In the All Out Effort community, we strive to connect deeply with our bodies, environments, and each other. This journey often reveals how societal conditioning shapes our movements, behaviors, and interactions. One of the most pervasive influences is body shame—a powerful force that restricts our physical expressions while overriding our executive functions with survival mechanisms, such as the fight-flight-freeze-fawn response. To foster ease and fluidity in movement, we must unlearn shame.
The Roots of Body Shame
We live in a society that constantly bombards us with unrealistic standards of beauty and physicality. From a young age, we are conditioned to view our bodies through a lens of deficiency and imperfection. This conditioning is not superficial; it penetrates deep into our unconscious, affecting how we move and interact with the world. Body shame is a societal construct designed to control and oppress. It teaches us to apologize for our bodies, leading to movements that reflect this internalized shame.
Trauma is not only about catastrophic events but also about the subtle, chronic stressors that accumulate over time and store in our psyches and bodies. These stressors can include societal pressures and body shaming, leading to a state of constant tension and hypervigilance. In response, our bodies adopt survival mechanisms, which influence how we move.
Fight-Flight-Freeze-Fawn in Movement
When people are tense and scared, their bodies trigger not only fight or flight but also freeze and fawn. Each of these responses can be seen in our movements:
Fight: Tension and readiness to confront or defend, often resulting in stiff, quick, big, and aggressive movements.
Flight: The urge to escape, characterized by rapid, often disjointed movements.
Freeze: Stillness, rigid posture, breath-holding, and a lack of movement to become invisible or to process.
Fawn: People-pleasing behaviors, where movements may be overly accommodating or submissive, apologizing for taking up space or moving idiosyncratically.
Fawning can manifest as explicit statements or implied actions that amount to apologizing for our bodies or movements, reflecting deeply ingrained body shame. Fawning behavior can also say, "I am already well aware I am not good enough," or be a means to distract from the shame.
Body Shame and Tension
In All Out Effort, we seek to achieve ease and fluidity in our movements. However, achieving this state is challenging when body shame creates constant tension.
One client noted after starting with us, "I realized how I subconsciously suck in my stomach, tense up my core, and restrict my breathing on a daily basis because of body shame." This realization is crucial in unlearning ingrained habits and reclaiming natural, unburdened movement.
Unlearning Shame
At All Out Effort, we emphasize unlearning the patterns of tension and self-restriction imposed by body shame. This process involves:
Awareness: Recognizing the ways body shame manifests in our movements and daily lives.
Acceptance: Embracing our bodies as they are without judgment or apology.
Reclaiming Natural Movement: Practicing movements that feel natural and unforced, focusing on the flow of energy rather than rigid control.
Radical Self-Love: Cultivating a deep, unconditional love for our bodies rather than viewing them as objects to be criticized.
Creating Safe and Inclusive Movement Spaces
Safety and inclusivity are paramount in All Out Effort. We create environments where diverse bodies and movements are celebrated. This approach contrasts with rigid, prescriptive training models that exclude or marginalize individuals based on their physical abilities or appearances. By fostering a safe and supportive community, clients can explore and expand their movement repertoire without fear of judgment or failure.
The Intersection of Movement and Radical Self-Love
Radical self-love involves embracing our bodies as they are and rejecting societal standards that perpetuate shame and inadequacy. At All Out Effort, this philosophy translates into movements that honor and celebrate our bodies' capabilities and uniqueness. Clients learn to move with intention, embrace their natural rhythm and tempo, and develop a deeper connection with their bodies and the environment.
Embracing Radical Self-Love Through Movement
Unlearning body shame and embracing radical self-love is both challenging and transformative. By understanding how societal conditioning impacts our movements and behaviors, we can begin to reclaim our bodies and move with ease and confidence. At All Out Effort, we focus on physical training as well as healing and self-discovery. Our bodies are not apologies—they are powerful, dynamic, and deserving of love and respect.
Embrace your movement journey with compassion for yourself and others. Let your movements reflect the freedom and joy of a body unburdened by shame. Let's exist and move in space unapologetically and dismantle the systems that constrain us.
Nourish your body and stay kind to yourself.
– Sam
