My Personal Wellness Journey & Overcoming Chronic Illness
Fifteen years ago, my endocrinologist diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, a chronic autoimmune disease causing a plethora of sticky symptoms, including hair loss, brain fog, chronic fatigue, joint stiffness, and pain; the list goes on. For years doctors told me, "There's nothing wrong with you. You just need to get to the gym and lose weight." An endocrinologist later diagnosed me and basically told me that this illness has no cure, although symptoms could be managed. I refused to accept that fate and joined a Health Club that became my place of work after nearly five years of employing a holistic approach to health. I learned so much about true health, food sensitivities and nutrition, inflammation, proper supplementation, and the importance of adequate hydration and sleep. I trained consistently and learned what my body needed to achieve remission finally. Over 70 pounds later, I am healthy and nearly in remission from this cruel illness. This journey has made me exceptionally passionate about helping others find their health, as I have.
I began the fitness phase of my total wellness journey with heavy weight lifting. Weight training gave me so much confidence, lots of muscle tone, and a bundle of energy. I will always incorporate weight training into my regimen, but the introduction to Pilates changed my life and took my body to the next level. Pilates, being non-load bearing, is much easier on the joints, making it the perfect practice for those with Autoimmune illnesses like myself. Pilates uses the Reformer, a spring tension system, to create resistance that accesses deeper muscles, providing increased definition and core strength.
Now I'm a Level 3 Peak Pilates Certified Instructor, Certified Weight Loss Specialist, Metabolic Technician, Certified Personal Trainer, and overall wellness coach. I have never been more passionate about health and fitness while advocating a holistic health approach to putting chronic illness into remission. I have also received specialized training related to pre-and post-natal wellness, scoliosis, spinal injuries and care, chronic pain, lower back pain, and pelvic floor pain.
Veronica is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher, a Peak Pilates Comprehensively Certified Pilates Instructor, a TRX Certified Instructor, and a Yoga Alliance Registered Prenatal Yoga Instructor. She has a degree in Exercise and Sports Science.
She’s taught group fitness for almost two decades! She’s been personal training for over 13 years.
She currently teaches the following modalities: therapeutic hatha yoga, classical Pilates, traditional strength and conditioning, vinyasa yoga, aerial yoga, yin yoga, restorative yoga, stand-up paddle-boarding (SUP), SUP yoga, cycling, running, rowing and kickboxing.
She is a FitCore™ Master Instructor: she loves teaching the FitCore™ fusion formats to fitness professionals. FitCore™ combines yoga, Pilates, and strength training for a well-balanced, total mind-body workout using the Pilates reformer, chair and tower.
Twenty-five years ago, I suffered a back injury, and Pilates realigned my body, resolving my back issues. While I understand that not all back injuries can be fixed with Pilates, I am a firm believer that this workout is beneficial for all bodies. Pilates strengthens the body like no other workout.
I am currently a Level 1 certified instructor in Classical Pilates, and I am continuing my education, working towards Level 2 certification. I also have a background in fitness and was formerly certified in personal training through NASM. Fitness has been a passion of mine since I was 16. I am excited to see where this new fitness journey takes me and to share this amazing workout with as many people as possible.
