The Power of the Ask
When my family first contemplated a cross-country move, I automatically began searching websites for possible churches where we were relocating. As I did my Internet search, I stumbled upon a women’s ministry announcement about the local Body & Soul Fitness classes. I had never heard of Body & Soul, but I thought that it sounded like a cool idea to try it out. Well, the cross-country move happened, and Body & Soul remained just that – an idea of something I might do someday.A couple of years later, it was time to move again but thankfully just across town. As I lugged boxes from storage and into our new place, I was flabbergasted at how incredibly weak I felt. Not just tired from the move. but WEAK. To top it all off, somehow I managed to hurt my back in the move and was in pain for nearly two months. I hurt and felt unable to adequately do my daily tasks. I was miserable.
Just as the pain was finally receding, I knew that I needed to gain strength and start exercising again. I’d tried running in the past. Hated it. I tried workout videos. I never had the discipline to keep doing them because I usually hated the music. I needed to find a fitness routine that worked for me, but I wasn't sure what to try next.
And then I got “the ask.”
My sister-in-law Aimee asked me to try out a Body & Soul class with her.
That was it. I just needed someone to ask me to join her on her fitness journey. Although I was too intimidated to go to a group fitness class on my own, I was happy to try it out if I knew that Aimee would be there too. And you know what? I loved it!
From the first routine, I fell in love with Body & Soul. I got a tremendous workout while listening to music that I actually liked and that was uplifting and encouraging. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly didn’t do the routines perfectly, but that didn’t deter me from coming back the next week. I felt so joyful to be in that room full of women who were all at various fitness levels who were just there to connect, be encouraged, and do something healthy for their bodies. No comparison. No judgment. It was a place that I knew that I wanted to be again, and I was kicking myself that I hadn’t had the courage to go on my own before Aimee asked me to join her.
Are you like of the me and waiting for the ask? Don’t be! Do the asking yourself! Find a friend to come alongside you on your fitness journey. Look for a local Body & Soul class to join. If you’re already a part of Body & Soul, look around you and ask someone to join you! You’ll be happy you did.
Janel Piersma is a Body & Soul instructor in Santa Barbara, California. She is a wife, mother of two young daughters, and now an exhausted puppy momma. 
