@DeanIWright
BRISTOL – A new fitness and wellness space at 173 School St. celebrated its grand opening weekend Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
“I’m excited for this opportunity for the community and people to come out and enjoy a moment of mindfulness and rest,” said School Street Studios Owner Hilary Stoudt. “It’s been a really hard two-and-a-half years. I think people don’t understand what they need until they get it so I hope they’re willing to go outside their comfort zone and try something new.”
School Street Studio offers a variety of classes and exercise times focusing on Yoga, Zumba, meditation, barre exercises and more. Free classes will be offered over the weekend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday, for those interested in getting a taste of what the business can offer.
Barre exercises make use of a ballet barre and incorporate movements derived from ballet. Zumba is a fitness program utilizing Latin-inspired dance. Yoga is a spiritual and wellness discipline that makes use of controlled breathing practices, body posturing and meditation to improve health and mindfulness.
“The aim of the studio is to be accessible to all generations and the schedule will also grow,” said Stoudt. “Really we want to focus on anything to get the community moving and in wellness.”
Stoudt noted the space could potentially be used for musical endeavors, Reiki, children’s dance and more.
“It’s multiple studios in one location,” said Stoudt.
The owner said she had been inspired to open School Street Studios because whenever she had left a yoga class she felt better.
“If that can be brought to the community, that’s always a good thing,” said Stoudt. “I started taking yoga when I was 21. It’s become a part of my life since then. That feeling of calmness and clarity and I think gratitude is really the biggest thing. When people can feel grateful because they found a moment to slow down and reflect, that to me is wellness.
The building in which School Street Studio rests will be a “centerpiece” of the coming state realignment project of Routes 72 and 69 as well as a new streetscape, said Bristol Mayor Jeff Caggiano. He noted streetscape designers had partially been inspired aesthetically by the architecture of the building.
“Not only will there be a traffic calming effect, but the whole purpose of these streetscapes, where we’ve got a bunch of great new businesses growing up here, we want people to be able to walk to those businesses,” he continued.
For more information, visit the School Street Studios Facebook page. 
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