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About Anita
1969 – Anita is born in Rockland County, New York. Destined to great things she starts off by walking at the age of 9 months, by pulling her tiny little pigtails to help balance better!! By the age of 4 she shows great skill in biking and changing her clothes about 5 times a day, always with a handbag attached. Would she balance the beam in the circus, become the next great cyclist or super model? Only time will tell.
1974 – The American economy is down. Norway has found oil. Dad (Rasmus) has a successful carpentry business in Rockland County, but decides to close shop because mom (Anne) is home sick. The Goa family moves to Norway. Rasmus regrets the decision and blames Anne till the day he dies.
1981 – Rasmus believes Anita should get in touch with her American roots. He sends her to visit some close friends in Rockland County. Anita discovers Aerobics on this trip, and Jane Fonda becomes her guru. Upon her return to Norway Anita starts her own aerobics classes. She’s 12!! Little does she know that this newfound passion is the beginning of her career as a health and fitness professional.
1986-87 – Free-spirited Anita is tired of high-school. She decides to take a one-year break and heads back to her birthplace. Anita stays with friends and gets a job at an all-woman’s health club called New Woman. This is when she learns how to do aerobics and strength training the right way.
1993 –Anita graduates from college in Oslo, Norway in December, a Teachers degree in Nutrition and Health.
1994 – With 2 suitcases and $700 in her pocket, Anita leaves Norway January 10th and moves (this is a MOVE) to Manhattan. Even with Lillehammer Olympics one month away she can’t wait. Anita is reluctant to make a part-time passion her full-time job, but after 3 weeks on this expensive island, money is running low. She applies as a group exercise instructor to 3 major health clubs in Manhattan. She’s hired at all three clubs and has sweated buckets for her money ever since.
1996 – After two years of “hard core” aerobics and a lot of requests from students asking her for private instruction, she becomes a personal trainer.
1997 – Anita discovers Beryl Bender Birch’s book “Power Yoga” and immediately signs up for Beryl’s six week workshop in Ashtanga Yoga at the New York Road Runner’s club (NYRRC). During this workshop Anita learns about Beryl’s teacher training and something tells her she has to apply. During this teacher training program Beryl sees great potential in Anita and asks Anita to teach for her at the NYRRC.
1998 – Anita travels to India to study asana, pranayama and meditation at the Bihar School of Yoga. A wonderful experience and many AHA! moments.
1999 – Anita has been working on creating her Goa system, connecting yoga, strength and cardiovascular training. She gets the idea she should write a book and meets up with literary agent Jim Levine. Jim tells her she needs to work more on her proposal. Years go by….
2002 – Finally the proposal is where it should be, and after kissing a lot of frogs (editors), McGraw-Hill offers Anita a book contract.
2004 – Two hellish years have gone by. In September Anita’s book ‘Your Best Body Ever’ is published.
2005-2006 – Anita is teaching workshops, master classes and working on a DVD series.
2007 – Dreaming about becoming a mother for a long time, Anita gets pregnant during their trip to her “spiritual birthplace,” Goa in India. 9 months later, in October, a beautiful baby boy, Lars is born.
2008 – Adapting to balancing work and raising Lars, Anita is learning a lot from all that this entails. This is the real yoga! With 10 lbs to lose after the pregnancy she develops Fitness Vinyasa™, a strength/cardio/yoga class that can be done on the mat at home. Fitness Vinyasa™ helps Anita lose the pregnancy weight. The program gives her a much longer and leaner looking body. Her body is smaller now than it was pre-pregnancy.
Anita feels like she is coming full circle. She is moving back to her roots and Jane Fonda is back into the picture inspiring her. Anita is on her way to creating a program that has the fun of the 80’s but with the science of the 21st century. She still believes she will make the DVD series she has been working on for years.
2009 – We have started the year with a recession, but Anita is the eternal optimist. We have to exercise to stay in shape and practice yoga to stay sane! It can only go up from here. Let’s see what happens.
Always follow your flow.
Love & Light,
Anita :)
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Photo credit: Ken Dapper
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This is Anita at age 13; leading supportive friends who took her first aerobics course in the local motel.
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Not even knowing what yoga was at this point. The group is all stretching in Upavishta Konasana (Balanced Seated Angle Pose).
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