What Would Happen If We Focused On All The Amazing Things Our Bodies Could Do

What would happen if we focused on all the amazing things our bodies could do—hit a baseball, hike Machu Picchu, do a Teaser—versus obsessing about what they look like?

- Stacy Baker Masand

Generally when pilates is mentioned in the media or general conversation, it’s associated with achieving a “dream” body—long, lean, dancer-like.

But as longtime practitioners know, the method is really about improving what your body can do, and learning to love and appreciate that.

“I'd been conditioned to think about my body as a tool that needed to be made strong and nimble rather than a tool that can help me feel strong and nimble in different ways,” says Kéthia Clairvoyant, a Pilates instructor, certified personal trainer and founder of Fit Life KC in Washington, DC.

That kind of pressure can change your relationships and behavior because your focus becomes “perfecting” the body rather than making it feel healthy and strong. For Clairvoyant, that even meant scheduling social activities around her workouts.

ALL BODIES ARE BEAUTIFUL

Body positivity is the notion that you can, and should, accept your body regardless of your color, age, size, shape or so-called “imperfections” like wrinkles, scars, stretch marks or veins. It’s about taking stock of all your body does for you and being truly grateful for that, whether or not it lives up to society's set image of beauty.