I grew up in a family that prioritized health and what we put in our bodies. While this sounds positive and healthy, what it meant was a lot of jumping from “healthy” diet to diet trying to find the “optimal diet”. That coupled with being a typical child (who loved a delicious treat) and a competitive athlete in sports that weren’t known for positive body image, I grew up with a skewed view of what my body should look like. Looking back now, I was thin most of my life; but I was always tracking what I ate, making sure it fit the vegetarian, vegan, raw food, Gerson, whatever diet we were currently eating as a family. Additionally, I knew that my mother loved fitness videos and staying strong, and we would do together as well (but of course would track the calories lost in our calorie tracker). I learned that we can always be healthier, stronger, better. (Cue perfectionism)

Unfortunately, all this coupled together eventually led to an unhealthy binge and exercise cycle in college (because what kind of college cheerleader doesn’t have a perfectly flat stomach)? Eventually, it became a binge and purge cycle that lasted several years. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s and with my current husband that I started to examine my previous experiences with food, and diet and realized not all people knew how many calories are in a bag of chips. Additionally, I learned that some people can have chips or cookies in the house and not eat the whole bag in a day! (WHAT)?! Lucky for me, my husband’s modeling of his healthy habits, coupled with some internal work and journaling myself, led to a newfound relationship and appreciation with my body.

During this time, I also started teaching fitness classes. I realized that exercising didn’t have to be about weight loss, it could be about getting stronger and feeling healthier. I started teaching boot camps, but once I got pregnant found intense exercise was too much for my body. My first pregnancy was when I found Yoga through Les Mills Body Flow, and fell in love.

After my first pregnancy I found my next love, OULA. I realized that with a young child I was too tired to work out “hard” and needed my workouts at this time of my life to be fun and feel as though I wasn’t working out. OULA fit the bill. Through my next 3 pregnancies and 2 children, OULA and yoga continued to be the best fit for my life. I definitely had ups and downs in terms of my body image as my body experienced 4 pregnancies and 3 children, but OULA reminded me it’s not about how it looks, and moving my body helped me realize we all go through stages and as long as we are taking care of ourselves that is what is most important.