We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrea Claassen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrea below.

Andrea , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2012 I started my own in-home personal training. I was also working a full time job at a soccer academy. I was struggling keeping up with both jobs and the growth of my own business. Every Friday like clockwork I ended up getting sick before doing the final sessions of the night. My body was stressed out and I was overwhelmed. After seeing me like this for a month my boss called me into his office and told me something needed to shift.

He said you either need to run your business full time, or he would buy my business out and I would dissolve my business. I took a huge risk, and bet on myself. I think I surprised him even by choosing my own business and potential vs sticking with the “safe” plan.

It turned out to be the best risk I’ve taken as I’ve been running my own business for 10 years now. It has evolved as I have into a more holistic approach with Ayurveda and yoga and I couldn’t be happier.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was a 3 sport athlete in high school when one of my coaches introduced weight lifting to me. I was instantly hooked and started my personal training journey, training teammates at the ripe age of 16.

I’ve since worked with thousands of women in the past 15 years including Olympic athletes.

While fitness was my first passion as I became a mom my interests started to shift.

I discovered Ayurveda in the jungles of Costa Rica on a yoga retreat and knew instantly that, that was the path for me to explore, learn and embody.

Just a year after being introduced to Ayurveda I became pregnant with my son.

Little did I know that this science called Ayurveda would be what I leaned on to help pull me out of a postpartum fog.

Ayurveda helped me truly understand how to slow down, tune in & connect with my own inner wisdom.

You might feel lost, ungrounded, not connected to your higher purpose and not really understanding practices that will help you reach your goals.

That is the beauty of Ayurveda

It gives you practices, tools, and the confidence to trust yourself again.

Ayurveda helped open a door for me to explore my health from from a mind/body/soul prospective that just made sense.

I started rebuilding my definition of self, I started implementing more mindfulness tools into my routines, I found a workout program that nourished my body instead of depleting it, I found I was more connected to eating foods I could digest vs trying to follow a fad diet.

It was a complete life transformation that continues to evolve and unfold in my life in new ways each and everyday.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Understanding people is a vital skill when working with clients 1:1. Learning to read nonverbal cues, asking deeper questions to get better answers. Empathic listening and being able to think on your feet are skills that are very helpful when working as a coach or yoga teacher.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2017 I started having a nudge that I was ready to make a shift in my life as well as my business. Ayurveda and yoga became my core focus and I removed personal training as an option from my services. The shift for me started in my own life, I was using Ayurveda more and more on a personal level. I started slowing introducing Ayurveda with my personal training clients and knew I was ready to take my business in a new direction.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andreaclaassen.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/seasonalandrea
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seasonalandrea/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/andreaclaassen
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/seasonalandrea/