Letting Go of the Athlete Identity, with Caroline Toshack

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In this episode, we're joined by the wonderful Caroline Toshack for a thought provoking conversation about coming home to our bodies after an eating disorder or indeed years of chronic dieting.

Caroline shares how her career evolved from personal training, sports coaching and competitive endurance sport into Pilates, yoga and body-led therapeutic work. We talk about her experience of living with an eating disorder, the pressure and identity that can become wrapped up in athletic performance, and the shift that came when movement became less about punishment and more about connection.

We explore recovery, body image, neurodivergence, slowing down, and what it can look like to return to movement with curiosity rather than striving. This conversation is about permission: permission to change, permission to let go of old identities, move for joy, and choose the path that feels sustainable.

Key takeaways

• Movement can be a way of coming home to our bodies.
• Pilates and slower, more embodied forms of movement can help us tune into breath, sensation and self-trust.
• Athletic identity can be difficult to release when performance, achievement and self-worth have always been interconnected.
• We can return to sport and exercise in a healthier way by loosening/ softening our attachment to pace, goals and external validation.
• Neurodivergence can shape our relationship with movement and routine.
• Goals do not always need to be rigid; sometimes it is enough to have something to explore, rather than something to prove.
• Letting go of who you thought you had to be can make room for who you actually are
• Recovery isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about building trust with yourself, one choice at a time.
• There is an important need for more informed conversations and training around movement and eating-disorder recovery.

Support the show

Please reach out if you would like some support with your relationship to food OR movement. Ela currently has limited spaces for Intuitive Eating coaching and if you'd like to reconnect with movement, contact Christine.  If you'd like exclusive access to our supporter-only channel click here.

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