Aug 10, 2021
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra speaks with Andrea Orris, a seasoned gymnast and veteran collegiate gymnastics coach who is now using her experience to teach the “ins and outs” of effective stretching and to advocate for the fair treatment of gymnasts around the country. Orris, a Los Angeles native, competed in Division 1 collegiate gymnastics before turning her attention towards coaching. She is also a fitness model and a flexibility instructor. In fact, her flexibility courses blossomed during the pandemic, due in large part to her expert social media presence.
Andrea is passionate about physical fitness, but she knows that a healthy body is nothing without a strong mind. Andrea has rightly spent her life focusing on both the physical and mental and, as a victim of abuse herself, is setting an example for others on the value of being open and transparent about strengths and struggles. On the podcast, Andrea discusses her own career and her long journey into mental and physical prosperity.
Moving Quotes:
"Are you healthy on the inside? Do you look like what you want to look like? That's all that matters.”
"People have a misconception about flexibility classes. They say, 'Oh, I can't take your class because I'm not flexible.' But that's the entire point. It's fine if you're not flexible. That's actually even better."
"The more we keep talking and sharing our experiences and educating each other, the better chance we have at preventing [abuse] from every happening again."
"I've always been a very private person with what I'm going through emotionally and mentally. Until this year. I post about myself a lot because people want to read about genuine people... I've started being very honest with what I'm thinking and feeling."
"Setting small attainable goals every day is so much more intrinsically rewarding and more motivating than setting unrealistic goals or goals where you're comparing yourself to someone else. Then you get really discouraged and quit altogether."
"If something is in your heart and you're passionate about it and you want to do it, go for it. You have to let go of all of the outside voices."
"To keep up a professional Instagram, you have to keep your engagement up. You need to be posting constantly. You do have to work hard to do it. Producing content takes a lot of work... I try to always have something on my Story."
"My Instagram is now my resume. It used to not be like that."
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
3:20: Andrea walks through her accomplished gymnastics career and how she ended up in Los Angeles as a gymnastics coach.
8:14: Andrea discusses her time as a flexibility instructor and how COVID actually expanded her business.
11:13: Orris explains why she believes flexibility is such a growing trend in 2021.
15:28: Orris explains how her career as a gymnastics coach and flexibility instructor morphed into a modeling career.
19:19: Andrea shares some valuable tips on getting the most out of a professional Instagram account.
24:23: Andrea, who shares about her struggles via her social media accounts, describes the freedom of letting others shoulder your burdens.
27:47: Orris explains how having a positive body image and goal setting can drastically impact a person’s mental state.
37:06: Orris shares some tips on successful visualization during times of meditation.
41:01: Andrea closes her interview by giving some tips for anyone currently embarking on a new career journey.
Bullet List of Resources –
Andrea Orris