Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1370849
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MAY 12-18, 2021 UCW 13 COVER Health Benefits "Pilates is all about core strength, your ab- dominal strength, your back strength," Toman said. "So many people have back issues - as opposed to taking a pill for the pain, Pilates is a great place to strengthen all those muscles, it gives you support," she said. Most clients who do Pilates find that it's a strong workout, it's a hard workout, but they feel good afterwards and it's low impact, she mentioned. A yogi of 27 years, Toman likes to run, life weights and do aerobics as well, but yoga is the main thing that keeps her body moving and in shape. "It's so good for your joints, your muscles, it allows you to keep moving," she said. Toman emphasized the benefits of yoga and centering yourself in the stressful environment of the pandemic. "I find myself in the morning just doing five or 10 minutes of yoga, it gets me mentally ready for the day, it's such a stress reliever," she said. Dream Come True "A year ago in March, this was not even on my radar," she said. "It's been a whirlwind of a year, it's been wonderful, people ask me if I am stressed but I am not stressed, I am busy." e pandemic and lockdown worked in favor of the studio, giving them the chance to focus and get construction done and conduct a soft open on March 22. "Everything has fallen into place, like I am doing what I was supposed to be doing," she said. "My kids say 'you're so lucky to love what you're doing every day,' but I say the idea behind this started in 2001 and we are in 2021 — it's been a 20-year process, it didn't happen overnight," Toman said. e mission behind the launch of Living Bal- ance Studios was to have the place become a sanctuary for everyone that entered, she said. "I want this place to be where people can let go of their world and be taken care of," she said. Grand Opening and Beyond Living Balance Studios will be expanding in the same building but will now see larger studio spaces, going from 1500 to 4,300 square feet in the building, which was formerly Morgan's Chop House. ey will now have 26 coaches on their team. e Grand Opening will offer free classes in four studios. Classes are expected to fill up quickly, so get there early to sign up for slots. For a detailed schedule of classes, visit www. livingbalancestudiosnc.com/grand-opening "We will be offering lectures and discussions on health, wellness and all our services, where people can be educated about them," Toman said. Hayat from Hayat Yoga Shala (one of the yoga businesses that closed last year) will be a keynote instructor. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase to bid on different items like a 25-class-pass, an Apple Crate Basket, massage therapy gift certificates, wellness coaching gift certificates and more. Classes will be free, but donations will be accepted to benefit e Better Health Organization of Cumberland County and e Children's Advocacy Center. e Grand Opening will highlight a sampling of what Living Balance Studios will offer: yoga, Pilates, life and wellness, nutrition, counsel- ling, yoga assist massage, reiki and more. "e nutrition coach will help guide your grocery shopping, go through your pantry, the life and wellness training focuses on lifestyle and living healthier, yoga assist massage, a form of ai massage, where the client lies on the floor and I passively put them in different yoga poses. While they are in that pose, I am doing pressure points and massage on their body. We have got reiki services which are en- ergy healing," Toman said. e studio will be offering workshops this summer on meditation workshops, chakra, hula hoop. Information will be listed on their website. Living Balance also offers free Karma Yoga workshops every ursday for the community at 6 p.m. "One thing we are known for is being very detail oriented, we have a great reputation, trying to take care of the clients," Toman said. "Even though we have a lot more people now I want it to be that experience." KEYURI PARAB, Editorial Assistant COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com 910-484-6200. Living Balance Studios was able to expand their space in the last year and hire additional instructors (above ). eir Grand Opening on May 15 will highlight available classes to include restorative yoga & reiki, hot yoga, Pilates, as well as forums such as healthy eating and Chakras 101.