teaching and practicing and to help you with some guidance along the way.
If you are part of my coaching, these are some of the things we will get into together during our community calls. My coaching is more than just teaching Pilates. And, I am always available on my Instagram if you would like to reach out to me for any questions/queries!
If you liked this newsletter, forward it to a friend who might benefit from these topics! I am so eternally grateful to you for taking the time and patience to read a long-form newsletter like mine and I hope you like the topics I share! <3
What a wonderful read Manasa! LOVED every bit of it - especially the bit about how exercising is NOT all about becoming “thin”. ❤️
Every line of this is so true and relatable ! I loved the part where you mentioned how we should give time and space to ourselves, how we should take it a little easy on ourselves. Super proud of you ❤️