How did I get here?

Greetings Omie! You are witness to a truly unique moment in history! I am actually writing a blog post! On purpose! Well, I'm going to try this out and see where it goes... thanks for coming along!

So I figured what better way to start things off then by sharing my story with you. I'm a huge advocate for journaling for its therapeutic qualities. Sometimes just putting pen to paper is all the medicine you need. I'll consider this blog a bit like a journal entry of where I came from, what happened, and where I'm at now.

My story starts in a little town called Danbury, Connecticut. Never heard of it? It's "just outside New York." My childhood was idyllic in many ways. My parents encouraged me to chase my dreams of becoming a professional dancer which led me to SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance. I studied ballet and classical modern from the greats and earned my bachelor’s degree in 2002. I then went on to dance for the NBA and MLB as well as many commercials, videos, stage productions, and industry events.

While at university I picked up a side hustle at the gym. I got my personal training certification and started leading some group classes there as well as privately in the nearby town of Rye, NY.

Eventually I got sick of the cold winters and decided to pack up and move to Miami in 2005. I danced and taught fitness in South Florida for a couple years until a friend told me the beach patrol was having tryouts for lifeguards and since I was already hanging around the beach every free minute, I figured why not?

Well, I fell in love with life saving instantly! Not only did I love the work, but I met and fell in love with my future husband!

In a few years our little family grew and we moved up to Hollywood, FL to put down roots. We love this little city and are very content here.

Then, of course, COVID arrives. This changed our lives in that my part time status at the beach was cut and so were my fitness classes. I went from being employed at 4 gyms and the city, to basically nothing. Luckily my husband’s salary carried us through, but I was left with the decision to either start over building my class schedule back up gradually, or create my own space that could serve my clients. I bet you can guess what came next….

THE OM SPOT WAS BORN! It couldn’t have happened any other way! I realized that I had been acquiring my own list of dos and don’ts over the 25 years I had been instructing fitness and yoga. I was fully ready to embark on this solo mission and I have never regretted one moment of it!

My true passion is caring for people and teaching them how to care for themselves! I’m still learning every day and I’m not perfect, but being able to help others achieve their fitness goals and step into their best self is the fuel that keeps me going. It gives me gratification and I can’t imagine life without it. Community and service are also really big in my life and because I have the flexibility in my schedule I can spend more time helping out at the kid’s school and in the community.

Being a studio owner may not make me a millionaire, but it makes me happy and that’s worth more than any price tag!

Thanks for reading all the way through! I skipped a lot of juicy details which I’ll share in future posts. I hope you come back to find out more. Leave me a comment and let me know what topics you’d like to see in my next blog.

As always,

Stay strong, stay humble, and stay blessed!

~Liz