Andalusia is now home to BarrEnergy, a comprehensive workout that combines aspects of barre, pilates and yoga, thanks to Emily Sasser.

Sasser has taught fitness classes for 10 years and was recently teaching Tru40 in Auburn.

“Meryane Murphy approached me about teaching this class at the Church Street Cultural Arts Center,” Sasser said. “I work in Andalusia and knew that it would be a good set up here so I agreed to teach the class.”

Sasser said her true passion in life is educating people on how to better care for their bodies and how to meet their personal goals, whether that is in fitness or therapy.

“I wanted to teach this class as a way to motivate the women in Andalusia,” Sasser said. “I have a 10-month-old son and I know that being a mother takes up a lot of time, so I wanted to have a class that would be able to bring mothers outside of their houses and care for their bodies.”

Sasser said that she wanted to make sure that childcare was available for the mothers who attended her classes.

“I want moms to feel good about themselves,” Sasser said. “So many mothers feel like they can’t leave their homes so I wanted to incorporate this with my classes. I asked Mrs. Murphy and she graciously agreed, so now moms can leave the house worry free without a sitter.”

Sasser said that since there is no gym or wellness center in Andalusia with a childcare program that is one of the reasons why she wanted to bring BarrEnergy to the city.

“Moms don’t have a place to go without a sitter, so they feel like they are stuck at home,” Sasser said. “If you’re not taking care of yourself, then you can’t be the best you can be, and that is one of the important things of my class. I want all mothers to feel good about themselves so they can be the best they can be for their families.”

The benefits of BarrEnergy are numerous, Sasser said.

“It fuses three workouts together to get all of your muscles,” Sasser said. “It truly is a well rounded workout because we do a lot of controlled movements with the barre to get the muscles fatigued and then we end with yoga to really stretch the muscles out. This workout really encourages posture and awareness by having that mirror in front of you.”

Sasser said that even though this workout class is geared towards women, anyone who is interested in it could attend.

“Any brave men can absolutely join,” Sasser said. “Core strength is very important in this workout so we will be working the pelvic floor, abdominals and the back to strengthen the muscles around the spine. It is not an easy workout by any means.”

Sasser is originally from Brewton and earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Auburn University. She went on to receive her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of St. Augustine.

Sasser currently works at TherapySouth in Andalusia and is married to Cas Sasser.

The BarrEnergy class meets every Tuesday from 5:30 p.m., until 6:30 p.m., at the Church Street Cultural Arts Center. It costs $10 per class, or $35 for four classes.

Students should call Sasser in advance to reserve childcare space and the cost is $5 per class for one child, or $8 per class for two children.

For more information, contact Sasser at 251-363-3331.