Anatomy of a Fitness Photo: A Penny for your Thoughts on #MotivationMonday

Yesterday afternoon, I posted the photo above: me, in all my sweaty, rosy-faced glory, hanging from the ceiling, wrapped in the silks of the yoga hammock. This was the end of my Air Foundation class, which uses the suspended hammocks to stretch and strengthen the body, sometimes doing classic yoga poses three feet off the ground.

I can see what people see when they look at this photo. First of all, I’m hanging from the freaking ceiling. Trust me, I know how awesome that is. But I also look strong, agile, flexible. You can see how my arms are holding me up, seemingly with ease. With my toes pointed, you can see how toned my legs are. Maybe I’m not doing a full split, but my body reads like one practiced in the art of fitness.

But as I’ve written before, social media only shows a moment, a cleverly crafted, meticulously manicured moment. As much as I love this captured moment, I am prouder of the things that led me to this point and I want to show how much truly goes into a fitness moment like this.

Why I’m Glad I was a Teenager without Social Media

The other night, I was texting my best friend Madison. She told me about her new obsession, Project Runway Junior, and sent me screenshots of Instagram posts from one of her favorite contestants, a talented “cool girl” named Petyie (who, as Madison says, pulls off the name “without even an ounce of douchery”. Very high praise).

She sent me pictures of stylish garments Petyie designed, then one of her surfing effortlessly in bright blue water. We both lamented never being so cool in high school and thanked God we didn’t have to go through out adolescence with Instagram.