I fell into a workout slump a few weeks ago. The truth is I was tired and frazzled mostly due to the constant up and down at night with Baby E. And then the activities, housework and insert any and everything baby and toddler related. Plus I just wasn’t mentally into it. Add all of that up and bye-bye went my daily walks, 5K training and my Jillian Michaels mornings.
Enter Solstice Urban Retreat. I decided to give it a try because they have barre and that has been on my list forever. The class schedule is perfect because Z is in school and Baby E is with the Hubs during that hour so off I went.
And what a workout barre is. It is hard but in a really good way. I found myself trembling at times and questioning why I even tried this but next thing you know the class was done and I felt better than I’ve felt in weeks, dare I say months.
Feeling confident I decided to try out a yoga class. I even remembered to bring my mat this time (mom brain is so real). Now granted I’ve talked about yoga before but always the most basic of positions and a few to that target that postpartum tummy but in reality, I am horrible at yoga. I’ve taken 3 classes before and it was terrible. I just couldn’t get into it, focus or actually get into anything but the basic positions. But once again Solstice made a miracle happen. I was able to complete the entire class and I only needed to do a few modifications. At one point I did find myself wondering how the class was still going on only to realize the class was 1 hr 15 minutes and not the 45 minutes I thought it was. LOL. But it was amazing. Seriously I told the instructor and Kristen (the owner) I am convinced childbirth x 2 had someone transformed my body giving it the ability to actually do yoga. Not to mention the laid back approach and attention from the instructor. Win!
Solstice has a warm yoga class so I will definitely be trying that. One of the three yoga classes I took prior was a warm yoga class and while my body wouldn’t cooperate, something about that warmth felt right so I will definitely take on the warm yoga challenge at Solstice. But you know what I really love? The babysitting option for the days that I don’t have a sitter or hubs is at work. The babysitting area is on the top level and Solstice also offers Bitsy Yoga for the littles. More things I love: The spacious restrooms with moms and kids in mind. The clean, bright and airy studio and it smells wonder. All things any mom would dream of having in their local gym or yoga studio.
More things I love: The friendliness of Kristen and her staff. Oh and parking. There is nothing worse than having to look for parking and feeling stressed about it right before you exercise.

Kristen – Owner
I say Solstice is the perfect studio for moms and really any and everyone regardless of your level of experience in yoga, barre or pilates. The schedule is very doable including early classes, lunch time and after work options. If you can get to Decatur, it is so worth it. Stay tuned to the Solstice Urban Retreat website and Facebook page for details on classes, special offerings and the grand open of their second location in Va-Hi.
Mamas, taking time for yourself is so necessary. If you are like me, you tend to workout with your kids in tow or around their schedules or not at all because life happens. That is perfectly ok but trust me, sign up for some classes where you either drop the kids off for babysitting or leave them home. It is so worth it and you will soon find yourself making no excuses to attend. Now to convince the Hubs to buy me an unlimited membership for Mother’s Day. Wish me luck.
* Thank you Kristen for welcoming me to Solstice and providing a one month membership for me to get back to fitness and mommy me time. As always all opinions are my own*
5 Comments
Milveen
March 28, 2016 at 9:57 AMI absolutely agree that carving out time for ourselves is key. We focus so much on our little ones that it’s easy to push workouts off to the side. I LOVE yoga and find that it’s easy to get into vs other types of workouts. I hear ya re: giving birth and being able to do the poses! Our bodies know how to adapt! Great post!
M J
March 30, 2016 at 1:06 PMThanks Milveen. I am definitely enjoying getting to know my body post motherhood.
Dowell Jason
December 27, 2017 at 1:39 PMGreat post! very helful, I gonna let my wife read through this post
Thank you
Erica
December 29, 2020 at 3:22 AMAmazing Post! I shared it with my mom I am sure she would love it too!!
pilates Robina
February 23, 2021 at 1:43 AMStarting with Pilates movement fundamentals and progressing through mat and equipment exercises, Pilates trains the body to express itself with strength and harmony.