Opinion: Why fitness should be about strength and self-love not looks

Danielle Harper is fuelled by a deep sense of wellbeing; the movement should be a celebration of oneself.
Danielle Harper, a Los Angeles-based health and wellness expert, writes this monthly health and wellbeing column. In addition to a BS in neuroscience, Danielle is a certified Gyrotonic ®, pilates, and yoga teacher and the founder of Alma Studio in Havelock North.
OPINION
Unpopular opinion – most women exercise their bodies in order to achieve a certain aesthetic – that aesthetic is a vestige of the patriarchy.
Thin, but not too thin. Long, tan legs – no hair. Chiselled, but not too chiselled. Big round bum. Rock hard abs. Big perky boobs – is that even possible? You know the look.
In my role, I witness many women punishing their bodies with exercise, doing cardio to “burn off those extra calories”, and going to pilates classes to achieve that long and lean look that has been sold as desirable, lithe and sexy.
Women go to the gym and lift weights that are far too heavy for themselves. Women compare themselves to others. And I understand it all.
I also used to be this way. Growing up in LA, where what you look like is basically the currency that you trade on, I was hyper-fixated on what I looked like.
I would go to the gym and pound out the cardio, lift the weights, and do the burpees, all in the hopes that I could get that little bit thinner – that little bit closer to “perfect”.
As I have grown older and had the benefit of working in the fitness industry, I have watched the outcomes of many other women who pursued these methods – methods that pursue proverbial “results”.
I have come to realise how deeply flawed this approach to health and wellness really is and how it deprives women of the true delight of their bodies.
My approach has morphed and changed, and I have settled into a comfortable partnership with my body. Discovering its intricacies, the details of which foods agree best, which exercise style gives me the most enjoyment, when to take rest – these are the details that matter.
Rather than railing against the body to fit into a certain stereotype, I have come to realise that the best possible guiding lights are to focus on health as the goal and prioritise longevity.
Wanting to maintain a healthy weight is a great goal – but the reason behind that goal is just as important.
Wanting to be thin to fit into that little black dress is a very different motivation than desiring to maintain a healthy weight to reach your 85th birthday as strong as you are now.
Focusing on health versus aesthetics ironically achieves the aesthetics as a byproduct.
Healthy people look a certain way because their bodies shine from within. The body is happy, connected to mind and soul, fed nutritious food in the right proportions, and moved well with alignment and precision. It glows.
My wish for women is that they can leave the patriarchal focus of the snatched waist and the round bum behind and instead focus on the intention behind their fitness, which will exponentially improve the quality of their very existence.
The intention is to love your body and give it the care and attention it needs through good food, appropriate exercise, sleep and rest.
The intention is to feel so amazing after a yoga class that you keep coming back and building some consistency because of that feeling.
The intention of finding alignment in the body so that body can carry heavy things right into your old age. I want women to discover their bodies as tools for joy rather than objects of scorn.