Earth/Sky/Mauka/Makai

CHRISTINA O’CONNOR PHOTOS

A NEW KIND OF BARRE IN KAKAAKO

By now, everyone has heard that adage, “Sitting is the new smoking.”

That’s a pretty terrifying prospect for office workers who spend much of their 9-to-5 hours in a chair.

“I think a lot of our population spends a lot of time in specific positions, like sitting at a desk all day, and doing repetitive motions. Over time, it isn’t good for your body,” explains Melissa Rota.

It’s that type of sedentary lifestyle that exasperated Rota during a decade of working as a software engineer. But a few years ago, she discovered ballet barre fitness, and more recently, opened up her own barre studio, Sweat + Soul, in Kakaako.

Located at 810 Pohukaina St., Sweat + Soul is in the same complex as The Hang Out Antigravity Yoga, and Tropical Blends Surf and its adjoining Kaili Cafe (which was featured in Metro Jan. 7 and can be read at metroHNL.com). Sweat + Soul quietly opened in January and celebrated its grand opening two weeks ago.

Barre fitness uses a ballet barre as a prop and is designed to tighten and define muscles while improving strength, posture and flexibility. As Rota tells it, barre is an “intense but low-impact workout for your entire body.”

At Sweat + Soul, each class keeps students moving the entire time — from pushups and hand weights, to lunge stretches and core strength exercises. It’s fast-paced, Rota admits, but in a way that is doable for all levels. And each movement can be modified to create a more or less intense workout depending on your athleticism (or lack thereof). Plus, each section of the class is punctuated by a counter pose, and it ends with a yoga-style stretch and relaxation period.

In addition to barre classes, which are available in beginner and advanced levels, Sweat + Soul also offers yoga and cardio sessions.

“We encourage everyone to find their own personal edge and come to meet their body wherever it is at today,” Rota explains. “We can really accommodate a wide range of people — from someone just getting back into fitness to someone who is training for a marathon — all in the same class, and they can feel equally challenged.”

Barre instructor and Sweat + Soul owner Melissa Rota

“The addicting thing about barre for me is that it doesn’t get easier, you just get better,” Rota continues. “It’s constantly a challenging workout.”

Prior to founding Sweat + Soul, Rota worked for a local aerospace and defense firm. A college student during the dot-com boom, Rota says she kind of just “fell into” computer science. While she enjoyed her job, it wasn’t something she was passionate about.

Rota always had been athletic growing up, with her repertoire of extracurricular activities including gymnastics, ballet, swimming and running — and sitting in front of a computer all day wasn’t something she ever particularly warmed to.

“I started to feel not really myself,” she recalls.

When she had her son, Rota couldn’t bring herself to be away from her child for something that she didn’t truly love.

In 2012, Rota gave barre fitness a try at the encouragement of a couple of friends who were hooked on it. Initially, she thought it would be a breeze for someone as active as she is — but she found that wasn’t the case.

“It was a really tough work-out, and I just loved it since then,” Rota says.

“Right away, I felt more athletic. I could do cartwheels again and other things I used to do in gymnastics,” she adds. “And then, after a few months, I noticed visible changes, like my clothes were looser, my thighs were leaner and my abs were more pulled in.”

After experiencing these changes in her body and feeling healthier, Rota knew she wanted to open a studio to share that with others. And witnessing her students go through that change, too, has been rewarding.

“Even though it’s only been a couple of months, I’m seeing some of the students go through their own changes — they are standing taller, they look stronger doing our exercises — that has been really awesome.”

Sweat + Soul is open Monday–Saturday. Class times vary. For a full schedule and more information, visit sweatandsoulstudio.com.