I don’t push through pain because I’ve done it enough to know that pain is a cautionary tale. In fact, the “No pain, no gain” mantra needs to disappear forever because it’s absolutely false. Pain usually means I’m doing too much, too fast, too soon and my body is about to go on strike. But in the past, while doped up on adrenaline, endorphins and youth, I’ve ignored all the pain signals that eventually landed me in the emergency room. Multiple times. And then I was relegated to rest and a boring regiment of PT exercises which really sucked as a professional dancer whose passions and income were wrapped up in my ability to perform.

because the masses are rejecting their dogma. We resist the idea that exercise is a necessary punishment for the reflection we see in the mirror. We know and believe that exercise isn’t just about whittling our body down to a certain shape and size so that it’s worthy of feeling seen, loved, and sexy. Like, can’t we simply workout to feel good? Can’t we workout ‘cause we wanna feel like a super-heroes; even in our middle-aged bodies?