There’s something so magical about a mother/daughter relationship. A few weeks ago, we received one of the most beautiful messages to ever come through our inbox. Now, we could sit here and write a normal POUND Effect blog about this incredible story — but we believe this daughter’s words so strongly say what only a daughter could say about her mother. Meet 24-year-old Miranda Tillinghast from Ephrata, Pennsylvania… and her mother, Penny.
First Facebook Message from Miranda (April 17, 2015 / 4:25pm)
I just wanted to reach out to you guys because there’s someone you really should know about that has been 100% POUND since the moment she had two Ripstix in her hands. She became a mother at a young age, raising a little girl as a single parent with no money saved and no college education. She decided to make a DECISION to go to school to become a paralegal and provide for her daughter, the only family she had, to help her be able to do things she had never been able to do as a child.
From this, she started her journey towards achieving her dream of living a healthy lifestyle by eating the right things and working out. Her heart knew that helping others find this same joy was what she wanted to do, not office work. Therefore, she DECIDED she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. She started by teaching classes and helping others lose weight in churches and parks outside for free, then began doing classes at a few recreational centers in small towns… then she really committed.
DECIDING to leave her job as a paralegal, she took the risk to fulfill her dream as a trainer and teacher. She has now owned her own gym for TWO YEARS. Her cliental has only been expanding since her first day because everyone realizes how encouraging and helpful she truly is as a person and trainer. She offers POUND almost every single day where she fills her classes to almost 40 people a day — because not only does POUND ROCK, BUT SHE ROCKS. I thought from your recent inspirational blog about decision making, that her decision (now POUND encouraged) has shown true courage and could inspire women and men, everywhere. This woman is my mother. And she deserves a POUND applause!
From Miranda, To the POUND Posse, about Penny:
My mama is Penny Sorenson and her studio is PonyTails Dance and Fitness Studio in Ephrata, PN. I’ve always been inspired by my mama, but recently I’ve been extremely moved by her and how she’s helping me figure out what I want to do with my life and career. The other day, we grabbed sushi and she asked me what I enjoy doing — because she enjoys fitness and working out so, now she’s excited about going to work every day, and she wants the same for me.
When she was a paralegal, my mom helped people with disabilities at work and taught fitness classes at the local community center 5 nights per week. She always loved helping others, that is just totally her. She puts everyone before herself and worked only to help people reach their goals and change their lives, never for the money. She always told me there is so much more than money in life. You could tell, as time progressed, her passion grew stronger — and the light bulb moment happened when she was honest with herself that the great parts of her life were about those rewarding moments coaching clients so much more than her paralegal paycheck.
She will never forget why she’s doing what she does… I think that’s what makes her different from anybody else.
Since she opened the studio, she’s always looking for the FUN fitness classes. She doesn’t want anyone dreading their time at the gym – she wants them to have a smile on their face. Her tagline for the studio is: WHERE FITNESS IS ALWAYS FUN! She found POUND online and you could tell she loved it before she even tried it. She hosted a certification at her studio in January where she and 3 of her employees were certified. Before finding POUND, she was really distraught about hitting a rut in her weight loss journey. She started to do POUND and has lost 2 sizes — she’s hooked! She’s doing the POUND Tour Challenge with her whole studio and she always says she’s truly found her passion in POUND 🙂
I always support my mom, so when she started teaching, I went to class and I was so pumped for her! All the girls got SO into it and I’ve tried not to miss a class since! I remember walking into the studio once and seeing a bunch of girls I went to high school with supporting my mom’s business. It was fantastic. Personally, I feel a huge difference in my arms, core, and legs! My mom motivates me to work harder during class and I always just have the biggest smile on my face from laughing and having fun. Once she introduced POUND to the studio, her client numbers increased dramatically. Now she has a larger fitness family and more people to inspire and teach. She teaches her classes with such emotion and energy, she is inspiring people each class. Seeing women who wouldn’t normally attend a fitness class come to the studio 3-5 times per week specifically for POUND has inspired my mom just as much as it has inspired them.
My mom truly is my best friend. We’ve been together through everything life could possibly throw at us. When life was particularly challenging and we were at rock bottom, she never put her head down, she just continued fighting. She is independent and strong. She’s truly the best mother I could ever ask for. She motivates me to chase my dreams like she has and to never lose hope. Growing up with one parent truly molds you into a different type of person and she gave me more love than most kids get with two parents. She has held me when I have had a broken heart, a broken arm, and broken hope. She’s healed me and lifted me up again. We sound alike, look alike, and our hearts are big and full of love because of each other. I’m the luckiest daughter, and let’s face it, she’s the luckiest mama 😉
