PiYO by the Lake

My mom lives in Maine.  Growing up it was our vacation house, then my mom moved up there full time after my dad passed away.  It is amazing there: the house overlooks a picturesque lake set against a backdrop of ski mountains, with hiking trails out the back door. However it is quite remote and the only fitness class (my preferred way to sweat!) is yoga at the church once a week.  I LOVE LOVE all the swimming in the summer, hiking in the shoulder seasons, and skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, but to be honest, it is tough to actually get in a workout with my kids in tow (still fun though!).
We like to go up for some R&R and grandma time in the summer, but finding my fitness groove becomes difficult.  Last summer I was training for the half marathon, going to yoga once a week, and taking some virtual classes when I could fit them in, but was really craving the ability to just workout by myself with a yoga mat and some weights. I kept thinking “is this something people just know how to do?”  My brain started going back to gym class in high school learning about weight training and timed runs...ugh I needed to learn a workout that I could lead on my own time but also something FUN.  And something that incorporated stretching because training for a half marathon is no joke.
After some research, I landed on PiYo Live.  I had been taking Megs’ Virtual PiYo and loved it, so it seemed like a natural fit for me.  I love yoga, I love pilates, and I love dance, and PiYo seemed like the perfect mix of those things for me. I bought a giant (64 oz!) water bottle, signed up for the virtual course, arranged childcare (thanks Mom!), and set up a tiny log-cabin bedroom studio for my training.
PiYo training was actually so fun.  There was a lot I expected, like learning yoga poses, flow, working out harder and longer than I ever had, but there was also a lot I didn’t expect, like learning musicality, safety of positioning in the poses, and having a super supportive PiYo community. The biggest surprise was how motivated I was to teach afterwards.  I intended to learn how to construct a work out for myself, but as I learned the movements, the techniques, and HOW to teach I became so inspired!  The respect I gained for what all my fitness instructors had already mastered pushed me to work even harder to master the format. It also pushed me to become something I could have never imagined ten years ago: a fitness instructor.  
Since that training, I have been practicing PiYo at home often (mostly with my kids as my “clients”).  I am working towards a full class that I am comfortable teaching, and learning so much from PiYo has given me the freedom to workout on my own.  I just play my PiYo jams and flow on!  I often think back to that weekend in the log cabin in Maine and realize how important that training was in my fitness journey.  It solidified my need to work on stretch (and I actually put together a two song PiYo inspired stretch routine based on what I learned), it motivated me to take my strength to a new level, and it mentally inspired me to work towards a new job path.  It also inspired me to continue learning as an adult, and all of the motivation I have gotten from my DanceFit community so far this year has lead me to sign up for a PiYo Live masterclass series so that I can really become proficient and make PiYo happen!

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