Managing Abundance :: barre studio owner, Lindsay Zappala shares her story

A couple weeks ago, Lindsay Zappala, owner of Studio Five Fitness in Rowley, MA, (pictured right) shared a bit of her story with me.

I wanted to chat with Lindsay because, from my view (the mat on her studio floor) she shows qualities of a rich, fulfilling, and abundant life – the same kind of life that LivingBluPrints endeavors to foster for its readers (workshop attendees, private clients, and well, me!):

• a life driven by JOY– or whatever it is that feeds one’s soul
• a world view that emphasizes POSITIVITY
• an abundant life necessitating quality (freedom producing) ROUTINES
• a life that MANAGES DRAINS (reducing overwhelm)

a life driven by joy – Most of us will agree (I think) that it seems to take a good many years of living to fully *get* what will drive our individual joy-filled life…. right?  Based on some of the Studio Five FB posts, I’d say Lindsay is living her joy. I especially like this January 2014 post:

‘One of the most rewarding things about what I do is listening to the girls chat about my class outside the studio post class! “She kicked our a$$ today” or “I loved it when…” Or “my legs won’t stop shaking” the laughter and love people have for my teaching style will forever keep me motivated. Love you girls and yes I know I totally kicked butt this morning! So did you.’

So what brought Lindsay to this stage in her life?  A little of Lindsay’s journey follows, and I feel it’s inspiring!  Of course, you might feel tired, when you realize Lindsay has two small children (4 and 6) and has a *regular* job outside the studio!!

In a former life, Lindsay was Marketing & Sales Coordinator for a firm in Boston, commuting from Ipswich, MA.  <She had my commute!  No wonder she was able to schedule those early AM classes just right!>  Lindsay loved her job, but a new baby girl meant a shift in priorities.  In 2009, Lindsay earned herself a similar (though not as rewarding) position closer to home AND, she found Pilates!  Fast forward and this female dynamo became certified to teach Pilates weeks after becoming Mom to baby number TWO – this time, a boy.

After the town of Groveland put the kibosh on the in-home studio plans <ugh>, serendipity stepped in <yay!>.  It turns out MAC Fitness, a local gym, was looking to sub-lease its studio space.

///I really believe this goes back to setting an intention – something I wrote about here.  Decide what you want, and suddenly the universe helps make it happen – big time.///

Lindsay pitched her idea and was given the go ahead to open her studio.  Studio Five opened in October 2013, four months post-intention-setting!

In realty, the glamour of following one’s passion REALLY means: life requires major planning and detailed routines.  When the studio first opened, Lindsay’s body was not impressed with the new *routines*.  As the only instructor for this new community of rookie barre students, Lindsay demo’d the series A LOT.  Lindsay was exhausted and got sick – A LOT – and then <pregnant pause> she got stronger.  ///I LOVE this.  I was brought up with an “if it fatigues you, maybe you shouldn’t do it” philosophy.  I’ve had to reverse engineer and love having examples to learn from!!///

For Lindsay, there is still the extreme pressure to keep up; the never ending list of to dos… and the sense that she could be doing better/more in all roles: instructor, business owner, mother, wife, employee, etc.

I’m convinced that Lindsay will continue to improve execution of her *life of abundance* (she’s already got the kids doing more and has brought in two instructors to even out the teaching load).  For any of us, what we are given to manage is a gift.  Lindsay demonstrates that she is handling her gifts really well!  And I thank her for giving LivingBluPrints the opportunity to take a peak into what got her here and what makes it happen.

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