LYT

Category: Friday with Friends

  • 273 | Rock the Sports Bra | with Sylvia Nasser

    Sylvia Nasser is a self-employed personal trainer—and much more! She had a summer job at a gym, partially to get a free membership, until one day her boss gave her a surprise audition to lead a class. She never thought of herself as being an instructor, but she quickly fell in love with it.

    While working to build her business and brand, Sylvia became very early to the live streaming game—and it caused her business to grow quickly, and she had to hire on trainers to meet all of the demand she was faced with. She felt a lot of pressure to look a certain way because she was the face of the brand, which led to some serious body dysmorphia. Along with that, the pressure to make her business work, and planning her wedding, her health really started to decline. When her daughter was born and eventually diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, she was in a state of complete depression. She stressed her body out so much that she triggered a lupus reaction in her body.

    One day she had an a-ha moment. She still struggled with feelings of insecurity with her body. She was at the gym with a friend and everyone—including her friend—were rocking their sports bras. And they all looked good! Nobody was ashamed, they all looked and felt confident and powerful. So Sylvia was filled with confidence too, and she took off her tank top and worked out. That one moment gave her so much freedom that she knew she had to make it a thing, and she started the #IRockTheSportsBra hashtag, which turned into a movement. Now she tries to inspire others, not through macro counts and diet plans, but with confidence and strength of character.


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  • 270 | Creating a Culture of Respect Around Intimacy | with Mike Domitrz

    Content warning: sexual assault

    Decades before sexual harassment cases were on the cover of every major media publication, Mike Domitrz was being brought in by leading educational institutions and the U.S. military to help them pursue a new standard of consent and respect. Mike has three books, an award-winning DVD, and he is one of the world’s leading influencers and thought leaders on the topic of respect.

    When he heard that his sister had been sexually assaulted, he felt broken, like something was missing. He didn’t know what to do until he heard a speaker and realized, “I could do something about this.” People don’t want to be told what they can’t do, they want to be told what they can do. So he founded the Center for Respect to proactively build a culture of respect — sexually, intimately, in the workplace, and in the home.

    We need to focus on all of the conditioning and behavior that we’ve been taught and unlearn what we can—while teaching a new generation the right way to respect each other.


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  • 267 | Movement Heals the Morose | with James Whiteside

    James Whiteside, also known as JbDubs, is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, model, drag queen, and recording artist. He’s a former principal dancer with Boston Ballet and is currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater.

    A big part of his career is performing on stage, so he’s had to pivot massively due to COVID-19. He’s been doing online ballet classes for charity recently to five to ten thousand kids, and it’s helped to keep him from being too morose.

    As one of the leaders of the ballet world, he’s tasked himself with stepping up, making things happen, and trying to inspire others in his industry to be more inclusive. He’s also in the process of writing a book all about his ballet life, men he’s dated, and other life experiences. He’s such a fascinating, talented person, and he’s doing great things in the world!


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  • 265 | Free Your Feet!

    Shoes are not good for our feet. We are meant to be barefoot as much as possible!

    Going barefoot has been an obsession of mine ever since I became a physical therapist, and even more so as I examined my childhood and realized how much time I spent barefoot. My father, who was an orthopedic surgeon, said to my mom, “Let them be barefoot as long as you can.”

    One of the biggest issues is how our big toes have been bound to our other toes, and we’ve lost a lot of freedom and mobility in that toe. Here are some exercises you can do to increase strength and flexibility in your big toe:

    While barefoot, try to lift your toes without lifting the rest of your foot, one toe at a time. Then, try specifically with the big toe. If you can’t do this yet, lift up all your toes, and while keeping them up, use your hands to push the rest of your toes down. Then slowly take your hand away while keeping the configuration the same. Your toes will eventually revert back, but you can continue this process.

    Strengthening the muscles of your toes and feet will have a huge impact up the chain in your movement pattern. It’s never too late to redirect the course of your movement.


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  • 264 | The Experiences of an Olympic Rower | with Grace Luczak

    Grace Luczak is one of the Olympic rowers in the 2016 Olympics, and she’s all about feeling good and strong in our own bodies.

    Grace was introduced to rowing as a child when her mother realized she had the frame for it and that it could be a great gateway into college. We discuss the work and dedication it takes to row at an Olympic level, her experience playing in the games, and what it’s been like putting life on hold as this years’ games get delayed.


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  • 261 | Maintain a Healthy Sex Life & Relationship | with Dr. Alexandra Solomon

    Alexandra Solomon is a licensed psychologist, the author of two books — “Loving Bravely” and “Taking Sexy Back” — and the mother of two teenagers.

    Sexuality is something so inherent to our experience as humans, and yet we tip-toe around the subject so much in our society. Dr. Solomon works to destigmatize the topic of sex for as many people as possible and show that it is a healthy, natural part of our lives that — if we embrace it — leads to higher levels of connection between couples.


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  • 258 | Changing the Approach to Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga | with Deb Flashenberg

    Debra Flashenberg, or Deb, is a yoga teacher and founder of the Prenatal Yoga Center in New York City. She’s a labor support doula, a childbirth educator, and a mother of two kids.

    Debra was trained in prenatal yoga before she had really had any experience with birth. After watching some live births, she realized that what she was teaching did not give the full picture of what women were heading into, and she now teaches prenatal yoga across the country.

    We talk about the difference going through pregnancy made on her practice, how she uses yoga to support women before and after birth, and the important changes to make to your traditional yoga practice when you are pregnant.


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  • 255 | How to Get Involved in Fighting Inequality | with Bill Rodgers

    255 | How to Get Involved in Fighting Inequality | with Bill Rodgers

    Bill Rodgers is a professor of public policy at Rutgers University, formerly the chief economist for the US labor department in the Clinton administration, a coach for a young men’s soccer team, and a father of three.

    Bill has been taking my classes for four years now. He had been a lifelong runner and played division one soccer, but the wear and tear started to take a toll. What LYT™ Yoga focuses on is transitions in movement: getting out of your car, in and out of the shower, or even transitioning out of a marriage in life.

    And we’re all in the midst of a huge cultural transition right now. In order to fight the fight for racial justice, we have to realize that not having equality affects all of us and makes us all worse off. We get siloed off and only see people who look like us, who make similar amounts of money to us, and we don’t have empathy for people who don’t fit within that model. There are so many ways that you can join this movement, but the most important thing is to not let it lose steam. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t forget this moment when the news moves on. It is a commitment for the rest of your life, and one you will pass on to your children to continue.


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