Holly Fussell

I am a 33-year-old yoga and cycle instructor, fitness and health enthusiast, educator, and mother of two children.  My love for fitness began as a shy teenager when I saw a connection between exercise and increased confidence and personal empowerment.  My mother was in the fitness industry, working as a group exercise instructor and personal trainer, and she modeled for me the benefits of a commitment to exercise and a healthy lifestyle.  I pursued an undergraduate degree and a master's degree in the field of language education all the while maintaining my certifications to teach and to train in the group exercise field.  I taught college-level Spanish and literature for five years in Norfolk, Virginia while I also developed a passion for endurance sports and racing in road races and triathlons.  As I gave up my full-time career as a college educator when I became a mother myself five years ago, I have found working in the fitness industry to be a perfect match for my goals of staying fit and being a full-time caregiver for my children (daughter, age 5 and son, age 2.5).  

I have always found exercise to provide so many wonderful things for my life: a healthy body, a mind-body connection, a stress relief, and an opportunity for social connections.  These benefits have proved invaluable as I have weathered an intense 10 years as the wife of an active duty military officer.  My husband is now out of active duty, but for the first ten years of our marriage, he was away from home and on combat deployments for a large percentage of our marriage.  Teaching group fitness classes and developing my own love for high performance endurance sports provided me much-needed coping skills as well as great social relationships that expanded my support network.

My interests in fitness have evolved and expanded over the years.  My most recent evolution has been my journey into teaching yoga.  I have practiced yoga for over 5 years, but I took the leap into gaining my instructor credentials after seeing the transformative power of yoga to heal.  I underwent major surgery a year and a half ago to mitigate my hereditary risk for ovarian and breast cancers.  Practicing yoga was central to my recovery and healing process.  That experience inspired me to pursue the study and practice of yoga on a deeper level.  

My other interests include integrative nutrition, healthy whole-foods cooking, and the art of fine wine.  I am constantly reading new cookbooks or nutrition books and articles to find new ways to fuel my body and my lifestyle and that of my family as well.  I have studied wine at the Culinary Institute of America, and I enjoy savoring the pairing of delicious wine and food as part of a balanced lifestyle.

I look forward to integrating new experiences and new practices of healthy living into my daily life, and I am passionate about sharing that integration with my family, my friends and my clients.