I’ve been fat my whole life, and while that used to make me feel ashamed, I’ve spent years working on healing my relationship with my body, and realizing that there is no size ‘athlete.’

I was always sporty and coordinated, but as I entered my teen years, I started to get embarrassed by sweating, my red face and heavy breathing during and after gym period. So I started to draw away from sports and fitness in general - nothing seemed to satisfy the unattainable body goals that I had for myself.

I was well into my 30s when I’d finally had enough of struggling with my body image, and started the imperfect journey to accept the body I lived in, as is. Was it easy? Hell no. Is it perfect now? Also hell no.

Our relationship to our body image, and by extension, our relationship to movement and fitness are so complicated (especially if you grew up in the 90s and early 2000s), and now I help people find the joy in movement that doesn’t require punishing workouts, embarrassing physical assessments, or shaming practices.

The rewards that physical activity give us – better sleep, mood boosts, strength, improved coordination and stamina, mental well-being, anxiety management – are not reserved for people in typically ‘fit’ people. Every BODY deserves to have access to feel-good fitness.