Tantra Tutorials Click to meet Tammy Morris!

COMING THIS SPRING!

Bring Tantra Fitness right to your computer!

• Do you have a pole at home, but have no idea how to use it?
• Sick of watching low-quality Internet videos with little-to-no explanation on how to do the move?
• Want to learn how to make your pole moves smooth and graceful?

Download our Tantra Tutorials, featuring World-Renowned Pole Dance Instructor & Performer, Tammy Morris!

Tammy will give you the safest techniques and the most detailed explanation of every move to help you achieve your pole dancing goals.

We offer tutorials at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. There is something for every pole dancer at Tantra Fitness!

MORE INFO TO COME…stay tuned!

Got questions? Click here

So many of you know me as Tammy the owner of Tantra Fitness but I wear many hats, so I figure I should talk about me…again..and perhaps explain how I got here.  I was born in Tofino, which sounds really cool but the only reason why I was in Tofino is because there was no hospital in Ucluelet. Not that Ucluelet is a bad place, it’s very beautiful there, it’s just not as cool as Tofino. It’s like comparing Surrey and Vancouver, lol…sorry to my many Surrey friends! Anyhow, my dad was a fisherman which is really why we even lived in Ucluelet. My parents decided to move to Parksville when I was about 5.

Growing up, I was kind of awkward, don’t get me wrong, I was cute but I had the biggest glasses in the world and I was a little shy. I was totally flat chested and skinny as a rake. I always had friends but I did get picked on a lot. Kids are so mean. I was no good at sports even though my mom put me in everything from soccer to baseball and accordion lessons to ballet. I never really loved anything till she put me in figure skating, I really loved skating and stayed in it for quite some time. I still have a picture of me dressed as pebbles for our Flinstone Ice Capades. High school was a little better as I discovered contact lenses. Though it was the early 90’s and a small town, so as you can imagine, I had the sweetest Bon Jovi hair ever..and I drove a Silver Firebird..and I dated a drummer..lol I will always have a soft spot for Metallica.

Anyhow, I graduated on the Merit Role and received a scholarship towards my post secondary education. I really did not know what to do with my life, who does at 18?! So I took the quickest program I could find, Office Administration specializing in Legal. 8 months and I would be good to go. I went to Malaspina College in Nanaimo, which is now call Vancouver Island University or something, sweet does that mean I went to University? I finished that and I really enjoyed the legal portion so I decided to apply to Camosun College in Victoria and take Criminology. It was there that started my path to where I am today. As I mentioned before, I was really flat chested. I was teased a lot, including by my own mother, lol. Mom, I hope you are reading this. I remember putting on a brand new bikini and I was really proud. Well when I asked my mom if she liked it, she replied, ”It would look better if you had some tits.” Ya she did, just like that. I swore that as soon as I had money, I was buying boobs. Let me reassure you, my mother is awesome and for those of you who know her, know that it’s her humour. Everyone loves momma Morris. So I had used my scholarship money for Malaspina and therefore I had to apply for a student loan to go to Camosun. Ya, student loan=large chunk of money=boobs. Ya I did, these are government funded. Because of this, I had to work my way through College. I had three jobs. I worked at the Bay, Merle Norman and Julies Nightclub. I was always a little crazy, I remember working at Merle Norman and doing makeup though I had no real training. I was a natural but they told me I was not allowed to pierce ears. I remember when someone came in and asked to get their ears pierced and I decided to do it. How hard could it be really, it was with a piercing gun anyway, just line it up and shoot. I just remember looking after and thinking it was a little crooked so I do apologize for anyone that got their ears pierced at Merle Norman in Victoria between 1993 and 1994, haha.

Julies was attached to a strip bar named Monty’s. One evening a sever called in sick and they had no one to cover her shift so they called me. I needed the money so of course I said yes. It was my very first time in a strip bar. I had never even really thought about it before. There were no strip bars where I grew up. I served that night and the tips were amazing. So much better than Julies, so I told the management that I would cover any time. I was a good server so they put me in whenever possible. I remember just standing at the bar and watching these amazing women dance with beautiful costumes, making lots of cash and doing these amazing tricks. I saw a duo once that were just walking around on their hands, like it was no problem. They were balancing and contorting. They must have been gymnasts. The nudity did not bother me as I really saw them as performers. I know that the industry is not really like this anymore, but back then the girls put so much effort in their shows. It never crossed my mind that I would ever be up on that stage, I just admired from afar. The girls seemed really nice. They would come in to the bar three times a day, do their shows and shop or relax the rest of the time. That’s it….three 18 minute shows a day, make a bunch of money and relax the rest of the time. Nice life.

So, I continued to go to school and live my life with three jobs. After two years of college, I was one month from graduating and reality kicked in. Wow, I have student loans and no money and lots of go nowhere jobs. I remember counting pennies just to get enough bus money to get to school. I had to start paying back my student loans and I have a criminology degree….which doesn’t really guarantee you anything. It was then that I started to stress. I was working a shift in Monty’s and while I was serving a drink I had the thought. I remember it clearly. I was serving a guy in front row and he said to me, “why aren’t you up there, you are hotter than these girls”…. I had heard that before but this time it really hit home. Why wasn’t I? I could pay off my student loans, then I could get a real job. Then I realized I wasn’t up there because I had no idea how to dance or what it even entailed. But still an interesting thought, the seed was planted.

A couple of weeks later, Monty’s had a competition, I think it was Miss Nude BC. Agents from all over were judging it. One of them was a female agent so I felt comfortable enough approaching her and asking her how one might get started in the exotic dance industry. She explained to me that I had to do some amateur shows, I had to get some costumes, blah blah blah. I told her that I was way to nervous to do it in Victoria or anywhere else in BC for that matter as I did not know how to dance and I sure did not want to bump in to anyone that I knew. That is when she suggested going oversea’s. I had never really been out of BC, let alone Canada. I didn’t need any experience, I just needed a couple simple outfits and I sure would not bump in to anyone I knew. She gave me her card and said that I was booked if I wanted it. All I had to say was yes. I thought about his for a couple days and one month later my crazy self took over and I was on a flight to Japan to teach English…at least that’s what my parents thought;) Sorry mom, if you are still reading this. Maybe it’s better if you don’t read my blogs, lol. This begun my journey as an exotic dancer and wow what a journey it was!

I could go on and on but I will stop for now. I will continue in my next blog post as to what happened from there. I have so many exciting stories that I would love to share with you about my travels, so please stay tuned and thanks for reading.

122 pounds today!  I finally bit the bullet and bought a weight scale.  I tried not too as I get really fixated with things and now I am going to be weighing myself morning, noon and night.   I really just needed to know how much weight I have lost and I am running out of options.  Used the doctor’s scale for my start weight,and I used the vet’s scale when I took my dog in.  I knew I had to buy a scale at some point as I am running out of options.  Anyhow, I have lost 8 pounds in 6 weeks.  I was a little disappointed as I really have been really strict with my diet…..well except for the UFC night where I couldn’t stop eating Munchies.  I have some pretty good self control until there is a bowl full of Munchies in front of me and I am hungry.  You can’t just have one either, I just couldn’t stop.  I went over my calories by like 2000 that day but I didn’t feel too bad as it was my only slip and it takes more than a day to get fat just like it takes more than a day to get skinny.  Anyhow, I will keep my updates short as I really should talk about something else other than dieting.

How about I start with me..well it is a blog, I am suppose to talk about me, right?!  One of my favourite subjects:)  I got married about six months ago…to a woman.  That’s basically what it’s like when you take on a business partner.  I hope we are not just in a newlywed phase because I think she is amazing right now and I never want that to change.  Taking on a business partner when you have been running a business by yourself for 7 years is a huge step.  So many people were against it, but for me it meant many positive things.  Mostly, it meant that I may actually get a little bit of my life back.  Don’t get me wrong, Tantra is my baby and I love it, but when I had a real baby, I needed to take time to enjoy her.  I love my work, to the point that I can’t even really call it work.  I feel so grateful to love what I do as many are not as fortunate.  Anyway, when the idea of having a business partner first came up, I was really nervous about it.  Luckily, Winnie had been working here for some time so we knew that we worked well together.  She is everything that I am not..organized, logical, detail orientated, lol.  I am disorganized, emotional and slightly disastrous.  I am a great teacher and I love people and I think this is how I made it this far:)  I am an artist, that is my excuse.  I am the entrepreneur, she is the business manager. She has filled in the gaps that existed here at Tantra and helped elevate it to the next level.

I have had an amazing experience so far with taking on a business partner but know that this is not the answer for everyone, I think I got lucky..  It’s incredibly difficult to balance being a mom, a wife and a business owner.  Being a mom is a full time job and I hope to have another one at some point, maybe sooner than later seeing as I am not getting any younger.  And being a sole business owner is a full time job..so I basically had two full time jobs.  I think back to when I first opened Tantra.  I was the receptionist, the teacher, the janitor, the marketer..etc…  I worked 16 hours a day. If someone would have told me how difficult it is to start a business, I don’t know if I would have done it.  I am glad I went in ignorant.  I remember thinking, I have never worked so hard and made so little in all my life.  It’s a struggle in the beginning, but if it works out, so rewarding later on.  I look around today and am proud of what I have accomplished…..and still amazed at times.  The community of wonderful women that surround me warms my heart.  I have a beautiful little angel for a daughter, an incredibly supportive  fiance and now an awesome business partner. I love my life.

Ok, so it’s been over two weeks and I really miss chocolate chip cookies, lol.  I have been really good with following my diet and being honest with my Lose It app.  The first week was tough as I was so used to eating whatever I wanted that my body was a little shocked when I stopped.  I felt a little dizzy at times and definitely very tired.  I am much better now that my body has adjusted.  I am a sugar….they say you are a sugar or a salt, and I love, love sugar.  Cookies, ice cream, candies, whatever as long as it is sweet.  So it was like diet detox, I think I actually went through withdrawals.

So my starting weight was 130, I just didn’t want to put that in here until I was sure that I wasn’t 130 pounds anymore…and I’m not.  In two and a half weeks, I have lost 5.5 pounds! I am typically around 115 so I put my goal weight as 110.  Though at 115 I still have an ass, at 110 I just have mud flaps.  As a dancer for 10 years, you get in the mindset that your boobs can never be too big and you can never be too skinny.  Not the healthiest way of thinking but hard to shake, so maybe I will put my goad weight back to 115.  Anyway, my app told me that I would achieve 110 pounds by April 24^th, 2012.  This would be losing 1 pound per week but I am averaging almost 2 at this point.  I think maybe my app is off as they have no exercise called chasing your 2 year old all over the place but I am sure it has to burn at least 200 calories an hour!  Though house cleaning is an exercise and listed as burning 119 calories an hour.  There’s never been a better reason to clean my home!

I really never even realized I was getting chubby.  It seems to happen overnight.  It’s like I looked in the mirror one morning and thought, what happened?  I just stopped breastfeeding two months ago and I know that has a lot to do with it.  We tend to make excuses and that was one of mine. “I need to take in extra calories to support my milk production.”  Right, because chocolate chip cookies have many nutrients to support that.  Ya, excuses.  I now have none left, so salads and chicken breasts for me..  which are really not that bad.  I really do love vegetables and do enjoy a big bowl of steamed broccoli.  Strange for some and downright torturous for others but quite tasty for meJ

Anyhow, I will keep it up and keep you up to date on my progress!  Here’s to healthy choices in the new year!

After complaining about my overindulgence to my students, I found that we all agree on one thing, it’s not the Christmas dinner that’s the problem, it’s everything surrounding it!  Baking, candies, nuts, carbs, carbs and more carbs..  For me this doesn’t just happen on Christmas day, it happens about two months leading up to it.  So needless to say, I have gained a few unwanted pounds, and I have a feeling that I may not be alone.  Now comes the process of taking it off and getting ready for spring.  I like to think that winter is just my “off” season:)  If you are what you eat, I am a giant butter tart right now.

I can lose weight quite quickly and know how my body responds.  In my case it’s simply a matter of eating less.  Typically when I am helping anyone to lose weight, I get them to write everything down so that they are accountable for what they put in their mouth.  It’s amazing the amount of people that I encounter that truly believe they eat well until they see it on paper.  We tend to overeat so making a few rules to follow may be helpful like not eating after a certain time of day and restricting yourself to water.  Liquid calories can add a whopping 1000 extra calories to your day!  Do you really need that caramel macchiato? If you really do need that coffee, brew it at home to save money and calories!

A common misconception is that if it’s healthy it’s ok to eat it, but just because it’s healthy does not mean it’s low in fat and calories.  True there are good fats and bad fats but if you are counting calories and trying to lose weight, most fats should be avoided.

I found a great app that is amazing so far, it’s called Lose It!  You put in your current weight, your age and how much you want to lose per week…be realistic people, a pound a week is probably good.  If you set your goals too high, you could be setting yourself up for failure.  It then gives you a daily calorie budget.  Each time you eat something you input it.  For example, I ate 2 cups of Honey Nut Cheerios and a cup of skim milk for breakfast.  It didn’t have the Cheerios listed so it gave me an option to scan the barcode and voila, up it came with the calorie content listed.  You just select the amount that you ate and it puts in the calories and lets you know what your calorie budget is for the rest of the day.  If you do any exercise you also input that and it gives you the calorie burn…unfortunately it does not have pole dancing listed as an exercise:(  You can select Pull ups and Dancing, lol… maybe Ciurcut Training, not sure, I will play with that a little more.  Remember that you can’t out train a lousy diet, so don’t think you can pole dance all day and eat your face off, it just won’t work.  80% of how you look is determined by your diet!

I find this app amazing as it really makes you aware of how all the little decisions you make will effect you.  If you have to input it, guaranteed you will select a tablespoon of mustard on that sandwich rather than a tablespoon of mayo!  It’s been three days and I feel better already.  It really is amazing at how little food you actually need compared to how much food we like to eat in a day.  Please know that you may feel a little hungry at night as your body starts to lose weight, it will send signals to your brain to eat more as your body wants to maintain your current weight.  You can get through this by drinking lots of water and daydreaming of what you will look like on your goal day!

Happy weight loss!

*Please consult your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program*