Confidence is Beautiful! We sat down (ok we emailed - but still <3) with Andrea Barber, the founder of A Few Fun Moves, to discuss entrepreneurship and body confidence. Andrea's use of her platform to promote inclusivity in the fitness world inspires us and we're excited to share her work with you!
1. What is A Few Fun Moves and why did you start?
A Few Fun Moves is an online on demand movement platform that you can access anytime, anywhere all at your own pace. I started A Few Fun Moves to help my pals, and myself have a fun relationship with exercise. I haven’t always had the best relationship with moving my body so this platform is for myself, just as much as it is for others. It helps hold me accountable to always choosing to move my body for myself, when it feels right. Sometimes all you need is just A Few Fun Moves to make your day a lill better :)
2. What does intentional movement mean to you?
The idea that every movement is done with purpose, and reason. I like to challenge people throughout my workouts to move a little slower, and think about what’s moving and happening in your body. I like to curate my workouts with a why behind it. Sometimes that why can be “to help build mobility and stability for the hips!” or “because these movement makes make us feel goofy!”. I think knowing the purpose, and the why around what you are doing is so important, and something that is often missing within movement practices today.
3. How do you cultivate body confidence?
Oh gosh! I think I’m still working on this one every day. But for me thanking my body for all that it’s capable of, and being mindful of what actually makes it feel good helps me stay confident. I have a few pesky chronic injuries so I like to focus on what my body is able to do, as opposed to what its limited to. Bodies are pretty dang cool IMO!
4. What are some tips you would give to others to help form a positive relationship with movement?
1. Make sure your movement practice is something you have fun doing!
2. Ask yourself, why am I choosing to move my body like this today? is it for myself? or is because I feel like I have to because of external reasons?
3. Notice how you feel afterwards. Did it make me feel happy? confident? goofy? strong? Anything that doesn’t make you feel top notch afterwards may not be for you, or the right thing at this moment in time, and that’s totally cool.
4. If you enjoy moving with other people, get a movement pal. It could be a friend, partner, or pet. Sharing movement with others can be a great way to boost those feel-good endorphins, and add some extra fun into the mix :)
I think we put a lot pressure on ourselves to move our bodies in a certain way because of what others are doing. I want people to know that movement for you, can be literally anything! Walking your doggo, dancing around your apartment, gardening, or cooking a tasty meal. You can turn anything into #FUNMOVES!
5. What does confidence mean to you?
Knowing that my body, and mind is capable of so much more than I could ever imagine. As long as it’s truly something I know that I want for myself, and not a reflection of what I think I need to do. It’s all possible.
