Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Edwards.
Hi Vanessa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My path into coaching began long before I became a personal trainer. It started with a young girl who felt lonely, struggled to make friends, and was made fun of for being shy and for how she looked. That girl was me. I wanted to be invisible, but I also desperately wanted to belong and feel safe.
I was living with physical pain from scoliosis, too. I was supposed to wear a brace, but I couldn’t bring myself to wear something that might make me stand out even more. Trying to fit in became a way of protecting myself.
Around age 16, I started trying to lose weight through starving myself and running. Those habits didn’t give me the comfort or acceptance I was looking for, but I discovered that I enjoyed being active. Running remained a big part of my life throughout my twenties and into my thirties.
At 32, I began lifting weights, hoping it would help with my back pain. I was still hurting, but I started exploring a different relationship with movement. At 34, I became a personal trainer, partly to hold myself accountable to staying active. I began building a life around what my body needed, while also working through the hurt I had carried since childhood—the feeling that my body was something I needed to change to be accepted.
I spent six years at my first gym, learning, coaching, and growing. My shyness and insecurities began to heal slowly, but finding my voice and owning my strength in a male-dominated field was a real struggle. My courage had to grow alongside my skills.
Eventually, I reached the limits of my growth opportunities there and felt called to go out on my own. That step led me to create Strength Sanctuary.
My passion is creating and holding space for people to feel seen, valued, and strong, whatever insecurities, physical challenges, or limitations they bring with them. I know what it feels like to want to hide, to hurt, and to question what your body is capable of. Those experiences shape the care and compassion I bring to coaching.
At Strength Sanctuary, I want people to feel welcomed exactly as they are. We move at their pace, adapt exercises to meet their needs, and explore what strength can look like for their body. My hope is that each person feels comfortable being themselves, asking questions, and discovering abilities they may not have recognized before.
Today, I coach through personalized strength training, helping people build movement skills, confidence, and trust in themselves. I desire for people to feel a connection to their work with their body, learn how to speak its language, and have connection with others. The relationships and community we build are central to that work.
My own journey is still unfolding. I’m still learning to own my strength, and I get to help others discover theirs along the way.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, the biggest bump in the road has been figuring out where I belonged in this field and learning to trust that I had something valuable to offer.
I wasn’t the thinnest, the most athletic, or the strongest. I’m naturally introverted, and I live with scoliosis and pain that can be disabling. At times, that pain was so severe that I questioned whether my career could continue. I didn’t fit the image I associated with being a personal trainer, and I struggled to feel qualified when my own body had limitations.
It took a lot of work to feel confident inviting people into my gym and trusting that they would recognize my knowledge and ability to coach them. My care and commitment were strong, but my confidence took longer to grow. I often felt I had to overachieve and overfunction to prove I belonged. Being visible, leading a room, and finding my voice in a male-dominated field required me to stretch.
I also had to learn boundaries around my empathy. I would take on my clients’ emotions and feel responsible for making everything better. Part of my growth was recognizing that I could care deeply and hold space for someone without carrying their pain or earning my worth through how much I gave.
One of the most meaningful things I’ve had to accept is that I’m an everyday person. I belong in a gym alongside people who are stronger, more athletic, or thinner than I am. My body doesn’t have to look or perform like theirs for me to have a place there, or for my expertise to have value.
That understanding has led me into a beautiful place in this industry. I coach the whole person, with their insecurities, physical challenges, goals, and capacity in mind. Everyone deserves the opportunity to explore their strength and feel a sense of belonging.
My pursuit of excellence and my desire to help others heal their relationship with their bodies have kept me moving forward. The work I’ve done to find my own place is part of what helps me create that space for others at Strength Sanctuary.
As you know, we’re big fans of Strength Sanctuary . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Strength Sanctuary is a personalized strength training studio in Nashville where I help everyday people build strength, confidence, and connection with their bodies. I work with adults who are new to lifting, returning after time away, or looking for thoughtful coaching that meets them where they are.
I offer private training and semi-private sessions with up to four clients. In semi-private training, each person follows programming tailored to their needs and goals while sharing the encouragement and connection of a small group. New clients begin with one to four private sessions so we can get to know each other, explore their movement, and build a foundation before they join that setting.
My specialty is coaching the whole person. That means considering their goals alongside their movement experience, physical challenges, energy, confidence, and capacity that day. We also consider the nervous system’s role in training and how stress, sleep, and feeling overwhelmed influence how someone approaches a session. Check-ins, breath work, and adjustments to pace and intensity are part of that process.
I want clients to feel they have someone on their side. Strength Sanctuary is a place to practice being vulnerable, ask questions, make mistakes, and grow without feeling they have to get everything right. We work on understanding their body’s signals, including the difference between muscular effort or expected discomfort and pain that calls for stopping, adjusting, or seeking further guidance.
We also practice approaching things that feel difficult or that we might prefer to avoid. That can mean breaking a challenging exercise into manageable steps, adjusting expectations, or finding a different way to begin. I want clients to build the confidence to do hard things while respecting their needs and limits.
Recovery is part of our approach, too. Strength Sanctuary offers an infrared sauna and cold plunge, alongside coaching that makes room for rest and the demands of everyday life. The goal is to build a relationship with training that clients can sustain.
My own experience with scoliosis, pain, and feeling out of place in fitness has shaped the care I bring to this work. I understand that entering a gym can feel vulnerable, and I want people to know we can find a starting point together.
Brand wise, I’m most proud of the community and relationships built here. The name Strength Sanctuary reflects a welcoming place where people feel seen, supported, challenged, and valued. People know one another, celebrate progress, and offer encouragement through the harder days.
I want readers to know they don’t have to reach a certain level of fitness, look a certain way, or feel confident before walking through the door. There is room for them here. My work is to help them discover what strength can look like in their own body and how it can support the life they want to live.
What makes you happy?
Meaningful connection brings me so much happiness. I love deep conversations, the kind where we move beyond the surface and share what we’re really feeling, thinking, or navigating. Feeling connected to another person in that way is a big need for me and one of my greatest sources of joy.
In my work, I love witnessing a client begin to heal their relationship with their body. Seeing someone work with their body as a team, offer themselves compassion and grace, or recognize something they’re capable of is incredibly meaningful to me. So is watching clients build authentic friendships in a space that may once have felt intimidating or competitive. Those moments are a big part of why I do this work.
My animals bring me so much joy: my two Bernese Mountain Dogs, Hugo and Mia, and my feral cat, Willow, who feels like my little guardian angel. Spending uninterrupted time with my husband also makes me deeply happy. He’s extroverted and has an infectious joy, and I love watching him spread that to other people. Witnessing his happiness brings me happiness, too. He’s a safe place for me to land.
And then there are the simple pleasures: chips and salsa, a plate of refried beans, and a spicy margarita. That’s a very happy meal for me.
When I have access to pain-free movement, I love getting to play. A Turkish get-up in the grass, wakesurfing, fly fishing, or hiking the trails at Percy Warner all bring me joy. Living with pain has made those moments of freedom in my body especially meaningful.
Nature brings me happiness in quieter ways, too. I’m up with the birds, and I love watching the sunrise and listening to them greet the morning. I also love watching the sunset over the Arizona desert, with the saguaros silhouetted against the sky. Those moments invite me to slow down, pay attention, and enjoy being where I am.
Pricing:
- Memberships start at $449
- One on One – $125 ea
- FMS assessment- $150
Contact Info:
- Website: https://strength-sanctuary.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/strengthsanctuarytn
