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Most people don’t know that yoga is largely responsible for forever changing my relationship with my body (and my anxiety, to boot). If you’re not someone who talks to me regularly, you’d never know that it’s a practice to which I am entirely dedicated.

Partly, that’s because my relationship with yoga feels personal — like it’s the one thing that’s mine and mine alone.

Partly, it’s because I have a complicated relationship with being a white person practicing an ancient Indian tradition. And partly, it’s because I’m a body acceptance and eating disorder recovery activist, and anything fitness-related can be triggering for a lot of my social media pals.

Yoga, for me, was a savior — and yoga, of course, is more than just the physical asana practice and its physiological benefits.

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But as I scroll through social media (and sometimes, rarely, talk to people IRL), I notice that a lot of people aren’t taking these same precautions.

And of course you’re not.

You’re allowed to practice fitness in whatever way feels good to you, and you can share about it online if you want to. It’s your Instagram account, after all.

But if you’re a social justice advocate, you’re put in a weird position when you want to defend that right, even when the people who follow your Instagram are saying that they feel triggered or shamed by it.

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As such, I’m not writing this article to tell you why you shouldn’t post about your second shift at the gym or to chastise you for not prioritizing the needs of folks with body image struggles or complicated relationships with exercise.

I’m writing this article because people have asked me, “How do I balance sharing about this important aspect of my life while causing the least amount of harm possible?”

And that’s a really, really good question.

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If someone is triggered by brunettes, there’s not much I can do about that, outside of dyeing my hair regularly. And since I don’t think the made-up person in question is going to foot that bill, and since I can’t shout “Content Warning: Brown Hair!” whenever I walk into a room, there isn’t much I can do about that except be understanding.

And while that seems like a ridiculous comparison, let’s remember that people can be triggered by a-ny-thing. People can be triggered by spoons. People can be triggered by the color blue. People can be triggered by Taylor Swift (as someone who follows my Tumblr is — and, thankfully, told me).

Because a trigger is, simply, something that throws us back into a traumatic event or period of our lives.

As such, for some people, discussions about or images of fitness will always be harmful, no matter what language you couch it in.

At the same time, don’t defend yourself by telling them that they’re wrong or that you’re entitled to post about whatever you want to. It’s not always fair to throw someone a casual “GTFO then!” when they tell us that we’ve hurt them; we have to at least pay attention to their reasoning.

Because while, of course, you’re allowed to post whatever you want on your own page, we still have to be responsible for how that affects other people.

Instead, recognize that this is about them — not about you — and that all you’re obligated to respond with is “I apologize for that. I hope that you’re taking self-care to regain a sense of safety.”

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And in the case of food and fitness, we have some really hosed up ways of talking and thinking — and they definitely tie together.

We’ve been raised in a society to think about food and fitness as moral issues, because we’re been raised in a society to believe that our bodies, in and of themselves, are moral issues (see point #10 in this article). As such, we often apply a bootstrap mentality to the ways in which we discuss food and fitness.

That is, we think of fitness as something that people who work hard do — and we degrade those who don’t do it — most often because of how fat-shaming ties into this.

And even if you don’t actively state that you’re a “better” person for working out or that those who don’t are “worse” people, the ways that we talk about food and fitness absolutely do imply that dichotomy.

And even if you mean these in helpful, inspirational, or motivational ways (even if only directed at yourself), you’re still using the same language that diet culture uses to make people feel ashamed of their bodies.

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I know that at first glance, this may seem like a bit of unfair frontloading work for you to put in just because a handful of people don’t like your fitness posts.

But if you really do want to try to create an environment where people can more readily navigate the fitness world that you’re inadvertently creating on their timeline, one awesome way to do that would be to filter your posts.

For example, with my aforementioned Tumblr follower who is reminded of her abusive ex-partner when she sees or hears Taylor Swift, I simply asked her what kind of a tag I could throw on those posts so that Tumblr would filter them out for her. Hashtag Taylor Swift. Easy enough.

And even though Facebook doesn’t have quite as easy an opt-out option, you can still make it happen: You can create lists of which friends you purposely share (or don’t share) information with.

I have a “Family” list, for instance, that I often block from viewing posts that would cause too much familial drama. If you know the folks who are triggered by your fitness posts (or if you want to flat-out ask), then you could create a list like this!

Or you can offer a simple content warning.

Adding “CW: Fitness” or “CW: Body Picture” to the start of a post doesn’t add that much more work for you, and it can do a lot of good for folks who want to avoid knowing about your protein shake or seeing how many abs we can count on you now. It gives folks the option to engage.

And if you’re really, really, really into your sport or activity, you can also potentially create an account especially for that. That way, there’s a place where you can post that stuff where you know that everyone following you is doing so with the understanding that that’s what will be popping up in their feeds.

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And just like it’s common sense that folks with body image issues, for instance, don’t want to see numbers detailing calories or weights, generally speaking, numbers of any kind related to fitness can be triggering or can feel shaming — even if you don’t mean them to be (which I know you don’t).

Frosted Flake posted:

ExtraQuiet posted:

how about fitness dick in yer mouth

Frosted Flake posted:

This is the author btw



big loving surprise she does yoga.

Revenants Return posted:

Deadlifts

Enfield posted:

look at all that stupid poo poo i didnt read

Enfield posted:

look at all that stupid poo poo i didnt read

JiveHonky posted:

"words"

antitroll posted:

Ha, ha, you're fat.

Frosted Flake posted:

This is the author btw









big loving surprise she does yoga.

Frosted Flake posted:

It's because food makes you feel good. In 2016 anything that makes you feel good is self-care and is therefore good and beyond reproach.

Cupcakes are tasty and make me feel better about my life, and if you ever question that I'll start tweeting about you!!

Frosted Flake posted:

JiveHonky posted:

Some of us are able to be active – and some of us want to be active – but not all of us are capable, and not all of us want to be.

Slender people are allowed to enjoy video games as much as going to the gym, and their bodies aren’t considered indications of how healthy they may be.

Not only that, but only being “acceptable” in your body because you’re seen as active and healthy is ableist. Only finding a body that is “fit” as beautiful or valuable, and fetishizing the ability to exercise, tells us as a society that people with disabilities, people with health conditions, people who are not capable of running a six-minute mile, aren’t worth being respectful to, too.

And that is total bullshit Revenant you human scab.

Nooner posted:

I get it, but like, A nice grilled chicken breast with some carrots and green beans will still make you feel real good and also it isnt 1600 calories

ExtraQuiet posted:

why is her tat sad, shocked and upset at her twat?

8 track betamax posted:

Ugh...she needs to get back on that eating disorder because those fat rolls are gross

JiveHonky posted:

final2percent posted:

i also veered into everydayfeminism today

Un chien andalou posted:

I was super triggered at the bar last night because everyone else was there with friends having a grand old time and this reminded me how alone and unloved I am.

Un chien andalou posted:

I was super triggered at the bar last night because everyone else was there with friends having a grand old time and this reminded me how alone and unloved I am.

Frosted Flake posted:

It's frightening. Find anything good?