MY WHY FOR FITNESS ⬇️ Fitness can be much more than the pursuit of a peach butt or washboard abs. If that’s what gets you moving, amazing, but IMO fitness is about much MUCH more. ~ People often ask about the roots of my business name, “OneSoma.” The word Soma has ancient Greek roots and alludes to the human body as an experience– the human body as felt from within. OneSoma hence alludes to the fact that we all have ONE bodily experience that we get to explore, nourish, and create throughout a lifetime. One powerful way we can do this is by exploring fitness and physical practices. ~ Fitness isn’t often considered a “creative” process, but ever since playing volleyball in high school + college, I’ve always viewed it as such. Through fitness we can consciously curate the bodies we live in: we can gain strength, we can lose weight, we can solve chronic health issues, we can access deeper mobility, we can unlock new skills and capabilities that bring us immense joy. Fitness can provide instant and immediate mental + physical benefits: for example, post workout highs, hitting a PR, unlocking a new skill, enhancing your mood, feeling more deeply connected to your body, etc. It also provides powerful benefits over longer slower timelines: for example, healing chronic pain, injuries, and health issues, cultivating practices that your truly enjoy doing, watching your body transform in a way that you love, finding people you love. One of my favorite Confucius quotes that imo hits DEEP is “a healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one.” If you’re someone who’s struggled with chronic health issues / injuries, you know how sacred true health & vitality really are and I sincerely believe that fitness is an essential part of this; both mentally & physically. ~ Everyone’s “why” for fitness is different. For some, it really can be as simple as pursuing a beach butt and washboard abs (aesthetics certainly motivate me as well, no denying that 💪🏼). But for me personally it’s about the lifelong pursuit of building a body&mind I’m happy to wake up in. It’s about honoring the one body I’ve been given, and showing it a good time so that it can return the favor.