Meet the Vélofam: Dominique

How to turn a Vélo workout into a self-love ritual
This week we focus on self-love. But how often do you nourish your relationship with yourself? 
Today we speak with our Head of Marketing: Dominique, 28y-old, living in Amsterdam and Vélo-fanatic long before she started working at our HQ. 

Why is self-love an important topic for you?
I think the most important love is the love you have for yourself. If you truly love who you are, your energy will shine and you will be able to love others in return. This is what I learned after not giving myself that love for a long time. Instead of putting myself first, I made other things like my career (before working at Vélo), maintaining a healthy relationship, living up to my family & friends' needs, my top priority. Which resulted in stress, overthinking, and sometimes even feeling powerless. I learned the hard way that when you don’t have a healthy relationship with yourself, you can’t unlock your own happiness. 

How has your love for working out improved your sense of self-love?
Exercise = self-love to me. At Vélo this means 45 minutes totally for myself. When the door closes and I isolate myself from the world outside, this is my time to reflect and work on myself. How does my body feel? What thoughts come to my mind? The commitment I am making to myself each day to move my body, shows I care. I feel my body getting stronger after each workout. The natural endorphins that I get from 45 minutes of riding is addictive to me!

How do you differentiate between exercising as a form of self-love that nourishes you, and exercising to get fit?
I personally think one has to do with the other. Taking care of my body by working out and eating healthy automatically means taking care of myself, which makes me feel good. A healthy body is a healthy mind! Getting fit means more to me than only a fit body (I’m not saying I dislike the feeling of seeing results ofc…) a positive mindset and having a lot of energy throughout the day are just as important to me!

How do you listen to your body and tune into what it needs from you? 
Self-love is not always comfortable, you need to get to know your body and recognize the signals it’s giving you. I eat healthy or exercise when I feel my body needs it. Sometimes my body (or mind) is craving a V-meditate session, sometimes I just want to get loose on really hard techno. Depending on the day, I make adjustments, without losing the chance to work out.

Any advice to give on Self-Love intentions? 
Slow progress is still progress: don’t look at how far you have to go, look at how far you’ve come!

I hope you feel inspired to show yourself some love!