My husband and I moved to Atlanta area right after we married in 2013. The problem was that due to my husband’s demanding work schedule, I was left alone a lot. I had no car and no friends. I was depressed most of the time, so naturally I did absolutely nothing. Even getting my own car and job later didn’t help all that much, for most of the time I’d just sit when I got home.

By the fall of 2016, I weighed roughly 160 lbs, the heaviest I’d ever been. I had gained about 60 lbs in 3 years. I felt terrible all the time; having migraines at least once a week. My acid reflux was out of control: it didn’t seem to matter what I ate. I didn’t like what I was doing to myself, but honestly I was too lazy to do anything about it.

If you know me, you know that I am a huge wrestling fan. Wrestling has always been my safe haven; my way of escape from reality. Mick Foley has been my favorite since I was 12. He’s really beaten up his body over his career and I remember that there were times when he could barely walk. I gradually began to notice how well he began to look. Not only was he slimmer, but he was moving better than he had in years. I had to find out what this guy was doing. So, I did my research and found out that he was doing DDP YOGA, created by Diamond Dallas Page. This got me digging around some more and I came across The Resurrection of Jake the Snake. The Jake the Snake documentary really opened my eyes to what this program was all about: healing broken bodies and giving people hope who didn’t have any. I remember looking in the mirror and saying, “If a beat up wrestler who can barely walk can do this, what the heck is your excuse?” After all, I was only 29 and didn’t have too many injuries. I was just lazy. So, I ordered the DVDs at Christmas.

I’m really glad I started with the DVDs first, because they were only 20-30 minutes long and I was having a hard time with it. I didn’t realize how bad of shape I was in. A lot of times I was covered in sweat and out of breath by the end of them. Slowly, it started to get a little easier and I began to actually enjoy the workouts (coming from a girl who hated exercising before!). Even though I was happy with the progress I was starting to experience, I was still very self-conscious. I didn’t even like for my husband to be in the same room with me while I did my workouts. I was very set on doing it alone. The thought of being around other people petrified me.

After being on the program for a few weeks, I find out that the DDP Yoga Performance Center was only 5 miles from my house. Ironically, they were having an open house that Saturday. Although I did not want to work out with other people, I decided to go down there and check it out, anyway. Maybe they could show me a thing or two that might improve my workouts at home. I arrived and was immediately blown away by the whole atmosphere. All of the instructors were very nice and positive. Other clients shared their successes and were encouraging. Dallas himself was personable and seemed to genuinely care about everyone that walked through the door. You could tell that it wasn’t just about making a profit. Something told me I had to give this a try. The workouts at home were great, but the environment at the PC was just so positive. I decided that I was going to take a class at the PC once a week, even though I was absolutely terrified to do so.

Fast forward 9 months and I now workout at the PC 3-4 times a week. Sometimes I even do double classes. I actually hate working out at home now and only do so when necessary. The support system here is like none other. One of the mottos is, “Check your ego at the door” because no one is here to judge. There are all kinds of people here at different fitness levels. We all celebrate in each other’s success and we encourage when one is feeling frustrated or defeated. Because of the support and love from this place, I was able to reach my goal weight and drop 30 lbs. My acid reflux is now gone and I haven’t had a migraine in months. While the workouts and the lifestyle changes I have made are the reason for my success, I feel like the Performance Center is why I am still at it. If it weren’t for the wonderful instructors and fellow DDPY warriors that continually encourage me to keep going, I would have probably quit (like I always do) in February and I’d still be that lazy couch potato wasting away.