Bring Back You: Building Strength, Rebuilding Self

#MindBodyConnection

“Fitness can rebuild what's broken. It can make you feel powerful, help you love yourself, and affirm your worth. It can teach you self-care and how to offer yourself a gift when you most need it. It can help you re-learn autonomy when you've forgotten. Most importantly, it allows you to shed old layers of yourself that no longer serve you so that you can become the person you are meant to be.”

I’ve turned to movement for my mental health many times—rock climbing, kayaking, and dance are just a few examples. When life is steady, it’s easy to forget how important the mind-body connection is. But when things get tough, my body slows down too. I lose energy and feel sluggish, right when I need strength and self-care the most.

My weekly fitness routine changed without my input. The Y switched up class days, times, and instructors, and now I feel a bit lost. What I can control is how I rebuild. I think of this as my infrastructure, a term I picked up from my engineer husband. Part of that is my independence and physical health, the mind-body connection. Just as important is my social world.

When I started the new gym schedule, I didn’t realize how important it was to reconnect. I joined the new classes without hesitation, but my usual group of friends didn’t feel as familiar anymore. The social side didn’t transfer over. For about two years, we saw each other several times a week—quick check-ins, birthday jokes, and college football updates. I had good friends who helped me rebuild, and now it seems I need to rebuild those social connections again.

What I know is this: Movement gives me clarity. Friendship gives me courage.

This post is dedicated to Don, Desney, Robbie, Cathy, Roger, Cindy, Mary Ann, Rebecca, Ann, James, Wayne, Harvey, and many more. Friends who kept me accountable. Who made me laugh. Who reminded me that my fitness infrastructure isn’t only about strength, but also about the people who remind me I have it.