I used to work out to change my body. Now, I move to be in my body.
For a long time, movement felt like something I had to do to prove my worth. Burn the calories. Sweat it out. Earn the rest. But somewhere along the way, that stopped working. I wasn’t feeling better. I was feeling numb.
It wasn’t until I began exploring somatic movement that everything shifted. I began asking my body, "How do you want to move today?" And sometimes the answer was slow stretching. Sometimes it was dancing in my kitchen. Sometimes it was lying on the ground and breathing.
This kind of movement isn’t about performance. It’s about presence.
It's a conversation with the body. It's a release valve for stress. It’s what happens when you stop trying to look a certain way and start trying to feel.
And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried on the mat. Or laughed. Or sighed in relief after shaking out something I didn’t even know I was carrying.
This is what I want more of. Not just strong muscles, but a strong relationship with my body. Not just flexibility, but fluidity, softness, ease.
Because movement, when done with love, becomes a way back to yourself. And in those moments, I don’t just feel better. I feel whole.
