Fierce Femme Feature - Madison Fruitman

A wee bit about you:

Born and raised in the city of Toronto, I balance the yang to my life, producing lifestyle television, with my passion and yin of my life, teaching yoga. I've been teaching for about 6 years now and am proud to have created a community of students who meet to practice in rented spaces around the city, parks, travel to retreat in Costa Rica, and most recently, for virtual classes as we adapt to pandemic life. I'm incredibly proud to be growing my business and moving towards my dream of one day opening a retreat centre of my own and continuing to expand this community of outrageously incredible yogis.

Please list some of the projects / jobs / achievements that you are most proud to have experienced or been a part of:

TV: there are many, but most recently...

Food Network's Big Food Bucket List

HGTV's Island of Bryan

YOGA:

Leading a retreat in the jungles of Costa Rica (this time last year, sigh)

Leading weekly virtual classes and retreats/wellness workshops in the past year of the pandemic

Creating wellness yoga videos for NOSM (Northern Ontario School of Medicine)

Check out Madison's YouTube channel for some incredible yoga flows.

What does it mean to you to Live Your Fierce?

The definition I love most of Fierce is; 'showing a heartfelt and powerful intensity'. That is exactly what I try to bring to everything I do. Whether it's being a team player on a production, or running my own business, I truly immerse myself in whatever I'm doing, wholeheartedly, with as much heartfelt intensity as this little 5"2 lady has!

What were some of the obstacles / barriers to reaching your goals and living your fierce?

Life is a series of obstacles. In TV world, every day seems to be a problem solving puzzle, which I'm proud to say I've gotten quite good at. These skills have translated to my own yoga business, where I found it was less external factors holding me back and more internal voices trying to trick me into thinking I CAN'T or I WON'T succeed. The fear of failure is a big one to get over - and I think I continue to push past it but have definitely not quieted that voice altogether.

Describe 1-3 things which were instrumental to your overcoming these obstacles / barriers.

The community I've built contains amazing people giving constant positive reinforcement, so I've started believing what they say and believing I am worth of their love and time and that I've built something that is real - simply because people keep demanding more and showing up. It's pretty powerful.

Supportive friends and family that aren't students of course help remind you of your worth and act as sounding boards and guinea pigs as you navigate new territory. I am grateful for Noam (my partner) always letting me try new yoga sequences out on him. Like always.

What are some of the attributes you look for when choosing your support system?

Support systems for the most part were already in place for me, so I don't feel like I sought them out per say. But if I were to look for new ones, I would choose people or things that are better than I already am so I can learn and grow from their example as they support and nurture where I'm at.

Please share your words of fierce…

Just do it. Don't wait for the perfect situation, time, or circumstance. Dive in head first. Don't be afraid of failing because I really would rather fail 100 times than have never tried.