I'm a Pure Barre teacher!

AHH I can officially say I am a Pure Barre teacher you guys and it's the most exciting thing in the world for me!! I started this adventure way before I even thought of becoming an instructor though. It really started when I moved to the Bay area and made the choice to eat better and push myself to do a class challenge at the studio. Just a little back story because if you didn't know I have the worst sugar tooth.  Desserts were okay for breakfast (or really anytime of day in my eyes), I would eat cookies in the morning or breads galore and very rarely would I eat greens. Yikes! I know better now and my sugar habit is more controlled but  I still love the sweets lol. So when I participated in this challenge and ate clean it was the first time I saw my body change, like really really change. It was an entire 31 day push and I felt great. I wrote about my sugar detox and everything on a previous post that will give you a better idea of how I felt throughout it all. Check it out here. If you know me i'm a tiny human being and I have always sort of struggled with how skinny I am. I honestly hated how I felt like I had chicken legs and limbs because I was so small. When I made the decision to eat a more balanced diet and consistently worked out at the barre I gained a lot of muscle and tone. I to my surprise moved up a size in pants because I was gaining weight slowly and putting on a lot more muscle. I've come to love my small self more than before and I thank the technique of Pure Barre for giving me the confidence to be more comfortable in my body. I always feel my best self through this community and I love going! It's honestly the best part of my day to just de-stress. 

One day thinking about how much I loved the studio, my teachers, and what Pure Barre did for me I realized I wanted to inspire others to feel their best selves the way I did. I guess you could say I sort of planted the seed in my own head that a teacher was something I could see myself doing at some point. Well let me just say the universe speaks back you guys because next thing I know Mary my studio owner posts that she needs teachers. At that time I went to the audition and felt it went pretty well, but the timing was all wrong for me to try and fit becoming a teacher into my life. It was just before my summer of weddings was about to begin, I just started my new position at Nespresso, and I just didn't realistically have the time to do it. I was really bummed because I wanted it, but sometimes timing just isn't right. Mary told me to keep it in the back of my mind and that maybe when timing was better I could talk to her again about becoming a teacher. I certainly didn't let the timing discourage me. I enjoyed my summer of weddings and adventures and come fall my schedule really opened up because the girl I nanny started school and I was settled into my new store at Nespresso. I was thinking of reaching out to Mary to let her know I had more free time and was still interested and man the universe spoke again because she was posting that she needed teachers again!! I jumped on that train real quick and went to the fall audition and was offered the opportunity to become a teacher! You guys have no idea how freaking excited I was to get the email from her. So this chapter of my life began back in mid-august and I was so ready for it!

Fast forward it's November (cray cray) and I taught my first full week of classes! OH EM GEE! The most invigorating and humbling experience of my life going through this journey. This week was another learning curve in all of this and I still have work to do to improve as a teacher, but I am so thankful for the kind words and support from the clients in my first week. I look forward to getting to know them better and help them achieve their best self through the workout. In all this I've also made some new wonderful friendships that inspire me everyday. The training process was grueling and my brain sometimes didn't know what was going on, but heck I kept at it and it's such a fun part of my life now! 

I wanted to share my adventures of the 5 day of training I spent in Denver because it was so fun! My foodie self ate everywhere I possibly could that Paleomg blog suggested in the area. Side note, Juli of Paleomg blog is one of my favorite bloggers and you all should check her out! She has amazing recipes, the cutest outfits, and all around boss babe personality and I love going to her blog for inspo and amazing recipes. She is from Denver so she has a whole series on her blog of healthy places to eat and what her favorites are at each so of course I did my best to eat at each spot. 

So Day 1 in Denver me and Danielle (the other PB Palo Alto trainee with me) arrived around dinner time starving so we picked out the restaurant Cuba Cuba to eat at from Juli's blog. Also Cuban food is some of my absolute favorite things to eat, but it was closest to our hotel so we could walk. This place did not disappoint whatsoever. Pardon my photos lighting was terrible in there, but I did my best to capture our feast and the cute ambiance. We ordered the Ropa Vieja empenadas as appetizers, Danielle got the Camarones al Coco (spicy shrimp dish), and I ordered the Lechon asado (roasted pork shoulder and plantain dish). We also ordered cocktails, I got a caipirinha and she got a mojito both well made and tasty! By far the best dinner we had during our time there. Also side note, Danielle is as much of a foodie as me and adventuring with her was the best time. It's weird that we were total strangers before this Pure Barre thing happened and I am so happy I gained a friend and had a buddy to go through this with. If you read this Danielle hi friend :) cheers to us becoming teachers together! 

Day 2 is when training started. Bright and early at 8 AM. We stopped by the Starbucks across the street from our hotel (sorry Nespresso, I needed coffee :p) and got a quick bite then headed over to the training center. When we got there we said hi to the other girls training as well introduced ourselves, and met our trainer Amanda. The whole day was chalk full of information of what it meant to be a teacher and what it meant for us to be the best teachers we could be for clients in our own special ways. It was a long day to say the least and the other girls training really wanted to end our day with dinner and drinks together. We found a place that took a reservation for 12 girls (luckily!) and went to this place called Apaloosa grill. It was really awesome to get to know the other girls in training and hear about their lives and backgrounds. I think it was so great to just go through the learning curve with so many different personalities. I learned a lot about myself throughout the whole training and i'm so thankful to have had these ladies cheer me on and vice versa. 

The barre babes after day 1 training!

Day 3 was the second day of training and this was a lot more hands on in learning how to be mindful of injuries and how to give modifications throughout the workout to ensure clients had the best workout they could. Some of us that day were craving burritos so we tried this place called Protein Bar in the downtown area that had healthy burritos! I didn't take photos of this place but it was really cute and the food was amazing. We honestly ate their for lunch again the next day. You can find more info about the place here that night we went to Grimaldi's pizza because we were just craving some comfort food with the rain from the day, and pizza almost always hits the spot. The downtown area of Denver is the cutest! Has lots of food spots and shopping of course. 

Day 4 was our third training day and probably the longest day. We really got the chance to practice what we were learning and it was a lot applying the information and then feedback to help us improve. To say the least we worked out a lot this day. Our muscles were exhausted as were our brains at the end of that training. A lot of the girls were staying in that night because we were all diveyed up a part of class to teach that next day so everyone wanted to practice and chill. Surprisingly that same weekend I was there for training Ellyn and Lisa happened to be there for different events. As well my roommates from when I first moved to the Bay Salleigh and Joe moved to the Denver area so I wanted to see them while I was in town. Since we were all there I ended up going to the Lafayette area to meet them all to eat at this place called Community. I ordered the Chupacabra tacos there and they were so good! Their menu is seasonal so i'm not sure the tacos will be there if you ever check this place out, but food is worth it! 

Day 5 was my last day in Denver and last day of training. I was not exactly ready to go home, but I was ready to be done with training lol. It felt like 4 long college exam days and my brain was on overload. BUT don't get me wrong it was all soooo worth it. That last day of training we all taught a portion of class and all felt so relieved it was over haha. Nerve wrecking to hear yourself on a mic and be in front of people, but it was a great opportunity to practice. After the last day we took some group photos, said our farewells to the people who had early flights and those of us that had later flights went to eat at Just BE kitchen in the Plate District of Denver. It's a new up and coming area and adorable! This was another recommendation from Juli's blog and they even serve one of her Iced Coffee Recipes, the Vanilla sweet cream collagen iced coffee. SO good you should make it at home, you can find the recipe here on her blog. This restaurant was amazing! The food options were endless and everything was cooked with healthier oils, gluten free, grain free items. If you're an absolute paleo health but go here. Everything from the decor to motivational quotes on the wall made this place a fun spot with good vibes and food. We all ordered their Just BE awakened burrito which is wrapped in a coconut tortilla with eggs, sausage, hash brown, I chose veggie green chili, cilantro, and jalepeno. SO GOOD and I of course ordered Juli's drink. This place is a must try if in the Denver area! The ladies who work there are also the sweetest people ever. We all hung out for a solid couple hours since our flights were so late in the day and just enjoyed chatting about all things Pure Barre and our lives back home. We headed to the airport and ate at one last stop also suggested by Juli at Root Down. For an airport restaurant it was both clean food and really tasty!! If you are ever in the Denver airport go here. I ordered one of their tequila cocktails, sweet potato fries, and chicken tacos. 

Cute Just BE decor

All in all this entire experience has been such a whirlwind, but so worth it!! I can't wait until the day that it no longer feels like i'm blacking out when I teach lol. I have absolutely loved getting to know the girls we trained with, Danielle is the best and i'm glad we have each other through the learning curve and just a new friend in the Bay, the girls at my studio and owner Mary are all amazing and supportive, and it's just been such a positive experience to my life. Not only do I feel like it's added such a fun element to my life,  but making it's making me grow as a person and out of my comfort zone which is important for anyone to do. If there's a little piece of advice I'd like to say in all this it's to go after what you want even if it scares you! I know this sure as heck did, but I am so happy I did it. I know in the long run it's going to be the most rewarding experience and I can't wait to really connect with clients and keep getting to know the amazing Pure Barre Palo Alto team :D

Any questions about any of this please let me know! I love talking all things Pure Barre and come take my class!!! 

Xo,
Shay