I just want to get down on my knees and kiss the ground today. I am so entirely grateful, from the depths of my being that SWERVE is here today. Its been 10 years and I am simply floored.

Teigh and I were just girls when we started this studio in one room with the front desk inside the studio and the phone ringing during yoga classes. We'd slip into the bathroom to take calls at those times. (I'm chuckling as I write this, remembering how that bathroom was our office back then!) We checked-in students with our 3 x 5" card catalog system. We opened the day before the planes struck down the World Trade Center. We mourned that Tuesday in 2001 and then with renewed commitment we went to work again the next day.  

For 18 months I worked 7 days a week and ate Taco Bell, to keep my expenses low while I paid down the debt I'd incurred starting up SWERVE. Teigh was personal training in Beverly Hills and then teaching Yoga Booty Ballet at night. We were running on empty from our day jobs at other gyms, to then be at our love-work -- our own beloved studio, our wellness home that we were building.  

I remember printing that first schedule of classes and writing "Spread LOVE" on it. I just knew that this would be our mission. And our mission to spread love remains strong even now, a decade later when we've seen innumerable changes in our world. I've seen my best friend and partner in this studio grow and transform in these 10 years just as I've witnessed my own self shift and awaken. I am stronger than ever. I am in the best physical shape of my life, due to the workouts at SWERVE. My spirit is soaring due to the meditation practices that are part and parcel of SWERVE's inner workings. I am better for having SWERVE in my life and I daresay, I have a feeling that you are, too.

You see, SWERVE is not just a place. It is a community. SWERVE is the people who come to gather here. We come to work on ourselves at this little studio and in the process we affect one another. We sweat and dance and reach and stretch together, and we see each other struggle, persist and overcome. We are helping one another up the mountain with our presence and our persistence. We keep coming back and we keep reaping the reward of being here and fortifying ourselves and our beloved community.   

So I am compelled to thank the people who have contributed to the success of this studio over the past decade, namely Natalie Martin who contributed her creativity and fresh ideas as our longtime general manager, also all of SWERVE's staff from day one to now,the management team, the desk and creative staff,  the awesome instructors and trainers and, in particular, you, our clients. Some of you have been with us all these years. From my soul to yours, thank you. Thank you. Thank you every one!

You have my promise to persist in my mission to Spread LOVE. 

Namasté,

Gillian Clark

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