Margie is a mom, business owner, animal lover, and so much more. She owns Sol Space, a Yoga studio and wellness center located in Woodbury. Margie’s background in Yoga, both as a teacher and student, gave her a great starting point for breath control and body awareness. Once she got under the barbell and started working on learning proper technique, she says she started to notice improvement in her yoga practice. Her desire to learn more about how to move better opened new doors for her as a practitioner.
Margie will be turning 35 soon, and hopes to hit her goal of a first strict pull up either by then or soon after the new year, and she’s willing to put in the extra accessory work to hit that goal! When Margie sets her mind to a task, she is determined to achieve it. A little good-spirited competitiveness with her hubby Eric, who also comes to Bellum, helps propel them both toward pushing their limits and achieving awesome goals.
Margie – thank you for being a positive, encouraging, welcoming member of our community. Thank you for helping Bellum to be a place where friends become like family!
What type of workouts did you perform before coming to Bellum?: I practiced yoga pretty consistently and took difficult classes on a regular basis. I also had some experience with boot camp style classes and simple barbell lifts at the gym.
Why were you looking for a new style of workouts?: As my understanding of yoga and my teaching style shifted, I wanted to be able to exercise “off the mat” and just breathe and be in my body while I was doing yoga. Yoga is also limited in terms of functional mobility (i.e. there’s no pulling movements) so weight training is a great compliment. I’m also just a pretty intense person and I wanted a workout that would match my energy level.
What is your favorite CrossFit movement or workout?: This is a tough one for me. Does foam rolling count? If not, then I’ll go with rope climbs because they were always something that felt unattainable before Bellum. I also really love the way the clean and jerk or snatch feel when I do them right and get those weightless moments under the bar. It’s super fun when complex movements like that come together.
What is your biggest accomplishment since starting at Bellum? Honestly, a full year of just being consistent with something like this is huge for me. Showing up on days I don’t want to, finishing workouts when I’d really just rather stop and pushing myself when my tank feels empty are all things that are sort of out of character for me.
What is your favorite out-of-the-gym activity?: I’m bad at favorites. My top 3 include: laughing with my teenagers when everyone is getting along, sneaking out for coffee early weekend mornings with Eric and hanging out with my dogs.
You recently celebrated your 1 year anniversary of being at Bellum! In your year with us, you have continued to practice yoga and have consistently made the Bellum Commitment Club. What else have you accomplished this year?Being at Bellum has definitely impacted the way I teach and practice yoga. I’ve learned so much about anatomy, a pursuit that was predominately fueled by feeling my own body’s movement patterns under a barbell. I teach a much less intense class that is focused on alignment and engagement. I rarely talk yoga philosophy and don’t take time to put together “good” playlists. That all seems distracting when, what I’m really looking for, is for people to feel exactly where their bodies are in space and to control their breathing. I’ve gotten certified in Thai massage and corrective exercise because I’ve become so interested in how restrictions in our bodies cause chronic pain and injuries during workouts (yoga, CrossFit, running, etc). Practicing CrossFit changed the course of my studio and continuously challenges me to work hard and learn new things.
What’s your “Why”? I want to be able to walk up steps, stoop down to put clothes in the dryer, and reach high shelves when I’m 90. I don’t ever want to be limited because of what I can’t do physically. I want the ability to say “yes” to as many opportunities as possible… And it makes my brain feel good.