Restoring Sanity and Self-Love, One Inch at a Time
“Motherhood won’t be my excuse to let myself go.”
-Every Woman Before Motherhood
We’ve all been there, right? We have high hopes for making ourselves a priority. We all read and hear about taking care of ourselves, and how “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” But it’s always the same story: not enough time, not enough money, not quick enough results. Inevitably, for most of us, we end up not coming first on the list of priorities. For a lot of us, we aren’t even in the top 5 or 10 on the list.
I became that mom. The mom who stopped caring about myself. It was a very slow progression, but one day I was standing in the kitchen doing the dishes for the thousandth time that week, and it hit me: I’d let myself go, both physically and emotionally.
When was the last time I showered? When was the last time I did something without my son in tow? When was the last time I did something just for me, just because I wanted to?
I was embarrassed by the answers. Especially the shower one, but we won’t go there.
Something had to change.
It was time to put myself a little higher on the priority list. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, and I knew it was up to me to make a change. After some research, I decided on Pure Barre classes. I’ve had experience with barre classes in the past, and loved them, but never really made the time to attend them. I discovered there were several Pure Barre locations around town, and one opening very close to my house and my son’s preschool in Collierville. I basically had no excuse at this point.
The changes were immediate.
I felt stronger. I looked stronger. I slept better on days I attended class. I woke up more refreshed, and I was more inclined to make healthier choices in other aspects of my day because it felt good to continue what I started during my Pure Barre classes.
The best part of all, aside from the physical changes? I had an hour devoted to myself. There was no worrying about my son, or my husband, or the emails in my inbox, or the pet hair accumulating on our floors. It was just me focusing on me.
Everything is modifiable.
My biggest worry was that working out would aggravate pre-existing injuries. As someone who grew up behind a barre, I have a great love for ballet. The problem is, my body can no longer handle the stress of a true ballet class. I stopped dancing years ago due to injuries from a car accident, and my biggest fear was that the pain that haunted me for years afterward would come back once I started attending class. I love that every single thing during a Pure Barre class can be modified. And the best part? You don’t feel like you’re giving up when you do the modification. There is always someone else who is also doing the modified exercise. And trust me when I say, even the modifications will get the blood pumping and the muscles working.
The teachers encourage you, so it’s easy to forgive them for the soreness.
I’ve taken classes from just about every teacher at Pure Barre in our area, and I can tell you without feeling too terrible about it that I’ve wanted to hate them. The problem is, although they’re pushing you and making your muscles shake and burn, they’re just so nice about it. They quickly go from torturer to friend after class–each and every one of them is genuinely interested in the happiness of the women in their classes. You just can’t help but love them.
Even when you shoot them the evil eye when they tell you there are 10 more seconds left in your plank.
If I haven’t been able to convince you yet, a class will definitely do the trick. One class is all it took me to become a barre fan and lover. The challenge was addicting, the people are encouraging, and the atmosphere is just plain fun.
Want to try a class without quite committing yet? Come to one of our Meet Us At the Barre events!
For only $5, you can attend a class at the Pure Barre in East Memphis or Collierville (or hey, go to both!). We’ll also have wine for after class, so make sure you plan to hang around when class is over and chat with other moms and enjoy some wine!
Get tickets to our event in East Memphis:
Get tickets to our event in Collierville:
