Naturally Sassy Dishes About Ballet Blast by Sassy
Saskia (Sassy) Gregson-Williams is the Founder of Naturally Sassy, a fitness and healthy food global online platform. Sassy is also a professionally trained ballerina, qualified personal trainer, cookbook author, and creator of the popular online workout studio Ballet Blast by Sassy.
I was instantly intrigued by Sassy’s story, her professional ballet career ended at age 18 from an injury, so she created a powerful program for her own recovery. This fused classical ballet with strength and cardio work, she found that just one hour with this routine produced amazing physical results that were equivalent to six hours of daily dancing. This led her to launch The Naturally Sassy Online Workout Studio.
The Naturally Sassy Online Studio currently has members from over 40 states, where Sassy teaches her Ballet Blast method virtually to everyone from elite athletes, to women with office jobs, to mothers. Continue reading my interview with Sassy to learn more about her mission to inspire people to love the skin they’re in through inspiring movement and great tasting, feel-good food.
NMF: Has fitness always been a major part of your life or was there a catalyst/point in your life when you made it more of a focus and priority?
Sassy: I started ballet as a toddler and by my teens I was in professional training up to 8 hours a day. I would support my body with a mix of different fitness disciplines to keep myself strong, toned and flexible, especially during time of dance with injuries. Movement was such an important part of my growth, so when I gave up my pointe shoes full time to focus on Naturally Sassy, it was still a non negotiable for my every day.
NMF: What are a few of your go-to healthy snacks/drinks that help keep you on the straight and narrow?
Sassy: I try to get lots of fibre into my diet, which often includes a homemade green smoothie with kale, spinach, chia seeds, oats, vega protein and cashew milk. When I want something savoury I’ll snack on roasted chickpeas in cumin and sea salt or raw veggies with a white bean hummus.
NMF: How do you train your mind and stay motivated?
Sassy: By recognising that judgmental inner voice, and changing the conversation. We’re often our biggest judge, and that self-doubt and scrutiny is the killer of motivation. At first it drives you, but when you make one hiccup to your routine you feel like you’ve messed it all up! To stay motivated I focus on one small thing every day, one achievement I can be proud of. After a month there are so many more, and that pride in my mind and body motivates me to keep on going.
NMF: How do you change your body? What are your fitness favorites?
Sassy: My first class in the Naturally Sassy Online Studio, Ballet Blast, transformed my body. It’s my favourite workout because of the training techniques it fuses - Ballet for the posture and grace, strength and conditioning for the resistance and load. I’m so much stronger than I ever was as a dancer, but the flexibility, length and posture is still improving every day. Whatever the workout it is I always want there to be that mix of stretch and sculpt so I don’t get overly tight, or injured, and can continue to progress towards my goals!
Craving a smoothie? Looking for a challenging workout? Visit the NMFIT shop for the Ultimate Strong workout and smoothie book by clicking here!