🪞 Okay, but what about my aesthetic goals???

Community First

🔥 June 28th, check out Transforming Shame, a somatic healing workshop at Hai Bayo.

🔥 June 29th, attend the Nourish Art Show Opening and Market, a celebration of Asian comfort food

🎉 Happy Friday, Friends!

Last week, we talked about what it looks like when you let go of shrinking your body and embrace movement beyond aesthetics. Today, I want to add to that list to give you a better idea of what your life will be like when you start training for power and functionality.

Let’s all acknowledge something together. I’m going to hold your hand while we do this.

You do not have to let go of wanting to look good, whatever that means to you.

Yes, separating that idea of “good” from “thin” is important. But how does this actually work when you’re training for something greater than your looks?

Your priorities shift.

And I mean priorities – plural.

Before strength training and intuitive movement, your priorities when you think about exercise might be like this:

1.     Lose weight

2.     Be “toned” (more on this later)

3.     Get an endorphin boost

4.     Reduce risk of chronic illness

5.     Get mental clarity and support my mental health

6.     Participate in social movement activities

After making the change of listening to your body and focusing on functionality, your priorities might look like this instead:

1.     Get mental clarity and support my mental health

2.     Learn how to do a compound lift, like a dead lift

3.     Get some “me” time when I’m at the gym

4.     Go for more walks with my friends

5.     Carry that damn cat litter up the stairs (I’m always talking about this)

6.     Have some visible musculature – AESTHETIC GOAL COMING IN AT #6! (This is what people mean when they say "toned," btw. "Toned" is not a thing. Revealing muscle still involves fat loss, so "toned" = lose weight.)

After a while, those aesthetic goals just sit further down on the list. Not just because they take a long time to achieve, but because they simply aren’t that important. Maybe aesthetic goals have no room on your list – and that’s fine! But they’re not in your top 5, and they become a “nice-to-have.”

This isn’t something that just happens. We don’t wake up one day and decide not to care. But these other things, like getting a mental health boost or social plans that involve movement, are just way more fun. They’re way more interesting, and they reward you faster.

The first time you walk away from a movement experience feeling better and not worse, your life will be changed. I promise.

So take some time today to think about the last time movement felt good, and carve out some time to recreate that. Whether it was a walk to the deli, a dip in Lake Michigan, a stretch between meetings, or a ride on the Lakefront Trail – give yourself permission to prioritize what feels good.

With you in caring about what matters,

Dana