 |
| photo credit Topher Simon, from Anne's website |
This post is dedicated to my lovely friend Anne. Anne makes me smile, feel good about myself, keeps my physically strong, and is so much fun I don't even know what to do with myself when our bubbly personalities are contained within the same space. Anne also happens to be an amazing personal trainer, kettlebell instructor, and super yoga instructor, along with being just an all around great person. I loved getting to know her while she lived in San Jose, and also loved the butt-kickings she administered to me and Billy both when we trained with her. She is this veritable wealth of knowledge in all things fitness and diet related. And on top of that, she is incredibly easy to relate to, with a story that is much like any of ours.
 |
| Anne, Danielle and I at the Renaissance Faire in 2012 |
I even benefited from her unfortunate move to Madison, Wisconsin this past fall. She met an awesome woman in her yoga instructor training who had just moved to Austin, thought we would hit it off, and introduced us. BAM! A great new friend that I love hanging out with was made.
 |
| Anne and I after her last hair appointment before she moved to Wisconsin |
Anne took her yoga knowledge and used it to write an article that was published online by Training and Fitness magazine. You can read her article Why Yoga? for yourself and see just how much you can glean from it. I love how smart, caring, and well-rounded this article is.
 |
| Anne showing off her mad yoga skillz |
Not only is she incredibly smart and fit, she has a heart full of compassion and a love for people of all sizes. Anne chimed in on the most recent Biggest Loser winner, Rachel, who won, but appeared skinny. Like scary skinny, not strong. Her blog post about it can be found here. It's short and definitely worth a read. It also shows you how much grace Anne is able to show others, because she doesn't bash Rachel, or her trainer Dolvett, for the shocking transformation. Read for yourself.
Anne is also giving away a one night stay at a Vermont retreat on her blog, go peep it and enter to win here!
And finally, here is a free 30 minute yoga flow workout from Anne to help open your heart, which is perfect, since Valentine's day is right around the corner.