I’ve been a dance and fitness instructor my entire adult life. I caught the bug early teaching ballet classes at the studio where I was also a student. It was a dream of mine since my high school days to become a full time instructor and own a studio. Those plans took a 30 year detour, working for New York State and raising two wonderful boys.

I’ve always taught ballet and it’s still my first love. About ten years ago I also started to teach Balletone™, which is an aerobic workout that is based on ballet movement. It’s a fun way to expose people to ballet without needing to be a ballerina. Over the years I’ve also taught various stretch and strengthen classes that I put together on my own, but I was looking for a new class to offer.

Three years ago I learned about Essentrics™ through the PBS series, Classical Stretch, that ran on my local channel. I immediately thought Essentrics™ would be an excellent fit for the studio. Fortunately for me, they were offering a live teacher training in New York City. So, off I went to learn about this workout.

When I started the training process, I didn’t have any ambition to go beyond the basics of the certification. I became a Level I trainer in October 2015. It was a lot of hard work with many hours of study to get my Level I certification. Having accomplished that I really wasn’t looking to advance any further since I didn’t need to in order to maintain the certification.

But a funny thing happened as I taught more Essentrics™ classes. My students told me how much they loved the workouts. They also mentioned how much it helped them to manage pain, improve posture and balance, and increase their energy levels. As an instructor I love to hear that what I do makes a difference in my students lives. At the same time, I also noticed positive changes in my own body. My hip bursitis, which was caused by a car accident, no longer woke me up at night. I also didn’t feel sore all the time even though this body teaches over 20 classes a week.

So let’s review, Essentrics™ makes you feel energetic, have less pain with more flexibility, and it’s not illegal, but it is habit forming! I decided to challenge myself and learn more about this amazing workout so I could be the best teacher I can be.
In February 2017 I got my Level 2 certification and I’m really excited to announce that I received my Level 3 Teacher Certification in July 2018!

With each level the training has gotten more challenging. In addition to learning new flexibility exercises, there was also an anatomy component to the L3 training. Learning about all the muscles in the human body, understanding how they work together and where they are attached has given me a better understanding of how the body moves for maximum stretching and strengthening. I’ve found that this knowledge has helped me teach all of my classes as I’m able to explain movement better.

It was difficult to fit in all that studying, but it was definitely worth it. Now I’m anxious to get certified in the next and final Essentrics™ level. Wish me luck!