The Mindy Kaling workout routine prioritizes feeling good

IOver the past decade, the fitness industry has come a long way in including all bodies. The focus has shifted greatly from aesthetics to general well-being, oversized active clothing has hit the mainstream, and references to “bikini bodies” are fewer and farther away than ever. Yet despite these steps, there is still a common misconception that a “healthy” body looks a certain way — that is, thin, white, and toned.

For actress and producer Mindy Kaling — a self-proclaimed “chubby brown girl” – this toxic belief made her feel “uncomfortable” that she ever wanted to talk about her love of exercise. “I’ve been fitness since I was 22 and since then I work out four to five times a week, but I never felt that this was something I could possess because I did not look like that,” he says. Kaling. “I was worried that people would react, ‘You do not look like someone who works out four times a week.’

But the truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all look. Abdominal six-pack (which has long been considered the gold standard for being in shape) is an absolute scam and there is a whole movement of fat-positive personal trainers that prove that you can be healthy in any size. Kaling, 42, took almost two decades of “punishing” herself in the gym to take this in-depth lesson. Now that she has it, her relationship with her body has completely changed.

“I used to think of my body just like my brain with some attachments to it – I never thought of the gift it gives me every day just because I’m alive,” he says. “But then I had kids and I said, ‘Oh, this is not just a boat to carry my brain.’ “It’s what my kids gave me and especially as an unmarried mom, I really have to deal with it well.”

These days, instead of pushing herself into grueling workouts to chase a certain body type (she reportedly got up before dawn to sweat it down the aisle before going to the set The office), Kaling mainly focuses on the movement that brings her joy.

“I think the idea that it doesn’t have to be a punishment to be effective and make me feel focused, focused and happy was a huge way to change my training,” he says. “After I take my kids for a nap, I will take 20 minutes and go for a walk around the square with my dad or talk to a friend from college as I go for a walk and I will feel so good that I am connected to someone but also that I have gotten into this good move … And I’m stretching now, something I did not care about when I was younger, but it is a necessity now since I’m in my 40s. “It prevents me from getting hurt when I exercise.”

Most importantly, though, she is no longer afraid to tell people how much this move means to her. “I’m someone who loves fitness and I look at how I look,” he says. “Workout has improved my health and I want to be proud to say that I like it. I look like an average American and mom, and given the fact that I like working out, I hope other women will feel that they can do the same. ».

“I look like an average American and mom, and given the fact that I enjoy working out, I hope other women will feel they can too,” – Mindy Kaling

This ideology is arguably more relevant at this time of year as we move into the summer and the broader debate shifts to “beach ready” (yes, even 2022) – something Kaling refuses to subscribe to. .

“I’m not really someone who necessarily thinks about how my body might look different at different times of the year, probably because I do these shows for young women who are all 15 to 22 years old, and many of these outdated thoughts are just not “I’m going to fly with them,” said Kaling, who is the mastermind behind Netflix. I never have and HBO Max The sex lives of girls in college. “I work with these young actors who are so confident and comfortable in their skin in a way that I was not. It’s not like they do not have challenges in their lives, but what I have noticed from these women who are literally half my age is that they do not have the same problems as me. They play golf, walk, swim, play tennis, but he does not consume them. And as someone who is supposed to be their mentor, I do not want to be the one who has these hangups. It’s just not modern anymore. “

As a means to pay for this mentality even further, he has partnered with Propel to distribute four $ 25,000 grants to coaches across the country who work to make fitness feel more inclusive. “[The trainers receiving the grants] “Do not look like your standard educators in Los Angeles, but they change lives and help their communities so much,” says Kaling. “What’s so great about this campaign is that it shows that everyone is in different places on their journey and that people who are in shape can look different in many different ways.”

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