I've been thinking about this more after reading about The Sports Bra Challenge, "a charity fitness event in which people will gather to support one another in accepting the person they are today; their bodies, their minds, their insecurities." The idea is that on May 17, 2012, workout and yoga studios will invite women to special classes to work out in only their sports bras (and shorts/pants, of course) in the name of body confidence. All proceeds from the classes will go to benefit City of Hope's Positive Image Center and S.E.A.K. Foundation.
So could I do it? Well, in my entire life, I've only exercised in shorts and a sports bra in public one time. It was summer. It was really hot. (Or so I thought; I was still living in Michigan and hadn't moved to Houston and experienced a Houston summer yet.) I had spent the day at the pool and when it came time for my run, I was so hot, so brown, so sweaty, that I just couldn’t bear the thought of putting on clothes. So I decided to just…not. I mean, it’s just a body right? It’s not perfect, but it’s just a body. Being naked is natural for bodies. It was the kind of hot day in which most men would just go shirtless…no matter what their bodies looked like. So I decided to do the same. I figured that if I felt self-conscious, then, at the very least, I'd run faster!
The whole experience was surprisingly liberating. By the end of my run, I felt awesome. I felt hot -- like, attractive hot, which isn't always how I feel after a run. But I was also reminded that my body is...just a body. It's not some thing I should worry about so much. It's just a body. It goes running! It goes to yoga! It gets tan! Sometimes…it gets hot so then it decides to wear less clothes!
Thinking about that day, and thinking about how great yoga has been for my body image, I'm pretty sure that yes, I'm totally up for the Sports Bra Challenge 2012 and, really, for rocking just my sports bra for all of my hot yoga classes from here on out.
Do you practice yoga in just a sports bra (or without a shirt if you're male)? If not, would you be willing to take the Sports Bra Challenge?
- Rachel
Would You Work Out in a Sports Bra in Public? [Huffington Post]
How Much Are You Willing to Reveal: The Sports Bra Challenge 2012 [Huffington Post]
I've wanted to show up to class in less clothing before, but didn't want to make others feel uncomfortable. The thought of having my students or fellow practitioners murmuring "What's SHE wearing?" always stopped me from doing what I really wanted. But if we can agree to all show up in sports bras, I'd totally be there!
ReplyDeleteCertainly there should be confidence and no shame in one's body. To that end, I can see that wearing less in the name of body confidence is a good thing. I would suggest, however, that in the context of the yoga studio, it addresses only half of the situation.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I am repeating the obvious, but the amount of clothing one wears around others, especially in the more intimate setting of the yoga studio, should in some measure be regulated by one's regard for others' sensibilities. If I distract someone by what I am or am not wearing, then I have disrupted their practice.
What one wears does not wear is certainly up to him/her, but he/she will not be the only person affected by the decision.
silly me, I missed a word in the last paragraph:
ReplyDeleteWhat one wears *or* does not wear...