“Mercury’s in retrograde. Don’t make any big decisions,” my friend warned me last month. “But don’t worry, it ends on August 19th.” According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, when Mercury is in retrograde, the planet appears to be moving backward and you should avoid making deals, signing contracts, launching a book or a blog or a business. Things seem to go awry. The planet doesn’t actually move backwards. It just appears to, some say, create an energetic shift on Earth causing disruptions and delays.
When it’s over though, there is a “shadow period” where things slowly turn around. Then it’s go time – a rush of new clarity, focus and energy. I don’t know if I believe in all that but a whole bunch of energy is swirling around me. I feel something happening and one of those things is, after nearly twenty years, I’m taking the plunge and opening my own Pilates studio!
I’ve been teaching Pilates since 1999, certified by Romana Kryzanowska in New York City. I knew I didn’t want to have my own business in the beginning. I was too young and inexperienced. I wanted to spend those early years taking sessions and teaching alongside my senior and master teachers.
Oh, I’ve definitely thought about having my own studio. Many times. I thought about it in 2003 – having a cute home studio in my New York apartment. Then around ’06 when I moved to Santa Monica and lived right on the beach. Then in 2016 after a great ten-year run with Mari when Winsor Pilates closed. Something was always holding me back — fear, money, fear, space, fear, having little babies, fear, energy.
Mostly, it was fear.
Now my kids are older and a little more self-sufficient. I have the money and energy. I have the experience. I have had my hands on hundreds of bodies with all sorts of issues. The knowledge. I have logged thousands of hours of training, seminars, workshops, lessons, and certifications. I don’t always have the answer but I know a lot and have the resources to find out what I don’t. And…
I’m not scared anymore.
I’m excited! Mercury’s out of retrograde, baby! I am very anxious to announce my next venture with my partner, Hector Mercado. We are pumped to open our doors soon. A boutique studio offering private and semi-private sessions as well as an independent study option. Classical work. All Gratz equipment. Intimate environment. We hope to create the warm, almost familial environment we had at Winsor. I’m so excited. Stay tuned!
Hector packing up the old studio.