I'm your fitness instructor, and I'm not going to comment on your body.

At one point in my junior year of college, I gained some weight and got to my heaviest point.  It happened gradually, and it had to do with drinking and unlimited portions at the dining halls, as is the norm in college.  During that time, I had a Dr's appointment, and I asked the doc if I should be concerned about my weight gain, and she said, "No, you are at a healthy weight."

Looking back, I thank her for this.  As women, we hear the message to be thinner from EVERYWHERE.  We see it in advertising, we see it in movies and tv shows, we read magazines that tell us how to get our "body goals met" and so on.  We hear it at the gym, while working on our "summer bodies."  It's all over the place.  It's ironic that the one place that has the medical knowledge to decide if our weight is affecting our health, the Dr's office, is sometimes the last place we listen to.  I believe your weight is mostly your business, and if there's a health concern, your dr's as well.

Over the 4+ years that I've been a fitness instructor, I've met so many people, with so many different reasons for coming to class.  One lady in her 60's comes to class to build bone density, one woman came to cross train for a hiking trip to machu picchu, more than one woman has come to strengthen and heal after a miscarriage, some come because the workout reminds them of the days when they used to dance, some come to stay strong through their pregnancies, or get back to how they felt before having a baby.  Some come because just having an hour to yourself, (without looking at your phone!) can have profound effects on your mental state.   Of course, there's those that come to lose weight/tone up/ect,   and there's nothing wrong with that if that is your specific health goal.

The reasons for coming to class vary, and therefore the results from the classes vary greatly, too.  This is why I'm making a commitment to not comment on your weight/shape/size.   It's something I've definitely done in the past (in fact I did it this week), but I've realized I have no business commenting on something I know nothing about.  I have no business commenting on what I can see with my eyes, because who am I to judge when I don't know what's really going on? Bodies change, cells die and new ones regenerate to replace them. Our body today is not the one we had 6 months ago, and there's a variety of reasons for why your body looks the way it does.

Most more importantly than all of that, is this idea:

"Everyone has this giant, luminous being that is their true self...Everyone is a sleeping giant, so to speak, waiting to hear the call, waiting to surrender to it, waiting to act on it.  We've gotten caught up in thinking we are what we look like, the physical, the exterior.  We think we're the lamp shade.  We've forgotten that we are the light-the electricity and the luminosity that lights up every man, woman, and child.  The light is who we truly are."

-Michael Bernard Beckwith

I'd rather comment on your light than your lamp shade.   I feel there is more value in that compliment than a comment about your physical appearance.  You are not your size, you are not your weight, you're much greater/brighter/more beautiful than that.  As your fitness instructor I want to see the whole you, I want to get to know your light, the true you.   As your fitness teacher, I am committing to this, and I'd love if you would hold me accountable.  Fellow fitness instructors, I'd love it if you would do the same.

xo,

Amy