We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ali Boroson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ali below.
Hi Ali, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
My self-care is rooted in movement. Exercise has always been an important part of my life and something that makes me feel like myself, Growing up I played team sports like softball, soccer, and basketball and as I became an adult, I shifted into running. From there, it has evolved into a mix of cardio and strength training.
When I was teaching elementary school, I would wake up before work to get my workouts in, realizing that only when my cup was filled up in this way, could I pour into my students all day long. This is when it struck me that movement is both for my mental and physical well-being. It is a non-negotiable habit in my life that is as routine to me as brushing my teeth. Now that I am a mother, I notice that my days are better, therefore my children’s days are better, when I prioritize exercise and myself before spending the day busy with my babies.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As mentioned, I was previously an elementary school teacher. However, when I started my family, my priorities shifted from outside of the home to the people inside of it. I wasn’t quite ready to quit teaching, but I also knew that I needed a break from the classroom. After toying with part-time options, I decided to take a step down from school and marry a few of my passions – teaching, fitness, and motherhood.
I had experienced difficulty becoming pregnant and was advised by many to “stop running,” and to “stop exercising so much.” As these two things shape my identity, I was devastated by the idea of having to quit doing the things that make me… me in pursuit of motherhood. I started to educate myself on working out and conceiving, as well as exercise and pregnancy. I was shocked at some of the outdated information out there while also simultaneously encouraged that I could continue running and strength training. To further my education, I completed by Group Fitness Instructor certification and enrolled in a course to become specialized in pre- and postnatal fitness so that I could dive deeper.
On a whim, I created an Instagram account to share my knowledge on movement in motherhood, not fully sure of where it would take me. In addition, I took a job with FIT4MOM in Washington, DC to get hands-on experience coaching pregnant and postpartum women, while continuing to grow my own account – creating workouts, motivation, and tips to share online with family and friends who were mothers or hoping to become mothers. Over the last two years I have watched Unstoppable Mama, and myself, evolve. I want women to know that their athleticism doesn’t end with pregnancy. I want women to know that motherhood might very well be the place where they find their strength, rather than lose it.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First off, I think that being ok with the unknown is one of the scariest things for a lot of people, including myself. There isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t get a niggling sense of panic and ask myself, “What am I doing?” As someone who always wants to feel successful and like the road map is laid out in front of them, taking a leap is really challenging. However, taking a step back from the security of teaching has allowed me a sense of freedom that includes so much more time with my children and to also start on a journey with pre- and postnatal fitness that I didn’t necessarily see coming.
Second, being able to assess the skills I already had and make them transferable to a new space has been really cool. Before teaching, I worked in sales and marketing. I now combine all of the skills I acquired along the way from business, education, and fitness to creating content that educates women on movement in motherhood.
Lastly, finding my own voice and staying true to myself has been one of the best parts. I fear imposter syndrome all the time (no matter what I am doing and yes I am working on that) so instead of trying to sound like everyone else you scroll by on your feed, I realized that making content that I like and that I find helpful in turn allows me to connect with other women authentically. In doing so, I am learning about their experiences in pregnancy and postpartum – relating to fitness, but also in general, as they step into motherhood.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
Over the last year I experienced my fifth miscarriage, a successful pregnancy leading to the birth of my third child, and have started to rebuild my own strength in postpartum. These experiences have brought me to my lowest and highest points all within the timeframe of a year. and allowed me to build smarter workouts for pregnant and postpartum women because I created them while going through this myself. I know that what I originally had programmed needed tweaking and it was much easier to fine tune the movements I programmed while having to try them out for myself in a body that was finally carrying a healthy baby and then one that recently birthed a child.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://UnstoppableMamaFitness.com
- Instagram: @unstoppable_mama
Image Credits
n/a
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
