A bittersweet message of resilience.

Our deepest sympathies and prayers for strength and recovery go out to our friends, family, members, and EVERYBODY team who have been displaced or devastated by the fires. We know many of our staff, members, and friends have been evacuated from their homes and remain uncertain about the status of their living situations. Tragically, we also know some in our community have confirmed total loss of their homes, apartments, and belongings. 

Our hearts go out to EVERYBODY staff members Sonny and Lena who lost their home in Altadena this week. If you have the means to donate, here is a link to their GOFUNDME. We wish them and everyone else who have lost so much to these fires a swift recovery from this loss and the ability to rebuild their homes and lives.

We know this is a challenging time for everyone and we want to make it clear that we are here to support our community in any way we can. May we all do what we can to help our city and neighbors rebuild their lives with our incredibly strong community support.🤍

Please visit @mutualaidla for a LIVE updating document and links to local and regional resources for folks impacted by the fires and those who wish offer support.

Jan. 10th also marks our 9th Anniversary and although it feels like a strange time to ‘celebrate,’ we’re sharing this story in hopes that it can serve as a bittersweet message of resilience to help ease us through yet another ‘unprecedented’ time. 

📷 Some TBT’s from 2016-2017: EVERYBODY Wellness Practitioner Lena, Blueprints, Construction, and our very first Member!

It is truly a miracle that we have reached this 9 year milestone of business operations. We've survived so much-- in our first year alone we got through a flood caused by a fallen telephone pole that crashed into our roof. (Hello?!) The next three years of business were financially tough as we grew and people started to slowly spread the word about our unique and inclusive model.  Just as we were getting some good traction, we faced a global pandemic that shuttered so many businesses and especially gyms-- but we survived thanks to our incredibly supportive community who kept taking classes online when we transitioned to a livestream platform overnight.

📹 EVERYBODY Yoga Instructor Liz screams into a pillow during a zoom class at the beginning of the Pandemic.

We had to remain closed for 6 months during 2020-2021, but folks continued to support us by coming and using the gym one at a time during peak Covid as the vaccines were being developed. We started offering offsite services as our van made our gym able to travel to beaches, pools and parks where open space and clean air allowed us to gather and hold space for our community coming out of isolation. We have continued to expand our online offerings into a full scale Video on Demand program for folks who prefer or are not able to make it to us in person. And since reopening our physical space in 2021 again, we have been able to grow our services, expand into new spaces and become the indispensable resource to our community that we are today. 

📷 Takin’ it Outside. And inside (your home).

In 2015 Co-owners Sam and Lake planted the seeds for a brave and inclusive environment for ALL bodies to move, strengthen and heal.

Most importantly, we’ve witnessed the power of community at work in times of struggle, loss, and utter disaster. And as our Friends, Family, and Members recover from deeply devastating losses, time strangely carries on. Anniversaries are important things, whether they help us remember achievements or losses, to celebrate or to mourn. They are necessary markings of time even during a time that feels entirely absent of the construct of time.

There will eventually be an anniversary of the Eaton Canyon/ Altadena (and other greater LA area) fires which destroyed so many homes (and places called home) for folks close in relation and proximity to us. And while that pain may never subside, we can find some healing and comfort in community, an outpouring of local mutual aid, and knowing that we will always have memories and stories of the deep roots and rich histories of such a magical place in our hometown of LA.❤️‍🩹