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barre3 Beyond the Barre: The Strength of Community
When Casey Martin tried her first barre3 class online she knew she’d found her workout, and when she started studio classes she knew she’d found her tribe. But it wasn’t until a health challenge kept her away from the studio that she understood the true power of the community. Read on for Casey’s moving journey in her own words.
I tried my first barre3 Online class back in 2012. As I took those three closing breaths in my living room, Sadie doing the same on the screen in front of me, I knew I’d found my exercise program.
Fast forward to 2014, when barre3 Atlanta South Buckhead opened. By this time I had been doing barre3 for more than two years and I was an absolute devotee, so you can imagine how excited I was to be able to do the “live” version. Sometimes it can be intimidating to walk into a beautiful space with mirrors everywhere, but this felt different. Being in the studio for the first time, challenging myself to go down one more inch in power leg while everyone around me did the same, I felt so connected.
I quickly became a regular at the 5:45 p.m. class and formed a fast bond with the others. You know how when you’ve found “your people,” they can lift you up even when you’re having the worst day? That’s how it was for us. We traded stories and we supported each other, and our studio time started to feel like a second home.
I knew my barre3 family had my back in class, but I found out their support went way beyond the studio walls when I had to undergo major surgery related to Advanced Stage IV Endometriosis, a condition I’ve battled for years. My recovery period was a long 10 weeks, and I wasn’t allowed to do any core work.
The barre3 community rallied to support me the minute I got home from the hospital. My best friend and fellow barre3 client, Lanie, brought barre3 recipes for my boyfriend, Riche, and me after class one day. And when Richie was out of town a few days later another studio friend brought me the ingredients for a barre3 DIY bowl. So many others from the community, staff and clients alike, called and texted throughout my recovery to check in and let me know they were thinking of me. I was amazed at how much of an impact barre3 could have on my life even when I couldn’t do the workout or go to the studio.
Finally I was ready to go back to class. All of my closest friends from the studio made it a point to be in class that first night so they could stand beside me. The owner, Katie Schrier, was our instructor. I was nervous as we moved into the core-work series, but I looked up and saw that Katie had already come over to me to help me find a posture in flat-back core-work that would work best for me. She encouraged and challenged me at the same time. I started with simple marches and got stronger from there. As I held planks longer and longer in the subsequent classes, eventually building back up to a full minute, the instructors and class members would offer me words of encouragement and note that I looked stronger in my postures.
Last October, Riche and I took a class together on his birthday. During the three breaths at the end of class, I closed my eyes as I always do, appreciating the final moment and thinking about how I’d take that peaceful feeling with me forward into the week. All of a sudden I heard, “Oh my God, CASEY!” from someone in the class. I opened my eyes, and there was Riche, down on one knee in front of me with a ring in his hand. My parents and some of my closest friends were there watching, and a bunch of the barre3 staff and instructors were outside the studio window with signs that read, “She said YES!” and “He liked it, so he put a ring on it!” The whole thing was surreal—and absolutely perfect.
The fact that Riche chose barre3 as the site of our engagement speaks volumes about my connection with the community. Ever since I took those three closing breaths with Sadie in my inaugural online class, barre3 has been a huge part of my life. It has transformed my body, but even more important, it has given me the most amazing community. Barre3 has become one of the most important aspects of my life, so it’s only fitting that one of the biggest moments of my life would happen there.
What’s amazing to me is that my connection to barre3 isn’t unique. Time and time again, I’ve seen people sign up for a class hoping for a great workout, and in no time they’re fully immersed in the community. They encourage each other in class, they trade recipes and healthy-living tips, and they support each other through life’s ups and downs. They learn that the true magic of barre3 isn’t just the fantastic workout, it’s everything that it offers beyond the studio walls. It’s about strength, not just in your body but in your community, and that, to me, is the most valuable gift.
When Casey Martin tried her first barre3 class online she knew she’d found her workout, and when she started studio classes she knew she’d found her tribe. But it wasn’t until a health challenge kept her away from the studio that she understood the true power of the community. Read on for Casey’s moving journey in her own words.
I tried my first barre3 Online class back in 2012. As I took those three closing breaths in my living room, Sadie doing the same on the screen in front of me, I knew I’d found my exercise program.
Fast forward to 2014, when barre3 Atlanta South Buckhead opened. By this time I had been doing barre3 for more than two years and I was an absolute devotee, so you can imagine how excited I was to be able to do the “live” version. Sometimes it can be intimidating to walk into a beautiful space with mirrors everywhere, but this felt different. Being in the studio for the first time, challenging myself to go down one more inch in power leg while everyone around me did the same, I felt so connected.
I quickly became a regular at the 5:45 p.m. class and formed a fast bond with the others. You know how when you’ve found “your people,” they can lift you up even when you’re having the worst day? That’s how it was for us. We traded stories and we supported each other, and our studio time started to feel like a second home.
I knew my barre3 family had my back in class, but I found out their support went way beyond the studio walls when I had to undergo major surgery related to Advanced Stage IV Endometriosis, a condition I’ve battled for years. My recovery period was a long 10 weeks, and I wasn’t allowed to do any core work.
The barre3 community rallied to support me the minute I got home from the hospital. My best friend and fellow barre3 client, Lanie, brought barre3 recipes for my boyfriend, Riche, and me after class one day. And when Richie was out of town a few days later another studio friend brought me the ingredients for a barre3 DIY bowl. So many others from the community, staff and clients alike, called and texted throughout my recovery to check in and let me know they were thinking of me. I was amazed at how much of an impact barre3 could have on my life even when I couldn’t do the workout or go to the studio.
Finally I was ready to go back to class. All of my closest friends from the studio made it a point to be in class that first night so they could stand beside me. The owner, Katie Schrier, was our instructor. I was nervous as we moved into the core-work series, but I looked up and saw that Katie had already come over to me to help me find a posture in flat-back core-work that would work best for me. She encouraged and challenged me at the same time. I started with simple marches and got stronger from there. As I held planks longer and longer in the subsequent classes, eventually building back up to a full minute, the instructors and class members would offer me words of encouragement and note that I looked stronger in my postures.
Last October, Riche and I took a class together on his birthday. During the three breaths at the end of class, I closed my eyes as I always do, appreciating the final moment and thinking about how I’d take that peaceful feeling with me forward into the week. All of a sudden I heard, “Oh my God, CASEY!” from someone in the class. I opened my eyes, and there was Riche, down on one knee in front of me with a ring in his hand. My parents and some of my closest friends were there watching, and a bunch of the barre3 staff and instructors were outside the studio window with signs that read, “She said YES!” and “He liked it, so he put a ring on it!” The whole thing was surreal—and absolutely perfect.
The fact that Riche chose barre3 as the site of our engagement speaks volumes about my connection with the community. Ever since I took those three closing breaths with Sadie in my inaugural online class, barre3 has been a huge part of my life. It has transformed my body, but even more important, it has given me the most amazing community. Barre3 has become one of the most important aspects of my life, so it’s only fitting that one of the biggest moments of my life would happen there.
What’s amazing to me is that my connection to barre3 isn’t unique. Time and time again, I’ve seen people sign up for a class hoping for a great workout, and in no time they’re fully immersed in the community. They encourage each other in class, they trade recipes and healthy-living tips, and they support each other through life’s ups and downs. They learn that the true magic of barre3 isn’t just the fantastic workout, it’s everything that it offers beyond the studio walls. It’s about strength, not just in your body but in your community, and that, to me, is the most valuable gift.
