An Inspired Chat with Stephanie Herman of Northern California

We recently had the chance to connect with Stephanie Herman and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie , it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I wake up next to my loving husband who tells me how much he loves me every day. I then open the curtains into our beautiful garden and say hello to all the new flowers. I walk around outside towards the kitchen door where my doggies are wagging their tails to say hi to me. We all go outside to play chase.
I then come back in and feed the dogs then make a great espresso latte and a piece of toast. Hubby walks in and we chat while having a light breakfast. I then get dressed, kiss hubby good bye, give dogs a treat then drive to my rehab studio to greet and heal clients that are sent to me from hospitals when they can’t cure them. I then drive to teach a class of twelve at Club Pilates. Drive home to make lunch then work on editing my Memoir. for a couple of hours. I love writing. I then either run to take a pilates class or a CoreAlign class or a boxing class before teaching a Pilates Fusion class at Equinox or .go to a clients home to rehab them. I then make my way back home and go through my emails and research different places to visit for my Fall vacation through Italy.
Then hubby comes home and we catch up over dinner, wash the dishes then give love to dogs. The rest of the evening is spent relaxing and or watching TV.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, my name is Stephanie Herman and I love life, people, good food and fun experiences. I get excited producing, whether it’s for The Stephanie Herman Show, or creating a teacher training program for my Pilates Ballet program. I find I have an active, calm mind that likes to stay engaged. I was a former principal ballerina then developed into healing injured bodies. I also love to stay in shape. After producing and starring in the 8 film festival award winning
“Ballerina A One Woman Play” and film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GorYu3NTc4I
So decided to write my memoir with hopes of having it published and hopefully turn into a TV episode or movie.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I grew up with a mother who would easily get upset. There was yelling in our home which scared me. I decide to not rock the boat by trying to stay out of trouble and foresee any possible problems that would stir up my mother’s anger. This caused me to constantly be on guard which turned me into a people pleaser. I started realizing how this behavior stopped me from truly being myself, thus began my journey into having trust in myself and courage to show it.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
My one dream in my youth was to become a ballerina and dance for George Balanchine the director of New York City Ballet. But, after seven years of training as a scholarship I was not picked for the ballet company. Was too tall? All my friends got into the company but not me. My world was shattered. I questioned was it really because of my height or was it something else? Was I not good enough? My mother kept telling me to stop this dream and go to college, it was hard because in my gut I could not let go of those passions burning inside of me. I decided to audition for other ballet companies only to be rejected over and over again. .i thought maybe I should give up but also stay in shape while taking some college courses at Fordham University which was walking distance to my School of American Ballet.
After one year, on that glorious summer day, three people observed my ballet class. I was used to people coming to watch so I didn’t think anything of it. Then after class the school director brought me into her office. I feared she was going to tell me to hang up my toe shoes and look for another career. But instead she congratulated me for being accepted into three ballet companies, Australia Ballet Company, Alberta Ballet Company and Geneva Ballet Company which was in Switzerland where George Balanchine was the artistic director.
I chose Geneva, and relished in my dream coming true. After one year I became a soloist and working one in one with George Balanchine

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
After the success of my Ballerina A One Woman Play that I produced and starred in at the age of 67, I was approached by an investor to produce a Hollywood full length movie version. After three months of working with a producer, I realized she was manipulating me and not totally being honest. She also was rewriting my story into a Hollywood drama of make believe. I decided to pull out and she then tried to manipulate the investor into believing slanderous lies about me. This hurt me because I value my integrity and always try hard to honor others. I felt betrayed like never before which took me a couple of years to heal from. I finally realized I needed to personally write my true story. I am enjoying writing my Memoir, which I have been writing and rewriting with the help of editors for five years now. I am determined to finish my final version this year in hopes of having it picked up by a publisher and honorable agent in hopes of it being produced into a movie or TV show..

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I love doing things, I don’t do it for praise, I do it out of love. I believe that leads to true fulfillment. I love people without expectations. I love writing my Memoir, it gives me joy even if nothing ever happens to it. Although secretly I hope it gets published. I am a performer and do enjoy the applause, but that is not what is driving me. I appreciate when they come, and feel honored when they do. It always comes as a surprise to me.
With my rehab patients, I strive to heal them. I am excited when I do.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Fusion Pilates Education

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