I wasn’t even sure I wanted a fitness studio. Being a woman and growing up in the ballet world taught me about what I didn’t want: to feel like I wasn’t good enough. What did I want? A place where I could bring the best of the dance world to a passionate group of people. I was not interested in creating a studio that made people feel that they needed to look a certain way or meet a set of unspoken criteria before walking in the door. I knew that I still struggled with my own self-confidence and body image and wondered how I could help others to truly love themselves if I was still working on doing that myself.
Signing a lease for a year seemed like signing my life away. Even though I had a great education and many years of training and teaching under my belt, this was truly scary! All that aside, I took the chance. With the support of an amazing group of people (especially my parents and husband) we ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to open our first location in Downtown Lancaster. What followed was the unexpected growth of both my family and my business. My intuition and training guided my decisions and drew the people I needed around me to build something new.
I’m writing this because as I see that growth, I also feel the need to help everyone involved in the studio to connect to that original vision, “movement to energize your life.” I truly believe that everyone was born to move and that movement has power, even beyond our understanding, to uplift, heal, and open up possibilities. The basis of what we do at the studio, dance, is simply movement with intention. And for me, it is something I cannot live without.
Teachers, family, staff, and clients all continually show me that there is so much more to Move It Studio than myself or my insecurities. The seed of a dream I didn’t even know I had is starting to bloom in unexpected and beautiful ways. Over the past months, I’ve also been challenged to evaluate how best to balance my family with my business. I am committed to making it work, again, with an amazing team behind me. You’ve probably noticed some exciting new opportunities to connect with what we offer.
As we move forward, please know that the part you play in the life of this studio is truly immeasurable. We’ve created the first barre studio in Lancaster County and it’s not a franchise, how cool is that? I thank you deeply for allowing me to build, as I often call it, my little bubble of positivity. “The world needs that special something that only you have,” words to live by and words that I’m so glad I read 4 years ago. Here’s to many more.
Mambojaz Studio is Here 
Part X – Jasmin’s Story 