Dalila El Merini 🌻

I’ve walked the path you’re on, feeling the frustration of goals slipping through my fingers, the sting of starting over, and the ache of unmet expectations. I know the toll it takes, not just physically — I was caught in cycles of binging and extreme dieting from the age of 13 til my mid-20s. I experienced going from peak performance to being sidelined by illness, mental challenges, hormonal imbalances and injuries, dealing with chronic fatigue and joint pain. But it’s the emotional journey that hits hardest, right? The battle with body image, the dance between determination, discipline, shame and self-loathing, and dealing with setbacks in the search for balance in body and mind. Here’s the twist: I slowly learned to embrace the setbacks. They can be invaluable teachers, if we let them. Our growth lies in our ability to receive their message and seeing them as opportunities to learn more about yourself, adapt and take action from a place of self-compassion, courage and curiosity. How to turn a Setback into a Power Move: 👉🏻 Acknowledge and accept it. A setback can hit us hard when we believe we won’t encounter any. By anticipating and embracing them, we can shift our perspective from resistance to acceptance, viewing each as an integral step rather than a sign we failed. 👉🏻 Reflect and be curious. It might not sound sexy, but cultivating self-awareness is key. Take a moment to assess the situation, is it within your control? Become conscious of the story you tell yourself and how you view and talk to yourself. What beliefs and biases are at play? Are they serving you? 👉🏻 Adapt and Act. Emotional judgment can cloud our capacity to take empowered actions. Approach your raw, imperfect, human and perhaps self-sabotaging parts with compassion, recognising that they are there for a reason. What lessons do they offer? Use these insights to refine your approach, with the understanding that growth involves both a process of learning and unlearning. Continue reading in the comments 🫶🏻

This video made me think back on how I started incorporating yoga into my life. I didn’t start with 90 min long yoga sequences and challenging asanas. It all started with a couple of postures after a workout to cool down and stretch. With a little more awareness and intention in my daily life. With 5 minutes of sitting in silence before starting my day. • I see many people not starting yoga because they think they are not flexible enough or they just don’t have what it takes. Allow your mind to be still, and just do what you can with what you have. 🙏🏻

7 Daily Practices to Relieve Stress & Tension ✨ @lululemoneurope #ad I don’t know about you, but I’m at a point in my life where I prioritize soft, comfortable, and functional clothing that allows me to move freely in my day-to-day life and express myself with confidence. Leggings, such as the Align Pant, that feel like a second skin and won’t slip when you commit to your movement routine hit different – because life can get uncomfortable and stressful enough. While stress isn’t a bad thing – it helps us show up, stretch our limits, and perform well when necessary – chronic stress can take a toll on our physical and mental well-being. Learning to regulate our nervous system is key to being able to chill when we no longer need to be in an aroused state. Of course, the meaning we associate with situations and the way we talk to ourselves does influence our stress levels, but we can’t always calm the mind through the mind. Instead, we can learn how to channel that excess energy through our physiology first, so that our body can feel more grounded and our mind can follow. There are many practices to help with that - in this video, I’m sharing some of my favorites that you can start implementing today. Keep in mind: 👉🏻 There’s no such thing as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ posture. Staying in one position for long periods might be the issue, so your best posture is your NEXT posture. Get some movement snacks in throughout your day 💫 👉🏻 Tension is not simply muscular, it’s neurological - which is why breathing, shaking, and dancing are natural ways of releasing pent-up energy and help us return to a state of homeostasis. 👉🏻 If you want to get upside down but don’t have access to a bar or headstands feel daunting, forward folds or legs up the wall might benefit you just as well. In the end, well-being is part of a lifestyle that is unique to you. You can’t anticipate everything, but you can move through life more intentionally by consistently paying attention to the small things that are within your control. Because when those little things add up, they create a foundation for the bigger things. Which practices make you feel more aligned? 💙 #lululemonAlign

Training is stress. When we can meet it, it becomes eustress - stress that supports growth. When we can’t, it turns into distress - and if we’re not careful, the ways we cope can start to erode our relationship with ourselves. But when we get curious about what’s actually happening, we give ourselves the chance to choose differently. When you’re attuned to yourself, discipline becomes more intentional. Some days that means pushing hard. Other days it means adjusting. Consistency isn’t built by forcing behaviour. It comes from an identity shift. Are you showing up with self-respect and self-compassion today? What would that look like if you were? Would love to hear if this resonates with you 💬 ✨ #consistency #sustainabletraining #nervoussystem

Move your body. Care for yourself. Support Dar Hamoosh 🐾 For my birthday, I’m hosting a donation-based online movement class in support of Dar Hamoosh, a cat sanctuary near Essaouira. Kritzlynn has been caring for 43 cats there, including little عzzu 🖤. Unfortunately, عzzu has been dealing with ongoing digestive issues since birth and has had to go to the vet several times recently. The costs add up quickly, so any support right now is truly appreciated and very much needed - for vet care, food and ongoing expenses. 👉🏻 Donate via the link in my stories - every small gesture counts (and feel free to consider adopting one of her cats) 🐈‍⬛ 1-hour online movement class · Tuesday Jan 27th at 9am Berlin time 🔗 Book your ticket via Eventbrite - live class + replay available Link in Bi0! Looking forward to moving with you. If you’re in, feel free to drop a comment below! 🫶🏻 #movement #movelikeacat #donate #morocco

Healthy Apple Pecan Coconut Crumble ✨ Save this for your next cozy Sunday morning (or anytime, really). I’ve been diagnosed with a histamine intolerance and I’m still experimenting with recipes that nourish my body and comfort my soul without causing flare ups. This one was reaaal good, so I’m sharing it with you! Soft cinnamon apples, crunchy oat pecan + coconut topping and no refined sugar – the sweetness comes from fruit, dates and the optional drizzle of maple syrup. You’ll need (for 1 small dish – 2 servings): - 3 apples, chopped - 3 dates, chopped - 1 tsp of coconut oil - 1 tbsp of butter - cinnamon, cardamom + pinch of salt - 4–5 tbsp oats - 2–3 tbsp flour - a small handful pecans (and pumpkin seeds if you like) - optional: coconut flakes, greek yogurt or Skyr to serve How to make it: 1. Sauté the apples & dates with coconut oil, cinnamon and a splash of water for a few minutes until soft. Add to an oven dish. 2. In a bowl mix oats, flour, chopped pecans, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom + salt (actually, I mistakingly put some Ras el Hanout in it and to be honest, that *might* be the secret ingredient!) Rub in butter until it forms crumbles. 3. Sprinkle over the apples, press down lightly. 4. Bake at 180°C for about 20–25 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. 5. Add extra pecans on top after 15 min, then add the coconut flakes 5 min before getting the dish out of the oven. 6. Serve with yogurt (or ice cream for dessert) and enjoy warm. If you try it, tag me so I can see your crumble 👌🏻 #healthyrecipes #nourishyourbody #easybreakfastideas

It’s not about being less ambitious. It’s about shifting what movement means to you. Not something you cling to for control or self-worth but something that actually supports you and the kind of life you want to experience. When you move from that place, training stops being a performance and starts becoming a relationship - with you. If it resonates with you, you don’t have to figure this out alone. I’m opening spots for 1:1 coaching. If you’re interested in working together, write me a DM 🤍 #performance #movement #coaching

Most of the time, it’s not your body that gives up. It’s the story you tell yourself about what’s possible. Have you ever told yourself “this is probably as good as it gets”? I’ve been there. And that’s the narrative Karolina was ready to shift when we first met. After breaking her humerus in a skiing accident, she had already been through months of physiotherapy. She was disciplined. She followed every exercise. But progress was slow and discouraging - and she wanted more. Her doctor told her to accept her limits. Her physio had plateaued. Limits do exist. But the bigger enemy is believing you’re fragile. Fear creeps in. She found herself holding back. Moving cautiously. Avoiding movements. Feeling disconnected from her body and the activities that once brought her joy. But she didn’t give up. ✨ We created a plan that felt realistic and enjoyable. ✨ Step by step, she restored movement safely so her body could relearn that it wasn’t under threat. ✨ Most importantly, we addressed her beliefs - challenging old stories, attuning to her needs and building capacity for discomfort so she could tell what was safe and what was a real boundary. Along the way, she collected proof: she was strong, she could trust her body and she was capable of more than she thought. I’ll never forget when she told me she reached for a cup overhead without hesitation - and nothing bad happened. No pain. She felt good. Free and confident! And it wasn’t just about the cup. It meant she could finally trust her body again. And when you start trusting your body in the small moments… the bigger moves feel possible too. For Karolina, that meant skiing: something she’d been told she might never do again, now back within reach. It’s proof that limits “on paper” aren’t always truths. Sometimes they’re just stories waiting to be rewritten. This is what gets me fired up about this work 🙌🏻 Now Karolina is about to take another big step: in 2 days she’s having the nails from her humerus removed! @humblemumble__ I’m so proud of your courage, consistency and resilience. ♥️🏁 Can’t wait to see you bounce back stronger! Let’s celebrate Karolina together, drop some love below 💌👇🏻✨

We hear terms like “breakdown of tissue” or “overuse injury” all the time and they can make us scared of movement. I know, because I’ve been there. I’ve lived in fear of my own body. I have several bulged discs, a hip dysplasia and arthritis in my spine, hips and feet (partly genetic). At one point, I felt trapped in an old person’s body… even though I didn’t look like it. For years, I was afraid to move. Here’s what I’ve learned since: Your body is not broken. Most of the time, it’s a load vs capacity mismatch. • Load = what you demand (training volume, intensity, frequency, life stress). • Capacity = what your body & nervous system can currently handle. When load > capacity → risk of “breakdown” increases. When capacity ≥ load → your body adapts and grows stronger. That’s why 2 people can follow the same program: one thrives, the other gets injured or can’t stay on it for longer than 3 weeks. Not because one is “weak”, but because their capacity was ignored. Here are the 5 biggest reasons I see ambitious, high-performing people break down: 1️⃣ Limited Movement Options If you don’t know how to breathe well and use your diaphragm, you can’t create inner stability through intra-abdominal pressure when needed. So instead, your body relies on muscular tension and bracing to keep you safe. Over time, this chronic tension overloads certain tissues while leaving others underused. Now add in repetitive training in just one plane (forward/backward), and you’re even more exposed: Some joints and tissues get hammered. Others barely get challenged. That’s why injuries often happen in simple, reactive moments: grabbing something overhead, twisting quickly, reaching in an awkward way. Those options weren’t trained, so the body wasn’t ready. 2️⃣ Ignoring Unilateral Strength Bilateral lifts (squats, presses, deadlifts) hide side-to-side imbalances. The stronger side keeps compensating until it eventually burns out. Taking time to balance out differences is key. Continue in comments 👇🏻

For years, I thought discipline meant giving 110% every single session. I’d collapse into bed after 2 hour lifting workouts and call it “relaxed.” If I could barely walk after leg day, I thought that meant I did a good job. Sure, it felt satisfying in the moment - and yes, it even helped me cope with emotions I didn’t know how to face otherwise. But over time, those habits added up. What I thought was progress turned into: • constant aches and pains • tension that never released • getting sick more often because my system was overloaded And that’s exactly the story I see in so many ambitious people before they start working with me. The all-or-nothing mentality burns them out, gets them injured and makes consistency impossible. Here’s the truth: If training leaves you depleted over time - and inconsistent because of it - the problem isn’t you. The problem is the system. Training should add to your life, not take from it. If this hits home → my 1:1 coaching is where we turn this into a system that actually sticks. Dm me and let’s chat 💌 #coaching #strength #movement #holistic #training #berlin

It’s not always about willpower or discipline. If you’ve ever felt ‘paralyzed’ when you want to move but can’t - this one’s for you. Freeze keeps so many ambitious people stuck in cycles of shame + inaction. Here’s how to recognize it and begin shifting it. Can you relate? Drop a 🖤 in the comments.

What we often see as setbacks or failures can turn out to be our greatest turning points — if we let them. This is a piece of my story. I’m still learning, still evolving. These were some of my lowest moments. Turns out, they were all part of the journey… to becoming who I am today 🦋 #DontFearTheFirstStep @belenka_barefoot #BeLenkaInSpace #ad