How to Love Your Body Again After Injury, Illness, or Burnout with Rachel Jenks

In this powerful episode of The Journey of Becoming, Karrie Mitten sits down with Rachel Jenks, founder of Booty Kicking Ballerina, to explore how dancers and high-achieving women can heal their relationship with their bodies. Rachel shares her journey from a professional ballet career cut short by injuries and disordered patterns, to rebuilding strength, mobility, and self-trust through corrective exercise, compassionate coaching, and body wisdom.

You’ll hear how Rachel pivoted from decades in marketing back to her first love—dance—blending injury prevention, corrective exercise, and self-compassion to support long-term longevity, not just short-term performance. She opens up about scoliosis, hypothyroid, identity loss, and the mindset shift from punishing discipline to loving stewardship of the body—so you can keep “kicking booty” for a lifetime.

What we cover

• Smart conditioning for dancers: strength, mobility, and injury prevention
• Recovering from burnout and disordered patterns; moving from self-critique to body love
• Corrective exercise basics that improve balance, turns, and resilience
• Pivoting careers with courage, handling comparison, and redefining success
• Practical reframes: listening to your body, aging as an athlete/artist, and sustainable training

Key takeaways

• Your body isn’t the enemy—partner with it.
• Train for longevity: technique + strength + recovery.
• Identity evolves; you have permission to be who you are—now.

If this episode resonates, share it with a dancer, teacher, or high-achieving friend who needs a reminder that healing and high performance can coexist.