Learnin to Fly...........or walk

I love toddlers. Don't you? They crack me up.

You know how they're all sort of wobbly, just walking and super organic in their intentions. My favorite age is probably 2 or 3 years old. There is something about the sincere nature of their movement however unstable it may appear at times and the way in which they are starting to assert their independence and autonomy. I find them so much more interesting and trustworthy than say, an infant. I mean really what can infants do but eat, poop, sleep and cry. Plus, their little tiny neck never looks like it will withstand the weight of their giant head. I just don't trust them. And a 1 year old? Really? In that odd in between stage? Growing at a rapid rate? Weaning from mom? Having that separation anxiety and angst. No. Thank. You. I will take a toddler any day of the week. Not that they don't have their issues, but in the grand scheme of things they are issues that I feel more comfortable with.

I don't have children, well human children anyway. I have 2 dogs, 3 cats and a husband. The closest I've come to help raise a baby from infancy has been to work for a start-up.

I came to 5focus 2 years ago. I remember my first meeting with Laura and how impressed I was with the place. The Kinesis wall had not yet been installed, so I really could not conceptualize what it was. It sounded cool though and Laura seemed to know a lot. And to be honest it was cool stuff I wanted to know much more about. And hey! I wanted to help start a start-up! I can do this! What fun! Sign me up! Wow........okay, as I said before about an infant. You know, the neck being too small to hold up the weight of the head and all they do is eat, poop and cry? Well, that's how we felt. Once the Kinesis wall was installed and Laura and I had been trained on it we were on our own......Allrighteethen!

Hmmmm, soooo. That wall! Oh that wall. So big. And it just sat there, the weight of it and the potential felt crushing at first. Eventually we came up with a class format that we liked and then it was a matter of getting people in the door so we could share this amazing new training tool called Kinesis. Cue the crying, pooping and eating (not necessarily in that order). We tried everything, and we had a few early converts, Karen Weisser, Kathy Sheldon, Kevin and Britta Steele just to name a few. But seriously, we had a business to run.

We sent Jeff (yes, 6'5", 210 lbs. Jeff) up and down Westlake Ave. in a Banana costume, we set up tables at random events, we had workout parties, we trained our friends, our families, each other. I would plod in there and train one person every few days, go home and cry. Laura would stretch clients, try to keep my chin up and make herself a smoothie and Jeff would look at the bills piling up and poop. But alas, we were patient with the business model and our program. We figured, "build it and they will come."

Eventually our hard work started to pay off. People were trickling in the door, word was starting to get around and the few classes we did have on the schedule started to fill up. Hey, we were growing! But ouch. Why did I feel so uneasy and weird? Things were finally starting to turn the corner at 5focus and isn't that what I wanted? What was this anxiety and guilt I was feeling? Could it be that I was finally weaning myself from the bosom of the only other fitness facility I've ever worked for? In a word: Duh. I felt such a push and pull for a while and such a growth spurt that my knees and ankles actually hurt. I was trying to cover too much, trying to say yes to too many people, and not doing a very good job at any of it. I finally trusted this new place we were building and the people I was building it with and was able to let go of some things that had not been working for me for a long time. 5focus gave me the opportunity to do that and I am grateful.

So here we are, 2 whole years old! Much better for Kitty. Even better, we've been smart and fortuitous enough to finally be able to bring on an incredible crew of team members. We have the amazing facilitator/instructor in Whitney, the ever brilliant massage/stretch therapist extraordinaire Gary, core massage expert Claire, dietician wizard Carrie. Oh and the newest member of our instructor team, the one and only Jeff. Sure he wears a headband, thong leotard and sparkly tights, and too much eyeshadow ;) but his classes ROCK!

So, as we cruise on into our 3rd year we may be a little wobbly on our feet at times and we might even fall down once and a while. But we are nothing if not sincere and authentic in our intention to help each and every one of you reach your personal best in 2010. Thanks everyone!
Happy New Year!