Since January we have been offering a class called The Heavy. It is an opportunity for our members to explore lifting heavier weights in a safe and supportive environment. It has been amazing to see people discover their edges and to play with the idea of working to failure, or going beyond what they thought was possible.

Reaching a point of failure is an interesting concept in our society where failure is often frowned upon. There can be a flood of emotions that arise with this idea of not being ‘good enough’ to complete a task. We are so proud of how each and every person has managed to see this place of failure as an opportunity to build resilience and gain motivation.

Over the past few decades, movement and exercise have often been sold to us as a punishment for what we ate, as a method to create a certain physique, and as a practice of exhausting yourself. We believe, and science shows, that there are many more reasons to move your body that don’t pull on self shaming, or require you to deplete or exhaust yourself. Yes, it is helpful to build resilience through testing your limits from time to time, but we can also choose to move our bodies because it feels good, and leaves us feeling good for many years to come.

Where is a place that you can go and know that someone will know your name? Where can you go that you will see a familiar face? Where is somewhere that you can show up just as you are with nothing to hide?

Other than your home, and maybe your work, there may not be a place that fits this description. These spaces where we can go to feel seen and acknowledged fit within the Third Place Theory. The theory states that we spend our time in three main spaces. The first is our home. The second, our work, and the third is a community space where we share ideas and connect with others. This is the kind of space I am talking about, and is where our studio, Third Space Movement, got its name.