This April, we honor Member of the Month Shelby Speno. Not only has she been a member since the beginning, she's been a yoga student of Maxine's for even longer! We couldn't imagine our space without her warm energy to fill it. Learn more about Shelby's journey with us.
My journey to discover Evolution was pretty straightforward. Shortly after moving from Atlanta to South Florida in 2005, I met Maxine on the sidelines when our sons played on the same football team. I had always been a competitive runner but never practiced yoga and Max kept telling me I should try her class. It took a few years before I took her up on it, but once I did, I was hooked and followed Max from studio to studio wherever she was teaching. So, it was a no-brainer that I would give Evolution Yoga & Fitness a try. I bought an introductory membership package before the doors opened. I trust Maxine and knew it would be great! What I did not expect was all the other great fitness classes and amazing instructors I would discover. I guess you could say I joined for the yoga but stayed for the wide variety of challenging fitness classes. I’m pretty sure I’ve tried every type of class offered at Evolution and can honestly say I’ve enjoyed them all. If only I could stay there all day! Throughout the pandemic I’ve been grateful for Tresa’s outdoor spin and bootcamp classes. She hasn’t missed a day since last March and teaches classes seven days a week. Of course, I’m logging a lot less miles running as I don’t want to miss any of her awesome classes! I also am currently a big fan of April C.’s Love Barre class. Initially skeptical of barre, I love that barre develops muscles you don’t necessarily work in traditional fitness classes. April’s queuing is perfect, making sure students are using correct form and proper alignment. One of my favorite classes, also taught by April, is Floor Barre Stretch. It isn’t on the schedule at present, but should it return I highly recommend it. It is truly amazing for anyone with tight hips! I’ve enjoyed the ability to take classes virtually through the pandemic and have tried several yoga, barre and Pilates classes. All were great. I’ve also tried a couple of the workshops offered, including a handstand workshop which was super helpful and a dance workshop which was lots of fun. One of the positive changes I’ve experienced since joining Evolution includes developing a much stronger core which helped address overuse injuries I was experiencing as a runner. Before Evolution, I was visiting a chiropractor and going to physical therapy regularly to keep these nagging injuries at bay. In the first year, after a lot of TRX, yoga and Hot Pilates classes at Evolution, all that treatment became unnecessary. Finally, my favorite thing about Evolution is it truly lives up to its name as the House of Love. Members and staff are warm and friendly. Whoever is working the front desk in the morning always greets you with a smile which is a really nice way to start the day. When there has been dark days for our community, when world events have weighed heavy, when I’m just having an off day, and when the isolation of quarantine got to be too much, I have found Evolution to be a refuge where I am able to decompress, center myself, and reset. For that I am truly thankful. It makes me happy my daughter, Sophie, enjoys Evolution as much as I do and I really enjoy taking classes with her when she is home from college. I love being a member of Evolution Yoga and Fitness!
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