What's Your Movement Identity?

We all tell ourselves a story about who we are in relation to movement, activity and sports. This story becomes our movement identity and can have a significant impact on our health and happiness if held too tightly, particularly if we’re also struggling with disordered eating.

Whatever movement identity we developed in our childhood, it’s possible to hold on to that with little update throughout our life. A lot of emotional pain is caused by trying to force our current selves in to old identities that no longer fit us or our bodies. We are all so much more complex than these over simplified movement identities we gain through the years and it can be so relieving to really identify the labels you have been carrying with you and check if they are relevant to your life now.

So what’s your movement identity? Is this identity even current or a throwback to some distant time when you were labelled the college track star? the clumsy kid? or were consistently picked first (or last) for team sports?

When it comes to disordered eating and body image issues – movement often plays a part in the disorder. Perhaps it’s a behavior we have relied upon to maintain weight and ‘purge’ calories, punish ourselves or prove our worth, or perhaps exercise is something we’ve avoided all together, missing out on the great mind-body benefits it can offer due to fear, body shame and comparisons to others.

So, what's your movement identity? Do you want to alter it or the way it effects you? I can help.