bellyfit.com is being decommissioned. Store and checkout are disabled.
Don't have an account yet ? Create an account
Please enter your e-mail address and click Reset Password.
If you’re looking for an intelligently designed, incredibly effective, super fun, stress busting, energizing cardio dance fitness class set to off-the-charts phenomenal dance music ~ then YOU, beautiful woman ~ have hit the jackpot!
If you’re looking for a kick-your-ass-so-hard-you-pee-your-pants-and-can-hardly-walk-the-next-day kind of extreme workout, then Bellyfit® may not be for you. This isn’t an Insanity-P90X-Crossfit situation, so if that’s your preferred jam, Bellyfit® probably won’t get you fired up.
If you’re looking for technique, drills and complex choreography or you’re committed to mastering your 3/4 shimmy & your arabesque turns, then we must inform, Bellyfit® may not deliver. This isn’t a dance class, so if that’s your main squeeze, Bellyfit® probably won’t get you juiced up.
If you’re looking for a class that focuses only on giving you a physical workout, then Bellyfit® may not be your thing. This is a holistic, mindful experience so although we never sacrifice the sweat & the burn, we will be focusing on alignment, breath, intention and connection.
We’ve found that our perfect blend of cardio, strength and stretch satisfies a special sweet spot for women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s although women of all ages have been known to fall in love with Bellyfit®. It’s a moderate to intense workout depending on how hard you wanna work and it’s designed to be smart, which means that it’s safe, effective and always sweat inducing!
We feel that the balance of Masculine and Feminine in our world is currently compromised, and that this is showing up in many, many ways and effecting all of us. In order to support a rebalancing, there’s a growing global movement to help uplift and empower the Feminine. Bellyfit® is a pioneer in this global movement and is here to help support the Feminine through exercise that uplifts and empowers women. Ultimately, our goal is to unite the Masculine and Feminine in loving balance and we’re confident that you’ll feel this play between these two complimentary aspects in each Bellyfit® class. Our unique combination of action & stillness, receptivity & resistance, intuition & intellect is uniquely designed to help you embrace your inner warrior and your inner Goddess!
Your Bellyfit® class/routine will always include some movements inspired by Belly Dance. The movements in Belly Dance have been done in women-centred spaces for a very long time; created, taught, shared, performed and mastered primarily by women. By including these movements in your exercise routine, you’re working from the inside out and activating muscles that can only be worked with circular movement. Not only is it incredibly effective at toning the core, but it can also be incredibly healing, fun and empowering.
The movements, exercises and postures performed in a Bellyfit® class are specifically designed to activate, heal and empower the uniqueness of female biology. This focus on female physiology & psychology results in special attention being given to the pelvis, hips, belly, breasts, booty and even the brain. We’ve created a feminine-centric system that works the physical body while helping to clear, balance and energize the emotional, hormonal, mental and energetic body as well.
When women are in a female only environment we naturally feel more at ease to move our body in a sensual way and connect more deeply to our own sacredness and the sacredness of the women around us. This is not about exclusion. It’s about honouring the unique and specific needs of women and offering the most customized, potent, fulfilling experience possible. For many, being in an environment of only women is not only a welcome and energizing experience, but also a rare one that is greatly appreciated. Our intention is that you’ll feel free to shimmy, shake and sweat, without any self consciousness or fear of judgement.
In our beautiful, ever-changing world, there are more and more brave individuals seeking to embrace, express and nurture the Feminine within, in new and diverse ways. We recognize and celebrate this global shift in consciousness and are honoured to support and include any and all individuals who identify as female, in part or in whole. We encourage our instructors, along with their participants, to create an environment that feels safe and inclusive while still maintaining the integrity of our Feminine-centric values and philosophy.
Many women are on a mission to achieve ‘flat abs’…which they believe is equal to a ‘fit belly’.
This is both positive and negative, true and false.
It’s positive because the abdomen is an important part of the core and a strong core is very important for overall health. It’s negative because the idea that most women hold in their minds of what strong abdominal muscles look like (flat!), is generally unrealistic and impossible to achieve. The truth is, some women work very hard, training many hours a days to get that super toned look, and some women are genetically predisposed to having a slim belly, but for most of us it’s physiologically very challenging to have a “flat” stomach. Yes we can certainly strive to get that coveted 6 pack, but realistically, for most of us, it’s going to take many hours at the gym every week, and we just don’t have that kind of time. And ultimately, what we should be striving for is a strong, flexible, healthy core that supports our daily movement, gives our organs the support they need and makes us feel powerful and sexy in our bodies, because of how well it functions, not because it conforms to a photoshopped image on the cover of a magazine.
This unrealistic mission to have ‘flat abs’ is fuelled by mainstream advertising campaigns displaying photo shopped models that are half the age of the market they’re targeting. Due to this relentless marketing, many women are plagued by anxiety, depression, frustration, obsession, envy and self deprecation. There is no denying that we are a skinny obsessed, misinformed society.
It’s distracting, disempowering and for some women, debilitating.
We’re here to help change all this, with education, motivation and inspiration.
Our outer abdominal muscles (Rectus Abdominis) are in fact slightly rounded, not flat at all, and factors such as age, genetics, lifestyle, pelvic floor strength, individual body type and cultural disposition will determine the size and shape of our belly. Even something as simple as posture can change the look of our physique in a matter of seconds. Energetic stagnation due to emotional or sexual trauma, can also have a dramatic effect on the belly and pelvis.
“We know that most of the images we see in magazines and in flashy fitness ads are unrealistic and unattainable. They may motivate us for a moment, but we lose motivation easily, knowing in our hearts that it’s a losing battle. Finding the time, energy and commitment required for working out is a lot easier when we look to inspiration rather than motivation. Inspiration that comes from the inside. From wanting to be a happier mom, a more passionate lover, a better friend, a more effective employee or a more successful entrepreneur. Being motivated to work out by the desire to have slimmer thighs and a thin waist may last a for a while, but the inspiration to work out because you know it will help you kick ass at the game of life will last forever. “
Alice Bracegirdle Bellyfit® CEO
Our mission is to help rewrite the conversation we’re all having with our bodies…especially our bellies.
We’re here to reclaim the word BELLY as a beautiful, powerful, sensual aspect of Woman ~ an aspect that should be loved, respected, strengthened and honoured for what it does, NOT for how it looks!
We’re here to help change perceptions of what a strong core actually looks and feels like and shift the focus from form to function & feeling. A ‘fit belly’ means much, much more than having a six pack. Being fit in the belly is about connecting to the power in our centre and respecting & loving this area of our body as the life giving, creative powerhouse of our being that it is…rolls, scars, dimples and all! It’s about loving ourselves unconditionally and honouring the many stages we go through as women throughout our lives. It’s about being connected to who we are…strong, sexy and sacred, with or without flat abs!
The pelvic floor or pelvic diaphragm is one of the most undertrained groupings of muscles in the female body and one of the most important. A strong pelvic floor is essential for bladder, bowel, sexual health and much more. The pelvic floor forms the base of the entire torso and during times of stress and change, the pelvic floor bears the weight. These times of stress could include pregnancy, surgery, weight gain, physical activity, spinal injury, disease or basically just living in our crazy modern world. Finding ways to strengthen this foundation can help more than just physically; it can also help us open to change and strengthen the foundation of our life.
In every Bellyfit® class, we address the Pelvic Floor continuously and use a variety of cues to encourage participants to connect with this important area. Every movement performed, from shimmies, to planks, hip lifts to knee lifts, you’ll be encouraged to stay connected to your deep core muscles, thereby not only increasing safety, but also increasing the intensity of the workout, giving you that burn you crave, without sacrificing alignment and breath. And you’ll do it all without a single ‘crunch’ or ‘sit-up’ in the whole class!
Read here why you’ll never do a ‘crunch’ in Bellyfit® Six reasons you were right to hate crunches
There’s a global revolution happening among women who are reclaiming their power and their pleasure. The ‘no pain, no gain’ model of exercise is slowly losing traction, and we couldn’t be happier! We’re beginning to understand and embrace that feeling good in our bodies, specifically when it comes to fitness, is essential to our overall wellbeing and creates a much more enjoyable, effective, sustainable movement experience.
It’s time to embrace our bodies and treat them with respect, kindness, compassion and love. As a temple for the soul, our body is a beautiful, expressive, sacred vessel and the vehicle for our dreams…and we’re learning to treat it as such by seeking pleasure over pain in all areas of our life, including exercise!
When it comes to fitness for women, Bellyfit® is leading the feel good revolution! Time to get that Oxytocin flowing, ladies!