I'll Never Be a Lifetime Fitness...

I'll never be a Lifetime Fitness Center.  It's a fact.  Pure and Simple.  Over the summer, Lifetime Fitness came to town.  Being a small business owner, was I worried.  At first, not really. I didn't think anything about it.  I was happy, content, and confident about what I was offering at Balanced for Life Yoga.  We have grown so much in our 3 years of business.  The studio feels like home to me and for many of our students as well.  I know what we offer at Balanced for Life Yoga Therapy is different than what you get at a big chain. 

We have:
Unique programs and experiences
A teaching staff with so many varied skills and styles
A small a caring community
A wanting to bring people together
A willingness to get to know our students on a deeper level 

BUT then I got nervous! I started to hear chatter at other local yoga studios, or people who worked at the Y, saying they noticed a decline in attendance in their spaces.  Then various students of ours mentioned about "all my friends just joined Lifetime" or "several of our yoga teachers are teaching there now". 

Bigger is better thinking can undermine everything we do.  (If you let it!)

I had to stop myself and reflect.  I'll never be a Lifetime is true, but I never really want to be either.  I'm OK being the little guy, doing my part in the way I am.  It's OK to have my little space and to grow organically.  Not forcing myself to be something I am not.  

I am grateful for my yoga community.  I am grateful for my space that holds 8 students.  I am grateful for our regular teachers (Josette, Leslie, Mindie, Jen, Allie, Molly, Daria) and those who have been our guests.  Because I am grateful for being able to also hold space for those who join us.  I see people change, sometimes it is gradually over time, sometimes it's like a lights switch has been turned on.  It's like I am a witness to little miracles every day.  

I've seen people get help for their demons that have been haunting them, letting go of past hurts from childhood, change from having so many anxieties and fears to becoming confident and calm, to ask for support when they would have done it alone, and so many other things that seem small, but are not at all.  I am so grateful for being able to witness all these miracles.  

There is a place for bigger.  There is a place for all the Lifetimes, and there is definitely a place for all the small places like Balanced for Life Yoga, that don't ever want to be big.  Bigger isn't better.  It's just different.

With 3 years of Balanced for Life Yoga in the books, I am just hoping that we can continue to provide a community, with caring and connected teachers, in a relaxed and intimate atmosphere where our clients and teachers can feel safe, heard, and be themselves without judgement.

Do you ever feel pressured to be or do more?  Share below so we can all learn from each other!

Thanks to you!

Warmly,

Denise


​