Feeling fit & fabulous over fifty

Jen Hardy [00:00:06]:

Today I want to welcome my friend Laura. I am so excited that you agreed to join me here. Thank you so much.

Laura Mak Quist [00:00:12]:

Absolutely. It’s so great to be here today. Thank you, Jen.

Jen Hardy [00:00:16]:

Awesome. You want to start with introducing yourself and telling a little bit about what you do?

Laura Mak Quist [00:00:20]:

Sure, absolutely. So my name is Laura Mak Quist. I am the founder of the Yoga Fit Life which is our online studio for yoga and strength women for women over 40. And we reset the hormones, we reshape bodies and reset the mind as well. So I actually got started in fitness way back when I was a gymnast in college and I started out actually in business school. But then I wanted to take this anatomy class because you actually got to work on cadavers and you could see all the muscle fibers and you got to kind of cut into it. To do that I had to switch into the exercise science department. And I’ll tell you what, that class, I studied more for that single class than I did the rest of my four years combined. It was amazing. And so I just knew I had to do something body related, health related. And so I also got my master’s degree in exercise science and started one of the first. I had two great mentors I worked with and we started the first personal training business that we brought equipment to homes and so that doesn’t seem like a big deal right now. However, 30 years ago, that was just like a new thing coming up on the scene. And it’s funny, I remember my dad saying something like in 8th or 9th grade and you kind of start thinking about what are you going to do with your life? He’s like, yeah. And I grew up in Michigan. And so he’s like, yeah, I just read this article in California, these people, they’ll pay someone to teach them how to exercise. And I’m like and meanwhile I was a gymnast. I was training 5 hours a day. I left school early so I could go practice and I was like, well that sounds great, I could totally do that. And I’m like Anne california sunshine. I’m like, sign me up. My dad’s like, well you don’t have to go that far to do it anyway. So that might have had a little seed planted in my mind. And then when the opportunity came up after school to be able to get started with working with some really great mentors and then having this opportunity to learn and grow while I was still doing my masters and I was teaching undergrad courses in the Health and wellness department as well. So I’ve kind of always been in that fitness industry. After grad school, I moved down to Atlanta and it was right before the 96 Summer Olympics. So that was so much fun. And I actually got to compete. Fun fact, I got to perform in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics. And it was amazing. Yeah, it was so cool. Talk about a big performance, right?

Jen Hardy [00:03:12]:

Oh my gosh, it’s like the ultimate, right? Oh my gosh.

Laura Mak Quist [00:03:15]:

I know. I can say I went to the Olympics.

Jen Hardy [00:03:17]:

Now that is so cool.

Laura Mak Quist [00:03:22]:

Yeah. So that was a really neat experience. In Atlanta, I continued personal training and from there I started competing in fitness and then kind of climbed to the top of the ranks pretty quickly because we had two physique rounds and two fitness routine rounds. So I got to use my dance and gymnastics and performance for that. So that was fun. And I did that for several years while I was doing the personal training and then I knew there was going to be something I needed to transition to because you start getting a little bit of aches and pains as you’re tumbling on these hard floors. I kind of fell into this clothing line, and I had a partner in the beginning, it was all workout wear for women. And she had a different vision of more blacks, blues and navies. And I had a different vision of pinks, purples, green, oranges, yellows in every bright color. And so we kind of separated, which worked out great. So this was back in the time when magazines were really popular and so I was able to do different promotions with magazines. I would share clothing for the stylist so they would get the girls in the workouts and then they would tag my website, which was a great way. It was kind of one of the beginning when people were starting to shop online, so that was just a real fun adventure with the clothing line. Then I had a dance performance team and so for that we would travel across the country and I’d sponsor different fitness or wellness trade shows and we would perform in the clothing and we would do sales and stuff so it was a lot of fun. Then I moved out to La and lived in La for about 13 years, which was great, and met my husband later on in life and started having kids later on in life and so that was quite a journey in itself. And with that then I ended up selling the clothing line because we had to go through several rounds of IVF and the roller coaster and the hormone stress and the emotional stress took its toll, so I had to let go of some other things so I could be able to do that. And then after we had two healthy boys and they’re now actually eleven and seven, and so I’ve moved up to Seattle and still in the fitness industry and I still have some one on one clients I work with and just recently launched the Yoga Fit Life. And so that’s been a really great passion and still getting to inspire people to live healthy life that’s amazing. Yeah.

Jen Hardy [00:06:10]:

And I follow your Instagram and it is so beautiful. You make everything look so effortless and so beautiful and it’s so amazing. So if you’re listening, what is your Instagram handle so they can go check that out?

Laura Mak Quist [00:06:23]:

Awesome. Yeah. So it’s Laura Mak Fitlife and Mac is M-A-K. So yeah, Laura Mak Fitlife.

Jen Hardy [00:06:31]:

It is awesome. So if you want to get a visual of what she’s talking about when we’re talking, that’s what you’re going to want to look at. Feeling fit & fabulous over fifty is easy! And follow her because it is so amazing. So tell me about what you’re doing now, because I know you’re doing some new things and it’s so exciting.

Laura Mak Quist [00:06:45]:

It is. Yeah. So we just launched the Yoga Fit Life about a year ago, and so that’s our online yoga studio where we have different classes, we’ll have live classes and then we have your on demand classes because as we age and progress, our schedules are different. The type of training that we have to do for our body is different. I think we have a type of training we can do in our twenty s and thirty s, and it kind of starts shifting in our forty s and definitely in our 50s as we discover these creeks and wear and tear that we’ve acquired over the years from all of our active life. So I do shorter workouts and there’s bits of it that include that intensity. There’s also that strength training factor because that’s a really important thing, especially as we age, because we want to keep our bones strong, we want to keep the muscles strong because that keeps our metabolism going. The more muscle mass we carry. And I’m not talking about being a big thick bodybuilder or something like that, but just strength to do everyday life skills to keep up with your kids or go biking or scootering or skiing or whatever you like to do for your activities. And whether it’s with kids or grandkids, just keeping up. Right. And then we also have some mindfulness and meditation on there. So as we’re building up and getting strong, we also want to reset and train our mind to be able to join in with that and to just kind of keep that settled and that groundedness.

Jen Hardy [00:08:29]:

That’s awesome.

Laura Mak Quist [00:08:30]:

Wow.

Jen Hardy [00:08:30]:

It’s so incredible. I love it. And you have everything all in one spot, so you address all those different kinds of things together, which is so nice for people to have a one place to go to do it. So what if someone’s listening and they’re thinking, you know, I really want to get fit, but I feel out of shape, I haven’t done things in so long. How do I get started with that? Because I know for a lot of people it’s very intimidating or overwhelming.

Laura Mak Quist [00:08:56]:

Yeah, great question. And I think the Yoga Fit Life is a perfect place to get started because we do have a variety of level of classes so you can progress as you feel comfortable, as you gain confidence, and as you gain strength. In every class that I teach, I always offer options where I’ll teach it at one level, but then I’ll offer a modification to challenge yourself and a modification to give yourself grace. So you’ll have these options, and you can do the same class five or six times, and it can be a different class for you every single time you do it. There’s plenty of classes to choose from so you won’t get bored. And we continue to add new classes. So it’s kind of like a lot of people, the misconception of, oh, I have to be flexible for yoga. Well, no, that’s why you’re doing yoga, is to gain flexibility and gain that joint health, so you can move around and feel good sitting down. Standing up and not, like, having to walk with a creep back, and you can stand up right away. Right.

Jen Hardy [00:10:07]:

That’s awesome.

Laura Mak Quist [00:10:07]:

Yeah.

Jen Hardy [00:10:08]:

And I know I’ve tried yoga, and it looks so easy, but it is a workout.

Laura Mak Quist [00:10:11]:

Oh, it’s definitely a workout. Yeah. Don’t let it confuse you. It’s a workout in itself, and that also counts as strength training because you’re using body resistance. Whether you’re in a plank on your arms with straight legs or on your knees, you’re building strength in your shoulders, your triceps, your core. So these are all weight training is not the only type of resistance training that you can do. So yoga in itself is resistance training. It just also pulls into a lot of other factors, like your balance, like you’re connecting your breath and your movement. It’s got so many wonderful factors that go into yoga and feeling good. One of the things I fell in love with yoga is because coming out of a competitive gymnastics background and then competitive fitness, I needed to find something that was not competitive, but I wanted to have that movement. And yoga was the one place where you could just come to your mat. You could kind of be inside yourself, because you really are trying to connect your breath and your movement and just being present without judgment of how you feel. So if you feel strong one day and you want to practice a handstand, that’s great. And if you feel tired or sluggish or off some days, we have those off days, and you might need an extra child’s pose. That’s a recovery position. And that was totally fine. It was such a new concept for me to grasp that, wow, I can feel great one day, and that’s all right, and I can feel sluggish and exhausted the other day, and that’s just as fine, too. So we kind of release the judgment and just be present with how you are on that day. And learning that was such a big lifestyle change.

Jen Hardy [00:12:11]:

And what I like, too, is you can do yoga by yourself if you want to or you can have friends. Go, because I know I went with my daughter and a lot of people had brought friends and it’s something they can do together, too.

Laura Mak Quist [00:12:22]:

It is so wonderful. Yes, exactly. So you can have a friend to do it with you. Like you said, you do it with your daughter. I’ve introduced it to both of my boys and we’ll do it occasionally. So it’s a really nice it’s one of those life skills, I really say.

Jen Hardy [00:12:39]:

And I know if you’re listening and you’ve got a child or a grandchild that’s having behavioral problems, I know we have two children with autism and I don’t know what it is about yoga, but it’s very calming for them. And even if you just take out the whole exercise aspect, although kids today, I think with all the screens and all the temptations to do nothing, it’s a great thing. They can do it with you. That’s the incredible thing.

Laura Mak Quist [00:13:09]:

It really is. And even though there’s a screen, there’s a lot of times where you can actually just kind of close your eyes and kind of go inward so you don’t have those distractions of the outer world. And so I think that’s another really lovely part of being able to come inward and just learning how to be comfortable with yourself. Some people never learn that skill and always have to be in the hustle and bustle, but it’s okay to have that quiet time and to just be within yourself.

Jen Hardy [00:13:42]:

That’s awesome. And so what are some of the benefits for somebody who’s older to do yoga? Because for someone where it’s brand new, it might sound scary because it’s different. What are some good reasons for them to try?

Laura Mak Quist [00:13:55]:

Well, kind of like what we talked about before, which would be the strength training aspect of it, because there are a lot of challenging poses where you can actually just hold a pose in a certain position. And boy, can you feel it all through your body between your legs and your hips and glutes and your core and just extending up through that posture. So it definitely can work on your strength training. It also has a huge balance factor. So depending on what position you’re in, you’re opening yourself to the side, you’re adding a twist. You’re going in different planes of the body where you’re either cutting it up and down or right to left or even balancing on 1ft and trying to focus on a spot so you can keep your center of gravity. Balance is a big thing in yoga. And then also just kind of connecting your breath and movement is another one because with the deep breathing you really practice inhaling and filling up your lungs and getting more of that oxygen into your body and allowing that oxygenated blood to flow through your body and just giving it that sense of calmness. And that just delivering the oxygenated blood to your muscles, allowing them to work and have that strength.

Jen Hardy [00:15:24]:

That’s great. Okay. And I love that you did those classes and you got to study the human body and see those muscles. So you really know what is healthy and what isn’t healthy as you’re showing people different things. Right, because I know that’s another fear. What people have is, what if I get hurt? But you’re not coming from a place where you just decided to just up and do this one day. I mean, you’ve got a lot behind what you’re doing.

Laura Mak Quist [00:15:50]:

When I say it, I’m like yes. I’ve been doing this for 30 years now. I’m like, Whoa, that’s a lifetime. But I literally have been doing it that long. It’s been quite a journey. And being in the fitness industry for that long, let me tell you, I have seen a lot of fads come and go just as quickly as they have arrived. So knowing having that stability of being able to have create a good foundation and like with yoga or any other type of activity, when you get started, you’ll have this foundation of there’s going to be certain skills that are the beginning movements. And then you can continue to progress from there by either adding a twist or a balance or a different type of stretch with it. But it’s really neat how you can just kind of add on a little bit at a time and then gaining that confidence and that strength, knowing that you’re developing this skill in a safe way and it’s doing so much for your body.

Jen Hardy [00:16:56]:

That’s great. And if we follow you and go to your website, we can do it in the comfort of our own home.

Laura Mak Quist [00:17:01]:

Absolutely.

Jen Hardy [00:17:02]:

So if we’re feeling maybe a little self conscious or we’re just starting out, we know that it’s just us and you.

Laura Mak Quist [00:17:09]:

Exactly. And the great thing is, too, you can do it on your own timeline. And I have shorter classes in there. I have some 1015 minutes classes. I have 30 minutes classes if you want to try a longer one. I’ve got 50, 55 minutes classes. But it really depends how you’re feeling that day. And I really wanted to create something that honors where you are on that particular day so you can find something to match your energy level of what you want to do. I have some people that like to stack the classes that maybe they’ll do a yoga class to get it warmed up, and then they’ll do like another 10 minutes of strength training after like, an upper body workout, or they might add another ten minute core class. So the nice thing is you can really just kind of mix and match and go with how you are actually feeling and really honoring that each day.

Jen Hardy [00:18:02]:

That’s amazing. Yeah, because I know some days I have really good days and some days I don’t. My body doesn’t like to do a lot on any of those days. But it’s nice to know I could do that. Now let’s say I want to come to your website and I think, okay, I just don’t even know anything. Is there a way to talk to you and get your input? Do you do that at all?

Laura Mak Quist [00:18:18]:

Absolutely, yeah. And do have a program where I do work specifically with one on one clients. And depending on what their goal is and where their level is, we can start it out where we’re working together three days a week and start tapering it off to give you the confidence, where you’re like, okay, well, I’ve learned these things. I’m confident, I know the right positioning, how to keep my form, and then that gives you that responsibility to do the workouts on the other days. And then you can go into the yoga fit life, pick out the classes that you want to do. We also do have a Facebook group that you can be part of that I’m active in there and sharing lots of tips and insiders. Yeah, that’s another way to stay connected and ask questions and have some community support there also.

Jen Hardy [00:19:10]:

That’s awesome. Okay, and then let’s talk about the meditation a little bit because that just seems to be a hot word right now. A lot of people are talking about meditation. So what are just quick a couple of things that are good about meditation for someone who doesn’t know anything about it.

Laura Mak Quist [00:19:25]:

Yeah, so meditation is really great for slowing your body down, connecting with it and connecting with your body without judgment. And it’s almost that time where you can kind of do an analysis like how is my neck and shoulder feeling? You can do like a body scan. That’s one type of meditation. There’s breathing meditations where you’re just focusing on your breath. There’s meditations for going to sleep at night. There’s different types of meditations so similar to picking out the yoga class that you’re feeling that day. You can also pick out some different type of meditations and it’s a way where you can kind of get settled and get grounded for your day. I recommend even 5 minutes to just start your day makes a wonderful difference and gives you either a mantra or you can have an insightful quote that you want to think about or prayer wherever you’re coming from. So you can have that to get your day started and get going with it. Or it’s a wonderful way to finish your day as well.

Jen Hardy [00:20:39]:

That’s awesome. Okay, well great. Well, thank you. That’s so good. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about before we go? Because I think we’ve covered a lot of great things so far.

Laura Mak Quist [00:20:48]:

Yeah, no, it’s been a pleasure to be here today and if any of your friends and listeners would like to try it out, the yogafitlife.com, we have a two week special. You could just use the keyword podcast and you’ll get two weeks free just to try it out and see what it’s all about, what kind of classes we have. And like I said, we add new classes each week and we kind of mix it up. So there’s always some new things, but there’s more than enough to choose from. So yeah, so you can just use that keyword podcast and that will give you the two weeks free.

Jen Hardy [00:21:34]:

That’s amazing. Well, thank you so much for that. Okay. And there’ll be a link for that in the show notes and on the website, so you can you don’t have to write that all down. If you’re driving or whatever, you can just wait till you get home and then click on it and you’ll be taken right to the website. And thank you so much for sharing that, and thank you for letting people try it, because I think that’s the thing is that wondering, am I going to like it? And I think once people try it, they are going to like it because there’s so many good things about yoga and about meditation, and the world is a little bit crazy right now and it seems to be going so fast. And both of these things are going to help, I think, slow it down a little bit, help you get back into the mindset you want to be in so that you can move forward.

Laura Mak Quist [00:22:14]:

Yeah.

Jen Hardy [00:22:16]:

Well, thank you, Laura. Thank you so much again for coming and sharing all that with us.

Laura Mak Quist [00:22:20]:

Thank you for having me here today. It was such a pleasure.

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