226 - Olive Walton - Breaking Barriers to Strength, Mobility, and Body Love
“In these spaces that aren't traditionally for everyone, the biggest form of protest is to take up space.” - Olive Walton
Please note: Our conversation features frank talk about eating disorders, weight loss, and working out. If you’re sensitive to these topics, please be mindful when engaging with this episode.
Anne’s recent conversation with Movement Coach Olive Walton is an excellent reminder of how much mental anguish and physical damage the shame monster can inflict. It’s no surprise, then, that shame is a favorite weapon of both white supremacy and many in the fitness industry.
“Conversations I've had recently with a lot of people is how their firsthand experiences with physical education were pretty negative,” Olive confirms. We carried that negativity into adulthood, often pursuing movements our bodies couldn’t accommodate then shaming ourselves for failing to fit a painfully restrictive mold. “A big part of what I do is breaking down those barriers, reframing their perspective, working with a more positive, playful attitude.”
Olive is keenly aware of the shame that many clients carry with them to the gym, having struggled herself with an eating disorder and the body dysmorphia that often accompanies the behavior. “There was deep loathing that I had for the way I looked,” she admits. That struggle ultimately led her to create a physical practice that blends joyful movement with curiosity. That said, she knows that the gym or yoga studio can feel hella intimidating –– she’s on this journey, too. That camaraderie empowers both to proceed with compassion rather than caution. “I'm still trying to figure out how I got to a place where I'm very comfortable in the gym,” she says. “I think early on, it was pure stubbornness.” It also helps that Olive has “the worst lifting b*tch face,” which keeps the gym idiots at bay.
Above all, “personal training is about patience,” Olive says. She urges folks to quit muscling through the shame and get curious about what their body enjoys doing instead.
Our guest conversations are recorded well before an episode’s air date. So, while a conversation about empowerment via physical movement and strength training may seem dismissive in light of Israel’s expanding siege on Gaza, Anne and I address the conflict in our intro. Our hearts are with all innocent victims regardless of border, ethnicity, or religion. We recognize that this war is the direct result of colonization and white supremacy, and we continue to align our actions in support of liberation for all.
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GUEST CONTACT AND BIO
Olive Walton is a movement coach who shares movement practices from yoga to strength training, mobility to handstands, and leads with curiosity and playfulness for the body and mind.
Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places…
Website:
www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/
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