Zumba instructor, Yoga teacher, & Social Entrepreneur
Passion to Legacy
Ana Ramirez is a runner, Zumba instructor, Yoga teacher, fitness advocate, and soon-to-be mindfulness coach. She hated sports as a kid, but after some unexpected life turns, dancing and running became the place to de-stress and be herself. Not only that but jumping into fitness provided her with a community where she could share these passions.
Ana recently created The Fit Girl Movement to help women become physically and mentally stronger with the help of a supportive community. Her project shares real stories of inspiring women and reliable information about health and wellness and organizes activities to connect and network.
Ana loves the purpose and passion she gets from teaching fitness classes, but it was an unexpected journey to get there. As a kid in Mexico, she hated sports and always felt like more of a nerd. Now, she is a graphic designer living in Toronto but spends most of her time thinking about how she can have a more significant impact on empowering women to feel healthier and happier through fitness.
It’s why she created the Fit Girl Movement, a supportive community that allows women to connect and learn from the experiences of each other while promoting mental and physical wellness.
in this episode,
This journey began after Ana was laid off, found herself sleeping in until 1 p.m., and then decided to find something to do to help her wake up and be active in the morning. She tried going to the gym across the street but hated doing the weights. The staff told her about a dance class, and she tried it since she loved to dance as a kid. The first class was horrible.
Finding community
Like many of us at our first Zumba class, she didn’t know the steps and felt awkward. Fortunately, though, she loved her instructor and decided to keep going. Ana soon fell in love with fitness and quickly realized that Zumba and running were her favorite activities because of the communal element.
She said, “It’s the friendships and the community that you create that help you go through life.”
from student to teacher
Ana became a Zumba instructor because she wanted to spread the love she felt for the classes. She was so nervous teaching her first class that she almost forgot the choreography. After teaching for a while now, the most important thing she tells her students is to feel free and have fun.
“You don’t have to follow me to have fun, and you don’t have to follow me to do the exercise. With Zumba, you can do your movements, you can do modifications, and it’s all about fun.”
Even though she loves Zumba, she wanted to have an even broader impact on fitness, so she recently finished her yoga certification and offers free classes. Ana saw that yoga was a growing movement and how it was helping people. The philosophies of karma and being a good person drew her into yoga. She loves that students now send her messages about how it helps them feel good about themselves or how it makes them feel less alone.
Getting a yoga certification can be difficult, but Ana loves nerding out on all of the theory that comes with learning yoga. She feels that “it’s not hard if you put your heart in it.”
Becoming a yoga teacher isn’t all just learning positions and poses. You have to learn anatomy and how each body will look and feel in the pose. Bodies are different, so not every pose looks the same with every person. This belief fits right into her Fit Girl Movement.
The fit girl movement
The project is the result of a social entrepreneurship adventure; the goal is to help women become physically and mentally stronger in the way that’s right for them.
The Fit Girl Movement focuses on empathy, kindness, equality, honesty, and recognition.
She feels that yoga helps women embody those values because you don’t have to compare yourself to others. You can accept your uniqueness and beauty. She keeps looking for what else she can do to create more impact and help more women learn to love themselves and their bodies.
She realized that many women don’t go to the gym because they feel ashamed and judged. Somehow women got in their mind that they have to be already fit to go to the gym.
Ana encourages people to get active no matter what because it is the first step to having a healthy lifestyle.
In this episode, we cover:
What it’s like to balance working as a graphic designer, zumba instructor, yoga teacher, and business owner
The process of getting an instructor certification
What makes a great instructor stand out from the rest
The importance of building connections and creating a community
Be sure to listen to part 2 of my interview with Ana (episode 17) where we discuss The Fit Girl Movement!
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Connect with Ana on Instagram at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefitgirltmovement/
Website: https://www.thefitgirlmovement.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefitgirl_mvmt/
CONNECT WITH ME ON:
LinkedIn - Emma Vertolli
Twitter - emm_vert
Instagram - @itsemmavert
MORE ABOUT THE PASSION TO LEGACY PODCAST:
Passion To Legacy allows listeners to get a true behind-the-scenes look at the various careers inside the sports industry; even as detailed as the day-to-day duties and operations. Learn what it takes to land your dream role. Gain clarity on what your future career could be. Take action and kick start your humanitarian spirit.
Emma Vertolli is a marketing strategist whose career has centered around growing and nurturing communities. Early on in her professional career she felt stagnant, unfulfilled, and in search for more. She dove into sports business courses, books, & networking. To her surprise, she learned that if you want to break into the sports industry AND accelerate your career, it all comes down to who you know. There was a trend that kept coming up: people need to learn how to network & people need a space to be able to do so.
In Passion To Legacy, Emma shares impactful conversations with professionals working behind the scenes in the sports industry. The bases are loaded in this podcast, we’re chatting all about career goals, hurdles & charity. So grab a pen and pull up a seat - you’re going to want to take notes!
As a listener, you can expect to:
- Gain motivation and inspiration for pursuing your dreams
- Get an insider's perspective into what it’s like working in the sports industry
- Gain insight for getting involved in charitable work
- Learn networking tips for landing a role in the sports industry
- Plus much more!
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