The Hidden Truths of Social Media and Fitness

In the past exercise was never a real focus because it was integrated in our daily lives. We walked many miles to get water, lifted heavy items to help build, and so naturally we were fit. With the increasing technologization of our society, and increase in desk jobs, there is a massive surge in physical fitness interest and thus a huge market for profit opportunities, whether it be through promotion of weight-loss products and/or fitness routines. Not to mention, the use of social media platforms has skyrocketed and provided many fitness professionals, and many frauds, with the opportunity to make a living based on their follower count. This is not a good or a bad thing in of itself, but the implications of these crazy advancements are far-reaching and since we aren’t challenging them they will continue to perpetuate and influence our thoughts about what it truly means to be fit. Fitness right now is a trend. The same way that polo is worn to portray a certain image, the attempt to appear to be a “fitness freak” is a current desirable status to attain. So, before we soak in everything we’re exposed to in the media we need to remember this fact. Ultimately this means the information we are relayed will also affect our body-image and self-confidence if we compare the images we see, that often aren’t even real, to our own bodies.

Exercise for me was always a beautiful escape from reality, because it was through sport that I could focus my entire energy on the game and get lost in passion. I also started to enjoy the gym because my mother is such a positive influence, always guiding us to be active and make healthy living choices. But at some point in my past the relationship changed from a joy of movement to a form of punishment for my self-sabotaging eating habits. Even with such a supportive and healthy upbringing centred around physical activity and self-love, my life still revolved around a dysfunctional exercise routine and a shattered connection to my body’s needs. This just goes to show that influences beyond the home are very powerful in shaping our experiences of living and our emotional connection to our bodies as our temples. My family never encouraged comparison, never scrutinized body shape/weight yet I still fell into self-abuse patterns. I also barely used the internet and was not heavily influenced per say by media’s portrayal of what a “perfect female body is” at younger ages. Obviously in some regard we are all affected, however the upcoming generations are in for a drastic increase in a distorted perception of what their body should look like and how they can achieve the aesthetic look they desire. These are some of the most common misconceptions that we may overlook, that I often did and still do if I don’t take the time to critically reflect.

1.       The girl with the abs on Instagram is physically fit and thus knows how to train others.

Just because someone is lean and posts about being in the gym, that doesn’t mean that they actually have an education in anatomy and human movement.  Some of these women do and this is not to discredit their dedication. But some of these women are naturally lean with fast metabolisms. Some of these women promote healthy living but live an unhealthy lifestyle to get paid. Some of these women become so obsessive with their social media platform posting that they go to excessive measures to have that perfect stomach for their next post. ALL of these women do not look like this 24.7, especially not after they eat a large meal; they’re human just like the rest of us. We need to remember to be mindful that there is always more than meets the eye.

2.       She bought that flat tummy tea and waist trainer. She looks good so I should consider this purchase.

SHE IS PAID TO PROMOTE THIS TEA. SHE POSTS IT BECAUSE IT IS HELPING HER MAKE A LIVING, WHETHER IT PHYSICALLY POSITIVELY AFFECTED HER OR NOT. I’ve tried some detox teas before, and some of them do make you feel lighter overall. But many of those are temporary detoxes anyways that affect water weight. This is not a substitute for healthy eating and you will not look like that model after using the tea for a few weeks. That’s not to say you can’t experiment with different options to see what works well with you, but really keep in mind that marketing is the huge motivation behind many supportive posts on social media.

3.       She spends all her time in the gym, she’s so dedicated, I wish I had the motivation to be like that.

Props to all my go getter girls in the gym going hard daily, keep going hard. This again is not to bash down dedicated women who are working towards achieving any type of fitness related goal. This is just a reminder that there is more than meets the eye. Some women in this category are in the gym because they are channeling their lack of self-love into activity. Some of these women are struggling immensely on a spiritual and emotional level while trying to find comfort in a physical manifestation. Some of these women feel a loss of power in many areas of their lives so they resort to physical fitness to try to establish some sort of control. I was one of those “some women” for so long that it is engrained in my way of thinking and I must consciously break down my thoughts when I fall back into that pattern to remind myself that there is a life beyond control and living in peace is all about balance.

4.       She has great glutes and she’s selling her booty-builder program I should buy that.

I follow some of my favourite fitness females in the industry who have achieved amazing results and I admire their transformations and desire to help others. But I also constantly see images pop up on my popular page of photo-shopped, surgery-changed women who pretend that their bodies are self-made and try to promote the idea that if you follow their journey and/or buy their routines that you can look exactly like them. First off, many of these individuals themselves did not achieve the look they wanted so they turned to surgical procedures to trick you. Secondly, even if these amazing women do work hard naturally for their bodies they have to maintain a certain physique because they are using their body promotion as their full-time job, thus everything they do revolves around how they physically look to appeal to an audience. Not to mention the fact that we all have variety of genetics and anatomy so the same workout will cause a huge variation in results for anyone who completes it regularly. Again, this is not meant to be entirely negative this is just an attempt to remind you that there is so much going on behind the scenes that we need to remember when we feel negative about ourselves because of our comparisons to fitness professionals, whether they are real or not.

5.        The workout programs outlined and sold on people’s Instagram pages are less than half the battle, I would say they’re 25-30% of it. The super speedy 6-minute-high intensity workout posted by your favourite Instagram model is not entirely responsible for her results. She likely works out a couple times a day, a lot longer than 6 minutes and she also meal preps/ tracks macros. You’ve heard it a million times before but I’ll say it again, diet is CRUCIAL. Matter of fact I don’t even like the word diet because it insinuates restriction and suffering. The labeling and assumptions that go along with ‘diet’ are for an entire blog entry on another day. But whole food choices and portion awareness are what will define your outcomes, working out is like the side to the main dish. 

 

On that note, there are many positive women out there on social media as well. There are multiple fitness women using social media platforms to deliver healthy workout videos, nutritional information and more. Likewise, there are many amazing body positive accounts of women of all shapes and sizes embracing their body diversity and living in self-love. There are even women not posting transformation pictures that look backwards; going from smaller to larger weights and writing about how they gained their lives back when they stopped basing their worth on the shrinking numbers on the scale. I think the most important thing to remember is that there are multiple ways to define “fit” and “healthy”. Some of the strongest, most dedicated and educated female athletes/gym-girls I know are not aesthetically lean and ripped 24.7. They are not selling any product on their Instagram that they can make a profit from. We all know curvy, thick, slender, wide, tall, short women who are making healthy choices and incorporating healthy activities into their routines to improve their quality of life. We also all see perfect bodies on social media platforms and even when we’re conscious we unconsciously compare our physique to a dysfunctional standard. What is most scary about this phenomenon is that young girls growing up in this generation have access to the same social media platforms that we as adults do, and they are undeniably influenced by this false ideal of what a fit, healthy women’s body looks like. We must reach out to our children to help them develop the critical thinking skills and come to their own healthy conclusions about how media often promotes false advertising. We can teach them how to make healthy choices in their daily lives and how to find activities that they enjoy, to keep moving their bodies. But of equal importance is their education and practise of self-love. Undeniably we can start by living in a constant state of self-compassion, treating our own bodies with the respect they deserve. After all, leading by example is the most powerful expression of truth.

Yoga is a mentality, not just movement

As far back as I can remember I have always lived in a fast-paced manner. After I finished one activity I was quickly on to the next one to keep me occupied and feeling busy. As a matter of fact, before I was even done the original activity I would mentally already be concerned with the next two, or ten things I had to do. So I was never really in the moment at all, I was always, just going through the motions to complete whatever task I had to do, because that’s life, right? Even the sports I fell in love with and played for hours every day, trained for hours every week, were fast-paced and competitive. Soccer and hockey literally consumed me and the high I got on game day was irreplaceable, I used to wish I could pass the feeling on so those who didn’t play could feel it. I used to even feel guilty when I sat down for too much time in the day, or watched T.V. when it wasn’t for night relaxation before bed because it felt counter-productive. Sometimes I still do. It wasn’t until I went to Jamaica for the first time that I realized how fast paced I lived my life. At first it was hard for me to adjust to taking my time, even in the simple things like walking to a destination. I reflected to myself how funny it was that I wasn’t even aware that I’m always rushing, but before the end of the trip I felt an overwhelming calmness from adjusting to a flow-like-way of living. I lost that flow after I returned home but I often thought back to it to appreciate that calmness in my life. It took me a while to open my eyes and see that I could achieve that serenity no matter where in the world I was if I started to take my time. Just because I was moving a million miles a minute does not mean I was being more productive. If I practiced consciously moving slower through daily activities, such as making breakfast and walking on campus that would be a good place to start. I would drift in and out of these states where I was trying to move slower and allow myself to focus on one thing at a time. Then I would just forget about this conscious decision and divert right back to the rushing racehorse version of myself. Rushing in the a.m. to be ready to leave, rushing to fit the gym and yoga in, rushing to drive everywhere I went even though I wasn’t late. All I was doing to myself was creating anxiety in places that there was none, and living in that anxiety every single day.

Then I met yoga. Well we had met previously a few times and at the end of those hot classes I had felt reborn with an indescribable calmness bubble that I felt protected me. Nothing could touch me, divert me or hurt me. But yoga wasn’t a priority in my life because I still had this deep rooted mental disposition that it wasn’t as productive compared to other forms of activity, so I never truly committed to my practice. But on this third time that I met yoga again, at PYC Mississauga, I fell in love. A love so powerful that it will be a life-long affair. Here are some of the reasons hot yoga has guided me through my self-transformation and  continues to do every single day. I know the heat isn’t comfortable for everyone and I know yoga has all these stereotypes surrounding it like it’s too slow, boring, easy and an activity for moms to do. I challenge you to go to a hot yoga studio one day and try a power yoga class, I guarantee you’ll drop your biases by the end. Every athlete and every female + male friend I have encouraged to attend with me left the class saying “that was very challenging for me”, and if you don’t love a challenge it’s time to start learning to love those.

1.       Yoga teaches us that deep breathing is a powerful self healing tool

When we’re on the go we may not realize how shallow  our breathing is, especially since it happens unconsciously. When I learned to tune into my breath and consciously choose to make them deep and strong through my practice I experienced how breathing can transform our personal state of peace, within seconds. Of course, you have to be spiritually open and relaxed to allow this peace to overwhelm you, but I promise you’ll feel it.

2.       Yoga teaches us that slowness is not counter-productive.

The deep-flow classes, or even the power yoga classes where you’re required to hold poses for extended amounts of time are the most challenging for me. The sweat drips immediately, I feel the burn and at the end I feel the most relaxed because in the slowness I find strength. We hold a lot of tension in our hips, especially as athletes, so this style of class focuses on hip openers as well which leaves you feeling flexible and fabulous.

3.       Yoga shows you how powerful and detoxifying it is to sweat.

Of course, in this post I’m mostly referring to the hot classes where you’re dripping by the end. At first the sweating and heat of the room can be so uncomfortable that is may be unbearable until you get used to it. But I can’t think of a feeling that is more beautiful than the cleansing of your bodies toxins through deep twisting in your own sweat. I’ve had some stomach issues for the last little while and yoga has tremendously helped me so far, I can imagine what other health ailments yoga could improve as well.

4.       Yoga teaches us to tune into our bodies.

Some days you’re powerful in your poses, capable of holding all the balances, flexible as a pool noodle and a champion yogi. Other days you fall out of tree pose, downward dog doesn’t feel like a resting pose and you don’t feel like you’ll make it to the end of class. That’s okay! Yoga reminds us that our bodies are our guides and the messages they are sending us are for us to follow. Our body knows what our body needs, and yoga isn’t about fighting against what you need in your practice. Doing what you need to on that specific day to flow through your practice and showing yourself self-love the entire time is all you need to bring to your mat.

5.       Yoga reminds you that the discomfort eases if you soldier through it.

Some poses are so uncomfortable to hold that you feel like your body just can’t do it for another breath. But then you do it, and you realize your mind was just limiting you. You realize that more times than not, the longer you hold the pose, the more you can relax into it. That is the most beautiful realization.

6.       Yoga teaches us to find strength in surrender.

We spend so much our lives trying to remain in control, thinking that we will bring us the peace in our lives that we desire. We’re just blind to the fact that trying to force leaves us feeling depleted of energy. Yoga reminds us to surrender to our mats, to let the Earth hold us up through our flow. Letting go of that need to control every little outcome in our lives is truly how you manifest serenity.

7.       Yoga brings you into the present moment.

Similarly, to the post-game high I got from sports, yoga provides a similar floating feeling that I would connect to the in-moment concentration. When you are tuning in to your breath and bringing consciousness to your poses there isn’t time to worry about the fight you had with your significant other, or your list of chores to do tomorrow. Yoga provides you with the opportunity to feel the joy of living in the moment, and take that with you when you leave your mat.

8.       Yoga teaches you that your only competition is you.

Sure, sometimes you look around the class at an advanced yogi and think “wow I wish I could do that.” But yoga is a constant reminder that you are your only real competition. As you start to commit to your practice you feel yourself improving in different ways. For me it’s my increased range of motion and ability to maintain increased depth for longer periods of time in my poses, compared to when I began. It's equally the change I feel in my ability to pause and breath through stressful situations in my daily life and then questioning how I can overcome the challenge. It feels great to embrace those changes in your body and mind.

The most beautiful point of all is that there is so much more than yoga teaches you beyond this point. There is something new I learn every time I hit my mat and every time I tune into my breath. I think what I love the most is that yoga isn't an activity of movement I participate in for an hour, it's a self-empowering mentality I'll strive to live through in every moment of every day. I hope one day you can try and experience this freedom for yourself.