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Thing is, it’s privileged as hell to notice bein

Thing is, it’s privileged as hell to notice being annoyed by upper back tension.⁣
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To have the space to recognize that ✨ this ✨ is what I notice about my body. That ✨ this ✨ is what I notice I’m feeling distracted about regarding my body.⁣
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And, this where I’ve found myself the past few weeks.⁣
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I’m annoyed at the distraction. I notice the privilege of it.⁣
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And, I want to manage it (…eliminate it, fast) as a means to feeling more comfortable in my body, to show up more present in my whole life.⁣
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For me, it’s resistance training that always wipes out these tension-y, tired, draggy feelings in my body.⁣
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Today was a workout direct from To Pregnancy Beyond 👉🏼👉🏼 our online fitness coaching program for people who pregnant, postpartum, and parents who identify as womxn.⁣
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With some minor modifications because my available equipment is one mini band, one resistance band and one dumbbell.⁣
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The first circuit in the workout was:⁣
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3x8 Band Overhead Press⁣
3x12 Band Goblet Squat⁣
3x12 Band Pull Aparts⁣
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Feeling 73% better after that, but maybe mostly because there were no children screaming at each other or me during this brief interlude. 🤣 🤣

Every week for the last 2.5 years, we have posted

Every week for the last 2.5 years, we have posted a podcast episode on our show, To Birth and Beyond.
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It has been our intention over this time to amplify and centre people who don't look and live like us. ⁣
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We must continue to do a more aggressive and intentional job of this.⁣
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Myself and my co-host, @holistichealthphysio, are both Canadian, white womxn, living with abundant privilege.⁣
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And, we've noticed some painful realities in our podcast statics that have been highlighted over the last month.⁣
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At the end of May, we made the decision to re-air episodes for the month of June (5 shows) that were conversations with guests who are Black womxn. ⁣
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Every single time that we have published an episode with a Black person or womxn of colour, those episodes are downloaded and listened to at lesser rates.⁣
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The episodes where white womxn are guests are downloaded more, in comparison.⁣
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ALWAYS.⁣
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What has been interesting to see in the stats through June 2020, is that these re-aired episodes have been download at nearly double their rates than they were on their original air dates through 2018 - present.⁣
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....PAUSE.⁣
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Who are you listening to? ⁣
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Are those voices diverse? ⁣
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Are they offering you insight and perspective into how people live who are not like you?⁣
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Are you listening to, learning from, and taking direction from Black womxn and womxn of colour?⁣
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If you're continuing to be a part of the community and to engage with my work, I implore you to make this your (continued) intention moving forward. ⁣
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To be clear, we give no f*cks about reaching certain numbers in the stats for our own egos. We do not get paid to do the podcast (...we'd love to though, 🤣). We PAY to record and produce the podcast.⁣
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We will continue to record and publish episodes that we care deeply about, regardless of what the stats look like.⁣
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My hope here is that we, as white people, continue to notice and question our behaviours.⁣
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Listen to Black womxn. Listen to womxn of colour. Follow their leadership.⁣
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Ps. You can listen to all 127 episodes of the @tobirthandbeyondpodcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your pods. ✨

Today is July 1. Recognized as Canada Day.⁣ ⁣

Today is July 1. Recognized as Canada Day.⁣
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Only in the last few years have I begun to question what the purpose of this day stands for.⁣
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Who it includes. Who it excludes. How harmful this day - acting as a spotlight of pride for this country - can feel for Indigenous people in Canada.⁣
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I’m a white Canadian. I won’t be celebrating today. At the *very fucking least*, how could I celebrate my country with a deeply painful history, with realities that persist, that I don’t even fully understand?⁣
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I’ll be reading. I’ll be continuing to learn and take direction from Indigenous people.⁣
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What follows is from @chiefladybird and might you too start here? ✨✨⁣
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“I originally made this for Canada 150, but I’m just going to repost it every year because we resist every. fucking. day.⁣
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I made this in honour of all my relations who resist by existing; who survive and thrive; who speak the truth through words, art, action, and love; who strive to learn their languages & connect with the land; who will continue thriving for longer than the next 153 years because we've already survived genocide, assimilation and erasure; who are hardened by our daily struggles but kept soft by the resilience of our youth; who remain hopeful as we lift each other up and stand together in solidarity; who centre the voices that need to be centred.⁣
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We know we have been here longer than 153 years and we will always be here. We do not celebrate Kkkanada. We celebrate Indigenous excellence.”
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#chiefladybirdart

[Best of To Birth and Beyond] Body Image, Race, an

[Best of To Birth and Beyond] Body Image, Race, and Intersectional Feminism with Chrissy King. ✨⁣
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On today’s @tobirthandbeyondpodcast we are re-airing an episode with friend and colleague, @iamchrissyking. 🥰⁣
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In this episode, we chat with Chrissy who, amongst other identifiers, is a writer, speaker, strength coach, and advocate for anti-racism, diversity, inclusion and equity in the wellness industry.⁣
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We talk about race, racism, the fitness and health industries, intersectional feminism, body image, body liberation and how all of these topics are inextricably linked.⁣
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For our fellow health practitioners: the conversations Chrissy brings forth regarding racism, whiteness and inequities in fitness and health can be uncomfortable and also 💯💯 necessary for us to grasp, question and work to dismantle.⁣
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Go listen, or re-listen to this ep, on tobirthandbeyond.com, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen in. ❤️

[LAST CALL] The memberships for To Pregnancy and B

My hope is that you can become less distracted by

Our exercises and workout programs marketed to “

Our exercises and workout programs marketed to “build a booty” and “grow those glutes” are appropriating Black culture and are harmful. Our booty building workout programs, memes, and before/after photos showing ‘glute gains’ are problematic when coming from a white person. If you’re a white trainer, coach, physiotherapist, physical therapist, movement professional, etc wondering if you fit into this example then you do, too! For more details on why this is harmful, please see @ihartericka’s recent post speaking about Saartije Baartman. Then, pop over to Google to learn more about Saartije. Afterwards, keep Googling “appropriation of Black bodies” for more reading. Particularly in the prenatal and postnatal fitness and health space, of which I am in, we talk a lot about the importance of building strong glute muscles. We talk a lot about flat “mum bums” and how we need to fix this. But, why does this need fixing? What is at the roots of our messaging about bums? The truth is that for many people, especially those who are pregnant, postpartum, managing pelvic floor symptoms, focusing on their pelvic health, trying to reduce lower back pain 👉🏼👉🏼 it can be helpful for them to focus on building strength in the gluteal muscles. So, I wonder if might we consider just saying exactly that?  It may help you in the function of your body with muscular strength gained. You might experience reduced low back discomfort. You might have less SI joint pain. You might feel more powerful in your running. You might like the sensation of burn-y glute muscles in a workout because afterwards you find that your torso feels stronger when you lift your kids in awkward positions. GREAT!
 Further, what I’m always considering, if we can’t market fitness to our people without tying it to a body part growing or shrinking then maybe we need to get better at our jobs? Might we consider it?

If you want a workout program that allows you to k

Two years ago on this day I was starting the recov

Two years ago on this day I was starting the recovery from the surgery that helped birth this baby. Throughout that pregnancy and when making the decisions I was able make about the birth, I became much more aware of my privileges in action and how they were directly benefiting me. I was able to easily access midwifery care in my small town that was a 5 minute drive away. I waited until 37 weeks of pregnancy to decide how I wanted to birth this baby with practitioners giving me space and time to do so. I opted out of certain ‘standard of care’ procedures for myself and baby and was met with, “do your research and choose what’s best for your family” responses. While I may have felt nervous about the surgery and recovery itself, it had nothing to do with my fears of trauma or death due of medical racism. I trusted in the (fully white, if I remember correctly) medical team, that they would do whatever they needed to and could to keep us safe. The medical team showed me the utmost respect. Listened to me. Cared about what I wanted. Checked in with me constantly throughout. You cannot separate this from my whiteness. My class privilege. My able-body. My gender presentation. My body size privilege.  ALL. OF. IT. Every detail could have been different for someone who doesn’t look how I look. Have a history like I have. Live where I live in the conditions I live in. 
Working with pregnant and postpartum people in fitness coaching, in our To Pregnancy and Beyond online program, is nuanced. It must be when considering one’s physical body, of course. Fitness coaches tend to dial in on that part. But, the part that tends to be missed in fitness coaching - that I didn’t comprehend until recent years - is considering someone’s big whole life. All of the parts that make up the person. How that person interacts with the world. How the world interacts with the person. The price of our Monthly and 6-Month To Pregnancy and Beyond Memberships are increasing after this Sunday, June 28th. Hop in now for new workouts every 4 weeks, that are specifically designed for pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood - at any phase of those adventures.  Join us 👉🏼 @jessiemundell

Last week marked the ✨ 5-Year Anniversary ✨ of

[Best of To Birth and Beyond] Re-airing of Episode

My fellow white fitness and health pros, let’s d

My fellow white fitness and health pros, let’s discuss. Might we consider not using before/after photos to sell weight loss programs right now?
 Might we consider not talking about “appropriate serving sizes” regarding food? Might we consider that movement and exercise is valuable for reasons other than burning calories? Might we consider the urgency to lose the ‘baby weight’ postpartum has direct lines to anti-Blackness? Might we consider the desire to keep exercising incredibly intensely during pregnancy is about lot fucking more than just really liking exercise? Might we consider not talking about how you should only eat when you’re hungry? Might we consider an enormous deal more about the world and other people’s circumstances than we have been? Yes? Yes.

Jessie Mundell

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