Womens History Month Virtual Workout

REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT IN THE PHOENIX APP!

Bios of instructors:

Marisa Iglesias:

Marisa holds a PhD in English, specializing in Caribbean and 18th-Century British Literatures and has been advising students on their writing for over fifteen years. A certified health coach, yoga, and meditation instructor, she is driven by helping others reach their greatest potential. Marisa’s yoga classes are influenced by her various movement studies, and her health coaching approach is shaped by her mindfulness training. You can read more about her here.

Erika Kim:

Erika is a lover of all things that support humans in feeling physically, emotionally, and energetically strong. At one time laughing at the idea of teaching yoga, she now cannot imagine her life without it. Today, she uses yoga as a way to feel gratitude for her body and loves being able to share that connection with others.

Mid 2020, Erika found The Phoenix and immediately knew it was a space she wanted to be a part of. She currently leads yoga, meditation, and book club events on the virtual platform as a volunteer and peer in recovery. Eating disorder awareness & prevention as well as the destigmatization of addiction & mental illness set her heart of fire. She loves to read, cook, hike, strength train, and find the nearest dog to play with and hopes to one day live in a world where all humans feel empowered, never ashamed to be who they are.

Melissa DeStefano:

Before coming into recovery I always felt out of place in the world. I knew in active addiction that my life was chaotic but I thought that finding ways to use everyday was some sort of “purpose” for me. After many failed attempts at maintaining my using and constantly getting into trouble, I finally was able to get clean on 06/15/15. I am truly grateful I was able to not have to live a life of being in physical pain if I did not use but I wanted to find a new purpose for myself. About a year into recovery I started working out and found a real love for it. I then pursued a career as a personal trainer and was able to work in many different facets in the fitness industry and truly felt as though I found my place in this world. In 2020 when all of the gyms shut down in NJ where I lived, I started doing workouts 5 days a week for free on Facebook live. I found out early into Covid that my dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and with the gyms not reopening, I decided to move out to North Carolina to be close to him and my step mom where they lived. During that time I was introduced to the Phoenix and their community changed my life. I was scared to move somewhere new and leave my recovery network and more so to go to a new place where I knew no one. As I began coaching classes on the Phoenix during that transition, I quickly started to build friendships with everyone and really was able to connect during our community time after our workouts. Those friendships I built, I still have today and have gained many more over these past years. The Phoenix truly has become my safe place and a key part of my recovery. Fitness has changed my physical well-being  and having a like minded recovery community has absolutely changed my life. I truly believe that “motion fixes emotion” and when you have others to do it with, there’s nothing that can compare to that feeling!