This past week I found my self in an unusual predicament. I  had closed my downtown studio, leaving the beautiful sunlit loft as empty as the day I’d first unlocked the door to move in. Yet the new studio space, MOVE was still under construction, behind schedule, and completely out of my control. People kept asking if it felt strange to close the downtown studio, if it was sad to look around the empty space and close the door for the last time. Well, no.  While I appreciate all the wonderful things that happened in that space, the great people, the fun courses, the amazing colleagues and guest trainers, and the quiet moments between clients spent in that beautiful place, any sentiment is swept away by the great relief of not being a business owner anymore.  No more worries about the marketing, the drafty windows that cost us a fortune in heating this sub-zero winter, no more worrying that all the trainers are happy with their schedules and their hours, or any of those thousands of little details that were constantly running in my brain, like apps running in the background, draining the iPhone battery of my mind.

But now my predicament was that I had an unplanned week off before the new studio could possibly open, and with my mind free from the burdens of studio-ownership I was really in the mood for teaching, yet had nowhere to teach.  So on that Friday night I sent out a couple of emails and posted on Facebook that I was available.  Saturday morning I awoke to an inbox full of invitations and a fully booked week! So Monday morning I started my week as a roving trainer.

Melissa Vandenberg has a beautiful home studio in her basement in Northville, MI, and a dedicated group of regular clients who were so kind to have me in to teach a free-form Gyrokinesis® class, some Jumping Stretching Board, Gyrokinesis® Happy Moves class, and a Gyrotonic® as a Musical Journey class on Melissa’s three Gyrotonic® towers. I also made a trip to Novi, MI to teach in the home studio of my client Sharyl.  She was kind enough to organize a day of clients for me, including her daughter and her physical therapist. Also, Kristie Kava has an amazing Physical Therapy clinic in Northville, and brought me in to teach an introductory Gyrokinesis® class to her team of PTs.  And then I had a lovely weekend in Traverse City, working with Bridgit Frank at Village Pilates.  There  I also got to teach a Gyrokinesis® class for her regular clients.  It’s so exciting to see how the Gyrotonic® program is going to be growing there!  

I ended up feeling pretty thankful for such an unusual week.  I tend to be a creature of habit in many ways, which is necessitated by my overly packed lifestyle. But shaking that up and teaching in the great environments others have created is so refreshing.  I always feel this way when I teach away, like when I get to teach for Josefin Ekstrom in Sweden at her lovely studio with the welcoming and enthusiastic students there. I always come back to my regular students feeling invigorated and replenished. But most importantly I had the chance to see again how welcoming and supportive people are in the Gyrotonic® community. That alone made the whole week worth while.