Do you ever feel like there is something missing in your days? Something that you cannot exactly pinpoint? I sure did. My missing thing had to do with my work.
Over the years I continued to do work involving fitness and movement. I LOVED everything about this but I still felt like something was missing. My career evolved from teaching classes as my at a gym as my side gig, to solely working from my home-based Pilates and Fitness Studio.
So what was I missing and how did I figure out that answer?
June 2018, I headed to Denver to participate in Momentum Fest. My schedule was filled with movement classes led by incredible instructors. I had selected a wide variety of classes from Barre, Reformer on the Mat, Yoga, and Pilates HIIT Fusion. This event as being the perfect opportunity to try out new movement modalities that I usually would not have the time or opportunity to try. All of my sessions were amazing, from kick butt to meditative and relaxing. It was amazing to explore movement in so many different ways plus many of the Instructor had playlists designed specifically for the classes they presented. AHA, THAT WAS IT!
MUSIC!
I was missing teaching and moving to music.
On day one of Momentum Fest, I attended Tracey Mallett’s Barre Class where we bounced and pulsed to the beat of the music. Then there was Pilates HIIT Fusion, a combination of all the things I do and love. Plus Grace Hurry’s class that she choreographed to go with an amazing playlist of UK artists. This was what I was missing!
When I started working out in a gym it was the aerobic classes and the music that motivated me to go and become a teacher. As my career had evolved, I moved away from using music. I either coach clients one on one with background music or teach Pilates with no music. That one Barre class reminded me of how much I love to move to music and create playlists for my classes, with a plan for how we would move to each song whether it was grapevines or hill climbs on the spin bike. Hearing a song on the radio that I could incorporate into a playlist excited me. I realized that I could figure out a way to bring this back into my work. It’s on my list to be checked off very soon!
I am thankful for Momentum Fest. The music, people and movement!
Register for Momentum Fest 2019 today!
Melissa Nagai, owner of b.PILATES & FITNESS, began her career in fitness in the early 1990’s, teaching high energy aerobics, weight training, and spin classes for many years before she discovered Pilates. Ongoing education and training in both Pilates and fitness brought Melissa to where she is today, holding certifications as a Pilates Teacher, Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, Kettlebell and Ultimate Sandbag training. Melissa credits studying and practicing Pilates with changing the way she personally approaches fitness as well as how she trains her clients. She believes that it is very important to find a balance in the physical fitness activities that you are doing so that you are able to continue on with the activities that you enjoy for many years to come.