Where I Teach: Hotels/Resorts
As I’ve continued along my journey of teaching within the Tampa/St. Pete community, I’ve had many incredible opportunities come my way. Teaching amongst so many unique and diverse communities has only expanded my teaching capabilities, and grown my appreciation of the practice of movement and how it does not discriminate on the lives it can positively impact. Recently I’ve received the opportunities to teach regularly at two well known area hotels / resorts; The Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach and The Edition Water St. in Downtown Tampa. Both of these opportunities have introduced me to people I would have never met otherwise, from all walks of life and corners of the earth.
A more intimate class with a small group of their guests, both these hotels welcome people from all over the world and offer a wide variety of group fitness classes. At The Don Cesar on St. Pete Beach, I teach their beach yoga and mat-style Pilates classes. With their guests and club members, we get to embrace the sun and sand by practicing yoga on the beach, and utilize their gym's highly faceted multi-purpose room for all the various strength-training style classes. This resort right along the coast line has been a staple for the community for over a century, and is known as the “Pink Palace'' for its aesthetic pink exterior. It’s been a dream come true for my beach bum to be employed to teach yoga on my favorite beach and Pilates inside their immaculate, state of the art gym facility. Having formed connections with my “regulars” of their club members who frequent my classes, I’m forever grateful for the Pink Palace and the community it’s allowed me to help build and the people it’s allowed me to meet.
A newer staple in the Tampa skyline, but a world class and well known luxury hotel around the world, The Edition has quickly become a Tampa favorite. Home of Michelin star restaurants and a world class bar and rooftop pool, local Tampanians frequent this hotel but only their guests are allowed to utilize their gym facility and classes. My weekly yoga classes are taught on the outdoor terrace of their state of the art gym, overlooking the stunning skyline of Tampa. The classes are always intimate and small, allowing me to tailor it per the needs of the guests' unique bodies. I always have the opportunity to inquire about their strengths and weaknesses, teaching them unique movements to assist them in improving the quality of their body and mind. I’ve brought many guests to (happy) tears in them being able to feel heard and seen, knowing that relief is real and that through proper movement there’s a light at the end of the pain tunnel. Having met people from all corners of the earth, I’m forever grateful to be able to positively change lives all while looking over the city that made me, me. Still in contact with many who’ve attended, I’m grateful for the global connections and community it’s allowed me to create.
Becoming a fitness instructor has introduced me to people whose paths would have never crossed with mine otherwise. It’s so much bigger than the movement of our bodies, it becomes a movement of the energy put out into the world. We all begin as strangers, and leave as friends. Being a part of The Don Cesar and The Edition have easily been two of my favorite teaching opportunities thus far, and I cannot wait to see how it continues to unfold and who it continues to cross paths with.