And if you ask any Balance Culture member about their workout schedule, you can expect the same level of excitement and empowerment in their voice.

It’s Sunday night and I am winding down from the Florida weekend.

I probably had Born & Bread on Saturday morning and stopped at Concord for one of those specialty donuts by Honeycomb Bread on Sunday morning before church. And, of course, beach day galore through the evenings with fresh fruit by my side to balance out those morning treats.

Now, most weekends don’t look this perfect for me, but the point is, 1 – 2 cheat meals a weekend are part of the fun.

Monday morning comes around. I pick up my phone, and, after being distracted by social media, I finally get to my Calendar App. Everything looks good: the typical Monday morning meeting and a few meetings here and there throughout the week. Now, I go into my Balance Culture App and sign up for fitness classes this week. I instantly settle into this feeling of empowerment. “I’ve got this; let’s do this.” I sign up for a few high-intensity classes and two yoga classes for the week.

I pack my Monday fitness bag to make it to class after work. I throw in a pair of black socks, my favorite Lululemon gray leggings, a black tank, and black Nikes.

And if you ask any Balance Culture member about their workout schedule, you can expect the same level of excitement and empowerment in their voice.

Better yet, you can both look at your app and sign up for the same class.

The Balance Culture is a women’s fitness studio located in Dixieland. For over two years they have been empowering women in Lakeland to be their healthiest selves physically and mentally. The Balance Culture offers a variety of group fitness classes, including yoga, barre, Spin, Pilates, and more. It is a place where women come together from all over the city to be a part of a community that believes in the importance of self care and holistic wellness.

It is a place where women come together from all over the city to be a part of a community that believes in the importance of self care and holistic wellness.

Co-owners Ruthie Tait and Kirstin Czernek share with us their most recent additions to The Balance Culture fitness studio and thoughts as they continue to grow and evolve the studio. 

I recall attending classes in 2016 and rushing over to a class I didn’t sign up for because sometimes a class could be overflowing. As soon as Ruthie and Kirstin noticed this was happening, they knew that expanding to a second studio was necessary.

“We looked at where our classes were headed and how fast we were growing, and our fear was to have women show up to class and then have to say to them, sorry, we can’t fit you in.” -Kirstin

Since first opening in February 2015, The Balance Culture underwent their first expansion in January 2017. They added a second studio room where they started hosting classes right away and a Spin Studio. Spin classes launched in June 2018 which completed the expansion along with an unused studio space/room.

“We entertained several different ideas of potentially being a training space, office space. We even talked about kids care. But nothing felt right at the time, so we kind of left it empty for pretty much a year.” – Ruthie

The Balance Culture now comfortably accommodates about 65 to 80 women at once per class session.

Both Kirstin and Ruthie became moms this past year which has led them to a deeper level of empathy on what it looks like to be a mother. “Balance culture has done so much for us in terms of being able to take some time for ourselves. Even if we are instructing a class, just having that time for us as moms is a game changer. Once we understood this, we wanted other moms to be a part of it as well,” says Kirstin.

The Balance Culture recently launched Kids Care; as of now, this service is offered for 9 a.m. classes. The age range for BC Kids Care is 6 months to 12 years old.
“We wanted to start small and see when it would work best.” -Kirstin

The Kids Care room has its own door. Moms sign up through the app like they would normally for a class and choose BC Kids Care class to register their child and specify the number of kids being checked in. The kids are then checked in by the BC Kids Care workers. Mom can now take her class and pick them up afterward. “It is a simple, safe process, and it is such a short time it doesn’t need to be complicated,” says Ruthie. The Balance Culture is looking to expand BC Kids Care in the fall by offering the service during a variety of class times in the evening once or twice a week and grow from there. 

“We want to continue to evolve, and we have an idea of where we want to go, but the core of what Balance Culture is won’t change. Our heart will always be to empower and help women become their healthiest self.”

The Balance Culture offers top-of-the-line classes. They are an official Spin Studio which is a trademarked title; all of the Spin instructors are Spin trained and certified. Spin classes are created around music and the rhythm and beat of music. Therefore, a class is choreographed differently from a barre class or Pilates class. The instructors lead you through the ride at different speeds, following the rhythm of the songs.

“Anybody can do Spin. It is a very personalized workout; even someone who is out of shape or a beginner, the instructor is telling you exactly what to do and queuing you to take breaks if you need to. Someone who is a beginner can be next to someone who is a marathon runner and has been doing this for 20 years, and they will both get a great workout at their own level. We love that Spin really fits our culture of trying to be inclusive of everyone no matter their background or level of fitness,” says Ruthie.

Balance Culture members have this special bond. They feel like they are on this journey doing life together and empowering one another to be the best versions of themselves.

As for Kirstin and Ruthie, they want to provide this space for women in the studio as well as educate people outside of The Balance Culture by providing nutrition, mental health and fitness workshops to businesses, organizations, nonprofits, and the community.

Be sure to check out the free Balance Culture yoga class at Haus 820 this Saturday, July 28, at 9 a.m. for both men and women!