Have you ever been to a workout class so dynamic, fun, and interesting that you almost forget you were working out? Neither had I. Until I joined instructor Tiffany Jolly for one of her OMnia Yoga classes. Tiffany owns Star Fitness in Olympia. She teaches her signature blend of yoga, cardio, and dance in a lovely studio on State Street in Olympia.
“OMnia is Latin for everything. With 15 years in the fitness industry, I pulled everything that I thought was good, efficient, and effective and put it all into one workout,” Tiffany explains. Her unique style of yoga-fusion combines the spirituality of yoga with “getting the heart pumping, and blending the best of all worlds from my whole experience, taking what really resonated with me, and putting that into one workout. You could say OMnia is exclusive, since I created it. This is the only place in the world that offers it!”
Tiffany’s Wednesday evening and Saturday morning classes follow a sequence of warming up, sun salutations, glutes and core work, cardio, and yoga flow. Monday evening Tiffany teaches Goddess Flow, which is yoga and feminine dance focused, great for new students and those seeking something gentler.
All of the classes at Star Fitness are accessible for students of all ability levels. “I try to make my classes really easy to follow,” Tiffany explains. “The moves are repetitive and not too complicated, with easy choreography. That’s important, because I know a lot of people fear that they won’t be able to follow it, that they can’t dance, or that they ‘have two left feet.’”
Landing (Back) in Thurston County
Tiffany grew up in Tenino, and went to school in Tumwater before moving to Florida for 11 years. She returned to Olympia seven years ago, and, upon her return, really fell in love with Olympia.
“As I started this business, I became more immersed in the community and saw what Olympia has to offer. It’s really beautiful, and awesome, and Olympia has a very feminine vibe,” Tiffany says.
“If I look at my journey, I think things can be kind of divinely mapped out, and to have me come back to Olympia seems very much like it was supposed to happen,” she adds. “I am in a place that is perfect for where I’m at in my life right now.”
Female-Focused for Achievable Results
OMnia Yoga is undeniably a great workout, and Tiffany’s students see results, but Star Fitness is so much more than your average fitness class. “My core message is empowering women and for women to live a life true to themselves. For so many years I felt like I wasn’t living true to myself and that’s what caused me the most pain and heartache and just not a life of fulfillment,” she says.
“I’m really passionate about women seeing their value and feeling important, feeling beautiful, finding their self worth. With the stuff that I’ve dealt with in my own life, it feels really important to me to help other women,” Tiffany adds.
“My clients are real women, with everyday bodies. I don’t look at my ladies as ordinary. I look at them as amazing and extraordinary,” Tiffany says with enthusiasm. Her clients make great strides, like achieving fitness and personal goals, letting go of toxic relationships, and finding their voice. “I am a motivating and inspiring person. I do feel like I give people mindset shifts of what is possible.”
Star Fitness is part of a cooperative space at Pilates at Play. When you step into the cozy, warm studio on State Street you feel immediately comfortable and at ease. “It is a safe, welcoming space. I feel like it’s a very feminine and safe space to just be you and get what you need out of it,” Tiffany says. “Actually, underneath the back part of the studio, there are artesian springs, which is very feminine, very fluid and has to do with emotion.”
“I learn everyone’s names. It’s a personal connection. I think a lot gyms are so impersonal, while Star Fitness is more of a personal experience,” she says, referring to her clients lovingly as “her peeps.”
Tiffany’s Personal Journey to a Healthy Lifestyle
Tiffany hasn’t always been the confident, spiritual instructor that she is today. “I was really hyper-critical of my body, and felt like I was never skinny enough. I really equated my weight with my self-worth, which is dangerous,” Tiffany shares about her personal journey. “Even when I would get really thin and starve myself and go on these crazy diets it would be like ‘oh, just five more pounds’ then I’ll be worth it, then I’ll be good enough. Throughout my 20s, I really based my worth and what I was deserving of on my physical body.”
“My workouts were very torture based, very punishing, I did a lot of extreme diets. But my problem was that I was always trying to use externals to fix what was going on internally.” So, she explains, after struggling with her weight and unhealthy relationships, her life started to improve when she started to do the internal work: emotional healing, exploring proper nutrition, and exploring spirituality.
“Love your body along the journey, accept and love yourself exactly as you are, even if you have goals to change it,” she says. “You have to quiet the noise and say now, right now I accept and love myself as I am.”
“Speak to yourself like you would speak to your best friend, eliminate the negative self talk. That’s been my biggest transformation is healing myself – loving myself, knowing that I’m worth it.” And that’s the journey and transformation she wants to share with other women.
“I want to help women step into their own power,” she says in summary stressing that she’s offering something unique and different to Olympia.
For more information on class schedule and pricing visit the Star Fitness website. Tiffany also offers online courses and coaching at TiffanyJolly.com.
