The Consumerist(kənˈso͞omər) Church(CHərCH) of Fitness(ˈfitnis) Classes

The Consumerist(kənˈso͞omər) Church(CHərCH) of Fitness(ˈfitnis) Classes

Gyms(jim) provide ritual(ˈriCHo͞oəl) and community, serving as a sort of religion(riˈlijən). They also promote(prəˈmōt) values American culture already worships(ˈwərSHəp)—capitalism(ˈkapətlˌizəm) and overwork.

By Zan Romanoff

You pay a regular(ˈreg(ə)lər,ˈregyələr) tithe(tīT͟H) to support the community. In public(ˈpəblik), you wear symbols(ˈsimbəl) that identify(īˈdentəˌfī) you as one of the faithful(ˈfāTHfəl). When you gather with other adherents(-ˈher-,adˈhi(ə)rənt), it’s often in small, close rooms. Breathing(ˈbrēT͟HiNG) gets heavy(ˈhevē); bodies sweat(swet). If anyone speaks, it is to moan(mōn), or occasionally(əˈkāZHənl-ē) to shout(SHout) in triumph(ˈtrīəmf).

Exercise classes often function just as much like a church as they do like a gym: They gather people into a community, and give them a ritual to perform. The comfort of clipping your shoes into a beloved(biˈləv(i)d) SoulCycle(sōlˈsīkəl) bike or landing the first blow on your favorite heavy bag at a boxing gym is not so far off from the reassurance(ˌrēəˈSHo͝orəns) of arriving at temple on a Friday(-dē,ˈfrīdā). You know who will be leading(ˈlediNG,ˈlēdiNG) the evening; you can anticipate(anˈtisəˌpāt) the general contours(ˈkänˌto͝or) of its energy(ˈenərjē). You know you will recognize familiar(fəˈmilyər) faces among the participating(pärˈtisəˌpāt) crowd.

As more Americans have moved away from organized(ˈôrgəˌnīzd) religion (a 2015 Pew(pyo͞o) Center study found that 23 percent of the adult(əˈdəlt,ˈadˌəlt) population identified as “religiously(riˈlijəs) unaffiliated(ˌənəˈfilēˌātid),” up from 16 percent in 2007) they have also moved toward new forms of community building, as well as new ways to seek mental(ˈmentl) clarity(ˈklaritē) and spiritual(ˈspiriCHo͞oəl) experiences. The gym is a popular avenue(ˈavəˌn(y)o͞o) for this kind of searching, in part because it mimics(ˈmimik) the form of traditional(trəˈdiSHənl) religious(riˈlijəs) services.

First of all, it creates community for us: a place where we can congregate to actively(ˈaktiv) socialize(ˈsōSHəˌlīz). “I think I’ve figured out what [people are] really drawn to, and that’s the community aspect(ˈaspekt) of it,” says Sam Rypinski, who owns an LA gym called Everybody, which aims(ām) to be diverse(diˈvərs,dī-) and inclusive(inˈklo͞osiv). “We’re living in dark times; we’re very segregated(-ˌgāt,ˈsegriˌgāt,ˈsegrəgit) and separated from each other. We’re cut off by technology. We don’t connect with our bodies; we don’t connect with each other. So if there’s a space that encourages(-ˈkə-rij,enˈkərij) that on any level, people are so happy to be there.”

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https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/my-body-is-a-temple/547346/