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Joyful movement
TW: exercise, eating disorders
Wow. I learned this week that exercising my body can be so much more than just about controlling its size and shape.
I discussed with my therapist that id noticed im puffing just walking up hills or stairs.
To put it bluntly, in anorexia recovery ive changed my body quite drastically in a relatively short amount of time, without doing much exercise to get my body used to moving that much of me around.
I was so afraid of starting to do exercise in order to get fitter because i dont want to puff up hills, and then to accidentlally get pulled into exercise addiction and body image issues again.
But - she encouraged me to set the right intention and take things in small incremental steps.
If i want to not puff up hills then maybe i can walk just a little further or a little faster some days.
If i want to have stronger legs, then i can maybe do some weight-bearing exercises - even just 1 or 2 goes.
Always listen to my body and nourish it with food that it needs before and after exercise.
I'm also afraid of getting sore muscles and being triggered by that, but she suggested that maybe I can also learn to tolerate the triggering discomfort without using compensatory behaviours.
Completely new way of seeing movement as more than just calories in/out and controlling body shape and size. Amazing.
