SoulCycle Instructor Kamelle Mills Explains Why Self-Love Is The Key To Fitness - Exclusive
For years, Kamelle Mills worked out to try to make his body look good rather than making his body feel good. He believed there was one specific way he was supposed to look and he was pushing himself hard to achieve that aesthetic.
But when Mills found SoulCycle, he saw all kinds of bodies taking classes and teaching them. And that's when an epiphany occurred. He no longer had to fit into a certain look. Soon after, he started lifting with a personal trainer who gave him the sage advice of focusing on how you feel rather than how you look, further shattering his preconceived notions of body image.
After that, Mills started to view fitness through an entirely different lens, using fitness as a means to care for his body, not change it. Eventually, self-love became the driving force behind Mills' relationship with fitness.
In an exclusive interview with Health Digest, Mills revealed how self-love motivates his workouts and how he practices self-love now on a daily basis.
Moving to love yourself
Mills said that movement is huge for fostering self-love. He explained that when he moves his body, his mind starts moving too. So, when he's feeling off, he knows it's time to move his body so he can get his mind moving in a different direction. Mills added that movement makes him feel good in his body, and feeling good in his body makes it easier for him to connect with the love he has for himself.
Mills went on to say that the truest form of self-love is believing that you have value. And if you value yourself, you have to take care of yourself. For him, that looks like eating the foods he loves, taking rest days when he needs them, and moving his body on a regular basis.
"I have to value myself to have the full expression of myself manifest," Mills explained. "I have to value who I am and what I'm here to do... So then there's a value set on me that I am going to take care of myself. Am I always good at it? No. And that means I need to work more on my value."
Practicing self-love every day
Mills stressed that his relationship with himself is just like any other relationship. To believe that he is valuable, he needs to treat himself the same way he treats people he loves. "If you value your partner or your parent or your sibling or your best friend, then you'll treat them in a different way. But if you don't value them, you don't respect them, then they get any treatment in the world."
So, Mills has some self-love practices he does on a regular basis. He revealed that he gives himself "a high five in the mirror" every morning as a way to acknowledge his value. He also makes sure to get out and experience nature often to consistently feel connected to something bigger than himself. "Just being around things that are alive besides myself and that aren't human beings is just a reminder of how big and beautiful the world is and how capable," Mills shared. "It must take a lot of energy for a flower to blossom. If that little thing could do that, I can do strong things too."
And, of course, he gets in as much joyful movement as possible. Mills teaches SoulCycle multiple times a week, lifts regularly, and always makes time for walks in the Miami sunshine.
Catch Kamelle at SoulCycle Miami! Book a bike here.