People often ask how I work out myself. The truth is somewhat embarrassing for someone who's taught movement for 25+ years: my personal workout history is rather patchy.
Only now have I finally found genuine joy in working out. I have a daily routine that's been steady for 3-4 years, and for the first time in my adult life, I'm entirely injury-free and doing things I never thought I'd enjoy (running, anyone?).
But getting here was messy, non-linear, and full of false starts.
The Competitive Child Who Hated Competition
As a child, I was sent to swimming lessons. It turned very competitive very quickly. I wasn't very good. I hated it. I dropped out.
My dad was an Olympic Team archer. He was very disappointed that I preferred playing on the huge archery grounds rather than actually practicing.
Then came tennis lessons. I never made the club team. Dropped out again.
When I was about 11 or 12, I discovered a nearby jazz dance class with my friends. It went from one class a week to five quite quickly. Most of my friends lost interest, but I was totally smitten. I added ballet, and it became my whole teenage identity.
The truth is, I was tall and lanky and shy and not terribly good at this either. But I loved it, and I felt supported by wonderful teachers and my friends in the youth dance company.
After school, I lost access to those classes but kept my "dancer identity" (turns out you don't have to be great to happily pretend to be one). And since all the professional dancers I knew practiced Pilates, I started Pilates.
Finding Pilates (But Not A Personal Practice)
Luckily, I stumbled across amazing, inspiring teachers yet again and got hooked. I attended all the classes I could, and because I was always around, my favourite teacher at the time suggested I should train to become an instructor.
Years of training (Pilates, Gyrotonic) and apprenticeships followed. I found a "home" in a Pilates studio and safely built up my client list. Office work and teaching became too much to manage, so I became a full-time instructor.
Here's the weird reality: The more I taught, the less I practiced.
I became super busy, teaching 30-35 classes every week. The last thing I wanted after a long day was working out myself. So for a long time, I "survived" on 2-3 classes a week maximum, plus occasional teacher training.
Working out was a chore and rarely joyful. I was teaching 30+ hours a week but barely practicing myself.
The Yoga Years (That Didn't Work)
Over the years, I took many yoga classes, but things never clicked. It was either too easy or too difficult, and chanted "om" was an absolute no-no for me. It just wasn't me.
I cycled, but in London that was dangerous and limited. I tried running multiple times. Hated it. Every time.
Then lockdown happened. I tried Couch to 5K and failed even this supposedly "fail-safe" program.
I tried online classes, but my own online teaching took over. I got super busy and incredibly out of shape - training others while failing myself.
The Wake-Up Call
Then I moved to Berlin.
I was a little overweight, with a dodgy shoulder that wouldn't improve and "prevented exercise" (not true, but a convenient excuse). I was very aware that things needed to change very quickly because I wasn't practicing what I preached.
So I started with online spinning classes at home.
It was a challenge at first, but I stuck with it. I improved steadily. I started feeling competitive (hello, childhood swimming trauma - we meet again, but this time on MY terms). Now it's something I do 6 times a week at a surprisingly high level.
I don't enjoy the cardio work in every single class. But I'm always happier afterwards, so it's worth it.
Hormones, Cortisol, and Finally Finding Yoga
As I got older, I became aware that I needed to manage my hormonal health. Those intense cortisol spikes from spinning weren't necessarily all my body needed.
I tried online Pilates, but I never developed the same love for it that I originally had. I kept thinking "oh, I would teach that this way" or "that's an interesting move, let's steal that." It didn't give me the counterpoint to spinning that I needed.
So I circled back to yoga asana practice.
Finally, something clicked.
My body felt good. I got into all the challenges (yes, that's you, Crow Pose). I embraced the calm, the philosophy, the completeness of the practice that could be as intense or gentle as I needed it to be.
I just did my 1000th yoga class (since I started counting) and have an uninterrupted yoga-every-day streak of three years. Sometimes it's a sweaty vinyasa practice, sometimes stretchy Yin, sometimes a supervised snooze in restorative yoga.
But there is yoga every day.
Yoga opened my mind to its philosophy, which I happily embraced because it made me feel a lot less anxious and more steady in life.
The Breathwork Surprise
Yoga also brought me to meditation and breathwork.
This was a surprise. I'd done breathwork in the past and it made me super anxious and unwell. I soon learned to fake it all the way through because my nervous system reacted badly to it.
This time around, I learned the ideas and science behind it. I learned to regulate and understand how much I needed. My body and mind thrived.
It's now another essential of my daily practice.
Aging, Strength, and Finally Running
Last but not least: aging.
As a woman navigating hormonal changes, maintaining muscle is absolutely vital for aging well and strong. So I work out with heavy weights 3-5 times a week. It's amazing how much my strength has improved and how my body has changed.
I also make sure I walk every day. I work from home, so it's tempting to never open the front door sometimes. But I make sure I go out in daylight and walk. Not long, not 10,000 steps daily, but a little bit, every day.
And I started running. Yet again.
I'm still slow and "heavy," but I'm getting into it. My body is adapting. The incredible thing? For the first time in adulthood, I'm entirely injury-free.
What I Actually Do Now
In short: I spin, do yoga, and strength work every day for 60-90 minutes (or more).
Not all of it is always intense. I try to listen to and respect my body and energy levels.
I do breathing exercises three times a day. I try to spend a little time meditating every day. I brush my teeth standing on one leg to improve balance. I cycle and walk.
And I have a workout routine that I will and can sustain and actually enjoy.
What This Means For My Teaching
I hope to bring this into my work as an instructor - both the struggles and the firm belief that movement matters, every day, and that it can be joyful and essential self-care.
However busy you are.
Even if it's just a little breathwork, brushing your teeth on one leg, having a quick stretch in the evening, and a mindful moment before sleep.
You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to do 90 minutes a day like I do (that's honestly a bit much for most people with normal lives!).
You just need to find what works for YOUR body, YOUR life, YOUR nervous system.
It took me decades and a lot of false starts to figure this out for myself.
But now I know: Consistency beats intensity. Joy beats discipline. And movement that fits into your real life beats the perfect program you'll never actually do.
Anja Dobler Integrated Movement & Breathwork Specialist www.anjadobler.com, Instagram - @anja.dobler123
