My business card - Wellness Wednesday

I’ve seen this trend recently in the fitness space…

“My body is my business card.”

The general gist for those that are blessed enough to have missed this one is that a fitness professional’s value and effectiveness is tied solely to the way they look. (Yes, my synopsis is a little skewed 😊)

This is not a new trend.  I have been dismissed more than once by people judging my knowledge, skill, and passion based on the way I look. I have had people reject my guidance on proper lifting form only to take the exact same advice from another person 5 minutes later that had the “classic fitness physique”. I have been told that I can’t become a coach because I “don’t have the right look”. I’ve had people come up to me in the gym while training for the CrossFit Games and assume I must be embarrassed and self-conscious and incapable because I don’t “look like an athlete”. After all, what could the “fat, old, lady in the wheelchair” possibly contribute to the world of wellness and fitness? (I’ll save the breakdown of some of my internalized -isms for another post!)

I totally get why people that are new to the gym or that view themselves as “unfit” feel uncomfortable in a fitness space. Gym-phobia is a thing! Even as an accomplished athlete with multiple fitness and wellness certifications, I get anxiety entering a new fitness space.

But back to the “my body is my business card” concept…

Here’s my take…

My body is my business card because it shows my discipline. My body represents a long struggle with my weight and the role that having mobility challenges can play in that struggle. My body was once 353 pounds and is now 140 pounds lighter. People like to discount how difficult weight loss is by spouting off “calories in vs calories out” and implying that if you can’t get the simple math under control then you are lazy or dumb. Is weight loss simple? Sure, it’s basic math BUT just because something is simple does not make it EASY!  Simple DOES NOT equal easy and you should not take weight loss advice from someone that says otherwise because they will never understand the struggle.

My body is my business card because it shows how capable I am. I am someone that lives with a progressive connective tissue disorder. I may not be running marathons, but my body is capable of amazing things, and I have learned MANY lessons over the years about how to regain and maintain independence, strength, and health!

My body is my business card because it shows my strength. I can pick up heavy things and push for long distances and do a myriad of other athletic feats along the spectrum. My outward aesthetic has nothing to do with that.

My body is my business card because it shows my resiliency. I do not achieve things in spite of my disabled body. I achieve things because my disabled body challenges me to grow, to adapt, and to persevere. It drives me to look at challenges from many viewpoints and not get stuck in the mindset that there is only one way to get from point A to point B. It reminds me that the journey is almost never linear, and that patience is a continuous practice.

My body IS my business cards - a business card that highlights my dedication over trendiness, my compassion over judgement, and my accomplishments over appearance.

Wellness is a journey and the way you look is only one small part of a much more magnificent whole!