Taking Bold Steps with Zumba: Jamesa Lewis, Joy of Fitness Instructor

Jamesa is all smiles leading her Zumba class.

Why did you become a Zumba instructor?

I became a Zumba instructor because I love to dance and I love to workout. Thank you Alberto, the brain child of Zumba, for coming up with this and not hesitating to step out and make it happen. After being a student in Zumba classes on and off for several years, I decided to take the bold step to become the instructor. I am so happy that I followed through, because I thoroughly enjoy teaching and having fun with my students as we move our bodies to the beat of several genres of music.  

What are the traits you look for in an excellent instructor and how does that influence your teaching style?

In my opinion, an excellent instructor keeps the energy going throughout the class and is in tune with each student ensuring, as much as possible, that everyone is engaged. As long as I am able to follow, as closely as possible, and I am getting a good workout while having fun, I'm all good. Those are the things that I try to emulate from the different instructors that I've had over time.

Jamesa rockin it!

What motivates you?

I love Zumba and I love to workout! That's my motivation. 

Favorite dance step?

I'm not sure what  it is called, but getting on my toes and tapping faster and faster while moving my upper body in a circular motion is so much fun for me, and my students all seem to enjoy it as well. 

Inspirational Quote: 

Nobody's built like you. You design yourself. 

Raising Self-Esteem Through Yoga: Rekara Gage, Joy of Fitness Instructor

Rekara in supported bound ankle pose during
her Joy of Fitness restorative yoga class.

Why did you become a yoga instructor? 

I fell in love with the practice. Before doing yoga, I never would have expected that my body could move in the way that it can nor that I was as stressed and wound-up as I was. You’d be surprised by what that awareness can do for self-esteem and overall wellness (spiritual, emotional, physical, mental, etc.). I became a yoga instructor to help people appreciate themselves and realize their potential.

What are the traits you look for in an excellent instructor and how does that influence your teaching style? 

Someone who is helpful, patient, prepared, clear and creative has what it takes to be an excellent yoga teacher. I like to create a safe space for my students; one where they are reminded that we’re all students who are learning and progressing together. My classes are created to challenge students and let them play around; engaging their bodies and minds in ways that aren’t usually seen during the daily grind. 

 Rekara in supported revolved twist during her
Joy of Fitness restorative yoga class.

What motivates you? 

The feeling. My body feels so much better, my mood is so much better when I practice. Fitness in general is a pick-me-up. I can’t go too long without some kind of physical outlet to keep me balanced and centered. Luckily, yoga goes beyond just a physical release. 

What's your favorite yoga pose? 

I can’t say that I have just one favorite pose,

but I can say that I love poses like bridge. There’s so much growth and exploration in this pose because of its variations. With yoga, there’s really no such thing as “mastering” a pose. Students of yoga are always searching for ways to express poses differently such as feeling a pose more deeply or in new ways. This is a pose that you can really do that in.

Rekara in supported child pose during her
Joy of Fitness restorative yoga class.

Inspirational Quote: 

You don’t get better by doing nothing; you don’t get things done unless you give yourself to it, whole-heartedly.

Finding Sanctuary in Yoga: Jessica Whittington, Joy of Fitness Instructor

Why did you become a Yoga instructor? 

It was a very natural transition for me to go from Kung Fu to Yoga (both are martial arts and yoga is often referred to as the 'martial art of the soul' for how it reveals much inner truth to you as you progress). Yoga allowed me a sense of sanctuary during a very dark time in my life and for that I will be forever grateful. I love that the discipline is such a COMPLETE workout: developing strength with balance, agility, and breath control but also allows one to center the emotional life and calm the constantly over stimulated mind / nervous system.   

What makes a great Yoga instructor? 

Knowledge mixed with compassion and a nurturing quality. The minutiae inherent within the many different styles of yoga can be overwhelming if one attempts to parse the greater detail, so knowing how to communicate a short hand version of some of these concepts and seamlessly integrate them within a class' theme is a skill that takes a long while to refine. Also, being able to adapt a class on the fly to your students and have the right pacing based on the type of class can not be underestimated.

Jess in dancer profile.

What motivates you? 

Finding the perfect mix of music, sequence movement and mental intent ... when you find it the result is this 'moving meditation' which feels organic and effortless. In my own practice, it is the process of learning how to relax and trust my body during a very advanced practice that keeps me motivated and coming back for more every day. 

Favorite Yoga Pose: 

Lately I've really been enjoying variations of Hanumanasana (Flying Monkey Leap). I LOVE the incredibly deep stretch in the hamstrings / inner hips as you surrender the body to the pose and begin to extend the spine up and roll back the shoulders to open the heart deeply. It is incredibly activating in multiple muscles of the body and allows one to deeply plant the sit bones / pelivc floor. 

Inspirational Quote: 

'Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and to

endure what cannot be cured.' BKS Iyengar 

What Makes a Good Exercise Instructor?

As a fitness instructor and owner of a local fitness studio, this question of what makes a good instructor is always on the back of my mind because it seems to me, it's what keeps people coming back. The most important thing for me is that my clients get a good, appropriate for them workout and that they have a good experience, walking away with a smile on their face. I get a lot of "I hate you," looks, deer caught in the head lights stares of eminent doom during the workout, but ultimately I would say 99.9% leave with a sense of accomplishment and feeling good about the whole experience- at least that is what I strive for. 

In my seven years of instructing, I have learned a lot along the way and have found that a good instructor is more than being nationally certified, CPR and first aide trained, and keeping certifications current, or even knowing the mechanics of movement, the safe and effective exercises to perform and keeping up-to-date on the latest physical fitness and health related research. Good instructors not only impart their knowledge, they give of themselves. I truly believe the best instructors are the ones that get up and pour their hearts out, caring about each and every person that comes to their class each and every time. It's the same thing that you would want from a good school teacher- someone who not only knows the material and how to teach it, but LOVES the kids most of all. 

I'd love to hear from you. What do you think makes a good instructor? 

What's Your Motivation To Get Moving?

With busy lives juggling work, kids and home life it's hard to find time and energy to exercise. I totally get it! The funny thing is the very thing we feel we do not have the energy for is oftentimes the VERY thing we should be doing that will actually help us be more productive and enjoy the things we already have going on in our lives. At least that's what I think and is part of my motivational drive to keep moving, exercise, in order to live longer and enjoy an active, mobile lifestyle with my friends and family. The more we move, exercise, the more energy we have to do what we want. My other motivation is the fact that heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's all run in my family, affecting especially hard the women in my family. Also, I was recently diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome a chronic autoimmune disease in which a person’s white blood cells attack their moisture-producing glands. I experience fatigue, joint pain, dry eyes and other symptoms often. What helps me most- exercise. Consistent, regular exercise is one of the few things that has been proven to help ward off Alzheimer's, heart disease and diabetes, as well as keep those joints lubricated and functional, along with eating a healthy diet. That's what keeps me going. Honestly, I want to be around for awhile. What's your motivation and how will it help you get moving and/or stay moving? Yours in exercise, Shannon

Photo of me that my daughter took during one of my outdoor
exercise classes a couple of years ago.
I love being outside and moving!

Have a Fitness Resolution? Resolve to Make it Work for You!

Hey you, the new year is here and like every new year exercise and eating right is at the top of your resolutions list. So what are you waiting for? You already know why your doing this. Your good health, your energy, your high spirits are needed. There is no better time than now. You ARE going to start that exercise program and you ARE going to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet.  Sure, you'll take it slow and steady making sure it becomes a part of your routine so it sticks. Change takes time, so don't forget that. You are going to have set backs, but your not going to beat yourself up about it. I mean, stuff happens, just don't use it as a an excuse. (You know what I mean!) You'll pick yourself back up and get back to it. It's a new year but never fret, the right time is always, NOW. You can do this.

I resolve to make it work for me.

No expectations, but to keep active.

Now get it done. 

Here's how:

• Budget for Fitness You do not need a lot of moolah, but you do need to budget for whatever gets you excited, keeps you motivated and accountable. Whether your buying equipment for an in home space, walking/jogging clothing or shoes, exercise gear, joining a gym, taking a class, buying a DVD or a Wii, or you want to work with a trainer you need to budget for exercise.

• Research Fitness Programs, Gyms, Classes, et al. Try out a variety of things- variety is the spice to life.  You need to mix it up between these three modes of exercise for optimal fitness results:
• CARDIO  (walking, jogging, kick boxing class, cycling class...)
• STRENGTH  (metabolic training using weights, body resistance training, Pilates)
• STRETCHING/MINDFULNESS (Yoga, Tai Chi) 

• Tell your family, friends and co-workers your exercise plans. Letting others know your plans will not only help you stay motivated, it lets others know your good health is important to you which in turn makes scheduling fitness a whole lot easier. People nowadays are way more understanding of time spent exercising than say taking several cigarette breaks throughout the day. An hour, hour and half spent doing your body and mind good helps everyone! Letting people know your starting an exercise regimen may even lead you to an exercise buddy to help keep your workouts fun and keep you accountable too.

• Get Started. Try out different times of day to exercise and see what works best for your schedule, your family, your personality. There is no right or wrong time of day to exercise.  Remember you do not have to do 60 minutes of exercise in one bout. 60 minutes accumulated throughout the day works. The goal is to try to exercise everyday or at least 3-4 days a week, alternating between cardio, strength training and stretching/mindfulness activities.

                                                                                                                Good luck and cheers,

                                                                                                                                          You

Beyond the Kitchen: Ancient Plant Medicine in a Modern World

A Field of Dandelions

I love plants- a budding gardener I am.  Slowly, but surely and as time permits, I am learning more about plants and growing some of my families food, including herbs. I have always had a fascination with herbs and the plants that are often times considered 
weeds: dandelions, chamomile, mint and arugula. I remember spending summers at my grandmother's home in the boondocks. I would pick and eat what I am sure amounted to pounds of wild mint, strawberries, blackberries and honeysuckle as well as picked a ton of dandelions which I presented to my grandmother upon my return from foraging. She would tell me stories about when she was a kid during the depression and subsequently raising her five children, (they did not have a lot of money) and how she would make dandelion salad. I would make a scrunchy face, stick out my tongue and proclaim "Eww!"  Little did I know, 30 years later I would have a voracious appetite and appreciation for salad greens including dandelion leaves. Furthermore, who knew that greens such as dandelion leaves and arugula would be a staple in many of the spring salad mixes now available in your run of the mill grocery store. This makes me incredibly happy!


I've always had an appreciation for plants not only for their beauty and culinary uses, but the aromatherapy uses as well. In recent years, I have become intrigued by their medicinal application too. Lucky for me, in my journey to better my health and spiritual well-being, I have met a lady who has training and expertise in herbalism.  I asked her to share her story and enlighten us to the power of plants- beyond the kitchen. 

Ancient Plant Medicine in a Modern World
                                           by Ashley Litecky


Every young girl needs a fairytale she can live into. My fairytale began with tall trees, luscious moss, and a vivid imagination.  As a young girl growing up in the suburbs of Maryland, the great outdoors held magic, mystery, and best of all, it held plants, which in my child-mind were the holders of a knowledge I wanted to remember. One of my roles in elementary school was as a speaker for a tree that we thought had the answers to all of our questions.  My friends would whisper their question into one of the gnarled knobs on the tree, and my job was to put my ear against another knob and translate the answer. Whether I was actually gifted with the ability to ‘hear’ the trees offering, or if I was simply the most imaginative of the group, I’ll never know.  Yet, I will always remember the comfort that I felt around the plants and trees and the curiosity they inspired within me.


Along with my deep reverence for the magic of plants, came allergies. I remember my time outside was like a game of Russian roulette.  Some days, I could roll in the grass, pick buttercups, and have not a single care in the world, other days a whiff of pollen would send me into an asthma attack and sometimes to the emergency room. It was my severe sensitivity to plant pollen, mold, and weather changes that prompted my mom to bring me to a natural doctor, since all conventional treatments were no longer keeping my asthma at bay.  At the age of 13, my life changed. I became a vegetarian, each morning I would take a ‘pile’ herbal, homeopathic, and nutritional supplements.  After 6 months of treatment, my asthma and allergies came to an end, and my interest in health, wellness, and spirituality began to take off.

Clinical Herbalist Ashley Litecky of
Sky House Yoga & Deep Green Wellness

It is hard to pinpoint exactly when I started studying plant medicine.  It was around 1998 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina when I began to read books on herbs and found local herbalists leading herb walks. In these vast forests, I started to tap into a rich tapestry of information about plants, our co-evolution, and later traveled to Australia and Costa Rica to learn how the Aboriginal people worked with plants. Through this work I began to recognize that by engaging with plant medicine, my ability to relate with my internal and external ecosystems was expanding. I realized that my choices in how I was ‘healing’ myself were directly impacting my environment.  How do we engage in the dynamic balance of keeping ourselves healthy yet also honoring the health of the planet? Plant medicine seemed to be the natural link.


The maintenance of health is a very ancient practice that blends the best of the arts and sciences.  Our ancestors knew which foods to eat in the spring and which to eat in the winter. The image of the herbalist, with their bags of dried flowers and powdered roots is alive and well today.  We are blessed to have thousands of years of knowledge captured in books and living teachers who have received the teachings through long lines of plant speakers and healers. Most herbalists today blend ancient wisdom with what we have learned from modern science. We now look at lab results to see the blood glucose and cholesterol levels in the body and fit these into the context of the organism as a whole. In weaving all of this information together we can create a picture for the client that will help them see what they can do to shift any imbalances on a practical and spiritual level.


From what I have seen in my practice as a clinical herbalist, most people can drastically improve their health with a few simple changes. These pieces of advice are as old as our species, and have been common antidotes for just about every illness, in every part of the world, throughout every age.  We start with water. Water is critical for keeping our muscles, organs, and tissues soft, flexible and balanced. We can drastically improve our health by filling up our glass or steel water bottles at least 3 times a day. Proper hydration is essential for the functioning of every organ system in the body and reduces high blood pressure and tension in the neck and shoulders.


Water along with plenty of plant fiber helps us to move our bowels, which is critical for moving toxins out of the body.  Most disease patterns start from an accumulation of toxins, so we can start by reducing our intake of processed foods, eat more plants, which are medicines themselves, and our bodies will function as they are designed to. Another thing that is essential to health and happiness is creating time for outdoor activities where we can play or chat in the sunshine and soak in vitamin D.  Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D and when it is lacking we can feel fatigued, down, and can lack motivation.  


When we are healthy and feeling good it not only helps us but helps everyone and everything around us. We feel more inspired to contribute to our family and community.  If we are all healthy there is no need for pharmaceutical or recreational substances which require a large amount of human and financial energy to produce, and also enter into our water supply and affect the delicate chemical balance of our planetary ecology.
In my practice as a clinical herbalist, my role is to study the patterns that a person is presenting.  Much like a biologist studies the patterns of a particular species, like what do each day and how they interact with other species, an herbalist studies the individual in much the same way.  In a typical session, I will ask questions pertaining to each organ system and its functioning.  I ask about relationships, to friends, family, food, and rest. I will feel the pulse of the client and look at their tongue to glimpse inside the system and see what patterns of dampness, dryness, agitation, or fatigue can be seen and how this relates to all of the other information I have gathered.  From here I create a protocol that includes nutritional advice, daily practices or meditations, and an herbal formula that addresses the physiological, emotional, and sometimes spiritual roots of the imbalance.

The herbs used by a clinical herbalist vary.  Most practitioners have their favorites.  These are based on the types of illnesses a practitioner most often sees, particular affinities they have with particular plants, and mostly due to their experience with certain plants and really figuring out how they work.  The classical culinary herbs are usually front-line, as they are safe, effective, and familiar to most clients.  For example, I often have clients eat a clove raw garlic a day to combat yeast infections, or to stave off an impending cold.  Another piece of advice for those with sluggish digestion and metabolism is to add cayenne, ginger, or any other heating spices to their foods. 


Without even knowing it, we are treating ourselves with herbal medicines every day.  When we eat a handful of blueberries we are ingesting helpful antioxidants and antibacterial agents that cleanse the urinary tract of dangerous bacteria that can lead to urinary tract infections.  Another common herb that we use is black pepper. Pepper is a strong antioxidant, increases digestion, is high in vitamin C, and increases the body’s ability to absorb nutrients in the food we have sprinkled it on. As Hippocrates once said, “Let food by thy medicine,” and we can use fruits, vegetables, and spices to keep our bodies healthy and strong.

Often people ask me what my favorite herbs are.  The ones that I think everyone could use and receive benefit from.  Right now, as we inch toward summer, the herbs that I would recommend are dandelion root and nettles.  Dandelion root supports the healthy functioning of the liver which helps the body breakdown and release toxins.  Since most of us live in urban or suburban areas, even if we are eating well, we are exposed to toxins in the environment.  Taking dandelion root regularly in the spring and summer can help us efficiently process and excrete these harmful substances while at the same time boosting the healthy flora that lives in the gut.  Nettle leaf is another great plant that makes an excellent tea.  This plant is high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and a large array of trace mineral that our bodies need.  I think of nettles like a food, it is safe and naturally helps to balance the mineral levels in the body which in turn helps us to appropriately hold and release fluids.  

Nettle Leaf

Most people I see are deficient in nutrients especially minerals, so this is an easy way to hydrate and add minerals and electrolytes in the warmer summer months when we tend to sweat more. I would mix 2 tablespoons of nettles and 1 tablespoon of dandelion root in a quart mason jar, fill it with water and let it sit in the sun for 4 – 5 hours.  Then strain it and add a little raw local honey, and add to a glass with ice. This is a delicious way to cleanse and build the body at the same time!


Being healthy is easier than we think.  If we can return back to the basics and follow the advice of our inner grandmother, we can restore our health. As we simplify and move with the natural rhythms and cycles of nature and listen to the very basic needs of the body, we have the potential to rebalance ourselves and the planet we are so fortunate to live on.


Ashley Litecky, M.S. is a clinical herbalist living and practicing in Silver Spring, MD.  She holds a masters of science in clinical herbal medicine from the Tai Sophia institute where she graduated in 2007. Ashley continues to study plant medicine and weaves it with her work as a yoga teacher and trainer. She is the owner and director of Sky House Yoga, a donation-based wellness center in Silver Spring.