She got her first fitness certification to take her own training to the next level and kept going from there. “It is so fulfilling to be a part of someone’s growth, and to share the empowerment that I originally fell in love with,” she says. Now, she trains clients under her company Kurve by Keisy, where she inspires them to focus on intentional transformation. “I help my clients be more intentional about their movement, habits, and perspectives,” she says. “I believe that wellness is deeper than just physical—and so is my approach.” Myumi describes herself as an unconventional strength specialist. She individualizes every single personal training session, taking into account everything from lifestyle to motivation style to health conditions. That means she might train someone who has an autoimmune disease with appropriate modifications, and someone who responds best to positive reinforcement with a lot of affirmations and encouragement. Each client’s sessions are completely customized—whether that be male or female, young or old, or even her celebrity clients. (She has trained Gabrielle Union, Eudoxie Bridges, and Chris Noth, to name a few.) That said, she doesn’t label herself as a “celebrity trainer” or an “Instagram star.” However, her 17,000 Instagram followers (at press time) eat up her posts showing off client “before” and “after” photos, training sessions, and yes, even her high-profile clients. Her followers have also gotten an inside look at her pregnancy and postpartum journey. Myumi shares Wave with her fiancé, C.J. She loved being pregnant and misses her belly sometimes. “I went into my second trimester when we were all quarantined, so I was able to grow in peace,” she shares. “I am still amazed at what our bodies are capable of, and the magic us women create.” You might assume she had an easy time with her body postpartum, but Myumi wants you to know she is still getting to know her post-baby figure. It is not all smooth sailing. “I am still breastfeeding on demand and pumping,” she shares. “It has been a struggle for me to build my muscle and strength back.” While she considers herself blessed to still be breastfeeding, it has been taken its toll. “My son cluster fed for three months straight, so that helped with my supply, but it demanded so much of my time and energy,” she says. “I struggled with staying on a consistent pumping schedule because he was such a hungry hippo, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to build a freezer stash for going back to work. Being a mom is teaching me to go with the flow.” What she tells herself about pumping and her body is what she would tell any client she’s training: Take the pressure off yourself, expectations-wise. This applies to just about everything, but especially getting her body “back.” “It is not realistic to assume you will be the same [person],” she says. “I get complimented about how ‘fast’ I’ve ‘bounced’ back and, although I know it comes from a good place, I would love to see an end to ‘snapback culture.’ We need more grace.” Here is how she works in those pumping sessions, how her self-care has changed, and what she thinks about baby-led weaning. Thursday 7 a.m. I have been up since 5:30 a.m. I make myself a cup of coffee and get ready for work. I pre-load the car before I wake [Wave] up and get him dressed for daycare. I love listening to [musician] Londrelle first thing in the rising. We start our day with positive affirmations and meditations. Daycare opens at 7 a.m., and we roll in today at 7:06 a.m. This is still new for us, so there were tears at drop-off. It is hard for me too, but I try and reassure him that he is loved and that I am coming back. Our nanny is pregnant, so I am thankful to have secured him a spot at a good daycare. 7:24 a.m. I pull into work, finish the avocado toast I packed the night before and immediately start setting up for my clients that start rolling in at 7:30 a.m. I layer in my appointments and train semi-privately so I can maximize my time. 9:45 a.m. I run to the car to get a quick pump session in. I also snack on some cherries, check the daycare app to see what Wave is up to, and scroll through emails. 10 a.m. I bring my milk in and store it in the employee fridge, then I am back in action with a few more sessions and clients. 12:45 p.m. I hop on a FaceTime session with a client I train virtually. 1:45 p.m. I grab a quick bite from Sweetgreen. This time I’m trying the “Elote” bowl. I eat outside and soak in the sunshine and the peacefulness of not having to fight off little hands reaching for or wanting food off my plate. 2:19 p.m. I pull in to pick up my dream son. I spy in the window for a minute or two to see what and how he is doing before I let myself be seen by the teacher. She then greets me and hands him off, I ask the teacher how he is doing and then we head off to the car. 2:31 p.m. We sit in the front seat and I nurse him in the parking lot. He refuses to get in his car seat without [nursing]. It is funny, because, after any length of time that we are apart, his greeting is “Mama, give me the juice” when I see him. I ask him about his day, look around the parking lot, and do the awkward nod and smile to passerby. 3:28 p.m. We are home, but he is cranky because he fell asleep in his car seat. I take him upstairs to see if he will drift back off. 4 p.m. No luck with the extended nap. We come downstairs and play with some of his toys and spend some quality time together before I start dinner. My fiancé, C.J., plays with him while I change out of my gym clothes and prep dinner. 5:20 p.m. Wavey is in his highchair making a complete mess. Baby-led weaning is a tornado of a process. He is really into throwing his food (and everything, really) so there is butternut squash ravioli and green bean pieces all over the kitchen while I am cooking. It is so cute to see him dirty and covered, and it also keeps him busy and not holding onto my legs while I cook. Small wins for Mama! 6 p.m. I’m doing a mixture of eating and feeding. Nursing, eating, and wrestling off his hands that are reaching for my plate. 6:30 p.m. C.J. takes Wave outside with him while he waters the grass to give him some fresh air. Meanwhile, I am loading the laundry, tidying up the kitchen, and getting bath time preparations in order. 7 p.m. Bath time! I thoroughly enjoy our bedtime routine. He loves the water and has so much fun in the bath. We get him ready for bed and our last round of cuddles. He is asleep by 7:45 p.m. I probably spend a good 20 minutes nightly hand washing pump and bottle parts. That is one of the things nobody ever told me. Mothers-to-be: get ready for dishes and laundry! I set clothes out for both Wave and me for the next day and get breakfast prepped so that it is an easy grab-and-go type situation. I wind down by writing in my gratitude journal, climb into bed, and scroll for a few minutes. I like to check [investing app] Robinhood and then read some of the articles in the updates section. I try and stay off Instagram late at night because that can be a rabbit hole, and I need my rest during the week for my early risings. I knock out by 10:30 p.m. Saturday 7:30 a.m. We “sleep in” on the weekends. I wake up when Wave does. We co-sleep, and we spend a few minutes cuddling and rolling around giggling. 7:45 a.m. I change his diaper and he picks a book for us to read together. Today, he chooses one of his favorites, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” He loves storytime! He “talks” while I read and gets excited when turning the pages. 8 a.m. C.J. makes us both a cup of coffee and plays with Wave while I get dressed. I shortly leave to get set up for my Kurve Kombine Bootcamp [at Piedmont Park]. I eat breakfast in my car on the way to work a lot of the time. Today I’ve got greek yogurt with blueberries, and granola. 9 a.m. I arrive at the park and start setting up for class. I started this class last summer when I was pregnant during the pandemic. I wanted to create a safe space for us to still be able to come together as a community. I thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie and support we all give one another. 10:45 a.m. After class, I pack my car up, and pump while on my way to the gym. It is my turn to work out. This is my “me” time. 12:30 p.m. I get back home and Wave is taking a nap. I grab a protein shake and get to sneak in a shower while C.J. is still holding down the fort. 1 p.m. I am making lunch for us all. Today, we are having Japanese-style curry and brown rice. I make two separate sauces since I am vegetarian and C.J. is not. I sauté some vegetables for mine and make his with chicken and potatoes. Wavey gets to munch on some of the veggies and rice. 2 p.m. We take Wave to the pool. I make an effort to ensure he gets some outside time every day when the weather permits. Whether it is taking a walk, watering our vegetable garden, or like today, going to the pool. I soak up some rays while I watch C.J. teach Wave to swim. 4 p.m. We are back in the house and I am in the nursery with Wave while he naps. I often nurse him to sleep, but he doesn’t always unlatch when he nods off. Sometimes he wants me close the whole time, and sometimes he just goes straight to sleep and lets me be productive. It used to frustrate me, but now, I appreciate the intimate time we have together because I know it is not forever. 5:30 p.m. I am running around behind Wave, the Energizer Bunny. Lately, he has really been into climbing the stairs. I stay behind him as he goes up, and then I carry him back down. We do this a few times, and then he is on to the next thing. He got a tunnel he can crawl through for his birthday. It has been pretty fun. We all play peek-a-boo and share a few giggles. 6 p.m. I am having a kale Caesar salad with avocado and tomatoes for dinner, and I made C.J. some Instant Pot cube steak to eat with the rice we had for lunch. Wave nibbles on some avocado and cherry tomatoes from me and then goes and steals some of C.J.’s rice. 7 p.m. I get Wave ready for bath and bedtime. Tonight, after we do our bedtime routine, he still has some energy to burn, so I let him crawl around and explore his room. I have learned that if I try to force him to sleep and eat on a strict schedule, I am the one that ends up being stressed from the pressure I have put on the situation. Being mindful of his wake windows has been a game-changer for me. We work better with time ranges. For evenings, I keep it dark and calm so he understands that it is bedtime. He starts showing me sleepy cues and then we start winding down. Tonight, he’s asleep by 8:30 p.m. I tidy up the kitchen then pour a glass of wine. C.J. and I spend some time together watching a few episodes of “All American,” and then I start my own night routine. This is another me-time moment. Before kids, you don’t realize how much of a luxury it is to wash your face and do all of the skincare steps. Some nights, you have to cut it short and do basics, but that is motherhood—adaptation. I am in bed by 11 p.m. because I am old!
