It’s been a minute since I sent you one of these interviews. Emily Decker was in fact one of the first people I reached out to ask to participate. She quickly agreed, but then I found myself holding on to this one. I’m still not sure why, but I suspect that there was some still unknown wisdom to the timing.
I’ve been inspired by Emily’s work for a long time now. I found her to be this grounding, rational, and different voice online. I don’t really follow “fitness” folks on social media – mostly because a lot of it doesn’t interest me, but also because, of course, it can be downright toxic.
Emily’s work was different from the start, and it offered a refreshing perspective on restoring our connection to movement and exercise. In my work treating eating and body image challenges, I do follow plenty of people who talk about why it’s so important to develop a healthy relationship to movement, but it’s much rarer to come across someone teaching us how.
And then the past year came along, and things began falling apart in bigger ways and at a quicker place. Emily’s content began to shift, or perhaps rather to expand, and she quickly became a model to me for what it looks like to use your voice courageously in dire times. She made an important connection for me too, that confronting overwhelming circumstances doesn’t mean abandoning our self-tending or our bodies, but actually coming home to them and using them as a resource.
And, importantly, she also reminded me of the way that no matter our particular position or gifts or skills – as far from social activism as they may seem – we all have a part right now in serving our communities. You’ll read a bit below about what that’s meant for Emily, and I hope it inspires you too.
Ashley: What drew me to your work initially was the way that you seem to cut through the noise and, frankly, call bullshit on so many of the forces that drive our relationship to movement. While there could be an urge to just discount movement and exercise all together because of those toxic forces, you help us reclaim it. Can you share a bit about how that’s evolved for you and if the weight of those forces ever makes you want to throw in the proverbial towel?
Emily: There is definitely a constant noise factory around exercise, and while some of it can be helpful, like when new research around bone density is released, some of it can also be ridiculous, like when a new boutique studio opens and claims to solve every problem you’ve ever had.
What an embodied approach to exercise allows for us is to tune inward so that we can uncover what feels most aligned with our own values and energy levels. I coached CrossFit for several years and really believed at the time it was the best thing, but expanding my education and experience has shown me there actually isn’t a best thing for every body. There are guidelines we can aspire to follow, like involving resistance training twice a week and engaging in heart-pumping exercise a few times a week, but I have yet to see a program “for everyone” that I couldn’t find an exception for.
Ashley: One of the nuggets that I have integrated from your work is rejecting the notion that I need to have 30 minutes or an hour or some other time that’s longer than I usually have to engage in movement. Can you talk about why it’s not a “waste” to do 10 minutes of movement?
Emily: An increasing amount of research has shown that small amounts of movement — called “movement snacks” — can be an excellent way to fit in the kind of exercise we traditionally think of as being reserved for a large chunk of time. If we are waiting to have a solid amount of time and an optimal amount of energy at that time, we risk becoming overly strict with what “counts.” If we end up waiting around a long time, that ultimately could be to the detriment of our physical and mental health.
Forcing ourselves to do something intense and time-consuming when that doesn’t feel aligned can also create a resentment for movement. Movement is a natural part of being human, and incorporating it when we have the energy or time just makes sense.
Ashley: One of the things that has intrigued and inspired me is the way that you have so intentionally (and usefully!) helped translate your work into tools people can use to stand up against tyranny and fascism. For many people, there might not have been an obvious link. Can you talk about how and why you’ve done this? It’s made me think about us all challenging ourselves to consider how we can do the same, regardless of the type of work we do. Do you have any encouragement for us in this?
Emily: I have a graduate degree in social work, and I meant to work in that field, but my love of movement ended up coming out on top. I’ve tried to include messaging around injustice and calls to action on my Instagram page over the years, but this year it has seemed borderline irresponsible not to do so.
I live in Los Angeles, and our neighborhoods here have been terrorized. In June, I drove past abandoned flower stands in an area they’ve been for years and found out later of course there had been a raid, and a citizen had been taken in it. I’m not sure how I can continue in any embodied way to discuss fitness and somatics without addressing the very real embodied fear that millions of people are living in right now. When our neighbors are afraid to leave their homes, how can I post about running if I’m not also sharing resources to support them? Who is my content really for if I do that? And what effect is it having? Those are the things I’ve asked myself.
Ultimately, I’m fortunate that business is stable, and I don’t need to direct my content to getting new clients, but I do think those of us with any type of privilege owe it to the rest of our communities to figure out how we can best make an impact. At first I was trying to relate human rights issues to my messaging so that it would make sense, but I’ve really stopped caring about that. Somatics is indeed intricately intertwined with human rights since most atrocities require the severance of mind and body. But I can’t imagine looking back in ten years and seeing myself as someone who stayed quiet because it was convenient.
Ashley: What are some of your personal favorite embodied or movement practices that help you in this era of persistent cultural dysregulation?
Emily: Regular movement of any kind is probably number one. Getting out to go for a walk, or go to the gym, or dance around the living room, all those things help keep me focused and keep my mood in as solid a place as it can be. If we’re going to be confronted with upsetting information daily, we really, really have to take care of ourselves.
I have shared a lot on my page about coming back to awareness of the room you’re in and what’s happening in front of you, and that’s something I do as well. The urgency around these issues and the speed of the news can end up making us feel like the tiger is in the room with us and chasing us right now. We have to make sure our bodies know the difference between when there is an immediate threat and when there isn’t.
Something as simple as noticing the sounds in the immediate environment or doing a body scan to remember we aren’t just a tornado of thoughts and fears can help orient us to the present moment. It really doesn’t help anyone who is at risk to believe we are the ones being chased when we aren’t. In that way, somatic awareness is resistance because it allows to us to become more grounded, clearer, and more effective.
Ashley: I think you do such a good job in your online work of blending the importance of all sources of data – scientific research, personal experience, ancestral wisdom. You exist in this (unfortunately) increasingly rarer overlap of incorporating all of these sources. Can you say a little about why that’s important to you personally and/or give an example of how you do this?
Emily: There has seemed to be a fork in the road of late around science and embodiment circles, where we’ve seen many embodiment practitioners go the way of anti-science. In my perspective, if I’m developing an information database from which to make decisions about my own health, why would I not include all the best available data? In my mind, that data is good science (peer-reviewed, replicated research), lived experience, and intuition. The more somatic work I’ve done, the more connected to ancestral wisdom I’ve felt. It’s a glorious and often devastating journey that can defy a lot of what capitalism teaches us, but I’m also pretty sure my ancestors would have appreciated antibiotics and vaccines.
To connect with Emily’s work, follow her on Instagram.
