During "Love Your Body Week," the Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC) and Beach Pride Events hosted fitness and strength coach, Chrissy King, who gave an empowering presentation exploring the concept of “body liberation.” She spoke about her experience with her fitness journey and how her mindset and goals have shifted throughout the years.

Her presentation featured inspiring quotes that emphasized body positivity and self-affirmations. King included some activities where participants were able to share some of their personal fitness stories, which brought everyone together in learning how to feel worthy and confident in themselves. Overall, Chrissy’s keynote was an uplifting realization that you do not need anyone’s approval for your body type and the relationship you have with your body is the most important one.

Chrissy’s Tips to Building More Confidence!

1. Remember to love yourself for exactly who you are and don’t compare yourself to others.
2. Focus on all the positive things your body features instead of the negative, which will only bring you down and cause you to form a bad relationship between your mind and your body.
3. Loving yourself and not falling into society’s pressures regarding body image are the keys to happiness. This is easier said than done, but if you consistently work on bettering your mentality with positive quotes, then you will achieve self-love.

These reminders are important around stressful times, such as finals. It is significant to practice body positivity amidst the hectic week of finals to keep your mind and body relaxed. Around finals, we tend to get busy with all the studying and we often forget how to let ourselves rest. Just like studying, keep in mind that resting is also a key factor in receiving a good grade!

If you need any more tips in learning how to relax, check out Beach Balance’s virtual programs at the SRWC. Coming up, Beach Balance will be hosting virtual events where they will be teaching self-care strategies for when you may be feeling tired or unmotivated.

A self-care focused "Wellness Workshop" will be on May 6, from 4 to 5 p.m., and a meditation focused "Night of Relaxation" will be on May 12, from 6:45 to 8 p.m. Attend and prepare yourself for all the stress finals may bring. For more information, visit asirecreation.org. Hope to see you there!