There’s not a lot of community support for disenfranchised individuals seeking to embrace movement. When there is, it is usually short-lived before given the chance to be commercially successful. For the underrepresented, there are very few safe, effective and inclusive spaces for them to celebrate movement. Instead, there is an abundance of profit-based companies briefly experimenting with inclusive offerings that end before there’s an opportunity for people to discover and utilize them.
Most offerings in wellness spaces aren’t accessible, inclusive, effective or safe for the majority of people: our community. As an example, for the fat community, equipment in big box gyms aren’t accurately accommodating for larger bodies. The measurements and weight capacity have a very low restriction that is not suitable or safe for larger bodies. Also, locker rooms aren't accessible for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Whether it's the capacity of the equipment or the binary gender conforming, these are just two minute examples of how movement spaces can scream “This is not for you” to marginalized folks.
This is where Joyful Inclusive Movement comes in to change that narrative. JIM’s a diverse coalition of fat, 2SLGBTQIA+, people of color (POC), and disabled humans from North America with the shared goal of reclaiming the culture of movement spaces from diet culture, fatphobia and weight-bias. JIM’s creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive space for people who have experienced trauma while trying to find joy in moving their bodies.
Joyful Inclusive Movement will be an online platform that provides workouts, workshops, educational courses and live classes with engaging support from the instructors. Joyful Inclusive Movement will emphasize body trust and help members find joy in all forms of body movement. JIM will create space for 2SLGBTQIA+, people of color, differently abled, fat, aging, and all people, especially those underrepresented in movement and wellness spaces.
The platform is designed by underrepresented folks for underrepresented folks. We want to make J.I.M an experience that is truly accessible, authentic, inclusive, safe and effective. Folks will learn the foundations of movement, including safe practices and recovery methods, which they can use in their everyday lives to greatly improve their activities of daily living.
We offer a couple different options for membership which will include but not limited to: a video library of different movement modalities; courses and workshops that support the needs of our viewers and highlight our instructors’ skills; live classes with engagement from both the instructor and members; and the ability for members to schedule one-on-one practices with any of our instructors. Our priority is empowering our members through connection; a true authentic experience like no other.
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