Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Good morning, Fort McMurry, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You tune in to the Mac CD morning show. I am your host Elliot here, and we're going to start the show off the same way we start every episode off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million things with your time. So the fact that you spend with us truly does mean the world to me. So thank you on that note, tatter hit him with the intro.
Speaker 1 00:00:20 Oh, she caught me loves you're listening to the next day morning show.
Speaker 0 00:00:29 All right. We're back. I'm very excited about our guests today. I know nothing about them, but I think what they're doing is pretty cool. And I can't wait to ask tons of questions. So, and I got a t-shirt, so that's always nice. As you guys know, I don't introduce my guests. I let them do that themselves. So, uh, can you please tell everybody at home who you are and what you're about?
Speaker 3 00:00:49 My name is Helen and I am the owner and studio director at exhale, yoga and bar.
Speaker 0 00:00:54 Okay. Now, when you said BARR, I know Tanner got excited and I got excited. So I know nothing about yoga per se, other from, I think what most people would perceive it as, as we see on television. And when we, when you put the bar at the end, at the end of the word, like, what does that mean?
Speaker 3 00:01:11 Well, it's our two specialties. So bar is actually spelled B a R R E M. So for some folks, they might know what that means, but for others, mostly not. Um, so it is based around a ballet bar. Um, but it's not a ballet class, but it's, it's kind of like dance conditioning. Okay. Um, so we implement elements of yoga, Pilates, strength, training, stretching, um, and some cardio as well. There's different styles of bar, some use a ballet bar for balance. Um, others just do strictly on the mat as it depends on what you're looking for. But, um, basically in my opinion, I think bar is a great compliment to yoga. So it really enhances your yoga practice. So those are our two main specialties, um, yoga and Barb, but we also offer Pilates and fitness and meditation to okay.
Speaker 0 00:02:01 Sweet. That makes sense though, like the bark opponents, like, cause I know a lot of athletes and you hear about it on media from back in the day as well, who started doing yoga because it helped them in whatever sport, if you're a goalie, if you're a hockey, if you're a tennis player, like this is all, it's your body, this is conditioning training. Right? So if you're a dancer that would make
Speaker 3 00:02:21 Yeah. And well, for me too much of one thing is not good. Right? So you need that balance. There always has to be that cross training. Right? You can't have too much stretching. You can't have too much strengthening. You have to have a good balance of both. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:02:32 That's exactly it. So Tanner is going to hate this part of the programming because it's meditation based
Speaker 3 00:02:40 Me
Speaker 0 00:02:41 Talking about it. We meditate differently, mean you Elliot that's right. So I meditate. I try to, every day it doesn't always work. It is what it is, but I do it personally. Like I haven't, the calm app is what I use and it's awesome. I love doing it. And it's been a tremendous game changer for me personally. I've never understood. And I've never looked into it how you would do meditation in a group setting versus like, I think I would really struggle just based on like turning everything off. Like how does that, how does that work?
Speaker 3 00:03:16 Yeah. A lot of people struggle to be honest, but the people who don't want to do it or who struggled the most needed the most drawn, it is just simply guided guided meditation. Right. So, um, some will close their eyes. Some will just soften gaze, but it's focusing on what the instructor is saying. And then implementing that into your body. Same as what you do, listening to an app instead you're in a group setting. Um, it is a little more challenging obviously because people are all around you, you know, things are happening, but um, like anything it's practice, practice, practice, practice, and there's different kinds of meditation too. Right? I mean, I find even the more energetic classes, they're like a moving meditation. You start to really tune in with how your breath is moving with your body. And that can be a very meditative thing as well. So, you know, meditation is different for everyone.
Speaker 0 00:04:03 Yeah. I think it would be like really, really challenging in regards to, it's hard enough to turn off your brain and the distractions of like, even in a quiet room, like you hear the fan kick in or you hear something and you're gone.
Speaker 3 00:04:17 Yeah. And our natural human like instinct is to just listen to everything that's happening. And our brains are just constantly going. So
Speaker 0 00:04:25 To kind of take
Speaker 3 00:04:26 That off.
Speaker 0 00:04:27 Yeah. That would be like hardcore. Like I feel like I'm, I don't feel I'd be there cause I'd be distracted of like, oh, I can hear somebody else breathing. Is somebody looking at me? Like, I'd be, self-conscious about like, what do I look like right now? Like it would be,
Speaker 3 00:04:40 And that's what we're trying to get out of your head. Right. But for some people they thrive on. Like they thrive on being in the group setting. They can't meditate at home. They have a really hard time doing it on their own, even with apps. So they have to come to the group setting because they like having, um, that energy. Right. The energy, everyone else around you meditating is like right.
Speaker 0 00:05:01 Way different
Speaker 3 00:05:02 Than I would imagine yourself.
Speaker 0 00:05:03 Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:05:03 I'm going to come and try it. Yeah. Well I gave you a free class. Yeah. I think a great way to kind of start it is we have a great class called um, candlelit, restorative and meditation. Okay. So 75% of the class is moving through more like restorative posture. So you do get that bit of movement. And then at the end it's just a short guided meditation. So it's a nice little kind of intro to meditation, mostly working around like breath work, right. Working with the breath. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:05:30 So how did you get into this?
Speaker 3 00:05:33 Okay. Well, great question. I am the owner. Yeah. There's
Speaker 0 00:05:38 A progression. There
Speaker 3 00:05:39 Is huge, huge progression. Yeah. I mean, it's been in my mind for a long time and to be honest, I never, he can hear my east coast accent there never. I never expected that it would be here in Fort McMurray to be honest. Um, I come from PEI, small town PEI and uh, I always envisioned my studio being okay. Um, moved here five years ago. Uh, implemented myself into the community. I've been teaching now since 2013, teaching yoga. It's 2013 and uh, taught at multiple studios, um, across the country. Okay. And, uh, after teaching here for a few years, I just felt like there was something missing. Um, there was something missing for me and conversations with others. We were just lacking that kind of real yoga community. Um, not to say there weren't great yoga classes in town. Um, but a real yoga community is very different.
Speaker 3 00:06:29 Uh, it has a very different vibe. Um, and so I had just finished leading a yoga retreat in Costa Rica. And as I was like guiding my students through kind of their own work, their own, you know, self discovery, uh, I was doing my own work at the same time. And I came back and sat with my husband and I said, uh, I need to open a yoga studio. And he was like, okay, what can we do? And then I sat down with a couple of my best friends and I said, here's my vision. What do you think? And they said like, we're on board. What do you need? And that was in November of 2019. Okay. And by January 1st I had signed my lease. Right. And by February 1st we had started construction. And then by March we were paused. Yeah. So it was, it was a little bit crazy, but once the wheels were in motion, like I totally believe in manifestation. I believe in like, if you see it it'll happen and the everything just like fell into place. Right.
Speaker 0 00:07:31 Where, where are you located?
Speaker 3 00:07:33 We're right. Downtown. So we are in the same building as Mr. Mike's, which is directly across from the bowling alley. Yep. Yeah. So we're right across from the bowling alley up on the second level. So we're kind of this like cool, lofty feel. We've got nice big windows and yeah. A nice clean, big open space. And
Speaker 0 00:07:48 What brought you to Fort McMurray? You've been
Speaker 3 00:07:49 Here for five and here for five years, but my husband has lived here for almost 16 years. And so he used to fly in and out, um, back to PEI and yeah. And then he started his own business. Yeah. And for a while there, we were making it work. But as he got busier, he was homeless and less and less. So I said, well, let's see it. I said, you know what? Aislinn and I, our daughter, I was like, well, we'll come and try it for six months. See how it goes. Here we are. Yeah. Two businesses. And she's totally integrated in the community too. It's great. Charlotte town. Oh, beautiful. Beautiful. I love Charlotte to meet you. You've been, I've been there many times. Oh, it's like, yeah. Oh, everything I love when friends come to visit me and I can just take them to all of my favorite places. Like the food is incredible. The scenery is incredible. The arts scene, even like the art scene is incredible, incredible. A lot PTs credible. But yeah. I mean, there's way more than, than people expect.
Speaker 0 00:08:51 And even when you leave, uh, Charlotte town, look, I there's an, I want to call it little. I think it might be second place, but Summerside,
Speaker 3 00:08:59 I've done. I've done. I've done theater in Summerside.
Speaker 0 00:09:03 I stayed in, um, I don't know what they're called, like army barracks out there,
Speaker 3 00:09:07 But by like slim and park
Speaker 0 00:09:09 Cruder and I couldn't get a hotel and I, like, I saw this opportunity. So I was like, so my coworker I'm like, Hey, we're going to stay with a bunch of soldiers from, it's going to be fun, I guess. And it was a great time. So yeah. PIs.
Speaker 3 00:09:23 Oh, there
Speaker 0 00:09:23 You go. Yeah. So you came here, he come from PEI, but to get trained in yoga, I'm assuming like anything else, like you have to go to like institutes or people
Speaker 3 00:09:36 There's different ways. I mean, so I did, I did a lot of research because there's many places that offer trainings. Right. Um, I wanted to like fully immerse myself in my training. Um, because you know, you can, you can do weekend trainings where you do it over a course of like six months or so, and become a 200 hour certified instructor. So you want, you need 200 hours of training to officially start teaching. And then there's more training after that. But for my first 200 hours, I wanted to just like completely immerse myself in it. I knew I wanted to travel because I loved traveling. And, uh, anyway, I, I connected really well with this incredible human named Angela bolts. And, uh, she was exactly what I was looking for in a teacher. Okay. And she was offering a 200 hour over a course of four weeks in Costa Rica and like an eco lodge. I was like, yeah, sign me up. And so actually my best friend and I went and did it together and I, I received my first 200 hours there. And since then I've done like thousands of hours of training and teaching and learning. And because as a teacher, you're always a student as well. Right. It's never mastered, there's always more to learn. There's always more growth. So, but that was my first, my first training
Speaker 0 00:10:47 With yoga and I don't know much about it. So I can't, that's why I'm asking questions. It's not just all about like, just flexibility imposing, like you've already mentioned, like there's a breathing aspect to it. There's like a cultural and mental aspect to it. So when people are coming to your facility, um, it's not just, you, you have other instructors. So like what is kind of generic overall vibe of the yoga studio that you hope to kind of okay.
Speaker 3 00:11:15 But there is something for everyone. Okay. Um, I think one of the biggest disappointments in the yoga culture these days is social media. Um, there is such, um, I don't even know what the word would be, but there's this there's so much information. And there is this like stigma around yoga that is only for like skinny white girls, to be honest. And that is like far beyond of why yoga was created. And actually the craziest thing is that yoga was invented for men in India. It was all strictly men in India. And since it moved to the, um, Western culture, uh, it's really become no for soccer moms. This is it, but it's not. And that's, and that is what we were missing here. Right. So it's my hope that, you know, if you look at our social media or if you come to our studio or anything to do with exhale, you will see a place for you. Right. No matter if you're, um, he heard them, if you are, um, senior young middle-aged, if you are working with a disability, if you are black, white, brown, anything, right. Yeah. So we are trying to create and cultivate this atmosphere that you walk in our doors and you feel like you're welcome. And you feel like you're home. Right.
Speaker 0 00:12:46 Cool. Okay. Well, listen, this is a good segue. Tanner just gave me the sign that he's ready with the Mac CD minute. He's going to ask you some questions. I don't know what they are. I wish you nothing, but
Speaker 4 00:12:58 Alrighty. Question number one. What is the service you provide that you enjoy utilizing the most?
Speaker 3 00:13:04 Oh, the service that I provide that I enjoy utilizing the most, um, uh, probably, oh my gosh. That's a really hard question. Wow. What a question? My heart's like racing right now.
Speaker 4 00:13:23 Um, I have that effect on people's
Speaker 3 00:13:25 Service. Oh my Lanta. Um, the sense of community. I think that's a service finding community. Yeah. Our sense of community is such an important service that we provide.
Speaker 4 00:13:39 Question number two. What is one thing you've learned about yourself from your experience with your business?
Speaker 3 00:13:46 Oh, I have so much more potential than I ever believed in myself.
Speaker 4 00:13:52 Question number three. What is the most rewarding part of running your business within Fort McMurry for you
Speaker 3 00:13:58 Giving back to the community? As much as possible.
Speaker 4 00:14:01 Question number four, what is one service that you provide that you think any kind of person could enjoy yoga and your final question? What is one thing you could recommend to people to do to be more mindful towards themselves?
Speaker 3 00:14:17 Oh, really focused on your self care. That's so important. Self care can look like so many things, but it doesn't have to be yoga. Doesn't have to be fitness, but whatever your self care is, find it. And
Speaker 4 00:14:28 Those have been your five questions. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:14:31 So your studio hours of operation?
Speaker 3 00:14:34 Uh, very, yeah. Um, depends. We're always, we're always open for classes, obviously our class schedule. Um, but when it comes to, um, open for like retail and, and customers there's different hours, but you can find it on the or Google. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:14:53 Okay. And, um, in regards to signing up or paying, like, is it a subscription based model? Do you just drop in?
Speaker 3 00:15:04 Right. So we have so many different options. Um, we do have drop-ins I think that the best way to try the studio is our intro offer. Um, it's $59 for 21 days of unlimited classes. So you get to try out as many classes as you like for 21 days, see what you like, maybe what you don't like, what you vibe with, what you don't vibe with. And then also how many classes a week you're able to attend because you never know. Right. And then once that interim offer kind of finishes, then we work with the student to see what is best bang for your buck. Right. Um, I always try to encourage the monthly unlimited, um, because obviously we want our members to, you know, be with us. But, uh, so that's $119 a month. And which equals two, if you're coming to at least two classes a week, um, two classes a week would be less than 14 bucks a class. So yeah. Then we also have drop-ins and punch passes and we have a couple's membership and a student membership. So there's tons of different. Yeah. Lots of flexible rates. Very cool.
Speaker 0 00:16:03 Very cool. So how many instructors do you have?
Speaker 3 00:16:05 We have 13. 13. Yeah. Um,
Speaker 0 00:16:10 Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:16:11 Yeah. Well, some of our instructors also work full-time jobs, right. So they may be only teach one or two classes a week. Right. And then other instructors will teach more than that. Um, we have different instructors who are certified in different things. So we have our Pilates certified instructors. We have our fitness certified instructors. Our bar instructors are restorative instructors. Right. So everyone has their own specialty. So you want the right instructor teaching the right thing. Right. So it's not just anyone can teach anything. I have a question.
Speaker 0 00:16:40 Uh, the answer may be no. Or maybe yes. I don't know. It doesn't matter. It's the question. Could some of this be covered through your benefits?
Speaker 3 00:16:47 A hundred percent. Yeah. We have a lot of students who yet we have a lot of students who submit their receipts from their memberships and they get reimbursed. Oh,
Speaker 0 00:16:58 It's
Speaker 3 00:16:58 Huge. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:16:59 That is huge. That's a big cost for things, especially if you're COVID, you know, is a barrier to entry. Some people just can't afford that. If you can utilize something like your benefits that you have, and most people don't even,
Speaker 3 00:17:11 Well, I would recommend like, people don't even look through what, what is included. And so not many people actually take advantage of that. So I encourage everyone to look at your benefits.
Speaker 0 00:17:22 No doubt. Especially like for like, if you're injured or workplace injury and they need to come and yeah. Okay, cool. I'm glad I asked that question. Okay. So now when you go for training, because it's fascinating to me, like you said, you did your first bout or your, your long-term stint in Costa Rica with that. Where and how do you find out about different trainings and where do you go for them? Cause they're not offered here.
Speaker 3 00:17:46 Um, there are a few trainings offered here. Um, it's just knowing where to look for them. Right. Um, but like I find once you are integrated kind of in this community yeah. You just learn. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. The yoga community, um, it just, everything comes up, right? So you, you, you meet new instructors, you meet new teachers, you meet new students and everyone's talking about what's happening and sharing, like what kind of trainings are going on. So that's, that's basically how I have found most of mine, um, teachers that I've had in the past, they will share things with me. And if it's something that peaks my interest, I'll go for it. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:18:20 Now with the 14 people that you have on staff that blows my mind in regards to like my previous career, I used to be in human resources and recruiting was a big component of that. And finding individuals is a struggle in most industries. So the fact that you have like a number of individuals that are like, maybe part-time full-time, whatever their hours it's still apply, you need to be applauded that you have that depth of like,
Speaker 3 00:18:48 I have been so blessed. I've made, I've made since moving here, I've made so many wonderful connections with people. Um, and uh, luckily for me, I haven't had to go searching. Okay. It's, it's all sort of come to me. And uh, I mean, exhale, wouldn't be what it is without all of the individuals that surround me. So it's not just me, it's them too, who create the atmosphere and we work together as a team and we're a family and it feels that way too. And so I'm very, I feel very fortunate and lucky that I haven't had to struggle to, you know, be teachers, we need teachers. And so I'm actually able to, you know, our studio is based around the fact that we do have these like strong, experienced instructors who are able to help you on your journey. You know, it's, it's hard as a new instructor to do that, right?
Speaker 3 00:19:38 So we're not having to pick up all these brand new instructors. Instead we offer what we call a community class once a week, um, where new instructors in town, um, can start to teach. And these classes are by donation. And so the, all of the proceeds go towards a not-for-profit here in Fort McMurray, less, it gives a new instructor, a chance to start finding their voice, right. Start finding their groove, you know, cause there's, I remember being a new instructor and being terrified and then you're just kind of thrown to the wolves and it's like, but with these community classes, even the students coming know, okay, this teacher is learning. Right. Just learning. Right. So if there's no pressure and, and we've actually a few of our instructors who are on staff now started by teaching these community classes. Very cool.
Speaker 0 00:20:22 That's awesome. Well, listen, unfortunately time flies.
Speaker 3 00:20:26 So
Speaker 0 00:20:27 We've hit our 20 minutes, a few minutes, like a minute or two ago. Tanner gave me the hit, but before we let you go, everybody gets a shameless. Shout out our plug. So you got the lights, the cameras, the mic.
Speaker 3 00:20:37 All right. Well, I really hope that, uh, you'll all come join us at exhale, yoga and bar, every unlimited membership sold. We will plant a tree in your name. Um, we would love have you just try any of our yoga Barre, Pilates fitness or meditation classes? Um, if you need anything, reach out. I'm always there. I'll, I'll be the one talking to you.
Speaker 0 00:20:57 Okay. Before I let you go and sorry, we're running. What do you mean you plan to treat, like you said, that I was like, what? Me and Tyler both looked at each other was what does that mean?
Speaker 3 00:21:04 Yeah. We plant a tree and with every unlimited membership that we sell. So any one of our members who are on a monthly unlimited membership, they get a tree planted in their name. Cool. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:21:13 Awesome. Well, listen, please come back again and again and again, tell any of your staff or members if they want to come on the show to help promote, come on the show. And like, like, like I said, the door's always open the invitation. Please come back again.
Speaker 3 00:21:26 Thank you so much, Elliot. You're welcome.
Speaker 0 00:21:29 All right. Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. That's been another episode of the Mac Sydney morning show. Thank you so much for tuning in. It doesn't mean the world to me. I hope you're having a great day and we'll see you tomorrow. Peace.
Speaker 5 00:21:40 I just talk about quenching your ugly thirst.
