'It ain't about the a**': Lena Dunham posts workout selfie and says exercise helps manage her anxiety and mood

Girls star Lena Dunham took to Instagram to encourage others with mental health issues to embrace the burn.

The actress and writer, 28, posted a selfie wearing green and black patterned spandex pants and a yellow sports bra and explained that exercise 'has helped with my anxiety in ways I never dreamed possible.'

'It ain't about the ass, it's about the brain,' she wrote next to the snap on Saturday.

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Sending a message: Lena Dunham posted a workout selfie and urged others who suffer from OCD, anxiety and depression to exercise regularly as a way of managing their mental health issues

Sending a message: Lena Dunham posted a workout selfie and urged others who suffer from OCD, anxiety and depression to exercise regularly as a way of managing their mental health issues

Dunham, who has a new cropped hairdo, wasn't bothered about showing a fair amount of upper body flash in the selfie with her tattoos clearly visible along with a little tummy bulge. 

She is the latest star to work out with celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, who's helped celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow stay fit.

She shared with her fans that her new focus on fitness is more to do with how it helps with her mood and anxiety than it is about getting slimmer.

New devotee: The Girls star says that after 16 years of being told that exercise would help her, she's finally realized that those work out advocates were right

New devotee: The Girls star says that after 16 years of being told that exercise would help her, she's finally realized that those work out advocates were right

'Promised myself I would not let exercise be the first thing to go by the wayside when I got busy with Girls Season 5,' she wrote next to the photo.

'To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it's mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen. I'm glad I did.'

A two-time Golden Globe winner for the HBO series Girls, Dunham was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as a child and still takes antidepressants.

'Thank you @tracyandersonmethod for showing me the light (and @bandierfit is where I bought my Florida mom inspired workout look.) #notsponsored #stillmedicated,' she added at the end of her Instagram message

Looking and feeling good: The actress and writer, 28, is following the Tracy Anderson Method and also doing acro-yoga

Looking and feeling good: The actress and writer, 28, is following the Tracy Anderson Method and also doing acro-yoga

In addition to the Tracy Anderson Method, the Girls star recently told David Letterman she is also doing acro-yoga, which combines acrobatics and yoga movements.

According to PEOPLE, Dunhamtold the late-night host: 'Part of the reason I wanted to do it was I was losing my breath when I walked up [a] stair.'

'And also, both my parents, who are 65, […] they're both really exercise fiends. They look really hot, and I was just starting to feel like I was really dragging behind, and I was like, 'You're more than twice my age and I look like a bag of trash next to you.''

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