Last month, I had the pleasure of attending ShiftCon, an eco-wellness influencer conference held in New Orleans.

I was not only an attendee but also a panelist and workout leader; I had the pleasure of speaking on an Instagram panel alongside two amazing, super smart ladies: Carissa Bonham and Monica Olivas…if you don’t already know them, get to know them, they are awesome!

….and I had the opportunity to make all the ShiftCon attendees sweat with a HIIT Yoga workout, sponsored by two of my very favorite brands ever, Navita’s Naturals and Rebbl.

Get Your Superfood On!

If you haven’t had Navita’s Naturals new Superfood+ Bars, do yourself a favor and get yourself a box. They’ve been my go-to snack for my recent roadtrip and for skiing. Healthy, protein filled and SO good – especially the Hemp Peanut (IMO). And like I said before, SUPERFOODS are so 2017!

Drink up the good stuff!

And Rebbl drinks…well, omg, if you haven’t had a Rebbl drink you are missing out! As a total coffee addict, my go to is the Maca Cold Brew but when I need a little protein kick, I’m Dark Chocolate all the way.

Anyway, I digress…

New Orleans is AMAZING!

Not only was the location a great choice – I mean, come on – what’s not to love about New Orleans?

Live music, culture, art, cocktails,the people, history and the food….

Did I mention the food?

ShiftCon 2016:

But the conference itself was also amazing. Great content. Top notch speakers. Amazing brands. And really, really awesome people. Oh, and of course, the swag. Who could ever forget the swag? (It was pretty amazing….)

Inspiration!

But most of all, I was inspired.. On the first evening, I attended a panel about using video to grow your online presence with Jenni Chiu, JP Sears, Genevieve Howland,  and Gluten Free with Emily as it’s admittedly a topic I don’t know enough about. Going into the panel, I was already a big fan of JP Sears’ videos – I mean, as a yogi, how can you not love his videos? How can you not watch and think omg, I totally do that and then have a good laugh at yourself? I had also seen some of Emily and Jenni’s videos and I knew it would be a good panel but I didn’t know it was going to be such a great panel.

They each opened with an introductory video reel – clips they had compiled of some of their best work – and they were all so good. Watching them, I started to think through all of the things I could be using video for, the kinds of content that I should be spending my time on and how I was ever going to beef up my YouTube and iMovie skills to get myself to the next level. Or, really …..to any level.

They each brought a unique perspective to growing your presence through video – each of them having very different content / different audience types – it all made so much sense. But my biggest takeaway – aside from the actual tips and tricks and how to’s (which I told JP I would be pinging him about again…) – was that video isn’t as daunting as I was originally making it out to be. It was something that I could do and do really well if I put a little time and effort into it.

So of course, like any good little fangirl, I nearly skipped up to the podium after the panel to shake hands, take awkward photos, exchange cards and gush.

I got back to my hotel room later that night and giddily recapped my afternoon with my husband. We went to dinner later that evening and still I was thinking about how I really wanted to start doing more video content. I practically fell asleep thinking about video content.

FFY HIIT YOGA FUN!

I woke up to a very early alarm and got up and put myself together to teach an early morning HIIT Yoga class. When I arrived in the giant hallway area where I’d be teaching class, Navita’s Naturals was there with energy bites and Rebbl had set up with an array of drinks (of course I snagged a Maca Cold Brew so I’d be good and amped for teaching).

About ten minutes before I was scheduled to teach, one of the ShiftCon volunteers came over to tell me that JP Sears would be coming to class….in full costume. And wanted to know….was I ok with that? OK with that? OK with that? UM, YES, I WAS OK WITH THAT. I was more than OK with that. I was pumped. I started to think through all of the potential costumes and decided he’d come as a green bean – don’t ask me why – maybe it has something to do with us being at a sustainability conference?

I’m happy to report that JP did come for Flex & Flow HIIT Yoga but unfortunately, he was not dressed up as a green bean. Instead, he was in an Aggressive Yoga shirt and his signature headband. It was all too perfect. After giving everyone a good sweat before they began their day of conferencing, I was hanging around chatting with attendees and taking #ultraspiritual handstand photos, of course…

I saw JP Sears still hanging around and joked how ultra spiritual I was being with my yoga photos and asked him to get in one with me. And he happily obliged.

The dude has some serious skills.

After awhile we started talking video and he offered me some great tips. One of which is super obvious but always the thing I need to hear, just be yourself. I mean, of course I should just be myself. Of course, video should be (and can be!) that easy. I just needed to hear that someone who actually makes really great videos thought that I could make some really great videos too. In fact, he was very adamant that I had the right energy and personality to make some really great video content. My husband told him not to give me too big a head (too late…haha). I told him I had barely dipped a toe in the water and he told me to go ahead and get my feet wet. And that’s just what I’m aiming to do!

I’m super proud to say that in the last month since attending ShiftCon, I’ve gone from zero to hero in training. I’ve gone from creating about two videos per year to already 5 videos this month and nearly 10 Facebook Live segments. BOOM. BOOM. POW.

And this is just the beginning. I’m honing my iMovie skills so that I can get faster and better at editing and want to start pushing out weekly workout content, social media how to content and so much more.

If you want to check out a hero in training in action, visit me on YouTube. My channels include: JamieKingFit and Fit Approach.

Thank you to JP for the inspiration. And thank you to ShiftCon for the wonderful opportunity!

The next ShiftCon is scheduled for February 1-3, 2018 in Irvine, CA. Go ahead and mark your calendars now.

Missed ShiftCon? HIIT Yoga? Or just want to #sweatpink? Join me in 2017 at one or preferably ALL of these great events:

IdeaWorld BlogFest with Sweat Pink:

If you missed ShiftCon and want to get in on some really great social media content, awesome workouts and even more amazing brands..and um, swag, then you do NOT want to miss this year’s IDEAWorld BlogFest with Sweat Pink, July 20-23, 2017 in Las Vegas! 

EMPOWER Retreats:

Want to step up your sweat game with me? Join me in Sonoma March 10-12, 2017 for the first ever EMPOWER Retreat, a weekend of trail running, yoga, and Flex & Flow HIIT Yoga workouts…oh and duh, wine…with yours truly.

EMPOWER EVENTS:

And if that’s not enough, you can also join me August 4-6, 2017 in the beautiful Bay Area, CA for EMPOWER Events, the first ever women’s ONLY race + yoga weekend experience. More details to come soon! MARK YOUR CALENDARS, y’all!

Stay sweaty friends,

XOXO

Jamie