Veronica and Chris, a couple who live in Houston, TX, discovered obé the same way many of us did: by opting into a trial when gyms and studios closed in early 2020. Despite some early skepticism about at-home workouts, they quickly got hooked on obé—and doing partner workouts.
Both Veronica, 43, and Chris, 42, have gained strength, flexibility, and balance—as well as wisdom—over their obé journey: The couple ended up including a beloved quote from Marcia M. in their July wedding vows! (Watch their wedding video here—the obé quote comes around minute 1:35!)
How + when did you originally discover obé?
Veronica: When the world closed in March of 2020, my boyfriend at the time (husband now) and I didn’t know what we were going to do without our gym and yoga studio. Luckily, a friend told us about obé, and we opted in for a 30-day trial. Despite our skepticism and fear of change, we got hooked very quickly.
Did Chris start doing it when you started or did he join in later?
Veronica: Honestly, it didn’t take much convincing before we started doing partner workouts. Chris is one of those incredibly disciplined individuals who has been waking up at 5:30am every day for gym workouts for 15+ years. I wish I could bottle his inspiration. After less than a week of trying to create our own home-workouts, it became clear that we both needed more guidance. Even though I am certified yoga instructor that is capable of leading a practice, I craved community, diversity in instruction, and outside motivation. While it wasn’t exactly what he thought he was signing up for, Chris embraced it quickly and has surpassed me in his diversity of classes, instructors and obé lingo. He’s quickly approaching his next milestone of 2K classes!
How has doing obé impacted your life, either physically, mentally, emotionally, or all of the above?
Chris: I have never felt and looked better in my life. Since when did this body part called “your core” get invented? I now have one! obé’s guided workouts challenged me to exercise muscles that never got worked. When you add the personalities of the instructors who keep it fun, you have a perfect recipe to come back to, over and over. With the on-demand classes I take workouts with me when I travel and can fit them in when my schedule allows. I don’t lift anything more than 8 pounds and I feel stronger than ever.
Veronica: I can honestly say that obé was a life-saver for our mental and physical health during COVID. While we recognize the value of being healthy and active during normal times, it was so crucial to us to not let our lack of gym/studio access be an excuse to let ourselves slide during a time when health was a matter of life or death.
What we didn’t know would occur was how we both would discover new workouts that would challenge our strength and flexibility as well as entertain us in the process. I found a new love for Sculpt classes that not only strengthened my yoga practice but also provided some decent bridal arms for our wedding! I can verify that before Yoga and Pilates was a regular part of his practice, Chris couldn’t touch his toes! Now he rivals me in flexibility and balance.
Go-to instructors for your partner workouts?
Alex S.: she was our very first class and a great intro to obé. We love how enthusiastic and encouraging yet grounded and clear she is. She’s our go-to when I want yoga, but Chris needs a good burn. She also gave us one of our favorite phrases “All in, full out!” We use this in our everyday lingo now.
Liz C.: she is the epitome of cool.
Marcia (Mar Mar): introduced Chris to pilates, which is a great bookend to a workout, either to ease into a workout when you are not in the mood or get that little extra push when you’re not quite done.
Sam G.: the most insane Sculpt workout queen, ever!
Beth C.: Love her yoga classes—always a great workout with the just amount of “woo-woo” needed to get your spiritual side energized
Walter K.: the most epic motivator, we take his classes when we need a self-esteem boost on the side of great burn.
Peter T.: You never know where his stories will take you.
Dorian C.: TX folk represent!
Tell us about your current obé routines (and partner workouts).
Veronica: While I’ve returned to my yoga studio a few days a week, Chris continues to use obé in our screened-in back patio 5 days a week at 5:30 am (a little too early for me:)) and has even canceled his gym membership. He’ll never go back to his old workout, and I’m grateful for obé for enriching his interest in mind-body connection with an emphasis on balance and flexibility, not just strength.
One of our favorite things is to start our weekend days together (at a more reasonable time) with Yoga Sculpt followed with of course a little Mar Mar pilates. We bring obé with us on vacation and have had the gang with us in Costa Rica, New Mexico, Dallas, Mexico, and more.
What inspired you to include a Mar Mar quote in your wedding vows?
Chris: She has a famous story where she boils down the solutions to life’s problems as needing either a nap, snack, or a hug. That line resonated with us as we have navigated both getting engaged and married during the past 2 years, all in a pandemic. If you think about it, many of the small frustrations in life can be solved by taking care of yourself—and Mar-Mar gives you 3 suggestions to get you started!
Veronica: Marcia has always been one of our favorite instructors who introduced us to a regular Pilates practice and how consistency and repetition of small moves can have a huge impact! We always did at least one Mar Mar class a day and would love to share our favorite stories or quotes with one another. She has so many nuggets of wisdom, she needs to write a book! We can all get grumpy from time to time when we are hungry or tired, or our love buckets are low, so it was natural that we adopted her words in our vows. Before you get angry ask yourself or your partner, what is needed, sleep, food or love?
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