What Alkalign Means to Our Community
Mackenzi I-T.
Alkalign was my comfort and community during graduate school. It kept me sane and allowed me to forge friendships with people I never would have met at that time in my life. I have taken numerous other barre classes before Alkalign and after leaving the Bay Area and they were all so deeply inferior to the studio Erin has built— both in terms of the exercise quality and the community. It’s really hard to find a fitness studio/space that celebrates all bodies, is focused on meeting people where they are on any given day, and seeks to help them feel better in their own body rather than seeking to change it. I have been so grateful to get to experience some of that again over livestream classes now that I live on the other side of the country.
Marti O.
I quickly learned that “low impact” doesn’t mean “low challenge.” Alkalign workouts kick my butt! They work every single fiber in my body and awaken my core and muscle groups that I’d unknowingly ignored for decades. I now understand proper alignment and functional movement and have learned how to recover through Recharge (rolling). Beyond all the health benefits, I’ve become part of this uber-supportive, humble, fun, come-as-you-are community. The movement/practice both feeds my body and quiets my mind. I’ve entered my 60’s with new-found health and gusto, and I credit Alkalign. I Alkalign so I can do everything else in my life.
Margo M.
Alkalign studio in Los Altos has changed my life in so many ways. I’ve been a client of Alkalign and a member of the “Blue Crew” for 9 years! Every class I take awakens and exercises new muscles! I have always exercised, but Alkalign classes tone, sculpt, empower & energize like none of the other classes/gyms I’ve participated in in the past. I am in my 70s & have more energy & strength than many younger none alkaligners! The instructors are outstanding! They are extremely personable, innovative and make the classes fun, highly productive, but always with an emphasis on correct alignment, encouraging each person to work to their potential. Alkalign was a life saver for me during this epic pandemic! Erin Paruszewski managed to quickly pivot her business to provide her clients with a safe online class that was every bit as amazing as the in-studio classes. Having these classes available while we were quarantining and bared from any type of group gatherings was what kept me SANE! Erin Paruszewski is an outstanding small business owner who, in addition to providing a great exercise studio, has sought out other small Los Altos businesses to support each other & the town, encouraging a community spirit.
After a bike accident that injured my shoulder and subsequent abdominal trauma, Alkalign was a major part of my quick recovery. The physical therapist (for the shoulder) was sure I could have wrecked my rotator cuff if it hadn’t been for my flexibility and strength. He eventually cancelled all my follow up appointments because I was “so strong and flexible beforehand.” The surgeons who did my abdominal surgery discharged me within 12 hours because I was “in really great shape and would recover abdominal strength quickly.” I can’t help but think both events could have been much worse if I hadn’t been working on my strength and flexibility at Alkalign.
Alkalign is a very warm and welcoming space that brings vibrancy and wellness to our village. When I first started going to Alkalign, I had just given birth and I was so appreciative to find a gym with babysitting. It was so thoughtful and inclusive for people with kids. The programming is really customer-oriented, fun and uplifting. Erin has created a culture that is welcoming, inclusive, and focused on principles that I love — wellness, soulfulness and health.
Alkalign has been my happy place since I have joined over 12 years ago. It’s a place where I get to learn about how to get my body AND mind to be in the best shape possible for me. It has helped me recover through a few injuries over the years. The most important thing that I have received from joining Alkalign is having a community that is super supportive and understanding to the different stages /phases in life I have experienced over the years. I wouldn’t be continuing my journey at Alkalign for 12 plus years if the above wasn’t true! Going to Alkalign class is like brushing teeth! I can’t live without it!
As I get older, I find that when I do Alkalign regularly, I do not get the normal aches and pains that a 61 year old would get. It truly keeps my body younger and improves my overall health.
Alkailgn has helped improve my core strength and flexibility and reduced pain in my body.
I never exercised before Alkalign. Alkalign gave me the platform and motivation to get in better shape. It provided me with a community of people who encouraged me to be my best self.
Alkalign connects me to the community and brings me Los Altos not only to exercise but also to patronize the local, independently owned shops. If Alkalign is no longer in Los Altos, then I’ll go elsewhere for coffee, dry cleaning, groceries, and various other purchases. But if Alkalign goes away, Los Altos loses much more than me. Erin and the other instructors at Alkalign bring a lot of positive energy and goodness to the community. They devote themselves to their students and help us be healthier and stronger members of our community. A lot of people have invested in State Street and tried to make Los Altos a place worth visiting. It’s a tragedy if these same efforts fuel greed and higher rents and drive good businesses and good people out of the community.
Alkalign saved my life not only after having 2 children but experiencing the mental breakdown of COVID. Alkalign was the only outlet I had to give back to myself and created an amazing community that supported me and was behind me every step of the way.
Erin & Alkalign’s teachings help me live a healthy pain free life. I am able to parent my young children and find joy in life again. Alkalign is a lifeline and community. It is a vital vitamin for all of its members.
I don’t even know where to begin. Alkalign is so much more than an “exercise class”. When I first moved here from New York and was floundering to figure myself out, finding Alkalign was a game changer. It was the only way I was finally able to figure out how to take care of ME. Erin welcomed me in with open arms and I never looked back. In Covid, this is not hyperbole, Erin and Alkalign saved my life. My family was spiraling (imagine being a teenager on lockdown) and Alkalign was the only thing that kept me from spiraling with them. Once again it gave me a place to take care of myself, physically, mentally, and emotionally. When she had to, Erin miraculously made it happen virtually, but I was desperate to get back to the studio and once there I felt like I was home, like I could breathe again, like I could finally get out of my own head. We always say we have to take care of ourselves in order to be able to take care of others. I can’t imagine the toll Covid would have taken on my family had I not had Alkalign to help me take care of ME.
Alkalign has had such a positive impact on giving me a body positive approach to strength and flexibility. Alkalign got us through the pandemic and came up with creative ways to support the local community.
I had shoulder mobility issues. Going to Alkalign has helped new be mobile again around shoulder areas and also expanded my mobility around hips and back. I haven’t been this healthier before I joined Alkalign. I have recommended this place to many of my friends.
Alkalign is a part of my daily life. It keeps me physically and mentally fit. But more importantly, Alkalign has been a life support system. When my partner was dying from cancer, Alkalign kept me going. Each class, the instructors and class members gave me energy to face the day.
Alkalign started as a way for me to fill in time while waiting for my husband to finish work and transformed into my job, my life line and my community. I have built better relationships with people beyond the walls of Alkalign because of the support and kindness of the community within Alkalign. I have used all I have learned from Alkalign to provide my aging parents with functional knowledge of how their bodies work as well as instill in my own children how taking care of their bodies and having a strong mind-body connection will help them in every aspect of their lives. I have become a much better version of myself due to Alkalign and the community it has created.
I love Alkalign. The workouts are essential to my health and mobility. For years I suffered with lower back problems on-and-off, and after I started regularly attending Alkalign classes the pain completely disappeared and has never returned. I always feel stronger and accomplished at the end of every class. All that said, Alkalign is more than just a fitness studio. It is a community of like-minded people who encourage one another to be well and stay well. At the end of each class, you can see people smiling and laughing as they pour out of the studio. It’s a special place.
I’m glad to read that LACI is “community focused” with “projects that are designed to express the unique characteristics of the neighborhood and foster vibrancy (and fun!)” This sounds like a good description of Alkalign, which has built a strong, vibrant and fun community over many years. Los Altos Alkalign is our home. It’s part of the fabric of downtown, probably more than most stores and restaurants since most of us attend several classes a week and so we get to connect and know each other (versus most restaurants and stores where customers don’t form the same type of friendships with each other.)
Alkalign has changed my body and my mind. Erin is more than an Alkalign teacher/instructor, she has impacted my life, by educated me regarding my diet, my mindset and my attitude. It would be a shame to not have Alkalign in the Los Altos location. It would be a shame to have a tenant move into the space who only impacts a select group of people. Alkalign is for everyone, all sizes, shapes, financial picture, people from all walks of life, just what Los Altos needs! Don’t make downtown Los Altos cater only to the wealthy crowd, or to business offices. Alkalign has a broad impact on so many people, don’t homogenize downtown Los Altos!
Being a part of the Alkalign community has afforded me health benefits, connections with the local community, and inspiration for positive living. But Alkalign also physically brings me to downtown Los Altos. While I’m there, I make a point of patronizing other businesses. I enjoy feeling like I’m part of a local community, and I applaud the Alkalign leadership for fighting during the pandemic not only for its members but also for the Los Altos community.
Alkalign was a lifesaver for me after having kids when I felt completely overwhelmed, and out of shape. Erin and her team have provided an incredible community focused on wellness that has transformed my approach not just to my own health, but for my family as well. Her team was amazingly nimble during the covid shutdown and offered a glimmer of hope & connection. Overall there could be no stronger investment in community.
Alkalign has had a massive impact on my life. The classes and wonderful community has been such a positive source of energy for me over the past 12 years by giving me a place to strengthen and ground myself through some of life’s toughest challenges. Erin and team love what they do and enhance my life in so many ways!
I spent so much of my life fixated on “health”. I ran too much, hiked too much, ate far too little and far too healthy, and spent my days just unhappy about everything. Obviously this wasn’t sustainable and I was hospitalized for 7 weeks. When I was released, my mind went straight to exercise (so predictable). I did have enough sense to realize I should stay away from cardio so I looked to strength oriented exercises and that is when I found Alkalign. I vividly remember the first class- it was freaking hard. The instructor stayed with me the entire time holding my tense shoulders down and anchoring my feet to the ground. Muscles were worked I had no idea existed! But what I got besides wobbly legs was a sense of warmth and encouragement. I spent so much of my time judging myself, it was refreshing to come to a place where there was no judgement. Alkalign has given me the predictable benefits such as making me stronger and a better posture (to my parents delight), but it is also a place of happiness and friendship. Birthdays and accomplishments are celebrated, the meet ups afterward for the reward coffee at Peet’s or the delicious croissant at Manresa. Selfishly though, it has made me a much happier person and it turn, a better friend, wife and daughter. The statistics aren’t great for re-hospitalizations for anorexia and the fact that I beat those odds is largely due to Alkalign.
This is not a studio or exercise class; it’s a way of life. I have learned the importance of functional fitness, consistency, and preventative exercise. I have developed a community that has lasted even through the pandemic.
Alkalign has made a profound difference in my well being. I was able to start taking time for myself and develop healthy mental, emotional and physical habits.
My relationship with Alkalign has been one of the most impactful of my life. It has not only improved my health through its exercise offerings but also transformed my overall well-being — my mindset (growth; practice, not perfection; I am enough), how I think about my body (everything is connected; it doesn’t have to hurt to work), and what it means to be part of an authentic community (these actually exist in Silicon Valley!). Without Alkalign, I truly believe that I would be a less happy person living with chronic back pain who is still searching for a group of like-minded people.
The thing about Alkalign is that it is so much more than a fitness studio. Yes, people go there to exercise. But they also go there because they are seen and celebrated for who they are, no matter what. I can’t think of a single other business in this area, much less in the fitness industry, that can say the same. Every instructor genuinely cares that you are there and wants to help you make the most of your experience. They’ll also have non-fitness-related conversations with you before or after class because they actually want to know you and love this part of their job. They cheer your (or your business or your kid’s) successes and check in on your challenges. Alkalign is a port in the storm of the high-intensity culture that surrounds me.
Alkalign is continually innovating and teaching me new ways of taking care of myself and my body so that I can continue to do everything I need and want to do. I need the physical and mental support that Alkalign provides to balance the stress that is built into where we live. In an hour at Alkalign, I let go of work, family, and other concerns and focus just on me and my body. Then I’m renewed and can return to my other responsibilities with fresh energy. This method has seen me through startup uncertainty, sleepless newborns, job searches, school applications, the death of a parent, and more. I know I’ve weathered life’s challenges more gracefully because I had Alkalign.
Have an Alkalign story you’d like to share?
Email us at help@alkalignstudios.com to share your love of Alkalign.