G.O.A.L.S
I AM FEARLESS! I AM POWERFUL! I AM WORTHY!
Strong Girls is a program aiming to instill a love of movement and inner strength in young girls ages 6 to 13. Strong Girls is a five session program that focuses on building strength mentally and physically through pilates, agility, weight training, and confidence building activities. Each week, our growing Strong Girls will learn fun new skills that can help them grow as individuals and as united community. By the end of the program, we hope they feel fearless, powerful, and worthy; our three main affirmations that inspire this initiative. This program is dedicated to and inspired by all the STRONG WOMEN in our lives.
FORMING A COMMUNITY DRIVEN BY GIRL-POWER
This initiative is organized and run by myself and a few other colleagues. I was blessed to be the main-instructor for our very first session. My main goal for the first day was to girls get out of their shell and get moving. The aim for this session is to show the girls that this is a judgment-free space where we are focused on building confidence and forming a community driven by girl-power. In my intro to the session, I share some of my fears when trying something new and out of my comfort zone related to physical fitness. In this candid moment, I expressed how I overcame these feelings of doubt and how they too can use this strategy throughout our program and in life.
GOAL 1: Just show up! I told the girls that they have already accomplished step one by coming to our first session.
GOAL 2: Get moving! I said, “together we are taking step two today!” I wanted to foster a sense of community and belongingness. I mentioned we all are moving at our own pace and its about setting our own PERSONAL record. There is no criteria to reach step 2, it is simply about being present, giving it your best efforts, and move your body.
#LETMEHEARYOUROAR
This session I introduced our chant, “Let Me Hear You (instructor)…ROAR! (strong girls)” We did it three times to kick off our session, and wow, it gave me goose bumps. Hearing the energy and power in the room truly was inspiring. With this chant, I wanted the girls to find their inner strength and power; inner tiger if you will. By the end of the session, our chant filled the room with electricity.
LEVEL UP!
The core of this session was a beginner pilates group instruction. I demonstrated the movements and together we exercised through rhythmic movements to upbeat tunes. Each exercise had two versions, a main movement and a “level up.” The level up is a more advanced version to accommodate the large age range in our class. I also identified a main movement for the girls to revert back to in case the current exercise was not comfortable for them. I renamed this exercise as the “Strong Girl movement” which is a bodyweight shoulder press movement, which could be jazzed up with some hip movements to the beat. Additionally, I demonstrated a modified version for some of the more complex exercises to accommodate different abilities. Overall, the main part of our session focused on whole body workout focusing on coordination and key muscle groups. We have many girls with special considerations, but what I observed was a group of 25 girls all giving it everything they had with huge smiles on their faces! It was incredible to see each girl pushing herself and knowing her individual capabilities as she followed along with the appropriate level of that exercise – between the four instructors, all levels were actively being demonstrated for the girls to refer to. Ultimately, I am overwhelmed with joy reflecting on the success of my session.
FOSTERING A SAFE SPACE
I wanted the girls to know they have a voice in this space and can express themselves, their needs, and concerns. To facilitate a welcoming environment, I made sure to encourage and praise during the activities, be a listening ear when needed, and actively respond to their ideas. I had a few girls request the “Cha Cha Slide,” so I carved out time for this and they were thrilled! I noticed as the girls arrived they immediately started running around, cartwheeling, and dancing; this told me that they just want to let loose and be free to express themselves through movement. Therefore, I incorporated dance breaks into the session, so they had time act freely; this seemed to be a great moment for bonding amongst themselves. After chatting with them one on one, I learned we had many athletes and dancers in the group; our musical breaks let them show and share their talents. We did a “learning names with movement” activity, which they paired the syllables of their names to various movements. We have a girl who does karate and this gave her the platform to teach us some moves as we repeated the actions and her name back to her.
FEEDBACK
Since the first session, we have received some wonderful parental feedback. A couple parents said their daughters loved the session and had lots of fun. One reached out to share that she has already seen a positive change in her daughter. This response warmed my heart and showed me the power of this experience.
