This blog supports all kinds of bodies finding joy doing fitness activities. I like to think I do too. But recently I have realized that being truly welcoming to everyone is harder than I thought.
I take a jazz class every week. It’s a small group, and none of us are particularly good. This year there only four of us. Two have some sort of intellectual disability (they both compete in the Special Olympics and I recognize one from the Dragonfly program that the dance school runs for people with Down Syndrome).
This slows down the class as it takes longer for our teacher to explain the steps. I can feel myself getting impatient. The fact that I’m only doing the class for fun makes no difference to my competitive perfectionist self.
I’m working to shift my perspective. I love this class and my teacher. I’ll never feel the pure unadulterated joy of my two classmates because I’m just too self-conscious and worried about getting everything right.
But I can try. And I can practice being a little more patient while I’m at it.
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Your comments her and on your ballet class are ones that most of us probably feel at times. Do our best (yes, but my best doesn’t always feel very satisfying – so your teachers advice is great)…And now, be fine with others whose best, for whatever reason, isn’t much like your best (I take some fairly low level classes for fun, and it’s sometimes hard not to feel a bit frustrated). So thanks for getting these thoughts out there.