A high school teacher has created a space for the community to find personal wellness and inspiration.
Studio Me, which launched in October, is the first step in Jody Swift’s dream to bring something different to the Foothills. From her studio, which is located on Elizabeth Street above Wild Rose Jewellers, Swift offers a variety of classes and options for people looking to do something for themselves.
“The whole idea of this is you’re taking care of every part of your wellness,” said Swift. “It’s like a gym, but for your mind, body and soul. You don’t have to go to 20 different places anymore, you can just come here and take care of yourself.”
Classes include drumming circles, yoga, a number of art classes and meditation, and the list will continue to grow, she said. She’d like to see photography lessons, finance classes, nutrition and cooking courses and language classes come into the studio in the future. Massage therapists, tarot card readers, life coaches, dance instructors and other wellness practitioners also work out of Studio Me, renting the space for their own practices.
Studio Me is suitable for all ages, she said, though she recommends children be at least nine years old.
At this time there is no membership, but patrons can pay for one class or use a 10-class pass to attend a variety of different sessions, she said.
“You’ll have all these areas you can take care of yourself and you don’t have to be married to one thing,” said Swift. “You might come in and be like, ‘I’m just going to take meditation today,’ or ‘Today I think I’ll do an art class,’ it’s always up to you.”
As a drama, psychology and sociology teacher at Foothills Composite High School and Alberta High School of Fine Arts for the last 18 years, Swift said the inspiration for Studio Me came from what she felt was missing from traditional classroom settings.
Many of her past students have come back and told her they miss the environment they’d created together in the classroom, she said.
“There’s nowhere else they can find it in the grand world, and they wish they could have that safety and security and that love and that level of connection again,” said Swift. “And I thought, ‘What if I could create that again?’ What if my adult students and other people in the community could come and have a place where they could have that feeling?”
Mark Klaudt, program and facility manager at Studio Me, said classes currently run Monday to Friday only, but once the space is filled on weekdays there will be weekend classes as well.
He became involved with Studio Me when Swift needed someone to install the hardwood floor. There are elements of Klaudt throughout the space, with repurposed barn-wood trim and accents and a handcrafted sink he built specifically for the studio.
He’s been taking some classes as well, including being the only male in a Nia dance class. His favourite is the drum circle on Monday evenings, he said.
“It’s fun and neat to hear the stories surrounding it,” said Klaudt. “It can be a powerful thing and it’s a nice release, too.”
Swift said the current studio, on the second floor, is a temporary location – though she’s not sure how long that may be. It could be years before Studio Me is ready to move into its second stage, she said.
That next step involves elements like a living tree growing in the centre of the space, a tea shop, quiet spaces for learning, studio spaces for classes and the potential for high school students to learn on-site.
“I would love one day to offer classes, even accredited classes, that could benefit students and get them out into the community,” said Swift. “That’s the dream, really. To have that reciprocity in the community where everyone is giving and receiving and we have this space where people of all ages can connect and enjoy one another, learn and fall in love with themselves.”
