- Take some time to yourself. You said that you’re overwhelmed, so you need some down time. Set aside 15-60 minutes a day to do something you enjoy. This could be reading in a hot bath, going for a jog around a local park, or baking cookies for your nice neighbors. But give yourself some time to be yourself and focus on yourself.
- Don’t worry about a gym. If you can’t afford it, you don’t need it right now. It might be nice to go now and again to do some lifting, but you can still work out without it. Look into bodyweight exercises that you can do at home. Find a local pool or safe lake and go swimming with friends. Join an outdoor workout group. Invest in a few dumbbells or kettlebells to use at home.
- Learn to breathe. Deep breaths, full breaths, all the time. It sounds weird, but trust me, it’ll help you relax. Before you go to sleep, just get comfortable in bed and breathe.
- Get a planner. Schedule in the things you need to do, then write in (in pencil) the stuff you’d like to do, but are flexible with. Find an organization system that works for you so you have less to remember.
- Replace things you don’t need and don’t want to do with things you enjoy. If you hate going to that book club every Wednesday night, stop going and try a yoga class instead. Take the money you’re spending on salty Chinese takeout and invest it into some Tupperware so you can bring your own delicious meals from home with you to work.
Hopefully some of that can help you!
That’s awesome! I absolutely hate fouettes, so that’s extra amazing in my eyes.


You just summarized exactly what I’ve set out to do. It means a lot to me that I’ve been able to inspire you to love yourself and treat yourself well. I’m very proud of you.
Yes you do! :D
(But for those of you reading this on a phone or something, my name’s Lita.)
I actually have a workout to help with getting ready for pointe!
Running’s going to be hit or miss. Some dancers love it, some find that it reduces their flexibility in their legs. I prefer swimming and trying other forms of dance as training.
You can read the things I’ve written/reblogged about her here.
Also, I should add, I’m sure she’s sweet as a friend. I’m just not a fan of her style of workouts and I’ve been very upset by her fat- and health-shaming in the past.
My stretching tag has a video of me talking with Lauren, a contortionist, about some of her favorite stretches for the splits (skip to about 35:00) and a number of posts from others with photos of their pre-split stretches.

