I love connection. I truly believe the meaning of life is human connection. I believe in the connection between the mind and the body, and I believe that Joseph Pilates was a genius whose method integrates that very principle. I believe that Mr. Pilates’ idea that the powerhouse is where it all begins is what connects us to how we live our lives better and whole-heartedly in every aspect. That very connection point, the area that holds our heart and our gut, that is where Studio Flo started.
SFP is successful because of our connection to our powerhouse. To me, and to all of my instructors, Pilates is not a fitness program. It is never just a workout. Our clients do not get their sweat on and then get out. They learn something, if not 15 new things, about their bodies and their connections to them, they laugh A LOT with their classmates, they stay 15 minutes after to share their lives with us, they feel better, we feel better, and then they come back the next day. We are endlessly passionate about Pilates and share that passion daily by educating our clients and apprentices on history, the methodology, and how to use their bodies efficiently and effectively. It takes focus, patience, and skill to see, not just a body, but the whole person in front of us and know how to address it – it’s a job none of us would trade for the world.
I decided to open my own studio because I wanted somewhere that I could put my whole heart into, somewhere that connection could be found. I worked many places prior that felt too much like just a business. About a year into owning SFP, I realized the formula for success. You have to work really hard, you have to be in it, you have to show up, you have to be vulnerable and you have to care (a whole heck of a lot). My clients know me, the real me, because I share with them. I am not just someone that takes their money, I am someone who also knows their hopes and worries and who is also on their team.
I named Studio Flo after the Pilates principle of Flow and after my grandmother Florence Wolf (Flo). She gave me the best gift you can give someone: time. She always wanted to listen and she never reacted with anger or judgement. As a medical school graduate, she believed in education and using education to help others. Towards the end of her life, she would ask me if I was going back to work to help my “patients.” I am proud to live that reality. I am also the daughter of a pediatrician and a nurse. My whole life I have watched my parents help countless families, and to them, it is not a job, it is just what they do. I send many clients to see my parents and they are never surprised by the wonderful people who raised me. They gave and taught me time, patience, compassion and love, the principles that I built SFP with.
Which brings me back to connection. I do not consider myself successful because my business was named the #1 Pilates Studio in San Diego less than 2 years in or because I can pay my bills. I consider myself successful because of the connection I see, hear, and experience daily. I have created a family, a family of clients who have built friendships through shared groans and sweat and a family of instructors who learn from each other and build each other up. I consider myself successful because I receive countless texts, emails and phone calls daily from members of my Flo family reminding me of their love for me, SFP, and the Pilates method. Thank you to all that choose Studio Flo as their Pilates home.
- Jennie Groom
Studio Flo Pilates Founder