People of Augusta

A Passion for Fitness

“When I was 14, fitness was my passion,” shares Trish LaGrua. “My father was a weightlifter. As a young teenager, I began lifting in my garage, and I never stopped. It’s been the one constant, daily thing — like brushing my teeth. It’s part of my routine.”

Trish didn’t go to school for fitness, instead choosing a career in health and wellness. She earned a Master’s degree in social work from Fordham University and soon became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.  Her first job in mental health was managing a halfway house in Connecticut, where she focused on dually diagnosed patients and worked with women battling eating disorders. She went on to private practice as a psychotherapist, working in the field for over a decade.

“In my work, I found myself talking to people, asking what helps their mental health symptoms, what their outlets were. They often suggested that exercise and yoga were among the things that helped the most.” As Trish worked professionally to transition from treating symptoms to cultivating wellness, she found herself traveling full circle back to her very first passion.

 


Building Community

Trish gave up private practice after the birth of her second son.  “I wanted something for myself. So I got certified in group fitness in 2005.” Excited to start the path for her 500-hour yoga training, at her very first workshop she discovered she was pregnant with her third son. As a young mother, it ultimately took her 10 years to complete that training. “It’s a journey,” she laughs. “An absolute journey.”  Since then, she has received more than a dozen fitness and personal training certificates. As her three sons grew older, the classes she taught increased to as many as 15 per week.

Armed with the desire to empower women with lives as busy and full as her own, over time Trish taught yoga and fitness all across Augusta County, from the Staunton and Waynesboro YMCAs, to Augusta Health and Fitness, Waynesboro Parks and Rec, churches, and even elementary schools. Her teaching goals mirrored the lessons from her own life: help women grow stronger, become healthier, ease stress, and most of all find the energy to enjoy the fullness of their lives.

The Far Away Dream

“For years, it was a bit of a pipe dream to open my own place,” says Trish. “It felt like a far away dream.”

She left her Fitness Manager role at the YMCA not to become an entrepreneur, but to ensure that she didn’t miss the last summer before her eldest son got his driver’s license. While she still could, Trish says she “just wanted to drive him everywhere.” It was the first summer in 13 years she wasn’t on a fitness schedule.

With fewer teaching responsibilities, Trish had time to read books about starting a business. She began drafting budgets, writing pro formas, and forming a business plan. Already dear friends with Dr. Quay Parrott, owner of Parrot Orthodontics located in the LifeCore Drive healthcare cluster surrounding Augusta Health, they joked about a vacant space in his medical building. “Well, can I look at it?” asked Trish.

“My first response was, it can’t work. But I kept reading, kept coming back to look. I hired a designer, and we began to envision the design solutions. It all happened while I was spending quality time with my kids. It gave me space to dream, plan, and think.”

On April 8th, 2019, the Phoenix Fitness & Yoga, opened its doors for the first time. With a team of 12 instructors, the studio offers heated yoga to burn off stress, anxiety, toxins, and calories, as well as Barre, Pilates and Sculpt classes for building muscle strength. Individualized nutrition programs and slow yoga round out the offerings for quieter, wellness focused programming. With so many students and admirers across Augusta County after 20 years of teaching here, Trish says opening her own fitness studio felt like a natural evolution. “To open something and to receive the support from the entire community, it’s such an amazing feeling.”

 

From the Ashes

When the first wildfires of COVID-19 cases began spreading across the country, the then one-year-old business faced new legislation temporarily closing all gyms and fitness studios. Like many others, Phoenix Fitness & Yoga shut their doors. But the name of Phoenix comes from Greek mythology, where the Phoenix bird dies in the fire and is reborn from its own ashes, emerging as a stronger, more beautiful version of itself. In the midst of great change, Trish launched online courses to keep everyone safe, healthy, and connected. The studio created new distancing and sanitation practices for its reopening. Through all of it, Trish’s commitment to support the mental, physical, and social health of women remained unwavering.

In the uncertain times, Trish says community, family, and fitness are what continue to keep her energized, and they remain our best sources for true wellness. She points to a sign hanging in the Phoenix Fitness and Yoga studio. It says simply, “We rise by lifting each other.”

To learn more about Trish LaGrua and Phoenix Fitness and Yoga, visit her online at phoenixfitnessandyoga.com for class schedules, instructor bios, membership options, and more.