Published on 12, July, 2020
I normally link negative experiences to the fact that I’m autistic and tend to think about how I struggle with things.
Gyms are places I find overwhelming, bright lights, lots of people, no idea what I’m actually doing.
I’ve found a gym with soft lighting, who gave me a timetable of times the gym is generally less busy and took the time free of charge to show me equipment I would realistically use.
I have now attended a few yoga classes with the same instructor who without prompt, changes the lights from spotlights, does not use music, switches on and off the AC so there is limited noise and it is only on when required.
He also does not give vague instructions about breathing and is literal in the timings and gives options for you to find which rhythm suits you best. He does a meditation at the end where he talks quite literally and tells you to think of situations where you believed you felt (.e.g joy, proud, safe) and asks you to recognise what you physically feel in your body to help recognise these emotions and generate them.
I hope that as there is more awareness and acceptance that more gym instructors will operate this way as I used to believe that I hated all forms of exercise.
I wondered if there is any other autistic females who enjoy physical fitness who are able to share what works for them and how to communicate this so I could perhaps find more things that I enjoy.
I've always struggled massively with gyms and any type of group exercise classes. Like you say they are usually so bright, loud and overwhelming.
Having dyspraxia means that my balance and co-ordination is very poor. My processing times are slow too, which results in me following instructions in my own time zone a few seconds after everyone else.
Years ago I used to attend water aerobic classes and I enjoyed those. The force of the water meant that actions had to be slower for everyone and I was more able to keep up. Plus it was mainly attended by people much older than me which helped.
I did try attending yoga classes a few years ago but my balance problems made most of the moves impossible for me. I would usually end up in a crumpled heap on the floor even just trying to stand on one foot
Nowadays my only exercise is hiking alone and I use hiking poles to try and keep myself upright.
Oh my coordination is bad as well, but not drastically and I’m confident enough that it comes across as a quirky personality trait more than anything.
Water aerobics is a good shout. I’m assuming no one can see if you do it wrong as well!
I hope you find peace in hiking and keep safe if it’s something you do alone.