Radical Self Care

I don’t believe it’s possible to separate our bodies from politics.

Hi All! I’m rerunning this one because I think we need this message now more than ever. I’m so grateful to be in community with you all.

My work is only possible to continue when I get paid for it. This aspect of my business is still part of my overall small business work which includes paying a three young woman team to keep my business running, paying teachers and paying myself so I can continue to have time to write, teach, manage a team and create useful content. Your support goes towards continuing to make all of that possible and I’m so grateful for it.

Let’s get into this weeks thoughts!

Two years ago, when Roe V. Wade was overturned, I spoke from my heart to the first class I taught since hearing the news. I have never separated this work we do, of further understanding, healing and strengthening our bodies from the wider politicized environment we exist in. I don’t believe it’s possible to separate our bodies, and how we interact, care for, or disregard them, from politics. Even if some say they ‘don’t read the news’, that person still exists within the hostile environment policies created, whether or not they are informed by them.

So many seek to detach us from our physical forms, figuratively and literally. We are bombarded with messaging to view our bodies as broken, disfigured, and in need of never-ending ‘fixing’, change, and minimization. I hope I can inspire us to see our bodies as whole, powerful and most importantly, valuable.

June 25th, 2022

As a teacher of bodies I can't ignore how the news affects us physically, psychologically and emotionally. I think it's also really challenging to separate this work [taking a fitness class] from all the other cultural garbage around fitness.

So I really invite you, today, to make a decision not to let those other thoughts and voices that come up around our bodies; how our bodies look, how our bodies perform, in.

Whatever your personal negative self talk, that is a real habit that we learn from people. We learn it from our mothers or from our best friend in high school. 

I can think of phrases and physical responses I had to various parts of my body throughout my life, that I've had to very much notice, just like any other crappy habit, and say ‘I don’t need you anymore. Goodbye’

I’m thinking about the meditation teacher and philosopher, Thích Nhất Hạnh, he has a quote that I think about a lot. He says ‘There is no way to peace, peace is the way.’ Which is quite radical because what he means is that there's not a way to slowly work your way into peacefulness. You make the radical decision to be peaceful. And he's from a country where monks burned themselves in front of the Capitol building to protest the Vietnam war. It is a radical choice for peace. 

So in light of what is happening in our country, I invite you to be radical with yourself. 

We want to be gentle, we want to do ‘self care’, but really, radical self care is to just stop being mean to yourself.

Stop talking to yourself in a cruel way. Stop saying mean things. Stop acting like you deserve this or don’t deserve that. Stop acting like only if you suffer can you eat the ice cream.

No one is going to do that for you. You have to stop. I feel very emotional about it because we can't wait with these things. Because literally no one will stop you from harming you, you have to do it for you, and there’s no reason to wait.

In my work, I'm facing my body and your bodies every day. It is my greatest joy and pleasure. I just want to remind you that this space is literally to make your body a comfortable place to live in so that your life is a comfortable place to live in, where you have the most agency possible.

And that is the only reason to do any of this. The only reason.

So if anything else comes up for you while we move, I want you to just very radically finish with it because it is of no use for you, ever.

Get the shirt I’m wearing and support abortion access HERE
For excellent information on the fight for our reproductive rights read Jessica Valenti HERE

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