Pietra Fitness: Refreshment for Body and Soul

Laura Range shares her experience with the online Catholic workout program Pietra Fitness and interviews the founder.

I’m not the "workout type" of mom. At least that's what I often told myself the past eight years of my motherhood. I liked walks in fresh air, and I even took up running a few times between babies, but working out consistently was not one of my strengths (pun intended!). Yet after a difficult fourth pregnancy and a broken foot postpartum, I began to suspect good genes and chasing toddlers wasn't going to cut it for keeping my body healthy and agile!

By some grace-filled avenues, I started a few postpartum workout videos and then stumbled upon Pietra Fitness. I was intrigued and encouraged by their mission to offer workouts to women that focused on the whole person as body and soul without containing any elements contrary to our Catholic faith (compared to the pagan spirituality of yoga or even the vanity of some secular workouts). I tried their online subscription for a month with a discount code and by the end of the month, I was auto-renewing my subscription.

It was unlike any workout I had ever done. Not only was I seeing real changes in my body but also in my heart and mind. The words of the opening prayer of each workout video often brought me to tears. They were a beautiful reminder that we as women and mothers are worthy of being taken care of. Yes, so that we can take care of others, but also because we are more than just the tasks we do as mothers. We are body, soul, heart, and mind: daughters who belong to God, our loving Father, who desires that each of those areas be nourished. Pietra Fitness focuses on the whole person, each woman as a living Cathedral, a unique and sacred place where the Holy Spirit dwells.

I'm so grateful Karen Barbieri, founder of Pietra Fitness, was willing to share more about this amazing program as well as some of her personal journey that led to its creation. I hope after reading it you will consider "joining" me in the online studio! They have graciously offered a discount code for CatholicMom.com readers!

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Can you give our readers a brief history of how Pietra Fitness came to be?

My Catholic faith and exercise have always been an important part of my life. In high school, I played sports, but my favorites were cheerleading and acrobats. That style of movement resonated with me, and I would constantly practice and work to perfect my skills. When I got married and had children, I was under the mistaken notion that taking time to exercise and care for myself was selfish and self-centered, so I stopped everything. My health started to deteriorate, and after my fourth child, I had such severe back issues that, at one point, I could barely walk. My doctor tried different therapies, but nothing worked. A cortisone shot in my back caused an adverse reaction, which brought about a slew of other health issues. The situation was taking a toll on my whole person: my physical health was terrible, and I was in constant pain, I was falling into depression as it became harder and harder to function and take care of my family, and though I was constantly crying out to God to heal me and give me relief, I wasn’t really spending time with Him and wasn’t really placing my trust in Him.

In order to get relief for my back, a friend brought me a yoga video she had that was devoid of spirituality. I had never done yoga due to concerns with its spiritual philosophies, but I was desperate, so I told her I would check it out. I was surprised to find that most of the movements were ones I had done in cheerleading and acrobatics. I was always doing forward bends, back bends, lunges, and splits, so it all seemed very familiar to me. My thought at the time was that I don’t need yoga to do stretches, when I was already used to doing these things. I started off slowly, saying a prayer and doing a few stretches. Soon, the pain in my back began to ease up, allowing me to walk more easily and serve my family.

The Lord also blessed me with an amazing spiritual director who taught me the value of daily Christian meditation and living a balanced life. Spending time with God in daily meditation totally changed my life. He was transforming me in ways I could never have imagined. It was during that time in mental prayer that I continually felt the call to develop a program where people can stretch and strengthen their bodies without exposing themselves to possible spiritual harm: a program that would restore the whole person in mind, body, and soul. After much prayer and discernment, I started my research and the development of Pietra Fitness.

What does Pietra Fitness offer for styles of exercise as well as levels of intensity?

Pietra Fitness offers stretching and strengthening exercise classes, mainly using your own body weight. Flexibility and strength are both key to maintaining a healthy body. We have three levels of intensity to accommodate most people: gentle, intermediate, and advanced. We also have chair classes for those who cannot get on the floor, prenatal, postnatal, and also classes for kids. In our online studio, many of our instructors are personal trainers or group fitness instructors, so we also offer cardio and strength classes using weights to better help our members meet their fitness goals.

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Yoga can be a hotly debated topic even among Catholics. I have personally avoided it after learning about its intrinsic ties to Eastern pagan spirituality. I was so impressed with all the research you did for Pietra Fitness and your thorough explanations on your website. Can you clarify why Pietra is not "Catholic yoga" but rather a complete alternative to it?

Most Hindu and Christian philosophers would agree that “Christian Yoga” is an oxymoron because Christianity (coming from Christ) and yoga (based in Hinduism) have fundamental differences in theology and philosophy. The practice of yoga as such inherently incorporates Hindu spirituality; therefore, an exercise program cannot truly be both yoga and Christian. So, it is essential to note that the goals, philosophy, and mission of Pietra Fitness are absolutely and unconditionally different from yoga because they are rooted in and centered on Christ. You can learn more about how Pietra Fitness is not yoga on our website.

One question we get a lot is about the poses: can Christians do poses that look like poses done in yoga? There are lots of people who weigh in on this topic, ranging from yogis who are incredulous that Christians have any worries whatsoever to faithful Christians who are concerned that specific movements may open a door to the demonic. There are also millions of Christians who practice yoga and don’t want to even consider the possibility that there might be a conflict between their yoga practice and Christian faith—or are fully convinced there is not. It is necessary to understand that although yoga has become synonymous with stretching and strengthening exercises, there are many other important aspects to yoga. There are entire areas of traditional yoga that are often unknown to casual practitioners in the west.

Yoga cannot be separated from its Hindu roots. However, there are beneficial stretching and strengthening exercises common to many forms of movement that can freely be used outside of yoga. They do not belong to yoga, but instead are common to ballet, Pilates, acrobats, sports therapy, and yoga also uses them. Examples include a baby doing tummy time (cobra pose), a cheerleader in a lunge position (Warrior Pose), runners stretching their hamstrings (Janu Sirsasana), a dancer in ‘passe position’ (Tree Pose), and a gymnast easing into splits. It’s important to note here that many of the poses in yoga are dedicated to yoga gods or have spiritual stories behind them. If you do these poses in a yoga class, you are participating in the spiritual aspect of those poses, even if unintended. It would be like if someone went into a Catholic church and genuflected in front of the Tabernacle just for the exercise. In time, there would be some spiritual effect on the person. That person can kneel outside of a church, but in a Catholic church in front of the Tabernacle, it is a spiritual practice. When you participate in any kind of spiritual practice, there will eventually be some kind of spiritual effect.

Pietra Fitness offers an alternative to Catholics that gives the physical benefits you are looking for and the spiritual effect your soul desires by combining movement that stretches and strengthens your body with Christian meditation.

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I love Pietra's emphasis on "building the cathedral of you" and caring for the whole person. How would you encourage a mother who feels like she has no time to pray or exercise?

Because of my history of health issues after stopping exercise when I started having kids, I feel strongly about encouraging women to care for themselves in an integrated and balanced way. I get it; life is busy and hectic, and it is easy to feel you cannot afford to take the time for prayer and exercise. I am here to say that you cannot afford NOT to. Once I started feeling better, I realized how much more patience and energy I had, and I was happier and much more fun! My family was happier too!

We are all in different seasons in our lives, and how we are able to care for ourselves will always look different, so there is no one-size-fits-all. What works for someone else, may not work for you. Take it to prayer and ask Our Lord to help you order your day so that you can lead a more balanced life. Then, be gentle with yourself and do the best you can. With small children, you learn to be flexible.

For many people, consistency in exercise can prove challenging. Carving out time for it each day can feel impossible when you’re overwhelmed with work, chores, caring for children, and everything else to which you’ve already committed, especially when so many workouts take between 25-40 minutes. But you can find ways to make it work with your schedule; for instance, our online studio also offers micro workouts (10 minutes or less). According to the American Heart Association, performing micro workouts 2-3 times a day can give you the weekly recommended amount of exercise! The best part is by working out with Pietra Fitness, you will be using that time wisely by getting in prayer time as well!

Understanding your body as a temple can help you stick to your goals and keep it all in balance. At Pietra Fitness, we use the term “The Cathedral of You” to further explore the concept of the human person as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The “Cathedral of You” emphasizes each of us as an enormously precious, unrepeatable creation. We were created and restored by the Master Artist Himself; therefore there is spiritual significance to everything we do–including the way we exercise, care for, and carry ourselves. Sometimes it is hard to see ourselves in this way. In your times of prayer, ask God to make you aware that He dwells in you and to understand your body and soul as sacred and holy. Sit in His presence and love and see how He will transform your whole life.

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Can you share about your newly expanding program, Pietra Kids?

Pietra Kids strives to help children build an unshakeable foundation through physical exercise paired with Catholic prayer and meditation created just for kids! We have developed a program that exposes kids to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the Catholic Church while developing the whole person in mind, body, and soul. We seek to help children of all ages to glorify God with their entire human person. We are committed to partnering with families and educators to help kids fall in love with their faith, movement, and finding peace in an increasingly stressful world.

Where can readers learn more about Pietra Fitness and how to join as an individual or family?

Go to PietraFitness.com. We would love to offer Catholic Mom readers a 20% discount. Use the code CM20 to receive a 20% discount on a studio membership (this is a one-time use code, so if using it on a monthly membership, the discount will only be taken off one month.).