Meet FRÉ Ambassador Marisa Jo Merliss, Registered Nurse, Fitness Model, and Mom-to-Be

@marisafit5678

marisamerliss.com

About me: I was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and live in New York’s Upper West Side. I’m a pediatric and neonatal nurse, dancer, fitness trainer, and model. I’m currently in my third trimester.

Working with preemies in the NICU

I’m a registered nurse and work in Pediatrics, the Neonatal ICU, and Postpartum Units at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the largest hospital in NYC. We care for babies from 23 weeks to full term, so we work in a high-stress and emotionally sensitive environment. We do everything from medical interventions, oxygen, tube feedings, and medication to feeding by tube or mouth. Feeding complications are common.

"The pandemic has had a big impact on our work. All pediatric patients have been transferred uptown to the NYP Children’s Hospital."

The Impact of Covid-19

The pandemic has had a big impact on our work. All pediatric patients have been transferred uptown to the NYP Children’s Hospital. The three pediatric units have now been converted into specialized Covid-19 units, and most of the pediatric nurses are now caring for adults suffering from Covid-19. The entire hospital system has changed. You receive a mask as soon as you enter.

There’s a real shortage of PPE in New York. In our wards, some mothers had false-negative Covid-19 tests, while several others tested positive. Sometimes we would care for their babies without PPE and only find out afterward that the mothers had tested positive. Nurses from all over the hospital have been transferred to work with Covid-19 patients. They are burned out, and many are staying in hotels away from their families. Except for parents who are allowed to visit their babies in the NICU, there are no visitors in the hospital right now. In some ways, it feels like a wartime hospital, but it’s also very quiet.

"Although my skin stays really fresh, clean and clear with my daily FRÉ routine, DETOX ME really takes things to the next level"

Self care

I have a self-care afternoon every week. I use every FRÉ product I have, along with a deep-conditioning hair treatment, and give myself a pedicure, although it’s getting hard to reach my feet over my belly! I love 123FRÉ and the body line, but my favorite is DETOX ME. Although my skin stays really fresh, clean, and clear with my daily FRÉ routine, DETOX ME really takes things to the next level, removing all the dirt and dead skin cells and leaving my skin extra soft and smooth.

My fitness journey

I moved to New York to dance professionally, but after suffering several serious injuries, I could no longer perform on stage. My agents started sending me out for modeling jobs and TV work, and I ended up finding a wonderful niche in fitness modeling. Once I recovered, I worked a lot for Beachbody and several other major fitness companies. I was lucky to be exposed to top celebrity trainers in the US and internationally. These people became my mentors.

When I left my dance career, I knew I didn’t want to be a full-time nurse, and it was important to focus on fitness and wellness. At the time, I was suffering from residual pain after three back surgeries. That was when my dance partner introduced me to BodyART Functional Training, a wonderful mind-body workout that stabilized my back. It focuses on how the breath coordinates with movement.

The MELT Method

After discovering BodyART, I had one of the most successful years of my career, doing shows in New York, fitness videos, modeling, and also working per diem as an RN. Then I had an accident. I was attacked while waiting for a bus, injured my hip and neck, and had to have hip surgery. Months later, I still wasn’t better. After a year of chronic pain, I found the MELT Method, which focuses on pain relief. A friend connected me with its creator, Sue Hitzmann, who needed someone suffering from incurable chronic pain to appear on camera for a Nightline segment.

Within three months, my pain was gone, and three months after that, I felt strong again. I was able to finish my dance career on my own terms and return to fitness modeling. I completed all of the MELT Method training and currently teach MELT as well as BodyART, Pilates, and Barre. I work at Lifetime Fitness, Body & Pole, and the Institute for American Musical Theatre. I specialize in working with dancers, aerial artists, and athletes. The current situation has forced me to move everything online and do something I wouldn’t otherwise feel comfortable doing. It has been an amazing opportunity to train people around the world from my living room, especially while eight months pregnant.

Rapid Fire:

• Favorite exercise? Dance. Although I no longer dance professionally, I still love it.
• What does sweat mean to you? Endorphins, shedding a layer of stress, and feeling energized.
• What comes to mind when you think of FRÉ? Good people! Yes, the products are amazing, but what stands out to me is that it’s run by and surrounded by amazing people, and it’s focused on giving back.
• What are you most excited about in life right now? Having a baby in six weeks!
• What’s something you’d still love to learn? Another language—and, practically speaking, getting better at letting go of things that are out of my control.
• If you were a hashtag, what would you be? #zenvibesonly
• What is your mantra? “Take good care of your body, it's the only place you have to live.”
• What is an issue that you wish we spoke about more often? Fertility. It has been taboo for a long time, although people are slowly talking about it more. I’m currently writing a blog about my fertility journey.
• What does women’s empowerment mean in 2020? Speaking up for equality and women empowering women. We must stand together, not only to forge ahead, but also to support each other along the way.