Happy 11th Anniversary
Dear LivFit Fam,
It’s our 11th Anniversary
I woke up this morning and realized that next week marks the 11th anniversary for Oliveyah Fitness. Around this time, 11 years ago I was closing out my 6 week trip in Europe and came back to Marin County to start my own business. It was 2009, another moment in time when there was panic and fear throughout our world. I was in my 20s and had no savings or property, so the stock market crashing meant very little to me. I came home determined to be the best trainer I could be and start my professional career. I got my personal training certifications and finished my masters degree in exercise science within the year. I took every course I could to continue my education and quickly realized how much I love to teach.
2009 travels in Europe. Taking in the Santorini sunset.
In April of 2009, Cafe Del Soul, hosted my launch party and the cafe was mostly filled with friends and family although I did have a few clients supporting me. I started off teaching outdoor boot camp classes and in-home personal training sessions. I began with one client and slowly but surely you all referred me to your friends and family and I had a full and thriving business. I am so thankful for you! All of you! Thank you for all of your encouragement throughout the years and for helping me build a life that I love.
Our world is going through a major crisis, and through it all I find myself practicing gratitude more than ever.
Each morning that everyone in my home wakes up healthy I say out loud, “This is going to be a great day!” Overall life is good for us here, homebound. Abigail is happy to have both parents at home. My house looks like a daycare center most of the time, with projects half done and toys abandoned, but she seems to be more joyful than ever. Joe is working from the dining room table everyday and thankfully the wine business has not seen too much of a decline since the shelter in place and with everyone home all day. Umm I wonder why? If you need to stock up, check out Wine Access (I had to plug that right!?) Anyway…
As for me, about a few days before the government issued a shelter in place, I decided to isolate myself and my family. I stopped teaching classes in person and shifted my business to the interweb. I have been using these challenging times to try something new and possibly create a new revenue stream for my business; not as a replacement but as an addition to the LivFit programs.
These LIV- stream classes have been so enjoyable for me. I am using this platform as an opportunity to connect and do what I love and I really appreciate your support.
As many of you know I have just partnered up with Get Fit Marin, in Corte Madera, and we are working towards creating the best fitness studio in Marin County. This project as been so exciting for us and we are looking forward to opening our doors again once it is safe to do so. This lockdown has not come at a convenient time for our brick and mortar studio, since we are a new business and we were just ramping up. We were hoping to have our grand opening this spring and now everything we were planning is on hold. However, we are using this time to continue the build out and get the business infrastructure in place so that you have a happy and vibrant space to train again when we reopen.
This time has come with its challenges but I find that it takes less energy to look for what is working and the opportunities that exist, instead of dwelling in a negative and fearful mindset. I hope that life has not knocked you down too hard and you are experiencing this as well. I do my best to practice gratitude and mindfulness everyday and I find in times of trouble this practice has served me well.
I love including a moment of gratitude in each class I teach. It only takes a moment to breathe and pay attention to something that fills your heart and brings you joy. Sometimes the perfect time is when you are doing an exercise that is difficult and you want to stop. That’s our opportunity to think “I am so grateful for this healthy body, it’s getting stronger every minute.” It’s a magical statement really, try it out! You will notice your body respond with more energy and strength. If you have taken my classes, you know I will usually end class with 3 breathes we all do together. We take this time collectively to send our love and joy out into the world and together we practice gratitude. This might just be my favorite part of class.
I appreciate you moving and breathing with me each week and for being a part of this community.
Beth Holland, thank you for being my very first personal training client and for all your support along the way. Annie Porter, thank you for always showing up for class early ready to go, boot camp class would not be the same without you. Heather and Paul Preneau, thank you for all of your SEO help and for building my online infrastructure. Mindi Bridges, thank you for your marketing and design genius along the way. Bill Seitchik, thank you for being so excited about my program and telling everyone you know. Thank you to my original boot camp crew, who have now trained with me for over 11 years. Amy Norman, thank you for encouraging my family to join YPO and for pushing me to launch the Liv-stream program. Deanna Steele, Sandee Lambert, Ellie Stein, Ann Swart and Alyene Schneidewind thank you for all your wisdom and advice along the way and the many hours you have encouraged and helped me during challenging times. I could just go on and on listing names…
But really, whether you have taken one class or have been with me since day one! I appreciate you and I am so grateful for you.
THANK YOU ALL for continuing to train with me wherever I go whether it’s a new gym or now virtually from your living room.
Sending my love.
Liv