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

Nati, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

There was a moment in my career that I had to choose between a “guaranteed” path to success and my newfound passion: fitness. I chose passion, and I’m so thankful for that moment of bravery (betting on yourself is terrifying!).

At the time that I was accepted into law school, I had just begun my fitness career and was loving it.

I, like so many other people, had a really complicated relationship with my body and movement growing up. I worked out because I was expected to, because it was a way to be thin, and thin was beautiful.

I worked hard to restructure my relationship with fitness, and find the empowerment in it. And when I began teaching, I fell in love with creating a safe space for other people to heal from all the toxic messaging around fitness and find the fun and empowerment in it.

When I wrote my friends and family telling them about my decision to turn down law school and pursue a career in fitness, I was so scared. Scared of failure, of choosing a challenging path for myself, and for possibly living in regret. Sometimes you have to make choices even though you’re scared.

It’s exactly how I felt when I, years later, chose to expand my business and open my first studio, The Oasis. Fear is normal, but we do “the thing” regardless.

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 help people feel strong and capable in their bodies! I work with clients in privates, duets, and group classes to help them get strong and live as pain-free as possible. As both a certified Pilates instructor and NASM personal trainer, I bring a variety of modalities to my work with clients to help them achieve their goals.

I founded The Oasis to reflect my interpretation of fitness: luxurious, grounding, empowering, and completely dedicated to self-care. A place where all are welcomed, celebrated, and supported. We’re a collaborative of independent businesses that share the vision for holistic care, so whether you need a trainer, Physical Therapist, or massage therapist, we’re here to help you feel better than ever before.

My favorite people to work with are those looking to create a better relationship with their body, whose goals are centered around functionality and not aesthetics (though I am happy to refer if those are your goals).

From my experience, people are craving places like The Oasis, that offer welcoming, supportive, judgment-free spaces to explore, learn and grow. I think that’s the reason we were awarded Best Pilates in Oakland in 2023 by Oakland Magazine, and are up for the award again this year!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

“No pain, no gain.”

I couldn’t hate this slogan more! We have been so indoctrinated with this idea that if fitness isn’t painful, it isn’t productive.

This is literal non-sense.

Do you need to be uncomfortable sometimes? Of course, discomfort is part of growth.

Do you need to be in pain? Absolutely not! We’ve been so trained to ignore pain that we often do incredible damage to ourselves, both emotionally and physically, by ignoring it.

I can’t tell you how many clients have come to me saying they had some kind of pain building for months, they went to a challenging workout class, ignored the pain they were feeling, and have been debilitated from the pain ever since.

Pain is one of the most powerful ways our body communicates. When you ignore it, it eventually finds a way to be un-ignorable.

I always tell my clients that one of the most important skills we hone in our movement practice is the ability to listen to our body and have tools to respond to what it’s sharing with us.

So if you’ve been feeling some kind of pain for a while and ignoring it, here’s my gentle nudge to go see a doctor, a physical therapist, or an experienced trainer and take care of yourself!

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Being authentic.

I LOVE connecting with my clients. I love hearing about their lives, sharing about mine, talking about our pasts and our dreams and sometimes just being silly together. I think when you’re really open to making authentic relationships with the people around you, everyone benefits.

I have THE BEST clients in the world and I feel SO honored to support them and to really know them. Community is so important, and I think there’s space for authentic community even within business.

Contact Info:

• Website: theoasisoakland.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/theoasisoakland

Image Credits
Photo credit to Emilie Bers