beloved fitness
by laurey masterton

In a short time I will begin a personal journey to fitness.

I have agreed to be a part of this project at the YWCA of Asheville. I have already worked out my actual plan, agreeing to exercise three times a week, taking classes and working fitness into my life on a more regular basis. I now carry my sneakers in my car along with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I am going to be taking classes and using the weight training equipment. My goal is to have increased strength and flexibility and to give myself the gift of a plan that I can actually follow. In short, I am committing to myself.

Fitness is not a new concept to me. I ride a road bicycle and have participated in three multi-day events of hundreds of miles This past summer I rode over 500 miles on my bike from Amsterdam to Paris, raising money for AIDS Vaccine research. I take yoga classes. And I am a swimmer. I’m not in horrible shape, but, like many, I could do better.

What makes this particular journey different is that it is taking place at Asheville’s newly refurbished YWCA. I was part of the board that considered raising money to renovate this tired facility. I was the board President during the actual capital campaign. We had a hugely successful campaign with over 800 donors raising more than our goal of $3.3 million. We spent last year building and just had our grand opening celebration in October. I continue to be on the board but am now also an active participant.

But even more important than the actual building is the fact that this “Fitness Journey” is taking place in a building that holds in its heart the concept of “Beloved Community.” Inspired by the book by bell hooks, Beloved Community is the guiding principle behind so much of what we do. Our mission is our essence (“The empowerment of women and their families (including men and boys!) and the elimination of racism”) but even deeper than that is the idea that, in this place, we can all be together. Black and white, old and young, fit and not. This is a place to go to mix it up. And this mix is what sings to me most sweetly.

Beloved Community means that the music in the fitness center’s speakers might be opera one day, hip hop the next. It means that I might have to negotiate around a swirling mass of youngsters whose parents’ cars are filling the parking lot. But best of all, it means that I am getting to share my journey with people who are outside my usual circle of friends. And already that has made a big difference to me.

Sure the fitness part of this project is wonderful. Don’t get me wrong. I like being sore, knowing that my body is getting a workout. I like using the machines. (I was fond of jungle gyms as a kid). And I am collecting a growing number of people who are committing to exercise with me. We’re having so much fun we forget that we’re doing something good for us!

Let me just tell you a little story about why I love this place so much. One day as I was thumping away at the elliptical running machine, I looked around. In one corner, a very fit young white teenaged boy was wailing away at a punching bag. Nearby an admirably muscled black man was doing those criss-cross chest pull things, huffing and refining his technique in the mirror. Two college-aged women, one white and one black, both very fit, were using the running machines, chattering away. Next to them, an older, heavier white woman was on the rowing machine and, on the far side of the gym, another older white woman was asleep on the leg lift chair. Black and white, old and young, fit and not. I did my requisite 30 minutes, waved to some new friends, checked off my workout on my personal chart, and went off to change.

Ah, fitness in the beloved community. In my experience, there’s no other place quite like it.