So many people struggle to have a healthy relationship with exercise. For some, it’s difficult to move in a way that feels easy, joyful, and sustainable. For others, the concern is that physical activity because repetitive and compulsive. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Exercise can be an affirming, joyful part of yourContinue reading Intuitive Exercise – Healing Your Relationship with Movement
TIP Skills: Regulating Our Bodies to Cope with Distress
TIP Skills The TIP skills in DBT help you cope with a difficult situation or crisis without making things worse. They represent part of our crisis survival skills. You might use them when flooded with emotion, when in distress, or when you have the urge to engage in a destructive behavior. With the TIP skills,Continue reading TIP Skills: Regulating Our Bodies to Cope with Distress
Youth Sports: 10 Reasons to Participate that Have Nothing to Do with Weight
Why Youth Sports? As someone who studied sport psychology before moving on to clinical, I learned the many benefits of youth sport participation. When children participate in sports, they mature physically, socially, and emotionally. What I find disturbing is a recent spate of advertising for youth sport touting weight loss as a motivation or primaryContinue reading Youth Sports: 10 Reasons to Participate that Have Nothing to Do with Weight
5 Reasons to Leave the Gym
As a certified personal trainer since 1996 (and fitness instructor on and off since then), I’ve put a lot of energy into motivating folks to move their bodies in the name of health and wellness. Exercise comes with a host of physical and mental health benefits, and engaging in even a single episode of physicalContinue reading 5 Reasons to Leave the Gym
Why We Won’t Sell Weight Loss
Intentional Weight Loss? As a practice that focuses on food and body issues, we are often approached by prospective clients who want to lose weight. We get it. Our culture is not cut out for folks who don’t have the “right” body, with systemic oppression affecting those in larger bodies who want to work, travel,Continue reading Why We Won’t Sell Weight Loss
10 Benefits of Exercise that Have Nothing to Do with Weight
What Are the Benefits of Exercise for you? When you think about the benefits of exercise, what comes to mind? All too often, people begin or continue an exercise program in order to manage their weight. Approaching exercise with weight loss or weight management in mind, though, can have some unfortunate consequences. Physical activity canContinue reading 10 Benefits of Exercise that Have Nothing to Do with Weight
The Psychology of Trapeze
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take a couple of trapeze classes, something I’d done maybe 10-20 times back in in the mid-late 2000s. Aging 10 years has delivered to me a larger body, a weaker core, chronic aches and pains, and a more exaggerated fear response, but I was determined toContinue reading The Psychology of Trapeze
Compulsive Exercise
Do you struggle with compulsive exercise? Do you feel you must hit the gym in order to lose or maintain your weight? Do you wonder if your relationship to exercise is a problem? Health professionals generally encourage people to exercise. Physical activity can help ward off disease, strengthen your heart and bones, and improve yourContinue reading Compulsive Exercise