HealthGirl had their official grand opening at Maple Ridge Place on Sept. 28, and a number of friends, and local dignitaries stopped by to offer congratulations. Courtesy Photo

CHESTERVILLE – It is difficult to talk with Meghann Lynch for more than a couple minutes without feeling your spirit rise and a smile sneak onto your face. She is one of those people who seem to be able to shine a soft light into the darkest corner and convince you that there is a warm, safe space where you belong and where you can just be you.

Lynch is the owner, founder, and chief instructor at HealthGirl. She is a certified ERYT-500 Yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance International and NASM certified Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach and Behaviour Change Specialist.

HealthGirl held their grand opening in July at their newest location in Maple Ridge Place (across County Road 43 from North Dundas District High School), and while they may be relatively new on that block, they have actually been around since 2012.

“Way back in 2012 when I first envisioned having this business, I just wanted to do stuff online, and the community was pretty adamant that they wanted to have stuff in person,” said Lynch. “And when I started doing classes in 2015 in my basement, I never really thought that I’d be able to have a physical space. We opened our first iteration of our studio in the Maple Ridge center in 2018, and it was great.”

Unfortunately, the building sold, and Lynch and her dream were on the move. They moved into the North Dundas Business Center in Winchester, right in April of 2019, and they stayed there until March of 2020 when the Pandemic shut the world down.

“I had to make the really hard decision at that point, because my lease was ending, and I had to decide, like, is this going to be a short term thing? Is it going to be a long term thing? What’s going to happen? I decided to close the physical space and go digital.”

While initially the party line was that this was going to be a two-week lockdown, Lynch astutely believed that it would be much longer, so, with the help of her husband, who works in IT security, spent the first two weeks of lockdown pivoting from in-person to digital delivery of all the programs she offered: fitness, yoga for all levels, all different types of yoga, all different types of fitness, and she offered them free for four months,  the first four months of the pandemic.

“I really wanted to know how to help people, because that’s a big thing with the business, its making sure that it’s not just like, hey, come in and buy your class and get out. It’s about building community.

“When we look at the healthiest communities on the planet, you know, the Blue Zones, a big part of that, sure is exercise and eating well, but the biggest part is community and having people to share time with, to share space with, people, you know, who have your back, and that’s a big part of this.”

When the world started to ease out of the pandemic, Lynch started to do in person workshops, in her yard or where ever seemed practical. Finally, last year, she did Yoga Harvest in person for the first time in October. She had a lot of people approach her asking that she start doing classes in person again, and in December she did a workshop at North Dundas District High School. That went well, so she continued renting space throughout the winter and spring, and expected to continue on that path but was told that she couldn’t continue to rent space over the summer months.

Fortunately, she met Stephen Mann, Economic Development Officer for North Dundas at one of the business breakfasts and he asked her if she had thought of space in Maple Ridge Place. The landlords actually contacted her, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“We have 15 classes a week that we offer, myself and another teacher, Brad Robillard,” said Lynch. “We offer different types of yoga and fitness classes for all levels. The idea is that no matter your age or stage or ability level, you can find something that will suit you and your lifestyle and you know ,what you’re aiming to achieve with your body.

“We have people who are young parents who run marathons. We have people who are great-grandparents who have double hip replacements, double knee replacements, who are able to find a class that they can do, that doesn’t force them to do or make them feel pressured that they should be doing something more or differently than their body isn’t comfortable with. It’s allowing them to go at their own pace and in an encouraging environment. Men and women, you know, of all ages and ability levels, are able to come in and find a safe place to kind of land, and meet their goals, which is really nice. “I love it.”

Lynch believes strongly about giving back to the community that supports her, and on Sun., Oct. 20, HealthGirl held another Yoga Harvest in support of Dundas and Stormont County Community Food Share. The beautiful weather probably convinced some people to enjoy the great outdoors, so in person attendance was a bit low, but the results certainly were not.

At last report, the event had raised $1,600 plus a quantity of food that is being weighed.

Lynch and the volunteers who helped exceeded the goal they had set for themselves of $1,500 and blew by last year’s total of $1,600. Final totals will be posted on the HealthGirl.ca website once they are available.

To find out more about everything Meghann Lynch and HealthGirl have to offer, visit her website, sign up for an online class or drop by for an in-person session. There’s a place waiting just for you.

 

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