Moving a Pilates studio has many challenges just like Pilates!
I always tell my Pilates clients and Pilates students that Pilates should be challenging. That we want to push ourselves to the point of “can I do this without losing this?” “Can I figure this out and make it happen?” To take their mind and body to the edge of that cliff and think how close can I get and be challenged? Otherwise, we never get stronger in our mind and body right? My Pilates clients and Pilates students know that in order to get better, stronger, and progress that challenge needs to happen in their Pilates practice and in their Pilates teaching.
Moving is also always a challenge. You are leaving your home, city, and maybe even the state. All the familiar things and people are left behind. Two years ago this month I had that challenge AND on top of that was moving my Pilates studio along with my Pilates Teacher Training Program from Houston to Los Angeles. I can tell you that leaving the Pilates clients that you have built a relationship with for years and years is much more emotional than you even can begin to think it would be. Dealing with the thoughts of not only moving your home and personal life but, entering into a new Pilates community, finding new Pilates clients and connections can send you into a full-blown panic.
This move was my life in December 2019. We won’t even go into the fact that this was all happening just a few months before a Pandemic would hit the world. Looking back now I laugh at the fact that the move out to LA with all my Pilates apparatus in the Uhaul, driven by my husband may have been a sign of things to come that following year.
Moving my Pilates studio that December was those moments of what else could possibly be thrown at us over and over! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret a single moment of the trip as we learned so much and it truly made me stop and think was this what we wanted? Will it be worth it?
It all started out normal as could be! We got all my apparatus, the full Pilates studio along with a few personal boxes of clothes, bed, couch, and some odds and ends into the Uhaul and ready for the long drive. We had a deadline of getting into LA, setting up the studio, and having a big Grand Opening party with friends before my official opening on Monday, Jan 6th, 2020. As I said we won’t even go into that 2020 journey!
I was driving behind my hubby in the truck and all seemed great! We got through the first day and to the hotel and got a good night's sleep knowing that day 2 we would hit hopefully Phoenix and then the last leg into LA on New Year’s eve day!
The next day, as we were driving my husband, pulled over and said the truck seemed to be doing something weird. We called the Uhaul and they said “oh, that is ok just keep driving”. He said “are you sure?” and they said “yes”. So we did!
We made it to Phoenix and directly across from our hotel was a place to eat so we parked there and went in to eat and then hit the hotel. This is when the challenges started! We got back to the truck and I started following him in my car. I realized he was going like 5 mph and not picking up any pace. The truck would NOT go any faster. Somehow we made it across the road into the parking lot of the hotel. Talk about some scary moments crossing over a busy intersection to the hotel!
Then the truck died and that was that! All my apparatus are in the truck and us still a day away. We called the truck people who gave us 2 choices. They come out in the morning and access the situation and they said it was probably the engine. So they would need to tow it to the shop and repair it and then return it to us once it was fixed.
You can imagine the resounding NO that we both responded with on that choice. My entire livelihood and Pilates life was in that truck and we could not risk it being towed or out of our sight. Not to mention the fact that we had no idea how long it would take for them to fix this truck.
The other choice was they could send a new truck and we could unload and load back into the new truck. We decided this was the best route BUT we demanded they bring out 2 guys to help the move. They agreed!
We then made the decision that after we got the new truck and the moving guys started the transfer I would go ahead into LA and check on the apartment I would be renting and the studio. I was all for this idea as the thought of watching my apparatus again being unloaded and reloaded sent me into another panic situation.
Did I also mention I was moving out ahead of my husband? He was going to help me get set up and then head back to close and get our house and things situated back in Houston. I could get a head start on getting my studio up and running! Moving the studio we had figured a good year to build up my Pilates clientele to where we wanted it to be. I know, 2020 had more to say on that subject but, another story.
I took off that morning and it was a nice drive. Through Palm Springs and then into Los Angeles. LA! Home! It was sunny, the air was amazing and I knew we were doing the right thing. Then I got to the apartment that we had rented for a few months.
To say it was in a scary area and I may not feel safe is an understatement. We chose this place online and the pictures they sent did NOT represent this place AT ALL! I stood there trying to find the key to get in. They had said it was to the side by a bush..nothing. I tried calling and emailing the landlord person and got no one. Remember this is also New Years Eve Day around 3ish. To give you a slightly better picture of my situation as I am doing all this a man is peeing on a pile of trash just to my right.
To say it was a bit sketchy…understatement. I ran back to my car and quickly called my husband who was at this point maybe 2 hours away. The minute he picked up I lost it! Burst into tears and the full ugly cry.
Calmly he said drive to the studio and just check it is all set. We will figure this out later. I hit the road along with millions of others as it was now getting close to everyone enjoying New Year’s eve.
I got to my new studio and opened the door. It looked empty, lonely and for some reason the yellow walls I always had seemed a bit like big bird! I sat on the floor and cried. I wanted to go home. I was scared. It all hit me. I called my husband.
“Say the word and we turn and go back,” he said.
I sat on the floor and thought of all I had done in my Pilates career. The things I told my clients and students about challenging themselves, seeing where they could go and how to get where they wanted in Pilates. I took a breath and said, “No, I will be fine”. At that moment I saw the challenges or at least thought I did and made the choice to figure out and make it happen.
We now knew we had nowhere to sleep or stay and so we decided to meet at a halfway point to find some food and a hotel. I hit the freeway to head towards him but, the navigation decided that the freeway would take too long with all that holiday traffic and shot me off side streets. Panic again hit me! I had no idea where I was and he was going to be on the freeway!
Finally, we got connected and the only place we could find that wasn’t full, didn’t need a reservation was a Denny’s. We were tired, scared, and not sure what to do.
We sat down and the waiter came over with the biggest smile and happy energy that we immediately relaxed a bit. I ordered a burger and fries and to be honest they tasted amazing! So hungry! The waiter chatted with us and made us feel welcome and he was such a bright light in this moment that it was as if someone knew we needed that to hold onto.
We sat in silence for a moment probably both wondering was this a mistake? Then the sign that all would be ok came over the speakers. My favorite song, by my favorite group. The Bee Gees with “How deep is your love.”
My husband looked at me and smiled “well, there you go! It will all be ok”
The next week was spent hopping from hotel to hotel as we tried to find a place to land, getting all the apparatus into the studio and odds and ends, throwing our party as exhausted and brain fried as we were somehow we made it happen! The Pilates community of friends that I already knew showed up and the support and love was like a warm blanket. All was going to be ok.
Moving is always challenging just like Pilates should always be challenging. Maybe it is more challenging than we imagined or asked for it to be. Yet, I do believe that the journey and challenges that get put into our paths make us stronger, more able to connect and learn, to realize that we can do things that we didn’t think we could.