Angela Fischetti was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 12, 1958. She recalls how one day, at the age of nine, she heard a beautiful voice coming out of the radio at a local record store -- a voice that transfixed her attention. She asked the store [+]Angela Fischetti was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 12, 1958. She recalls how one day, at the age of nine, she heard a beautiful voice coming out of the radio at a local record store -- a voice that transfixed her attention. She asked the store clerk who was on the radio and learned that the voice that had suddenly mesmerized her was none other than Judy Garland's, whose voice she knew well from the Wizard of Oz. It was that uncanny recognition of Garland's voice singing "You Made Me Love You" that lead young Angela to start singing at the age of 10, taking voice lessons and performing in school plays, always inspired by the depth of Garland's artistry.
Over the years, Angela's career as a singer took some unusual yet significant detours as she found her way to bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion through chanting. She stopped singing at the age of 19 to focus on acting at the Stella Adler Conservatory on scholarship. At 25, she stopped performing altogether as she got more involved in producing showcase theater in New York City. During this time, her passion for fitness began to grow. Ultimately, she would leave the world of the stage altogether, devoting herself entirely to fitness as a personal trainer for 16 years.
Angela's work with infirm and ill clients represented her first step toward a more spiritual approach to fitness. Personal events in the months leading to 9/11 only reinforced this path. Angela had already made plans to move to South Florida when a dear pet - a cat named Honey Bunny who had accompanied her through all of life's tribulations for over twenty years - passed away. Honey Bunny's passing left Angela with a sense of futility regarding her career; there had to be more than lifting weights.
Three weeks after 9/11, Angela moved to Miami Beach, having known at least 300 people who perished as a result of that event. On the wake of the tragedy, she became a student once again, this time at Synergy Center for Yoga and the Healing Arts, enrolling in teacher training course during which she would become familiar with bhakti yoga. Her father passed away four weeks into the course, and Angela found herself performing the required sadhana on the flights to and from New York.
In the depths of personal and collective grief, Angela re
|
 |