Define Body & Mind

How D E F I N E was S H A P E D

To tell you what Define is and where it began, I am going to take you back several years:

Many years ago (at least it feels that way), I was a springboard and platform diver. Diving was my passion. If you ask my parents what I was like when I was a little boy, my mom would tell you I was either jumping on a trampoline or swimming like a fish in a pool. So, diving was a very natural sport for me to enter. Growing up, I remember my mom talking about my dad being an All-American football player in college, so I remember deciding that I too, wanted to be an All-American in college. With the support of my parents, coaches, and trainers, I was able to fulfill that dream. I became a 4 time High School and 6 time College All-American athlete for the sport of diving with The University of Florida: Swimming and Diving Team.

But the path getting there wasn’t without it’s challenges. In high school, I started experiencing lower back pain. I had days when I would have to back down from my training, but for the most part, I was able to practice and compete without too much pain. However, by the end of my college career, I was experiencing severe pain. My doctor’s advised that I consider surgery since one of my discs in my lower back (L5) had started shifting forward since I had fractured it several times (spondylolisthesis). The only available surgery was a spinal fusion. The doctors advised that I wait as long as I could before having the surgery because it is very invasive (obviously) and they thought the pain could be controlled as long as I remained flexible and kept a strong core.

So deciding to postpone surgery, I graduated from the University of Florida and accepted a teaching position with the program, Teach For America. I was placed to teach in New York City. Specifically, I started teaching 6th graders in the South Bronx, NY. (I could devote this entire blog to my experiences with teaching in the Bronx, so feel free to comment if you have any questions. It was a very challenging, but a very rewarding and life transforming experience for me.)

As you might reasonably expect, I assumed my lower back pain would decrease or even go away since I was no longer throwing my body off a 33ft high tower, flipping and twisting, and hitting what feels like a solid surface (water) when you are traveling around 30 mph. However, my lower back seemed to be getting worse while I was teaching. I started experiencing pain down my right leg, and I was pretty miserable! Notiicing my frustration, my best friend finally convinced me to try this exercise class that she had recently discovered. She told me it was similar to the strengthening of Pilates and the stretching of yoga, but it had a lot of energy and was more fun and strengthening than either Pilates or yoga. I took her advice, and showed up for my first class at this place called Exhale Spa for a class called Core Fusion. The class and my experience with Exhale changed my life.

After only one month of taking the class, I started to notice that my back was feeling better. The pain down my leg had disappeared, and people were commenting on how great I looked. I loved it so much, I serendipitously (another good story!) became an instructor.

Within my first year of teaching, I was asked to help Exhale Spa open locations in Boston, Bridgehampton, Chicago, and Los Angeles. I even taught a similar method called The Dailey Method in San Francisco and the Bay Area.  I was moving all over the country teaching something I was VERY passionate about.  I was learning, but I knew I wanted to do more with what I was learning.  I decided to take my next adventure (a theme!)

In order to get a better understanding of the fundamentals and advanced knowledge of business and management, I decided it would be appropriate to apply to MBA programs.  Since I was from Houston, and I saw an opportunity in Houston, I applied (and was thankfully accepted) to Rice University’s MBA program.  After a very strenous 2 years of school, I have now graduated, and I am READY to bring this amazingly effective, therapeutic, and efficient workout, back to my home town near the area I grew up!  Houston is missing out on such an amazing way to look and more importantly feel great.

Our website is:  www.definebody.com

Come and enjoy this great balance of classes.  See you at the studio!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 12:28 pm and is filed under living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.