I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's no coincidence that you're listening, and I definitely

need to hear this message that how it feels is so much more important than how it looks,

which is what we're going to unpack today. And in case you're watching me on video thinking,

what the heck is she wearing? Don't worry, it'll all make sense at the end. Hi, hello. Welcome to

Mary's Cup of Tea, the self-love podcast for women. Though all self-lovers are welcome here. I'm Mary.

I write and speak about self-love and I'm best known for my book, the gift of self-love,

and I also host retreats for women. And this is the podcast

that will inspire you to love yourself. So earlier today, I was taking a Pilates class.

I've been really dealing with chronic pain, trying to find a solution to heal my lower back

slash SI hip joint sciatic issues. Anyway, I decided to go to the Matt Pilates

class that's included in my gym. And this instructor is so badass. I mean, she is just so good at

communicating exactly what's going on in your body. And mind you, the room has zero mirrors in it.

My hot take is that fitness classes should not have mirrors in them, especially 360-degree

mirrors.

I think that is so unnecessary.

Like my bar class has mirrors on every single wall.

And yeah, maybe there's something to be said about like checking your form in the mirror. But I think that a good instructor will be able to

walk you through how to make those adjustments verbally so that you actually feel it in your body

without needing to look at yourself. But anyway, she is just wonderful.

And one thing she said today during class, she said, take your ego out of it. If you're feeling

your hip flexors or quads, bend your knees. Take the ego out of it. And that message just

ring in my mind. Like take your ego out of it. It doesn't matter how it looks. It doesn't matter if your legs are perfectly straight. It matters what's being activated in your body. It matters how you're connecting to the muscles, what's working. And my body, I don't know about yours, but the big thing that I learn in Pilates is that all of our bodies compensate

...