Meet Taryn Toomey, The Celeb Fitness Guru Who Is Taking Over *Everywhere*

Combining cardio and strength building with a focus on emotional and spiritual well-being, The Class by Taryn Toomey (yep, it’s called The Class!) is a 75-minute sweat session that’s taking Manhattan and Los Angeles by storm. The Class has gained so much recognition that even fitness-loving stars like Christy Turlington Burns and Naomi Watts are devotees. Taryn Toomey doesn’t adhere to a single exercise style (e.g. yoga, barre) but rather combines a variety of moves to help clients get the most out of a session (her grueling downward dog pushups are case and point!).

Taryn Toomey Is The Fitness Guru Who Can Transform Your Life & Body In One Class

Taryn Toomey–Creator of The Class

“I developed a method called The Class which builds a lean, strong body and cleanses the emotional and spiritual self through intense physical exertion, therapeutic instruction, and heart-pumping music,” the fitness guru told Nutrition Stripped. Women attending The Class report that it leaves them feeling refreshed and spiritually renewed, largely thanks to the thoughtfully choreographed rigor of the workout.

“We start from the soles of our feet and work from the floor up. We work every part of the body on the way. We work one muscle group per song,” Toomey explains in a video for Vogue. (Here’s a breakdown of the standard routine.)

Christy Turlington Burns finds The Class challenging and innovative—and the intense workout keeps her coming back for more: “There are all these different leg lifts that are balancing types of poses, but with the strength component added, it’s almost like you’re in a Twister game—like can I actually do this?”

Taryn Toomey Is The Fitness Guru Who Can Transform Your Life & Body In One Class

Challenging your beliefs about your physical abilities is what makes Toomey’s class inspiring for so many: “When you push yourself right up against that wall, the story changes,” Toomey says. “You push through; you realize that there is all that strength that was sitting right outside that space that you kept backing off of. As the strength comes in, the body becomes super lean, and the change happens.”

The inspiration for The Class came from Toomey’s own desire to find a healthy way to process emotions and cultivate a healthy work-life balance.“My work is about releasing bound up energy,” she says. “So the inspiration comes from my history, my upbringing, my daily life, and the desire to create a better future for my children.” She hopes that The Class will serve as a vehicle for other women to find release and practice self-care.

When asked what’s the one thing you can do when you’re feeling completely overwhelming by everything in life, Toomey responds, “Just do the right thing especially when no one’s looking and it’ll all be okay… when you feel your emotional state becoming erratic, it’s a sign that you’re exhausted, carve out time for yourself.”

And of course, move your body! “If you’re not moving your body, find somebody that you know who does, link up with them, and start. What I have found with students, is that when they begin to feel how movement changes their body, mood, overall happiness, then you’ll want to eat better and in there, a new lifestyle begins.”