Selena Watkins, founder of Socanomics: “When I look at my body, I think: I’m brave”

In my first decade of working in fitness, I had to push through a lot of stereotypes and boundaries. I was told to cast a wide net to cater to a general audience. But now, through my self-invented Socanomics Dance Fitness method, I can understand who I am as a first-generation American (my parents are from Antigua and Barbuda), a dancer and a sexy woman.

Before I started teaching Socanomics as a pop-up class in 2013, I taught classes all over the place, from SoulCycle to Crunch to a boutique gym in the suburbs of New York City. Each time I taught in a new space, I was asked what form of class I wanted to teach. I always have the same answer, “Well, I’d love to combine dance and fitness, and I’d love to be in the diaspora.”

Socanomics is tied to the culture of Caribbean Carnival, where men and women of all shapes, sizes and ages dress in beautiful, barely-there costumes to express liberation and emancipation. Carnival culture encourages fitness with the goal of making you feel good as you parade down the road in your masquerade costume – to live happily in your own body.

I have put this energy into Socanomics, both in face-to-face classes and in virtual classes at home with the camera off. I want women like me to feel noticed and welcome in healthy spaces, and I want everyone to be able to move their waist with confidence through the power of high-vibrational soca music.

This allows me to pour my whole self into what I do. I’ve always been a health warrior, but the last few years have taught me that you have to have consistent self-control intentions and a consistent self-care routine, because that dictates everything else. I want to be able to have such a fulfilling relationship with myself that I’m not alone when everything else is taken away.

I appreciate the strength of my body – it is the vessel that I must care for through my exercise, spiritual practice and daily life. We can change where we live, but our bodies are always with us. That’s where I pour the most positive energy so that I can express my true self. There’s something about being naked, at home, in the mirror, that makes me feel like I can do that.