Entertainment

Pregnant Ashley Graham Dancing After A Long Work Week Is A Powerful Thing

In this life we need to celebrate every single one of our victories, no matter how small. Ashley Graham knows this, is perhaps especially aware of celebrating her victories now that she's pregnant with her first child. And to be honest, the victory she chose to celebrate this week is no small thing. In a recent Instagram post, Ashley Graham danced to celebrate a long work week. Like, really long. Longer than mine by a mile and she's pregnant. So her dance moves feel especially well earned at the moment.

Graham and her husband of nine years, filmmaker Justin Ervin, are expecting their first baby together later this year. And while some expectant moms (like me) might welcome the opportunity to dial it back a little during their pregnancy, this is clearly not the case with the model and fashion designer. Not only is she continuing to work through her pregnancy, she is also working more hours in a week than pretty much anyone I know. As she noted in an Instagram post from Friday, "Ya girl had an 80 hour work week, let the weekend celebrations begin." And how does one go about getting those weekend celebrations started, you might ask? With an adorable baby bump dance party, obviously. Well, half dancing and half karate chopping the air. Also she really loves a good old braid twirl. And why not? An 80 hour work week feels almost impossible to imagine.

It's pretty obvious that Graham is proud of herself for crushing it at work all week, although I doubt her fans are terribly surprised to see her conquering the world. Ever since the beginning of her pregnancy Graham has been sharing updates about her killer workouts at the gym. I'm sure she's not doing it to shame anyone, of course, but watching Graham work out hard core with her trainer while I'm laying on the couch scrolling through social media... not my finest hour.

It was for her though, Ashley Graham is a machine.

That being said, life (and pregnancy) is all about balance, isn't it? Ashley Graham might work incredibly hard at the gym and at her career, but she's also a zen master in the art of self care. Not long after the Sports Illustrated model initially announced that she and her husband were expecting in August, she shared a lovely message about the importance of taking care of herself after going for a long massage while on holiday in St. Bart's:

Practicing some serious self care and feeling grateful for an hour and a half of massage bliss.

Graham is a confident, self aware woman who knows how to take care of her own needs, and it's a genuinely beautiful thing. Sure, she works long hours but then she takes a moment to celebrate all of her hard work with a sweet happy dance. She is intense with her workouts at the gym but also takes great pleasure in a decadent massage.

In other words, Ashley Graham has figured out the secret of life. And she's sharing it with her fans one happy dance at a time.