WRITTEN BY ANGELA VINET
January 1, 2018. This day marks the start of our trip around the sun and the first day for our new year’s resolutions, most of which include some health component. The majority of us girls resolve each year to eat healthier, become more physically fit or just plainly live a less-stressful life.
The new year brings with it a fresh start, a chance to make a subtle or a bold change for our betterment. The majority of us vow every year to make a healthy change when the buttons on our jeans require the dreaded “suck-in”/“jump-in,” or our clothes don’t fit properly and those yoga pants are all we want to wear.
If it’s time to rock that new dress hanging in the closet and turn from a sloth to a stunner, Louisiana has an option for everyone. From elite athletic training to senior chair yoga, there are options for any girl, any age and in any shape.
No doubt, a healthier lifestyle is a commitment. It takes time, energy and effort to maintain, but we are worth the investment. We are worth the dedication it takes to making a real change. Luckily, there are plenty of lifestyle coaches, meal plans and even some programs that teach grocery store shopping for healthy living. Making fitness a habit only requires the decision to take charge of our lives and take back our health.
Good health is unappreciated until it is gone. Being healthy in mind, body and spirit will lead to a longer, happier life and the new year is the perfect time to re-discover the “you” that you once knew.
Empower Yoga
Since opening my yoga studio nearly a year ago, I’ve been asked often, “Why EMPOWER YOGA?” To empower another person is not something to take lightly and has a confident, even life-changing connotation, so it seems somewhat ironic (and perhaps, destined) that my initial journey with my yoga practice began rather humbly.
Early on in my life, I experienced anxiety and panic attacks that set the tone for a fearfully lived life that lasted well into my adulthood. It was not until I reached my early 40s that I decided it was time to take my life into my own hands and do something positive for myself. This realization began my journey with yoga and meditation, and I have not looked back since becoming a certified yoga instructor in 2016, and opening my own studio, EMPOWER YOGA, in 2017.
I was told by mentors and friends alike to select a name carefully, and after reading through an old journal, I came across something powerful that a friend once shared with me. She told me that I was always empowering my friends and others, and clearly that resonated with me so much so that I wrote it down to remember for years to come. I truly believe that this is my purpose in life — to empower others!
We live in a culture of instant gratification that demands our attention every second of the day, leaving us exhausted and overworked. This often leaves many with issues such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, the inability to healthily deal with our emotional health, and more. With this in mind, I like to think of my yoga mat as a portable charger that I can plug into at any time of day to tune out all of the world’s noise and to subsequently turn inward to escape all of these detractors.
Contrary to popular thought, turning inward and doing something solely for one’s health or benefit is not self-centered. Rather, it is a perfectly healthy way to learn how to center oneself in order to be the best possible version one can be. Yoga can be such a healing tool and has personally taught me so many lessons, mainly about managing my anxiety, learning how to let go of the ego, and unlearning the constraints of our materialistic culture.
Yoga is not something you do; it is something you live. When we learn how to love ourselves wholly through our practice, we become better to others and inevitably attract other souls like us. I encourage you to plant the seeds of forgiveness and self-love in your life, for you will surely reap the benefits. For me, yoga was that garden — that investment — and I hope you will give it a try, too.
We invite you to come find out more about us and meet our qualified and certified instructors; we are excited to meet you! We are located at 1114 Villaggio Blvd (near BPCC) on Hwy 80 in Bossier City. Yoga Classes we offer: Beginner, Vinyasa Flow, BUTI Yoga, Gentle w/ Meditation, Power, Family Yoga, Yoga Fit. Aerial Yoga is coming soon!
Please check out our website at www.empoweryogasbc.com and follow us on Facebook to find special offers. You may also download the MINDBODY app to register for classes. See you on the mat — come get EMPOWERED.
Barbell Butterfly
My name is Lynn Cofield. I’m a 45-year-old registered nurse, certified personal trainer and certified fitness nutrition coach.
Three years ago, I lost 123 pounds in 19 months just by learning how to eat clean and lift weights! But more than all of those things, I was just like many of you beautiful ladies out there reading this article.
As a single mom working hard to take care of everyone and everything else, I stopped caring about me. I fed my loneliness and emotions with food….and wine! Oh, how I loved my wine! Fast foods, Mexican food, pizza and popcorn made me feel better for the moment. But when I looked in the mirror, I no longer recognized the very overweight, sad face that looked back at me.
I hated me.
January 3, 2014, I decided enough was enough! I read an article about what sugar was really doing to our bodies. I went straight to my kitchen and cleaned out my cabinets of all sugary foods! And so it began for me…
Along the way, I began hitting the gym and taught myself how to lift weights to build muscle, simply because muscle burns more fat than just cardio. I was a woman on a mission!
By July 2015, I had completely transformed my body from a size 24 to a size 4! But the real transformation is what happened on the inside! For every muscle gain, my mental gains were 10 times greater! What began as simply wanting to lose weight became a much greater journey of empowerment!
The whole experience was so powerful, I developed my Barbell Butterfly program to teach other women how they could do it too!!
We have been very successful in Texarkana and recently expanded into Shreveport-Bossier to empower the fabulous ladies in this area!
Barbell Butterfly is a women’s weight-loss program that will teach you how to eat healthy and get fit for life! No more weight-loss roller coasters or fad diets. Barbell Butterfly teaches you how to live a healthy lifestyle. We have an intensive nutrition class and will take you to the grocery store for a hands-on class teaching you how to read labels and shop for healthy foods!
The best part about Barbell Butterfly is our incredible community of women that cheer each other on toward success! Success can be such a foreign concept for many of us, so isn’t it awesome to have literally hundreds of women behind you cheering you on?
Visit our website or come by our studio to find out how YOU can be a Butterfly too!
Sleek Physique
There is no fitness experience quite like Sleek Physique. Owner and master trainer Lauren LeBlance is certified on every level of fitness and unmatched on certifications locally. Lauren is always full of energy and so much fun! She makes her Sleek Physique clients feel like family and she joins them whole heartedly to achieve their fitness and health goals.
Lauren has been trained by celebrity stars, and brings her knowledge right here to Shreveport. She and her certified team conduct nearly 40 classes per week. Celeb Barre is a local favorite, but her classes range to accommodate all ages, body types and skill levels. Lauren describes her fun fitness tactics as a way you can nip and tuck without the plastic surgery. Her workouts hit all large muscle groups as well as accessory muscles. Sleek Physique makes you feel good from the inside out.
Take a look at all the classes Sleek Physique has to offer and start off The New Year with a fitness goal that Lauren will make sure you accomplish. Try out your first four classes at Sleek Physique for free and experience great music, energetic instructors, and an awesome way to NEW YOU for the New Year!
Celeb Barre – This is our most popular class straight from Beverly Hills, California! It is the secret of the stars & celebrities! It is a fusion class incorporating arm work, cardio, ballet barre, Pilates mat work & yoga stretch with aromatherapy! Be ready to “sweat sexy”! We have fun getting “fit & fabulous” while defying our DNA!!
Whine Barre/Sleek Pilates – The first 30 minutes is filled with basic barre moves. All body parts are worked on the ballet barre including the cardio portion. The second 30 minutes of this class is mat Pilates & core work. This class nips & tucks in all the right places!
Spin HIIT – A full body indoor cycling class that will transform the way you look and feel! Expect high-intensity intervals, hill climbs & even weight work & ab moves as an added bonus to your exciting journey!
RPM – High intensity, indoor cycling workout to burn fat and get fit fast! This ride is choreographed to great music & is an intense fat attack!! We travel flat roads, climb hill, mountains, sprints & race! BURN, BURN, BURN!!
Bodypump – This is the original barbell class that will sculpt, tone & strengthen the entire body fast! The class is performed to great music focusing on the major muscle groups. The focus is towards muscle endurance using several repetitions to lean your body…no bulking “The Rep Effect” makes lean chiseled bodies! Approximately 1200 reps are performed in an hour!
Hip Hop Yoga – This class is an introduction to Vinyasa yoga. The class combines breath with movement while encouraging strength and flexibility. It incorporates fundamental yoga postures & sun salutations at steady pace. Hip Hop music makes this class more upbeat than your average yoga class! This class is suitable for all levels.
Hip Hop Step – Learn the hottest & latest hip hop moves in this fat-burning dance workout! It is off the hook! Get the lean, sexy body you always wanted because you incinerate calories & sculpt your entire body while incorporating weights & step work!! Let’s “WERK” it!
Also join us for – Barre Fight, Barre Tab and Biker Barre!
Fitness Lady
What is Fitness Lady?
A resource center for women’s health issues.
What sets us apart?
We are about a lifestyle journey to better health and quality of life.
We are a community of women who support one another.
We are part of a fitness family who cares about the individual.
We are interpersonal, inspirational, and educational.
We bring joy, purpose, encouragement and new friendships to many.
Why Fitness Lady?
After giving birth to 3 children within 6 years, my weight was out of control. Why? I did not continue the discipline of exercise and proper nutrition because after all, I was eating for two!
So I headed off to a gym and there was no instruction or help, no caring or sensitivity for my body size or modifications in aerobic classes. I left embarrassed and discouraged. How could I get my healthy body back?
My quest began. I was on a budget, tired, overweight and short on time. How could I find a solution? I educated myself and opened my own aerobic studio for women, “A Step Above,” on Youree Drive.
Nine months later I was encouraged to interview for a position as program director/manager at a women’s fitness center opening in Bossier City. I had no experience, but I told the owner, Jim Harrell, I would give him 110% effort and was eager to learn and grow at Fitness Lady. He hired me and we opened in 1991.
In 1996 I bought Fitness Lady, Inc. I realized the book knowledge I had fell short of the real life applications needed. Our members were in cancer treatment/recovery, overweight, had chronic diseases, joint replacements, chronic pain, mobility impairments and so much more. I needed advanced education and I found it through ACSM as a health and fitness specialist. Since that time, I pursue annual continuing education and certifications that benefit my personal development, management of my business, and resources to improve the health of my members.
In 2008 my daughter, Brianna Rose, joined the team as my head personal trainer adding her expertise as a NASM/corrective exercise specialist, a degree in exercise science and an ACSM/health and fitness specialist.
Together we make a difference in the lives of women every day. So whether you are 9 or 92, come see us. You’re our kind of member.
Orange Theory
This time of year, there are always a plethora of health and fitness articles dedicated to the January warriors ready to take the world by storm. What actually creates change? It’s simple. Movement, consistency, and good choices are the three necessary ingredients to getting and staying healthy, as well as prolonging life.
It was this need for change that inspired Ellen Latham to create the Orangetheory Fitness concept. She was inspired by her long-time clients that were frustrated that they weren’t seeing results from just “going to the gym”. She wanted to create a workout that combined resistance training, cardio work and core strengthening for a highly efficient workout that would produce the positive changes her clients needed. Fast-forward to today and Orangetheory Fitness is the fastest growing, woman-owned fitness concept in the world.
Orangetheory Fitness Shreveport is here to deliver Ellen’s proven concept. Orangetheory uses a five-zone heart rate based interval-training program that dramatically improves the chances of success of each member. Individual heart rate monitors allow you to see your effort and progress during the workout on large screens and in real time. This provides accountability and motivation and also allows the certified coach to monitor your performance.
Leading the teams at Orangetheory Shreveport are two awesome ladies: Corrie Hill, the studio manager, and Leslie Hasson, the head coach.
Corrie is from Monroe, and has always loved fitness and sports. Unfortunately, back then, female sports and athletes were not truly respected like they have come to be today. This drove Corrie to an accomplished athletic career in college and to try to be an inspiration to other women in sports and fitness. She became a personal trainer, a fitness specialist, and a speed/agility trainer. But when she found Orangetheory Fitness, she knew she had found her place.
Corrie says, “Orangetheory Fitness is a great fit for me but it has turned into one of the most amazing parts of my life. Each member that walks through the door at Orangetheory Fitness Shreveport has touched some part of my life. Most people say that our coaches and staff have helped positively change their lives, but our members have no idea how much they have changed mine.”
Head Coach Leslie started her career in the fitness industry long before becoming a certified personal trainer. Throughout her years in the military as a drill sergeant, she would often find herself offering assistance to friends and fellow soldiers on how to improve their fitness levels. She found herself yearning for the pride that comes along with someone else reaching their goals and quickly realized becoming a personal trainer was the correct path for her. After taking an Orangetheory Fitness class in Dallas, she also quickly realized that OTF was a great fit for her and her passion for helping others.
Leslie says, “During the two years that I have worked for OTF that realization has held true. Orangetheory Fitness focuses on every single individual that walks through their front door, whether they are a member or an employee. But OTF is more than a workout, it is a community, it is a way of life. Being able to wake up each day and have a positive impact on so many people through fitness hardly feels like a job. Before Orangetheory Fitness, I didn’t think this was possible, but now I know that you can truly love what you do and love the company you work for.”
Science tells us that interval training is one of the most effective ways to create change in the body. If you aren’t familiar with interval training, it’s a workout that alternates between periods of high intensity efforts and lower intensity efforts (anaerobic work and aerobic work). When we train this way, an oxygen deficit is created in the body called Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), which allows us to burn calories not only during our workout, but for up to 36 hours after our workout is complete!
As you head in to the New Year with new goals and a renewed motivation for health and fitness, keep in mind that Orangetheory Fitness has you covered when it comes to offering safe and effective movement. The workouts will complement activities you already enjoy, and push you to achieve more than you anticipated.
Wellspring 365
It wasn’t until October 8, 2015, that I found my why and another life purpose. Two years before that date we had lost our oldest sister Vickie, our Dad Ross, and our brother Mark. My sister Tina had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer during this time and I could not even imagine her struggling thoughts about her health and her family. She continued to be courage in action…every day.
At one point, she was admitted to the hospital. I would stop by to check in and she was her courageous, funny, and yes, sassy self. But when I went to visit on this particular day, you could cut the energy in the room with a knife…something was wrong. I put my hand on her shoulder, she put her hand over mine and looked up at me with her big blue eyes (they were bluer than ever because she was crying inside and out.) She said, “They told me I had two weeks, maybe a month.” The hair on the back of my neck stood up, my brown eyes turned green, in my head and heart I was feeling angry about a system that we tolerated and accepted. I turned and leaned down toward her and said, “Don’t you ever let anyone tell you how long you are going to live…EVER.”
Two weeks later, my maid of honor died on my wedding anniversary, October 8, 2015. It was on that day things became clear to me. Although very sad about the loss of my sister, Tina, I was very grateful I found my why and understood my purpose, which is to help as many people as I can to live a soul-filled life. I discovered a way to honor all of my family members who have passed on. I realized, when I follow my purpose, these family members are reminders to keep me going. They would tell me, San can. The memory of their voices helped me to believe that I could, so I did and The Center for Whole Health Living was formed.
The Center for Whole Health Living is a company that focuses on all areas of life by assisting our clients to strive toward balance in each area. We have a Seven Phase program with four categories in each phase. The seven phases follow the seven chakra energies we have within us.
Providers utilize education, motivational techniques, clean and healthy foods, physical activity, color and aroma therapy. We believe that if we are consciously striving toward balance in all areas of life that we are more likely to live our purpose with a passion. Our mission is to restore lifestyle balance through our client’s own natural resources…it’s our nature.
Sweat Society
I have had a long-time love of health and wellness. I think eating whole,real foods is what makes the world go round. I am so passionate about my health and the health of others that I could literally talk about it all day.
I have a degree in psychology and health coaching. I started my wellness career in Shreveport in 2014 and haven’t looked back. I first started a health coaching business called Lotus Bliss Health Coaching that was housed in an office inside of Explore Yoga. My plan was to always open up my own nutrition and fitness studio, and when I got the chance to do that, I jumped right in. In January 2017, Sweat Society was born and by July our doors were open for business.
The inspiration behind Sweat Society was to have a place that housed all things nutrition, wellness, and fitness. I wanted a haven for someone to walk into and change their life for the better, whether that be through health coaching services, fitness classes or just a cool place to come and hang out. For the past 6 years, I have traveled extensively and researched the best of everything from active wear to organic skin care and fitness equipment.
When you walk into Sweat Society I want you to feel like you are working out in another city. New, fresh and clean. Boutique fitness is always changing so I am constantly researching to stay on trend. Sweat Society is a luxury boutique fitness studio that offers small group training classes, personal training, health coaching services and retail.
I designed the classes so that there would be something for everyone. We have yoga, barre, HIIT classes and the main event TRX. TRX is my absolute favorite way to train. I think it is one of the best things to ever hit the fitness industry. Functional fitness at its finest. Sweat Society is a licensed premier TRX facility and I am the only certified TRX coach in town and I am so honored and proud of that!
Sweat Society is a beautiful welcoming studio that feels exclusive and inclusive all at the same time. It is a true wellness space. It offers personalized care that you will not get in a large gym or large class size.
When you come to Sweat Society, that is your time to let go of the stress of your day and just be in the now. Your spot in class is already set up for you when you arrive. You get a badass workout, you’re handed a cold eucalyptus towel after class, you grab your Well Fed Louisiana juice or Caspiana Catering salad on your way out, we clean up your mats and equipment for you and you are on to the next thing feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of your day.