Studio Schedule Week of 9/20/2026 | An Honest Accounting
Calculator, pen, and notepad on a desk, with a color wheel visible in the background — taking an honest accounting.
image by Edar via Pixabay
THOUGHTS
We’ve been talking over the past few weeks about who gets to define exercise for you and your body. We’re bombarded with listicles telling us “10 things you’re doing wrong when you exercise. Here’s what experts tell you to do right”, ads for what supplements to buy, or what to eat for optimization and longevity.
You deserve to decide what supports your body, what counts as exercise, and can reclaim your autonomy. You don’t have to listen to a pedometer (remember those?) or smart watch, and don’t let those clickbait headlines shake your innate understanding of your body.
Cutting out this noise is freeing, but also leads us to a deeper question: if we’re not standing when our device says it’s time to stand, what is keeping you honest with yourself?
After spending time in a profession that leans toward self-flagellation for poor performance and perfectionist, fixed-mindset tendencies, I’ve been intrigued by the Jewish concept of cheshbon hanefesh, or “the accounting of the soul.” I appreciated how Coffee Shop Rabbi took time to reassure my recovering-perfectionist self that this practice isn’t to make you feel like you’re failing or “bad”, but that “Jewish tradition ascribes to each human being an infinite, unmeasurable worth.”
When applying this to exercise, we’re not necessarily questioning whether our ability to do a push-up is making the world a better place or improving the lives of others. We’re looking at the mindset, starting off with a sense of self value and high worth, and seeing where we are meeting ourselves and others.
I like to imagine our body like a friend or colleague. How are we treating our body when we exercise (or sometimes just prepare to exercise)? Some of the words people use to describe their behavior when we start working together can be very sad. Uncoordinated, awkward, and my least favorite, lazy. Yes, you can say that you’re just taking honest inventory of your fitness habits, but I’d like to push back on that gently. If you ask yourself, “would I describe a dear friend of mine in this way?” and the answer is no, you should also use kinder words to describe yourself.
And once we’ve started using kinder language, then come the judgmental shoulds. I should move more. I should come more frequently. I should be more flexible/stronger. I should remember the exercises we did last week.
When you join us in the studio or online you know that we’re not starting with what you should do today, but what today’s body needs. Not yesterday’s body. Not tomorrow’s body. What’s your personal physical accounting at this moment, and how can we move in a way to meet those needs. There is no final crowning achievement with Gyrotonic exercise, only a feeling of satisfaction and ease when we are able to untether our self-judgement and focus on how we’re treating our dear friend, our infinitely and unmeasurably incredible human body.
CLASS SPOTLIGHT
Intro to Gyrotonic with Celeste — Monday, September 28th, 6pm
Celeste's evening Intro to Gyrotonic is one person away from running — join her Monday, September 28th at 6pm, and bring the friend who's been curious.
GYROTONIC® Foundations 1 — 4-week series, Fridays 3:30pm, starts October 2
New this fall: a 4-week GYROTONIC® Foundations 1 series, Fridays at 3:30pm, starting October 2nd. A structured way to build the fundamentals from the ground up — book the full series to hold your spot.
WHAT I’M READING
Actor Christian Bale Opens Together California Foster Care Village in Palmdale, Aimed at Keeping Siblings Together — ABC7
A new 12-home village built around one simple idea: kids in foster care shouldn't lose their siblings on top of everything else they've already lost. Eleven thousand square feet, first of its kind in California, residents moving in next month.
Haight-Ashbury Landmark to Become New Music and Culture Center — SFist
The Doolan-Larson Building — a fixture of Haight-Ashbury since the '60s — is becoming a music and culture hub, with SF Heritage partnering with Seattle's KEXP and Blue Bear School of Music. A building holding onto what it was while becoming something the neighborhood still needs.
Judge Cites Dolly Parton in Ruling on Texas Drag Ban — USA Today
A federal judge struck down Texas's SB 12 for the second time, ruling it unconstitutionally vague — the kind of vague that could technically snag Dolly Parton or an Elvis impersonator. His closing line to anyone still offended: "the solution is relatively simple... just don't go." Free expression, upheld.
