Hey Hey Barrebabes

Radio Star

Last week, I did an interview with the very cool Vincent Metzo at Radio Free Brooklyn in which we discussed my kinda interesting dance background and how it influences my profession as a fitness and movement teacher. He asks great questions and I had a blast speaking with him. Give it a listen https://tinyurl.com/3735kzna

“Shrill”

I watched "Shrill" on Hulu pretty much all in one go last week and can't recommend it enough. It's. So. Good! I felt all the feels - laughing till my cheeks hurt, sobbing through pretty much the first three episodes, becoming heart-poundingly angry at times, developing a woman crush on the lead actress and her roommate, all of it. You should totally watch it, and I feel that we are long overdue for a series like it. Our society is incredibly unfair to bigger people, and my profession is especially culpable in that. So I want to state here a few things in case I have been an asshole about them in the past:

We must not judge bodies. Bigger bodies are not necessarily sicker bodies, and smaller bodies are not necessarily healthier ones. Big bodies are capable, strong, healthy, flexible, dynamic, and beautiful. Big bodies are not ugly, bad, wrong, or sick. Period.

We must not judge people based on their bodies. It is so incredibly wrong to assume that someone is lazy or gluttonous or uneducated based on what you think about the size of their body, and on the flip side it is also unwise to assume someone (your fitness instructor, perhaps) knows what they're talking about or is healthier based on their thinness/leanness/muscularity.

We must stop telling girls and women that they have to look a certain way to be valued. And we have to stop telling ourselves that as well. Believe me, my internal monologue is not always the healthiest, and I have been exercising since I was a child because I always thought I was somehow too fat to be beautiful, worthy, loved. That has since changed for many reasons - growing up and getting out in the world, learning to dance African dance, traveling and spending time in cultures that don't value thinness like we do, being married to an incredible person who makes me feel fabulous about myself every day, having a baby - but I sometimes still feel like I've done something wrong by having period bloat or eating too many cookies or whatever. If I have ever made you feel bad about your body or its capabilities, or that you are less for any reason, I am truly, deeply sorry. That is not my aim or my right to do so. Ever. I am here to help you feel your best through movement, and that's really it. Your body is its own beautiful creation, and I celebrate all the differences, am grateful for them. I want you to look like you and to feel amazing in your own skin. That's all.

Anyway, babes... Like the music in barre class recently? You can listen to any of my tunes by following me @annieforeal on Spotify.

With love & planks,

Annie