I (Mary here) think it's great that the whole body positivity movement is starting to gain acceptance in the real world and I really hope we've seen the last of people literally starving for acceptance. I can only wish that age positivity had so many strong proponents. I'm sick of being treated like a nonentity in fitness classes, even ones where I can easily keep pace with the best students in the class. That's true even when I'm teaching. I see students brace for a "slow" class the minute I walk in, no matter how much ass I'm ready to kick. Even when they have to stop halfway through the class, I'm still somehow irrelevant.
This video is from a few weeks ago--HUGE SHOUT OUT TO DRISHTIQ YOGA for being an exception to the above rant. I'm in the back on your left showing some of my stuff. This just goes to show that not everybody ranks their students or fellow students by age. I felt beyond welcome and my (non-yogi) partner in crime (center back in printed leggings) said she felt the same.
I took two classes this week that took this from a simmer to a boil. I took two weeks off work over the holidays and was bent on treating myself to classes that would challenge me and get me closer to my fitness goals. At the head of both classes was a smiley young instructor straight from central casting. Honestly, neither class would have challenged my sometimes Kaphic dog. They were slow, uninispired and aimed at the lowest common denominator, and I never broke a sweat. There was no creativity and neither class was close to the sizzle reels I'd seen for those formats, nor did they match the energy of classes I've taken with "mature" teachers from NYC to LA. For mature, read "Old Farts" to the managers of trendy gyms and studios most places. Shout out to a few who disagree, including The Ailey Extension. And shoutout to Athleta for their January 2017 90-year-old cover girl.
Okay, so rant over. I don't want to be given extra credit for trying, but I also don't want to be defined by my demographics. My psychographic and those of millions like me make us relevant and appealing as both students and teachers. Hear me roar, add your voice. Video to come.