The Right Moves

Getting RA taught Buns of Steel’s LEISA HART that good health isn’t just physical – it’s mental, too.

- Jill Tyrer

LEISA HART BUILT HER CAREER AND HER IMAGE ON BEING HEALTHY – an image that reached millions of people who worked out while watching her on the Buns of Steel fitness DVDs. So when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it was a shock. It also marked a turning point, forcing her to slow down and reassess her priorities. The result? Her life is less stressful, more fulfilling and, she says, healthier.

Fit for Success

Leisa, a Texas native, started teaching aerobics as a teenager. In her 20s, she was competing in ESPN’s Fitness America pageant when the producers of the Buns of Steel videos recruited her. She starred in 18 of the Buns DVDs, which sold more than 6 million copies, and later produced 20 more fitness DVDs, including the FitMama prenatal series.

After teaching fitness for three decades, she and her husband opened a yoga studio about six years ago in the Dallas area that quickly became very busy – too busy.

Her business success combined with her self-described type-A drive kept Leisa increasingly stressed. Involved in every aspect of the business, from construction and marketing to teaching, she was sleeping only about four hours a night. It also kept her from her three young children. “I became so much in love with [yoga] that I decided to share it with the community,” she says. “Well, then the thing that I love became the source of so much stress in our lives.”