“My active time is “me time”. It gives me a space to go to where I’m not just someone’s mum or co-worker, I’m my own person doing things I find fun and making friends with people who have the same interests.”
Sindi finds that physical activity nurtures her mind and well-being, easing anxieties and creating chances for connection. As a mother and neurodivergent person, being fully present in movement helps her release energy, bringing calm, balance, and joy.
Sindi is also an Ambassador for This Girl Can, a vibrant campaign inspiring everyday women, including mums, to get moving in their own way. This Girl Can Week, from November 10 to 17, celebrates women getting active with beginner-friendly, safe, and inclusive events. To help every woman find movement that works for her, VicHealth is offering free and low-cost activities across Victoria. Discover more at thisgirlcan.com.au.
Read more of Sindi’s story, as she demonstrates in her everyday life that indeed, This Girl Can.
What is your relationship with exercise and movement?
When I was in school, I hated physical education. I was always picked last and I had poor coordination so I avoided sport as much as possible.
When my children were younger I would walk them everywhere I could in the pram. This was both to give them some outside time and also to give my head some fresh air.
Eventually, I would start to jog with the pram and the kids' giggles encouraged me which in turn helped me increase my fitness.
Now that my kids are older, my active time is “me time”. It gives me a space to go to where I’m not just someone’s mum or co-worker, I’m my own person doing things I find fun and making friends with people who have the same interests.
You are an Ambassador for VicHealth’s This Girl Can campaign. What does this mean to you? What opportunities do you hope this initiative brings and gives?
Being a This Girl Can Ambassador has given me the chance to pay forward the encouragement I got later in life to increase my activity. I can hopefully encourage the girls and women to go out and find the things they love without worrying about what other people think.
In what ways do you see women celebrating other women and their abilities?
I see the encouragement women will give to each other when they are all in a dance class together to learn a new thing. Older women particularly will laugh off the things that they feel they can’t do and just enjoy the process.
I’ve seen women competing in aerial competitions encouraging and cheering for each other- celebrating each other’s wins and understanding that everybody is different in their strengths and weaknesses.
What limitations have you felt as a woman in relation to movement and self-belief in this area?
I am late-diagnosed neurodivergent and I always had a lot of social anxiety. It put me off participating in sports. I found as an adult that joining dance classes was less anxiety-causing as the structure of the lesson meant there was less need to socialise until I was comfortable.
What would you say to young girls and women wanting to keep healthy and well?
Age should not be an issue. Start by finding and understanding your own fitness level. This could be by walking and testing how fast and far you are happy to go.
From there, test what you enjoy. I have known of younger teenagers getting permission to join an adult’s dance class as they didn’t want to do end of year performances and I know of classes designed for over 40.
Shop around at what is on in your area and if you can’t find what you want to do, ask places that already have classes or teams if there are people in the area who may be interested in getting involved.
Listen to your body. This is a phrase we hear often, particularly women. What does it mean to you to ‘Listen to your body’? How does it land with you?
Listening to your body, for me, is about knowing that some days I’m stronger than others, and that doesn’t mean I won’t get that balance or trick the following week.
Listening to my body keeps me safe when I’m in an aerial hoop. It’s knowing - today I can do that hard hold, or today my grip is off.
I know a lot of women whose menstrual cycle affects their strength and we need to accept that it doesn’t mean you can’t do something ever, just today is not the day. We will try again next time.
Everyday incidental exercise. In what ways can girls and women look at this type of movement as an opportunity, instead of an inconvenience?
When my children were younger, I would put the washing basket a few steps away from the line, I would park a little further from where I would need to be. I would walk up and down our stairs on breaks and mostly I had fun with my kids. We would walk and play outside, kick a ball or chase each other. We would dance to kids' songs.
“Every little bit of movement makes a big difference.”
How challenging is it for mothers, and indeed parents, of playgroup aged children (0-5 years), to find time for self-care and exercise? Why is it still important to do so?
“I attended the local playgroup for 14 years with my children. Looking back, it was so important that I had time to just take short walks to have some quiet space and mindfulness. At the time, I didn’t realise that that was what I was doing. I was just focused on keeping active for my children’s sake, it coincidentally was for my sake also.”
You work at Ability DN- Ability Disability Networks, a disability collective and you manage the programs. “Our commitment is to support and empower individuals across the spectrum, ensuring that everyone receives the care and attention they deserve.” In what way does Ability DN support families, young children, mothers and carers to get active and enjoy movement?
The company I work for, Ability DN, has programs that encourage participation in different activities. The physical activities will have variations so that many participants can join in.
We have aimed to find new ways to bring more ‘activity’ into activities such as a day called ‘Duck Hunt’ which is a walk around dams and lakes with playgrounds to find ducks and water birds and feed them peas.
There are activities that are sports related but we will also have games that are the opposite of what you would expect. A slow-motion walk race where the winner comes last, balloon volleyball.
These are things that participants who may have difficulty with agility may feel more included.
In what ways can society help women and young girls to feel empowered and confident in themselves and their bodies?
Representation helps encourage more girls and women. When social media shows more types of bodies enjoying being active with different age groups and from different backgrounds, more girls and women will feel safe to join in.
Society needs to acknowledge that women don’t always feel secure to walk down the street or join a gym with a lot of men around. When classes can be offered to women only this can sometimes help lessen the anxiety around that.
Having changing rooms with women’s hygiene products, available if needed, can make a woman feel a little more comfortable that they don’t need to stay home while on their period.
Want to get active? Visit thisgirlcan.com.au to find free or low-cost activities for women in Victoria from Nov 10-17.
Article by Sinead Halliday