Unsung Heroes: Twisted Yoga Works Out on the Web
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Now More Than Ever! Rally Around Small Business 2020 is underway. As the campaign continues, The Business Journal introduces you to some of the businesses nominated by community members as this year’s Unsung Heroes.
Click here to nominate a small business or check out a list of the current nominees. Nominations close June 1.
Twisted Yoga and Barre in Hermitage, Pa., learned to be flexible after the state shut down all health and wellness facilities. The studio offers yoga, cycling, paddle boarding and other courses to improve customers’ physical and mental states.
“Exercise, wellness, yoga, meditation. We need it right now,” says owner Jackie Stewart.
Like other fitness businesses, Twisted Yoga started offering free daily online classes through Zoom. The sessions are similar to the regular workouts and a schedule is posted on the company’s social media pages.
Stewart says she isn’t charging for online classes because many of her regular customers may be facing financial hardships.
“There is a sense that they need it,” she says. “It’s almost a socialization time for them as well. Even though we’re not talking, it’s the comfort of knowing other people are there.”
Stewart started the business in 2013. She was the only instructor when it opened, but over time the studio grew to add seven contracted instructors.
Stewart and her associates offer community classes to support local charities. An instructor tailors the courses around the charity they are supporting for each specific class.
The studio also holds a Christmas toy drive every year for a local school district. The instructors choose a school and give gifts to as many as 20 children. The studio assisted Sharon Local Schools this past year.
“It’s about making sure that everybody in the community stays positive and healthy because, in turn, that helps us,” Stewart says.
Pictured: Jackie Stewart, owner of Twisted Yoga and Barre, and her son celebrate the company’s fifth anniversary in 2018.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
