I was late for my first class at Mantra Fitness.

This seems to tell of my everyday lately. Caring for two little humans takes a toll on my schedule. I fight to be on time. On top of that, I hadn’t been in a formal workout environment in years and I was intimidated.

I walked into room full of ladies who were suited up in ‘sticky socks’ and ready for class. The co-owner and instructor, Jeannie, gave me a tour of my equipment and explained how the class was structured. Mantra Fitness is a Pilates-based studio that teaches “Pilates on steroids” and burns 500-800 calories per class.

During class, everyone gets their own Megaformer. There were springs to change, weights to hold, and moving platforms to balance on. Then class started and it was as challenging as it looked.

“You’re doing great,” said Jeannie my instructor. “Have you done this before?”

That was exactly what I needed to hear that morning. I needed to feel reassured. I needed to feel like what I was doing was worth it. I needed to feel like my effort was taken seriously.

People respond to encouragement and love. Don’t we?

We might have become hardened through life experience, hurtful comments, and middle school. Let’s not let life circumstance squash the compliments, encouragement, and compassion around us.

As women, I believe it’s particularly important for us to build each other up. We need to reach up, down, and across to other women with words of encouragement, instead of questions of judgement.

It’s important for women to support each other during different stages of life, both personally and professionally. I crave relationships that give life and support me. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

At Mantra fitness, Jeannie’s encouragement helped me stay focused and shed insecurities that could have stolen my focus and even caused me to quit. It’s a small analogy for something that we face everyday – being encouraging or withholding love.

So what will you do next time you have the opportunity to encourage someone?
To welcome someone new to your class, church, or neighborhood?
To relieve someone of fear and anxiety?
To support and uplift a younger coworker?

Disclosure: Andrea was invited to participate in a blogger opportunity to attend Mantra fitness classes. All opinions are those of the author.