inspiring women series | keary bixby
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It has been such a joy to get to know Keary better in the last few years. As a health and wellness figure in Los Angeles, with years of experience in her businesses and also as a mother, she has so much insight to offer. She has recently made the tough decision to close her Pilates studio in Playa Vista, but out of that closure has built a new holistic wellness program called Rooted and Winged that she tells us all about in our conversation below. I can’t thank her enough for sharing so personally and showing up for women in such an important way.
xx,
Allison
I love to start off with questions that I ask nearly all of the inspiring women I get to connect with. Keary has some great responses about motherhood, body shifts and her current favorite practices…check them out.
AO: What's one thing you have had access to before, during or after pregnancy that has positively influenced your experience?
KB: It was the 15 years of prenatal and postnatal Pilates clients that shared their stories with me prior to having my own child. I am forever grateful to these women. I was able to see the entire picture of pregnancy from one end of the spectrum to the other through their personal experiences. There were perfectly executed birth plans and plans that completely unraveled. There were easy pregnancies, and those troubled with pain, nausea, underlying conditions etc. Being a part of these clients’ journey helped educate me and allowed me to be more objective and realistic when it came to making plans and setting expectations of my own.
AO: What are you surprised by (that no one ever talks about) that happens to your mind or body during or after pregnancy?
KB: I have only ever heard one other woman say this! It was the calm feeling and simple perspective that pregnancy brought me in my second and third trimester. I am laughing just thinking about it. I wonder if there is a name for this feeling. After the first trimester it was as though no one could interrupt my tranquil disposition. Staff issues, a frustrating email, a disagreement with my partner, the fire alarm going off during a full yoga class… it was as though nothing was ever a big deal. It was the most amazing feeling ever! I think it was my body telling my mind that nothing was going to stress me out because I had a bigger job at hand. I was building a baby, and that needed all my attention and energy. If I could just bottle that up and sell it…
AO: With your experience as a mother, what knowledge would you share with a new mother?
KB: Take it one day at a time. One hour at a time. The 4th trimester is real. There is little time for anything else than providing for that beautiful new soul and taking care of yourself. Avoid making plans during those first few months. You need to spare your energy for the incredible shift into motherhood, to bond, and most importantly to heal.
AO: How did your body amaze you on the journey of pregnancy and/or motherhood?
KB: I am still in awe and complete shock at the life my body created and sustained during pregnancy. Watching my body grow, change, and birth this little being, it was nothing short of having a superpower.
My current self-care must do/have: Sleep
Motherhood means: Creating space for a soul to love, grow, and thrive.
UNIQUE TO KEARY
AO: You work in the women's health space and have for years, but I know that your offerings are shifting. What are you doing right now in this space? And what was that journey like for you?
KB: I absolutely love helping women feel their best, especially with Pilates, but 2020 made that very difficult in a physical space! My studio immediately shifted in April, offering virtual sessions and classes. I am currently still offering virtual wellness, nutrition, and movement sessions. I also launched the virtual series Rooted+Winged for those ready to create more balance, joy, and healing and set a beautiful foundation for 2021.
Looking back, just as most small businesses, I was looking forward to returning to “normal” this past summer. While applying for grants/funding, keeping my clients engaged and staff hopeful, I had also finished up my new program called Rooted+Winged. I’d been working on this series for years. I was going to add it to our list of services while we rebuilt the business after re-opening. However, as we know the closures of studios continued and I ended up having to surrender our physical space in August. I realize each small business has their own set of obstacles during this pandemic and ours became insurmountable. Eventually I was at ease with my decision to close our physical space knowing there was no magic way out. The numbers were very clear. I reminded myself daily that this wasn’t my fault. No amount of education or training could have prepared small business owners for a worldwide pandemic. I was also incredibly thankful that my family were all able to maintain their jobs and health.
I think the hardest part of shifting from a brick-and-mortar was moving through the daily fears of what the future holds, all the unknowns. There was no longer a space I showed up to every day. I continue to remind myself all the time that I will feel fear, that feeling fear is okay. It’s normal. I’m no longer in my early 20’s opening a business with a beautiful thing called naivety. I have a family and need to save for my daughter’s education, retirement, etc. I need to make time for my daughters distant learning asynchronistic requirements (!!!!!) and time for my virtual offerings. How will the health and wellness industry land when this is over? How can I keep connected with clients online? It can be overwhelming and exhausting. However, I keep coming back to those same words listed above, “Take it one day at a time. One hour at a time.”
AO: Share with us why your program "Rooted+Winged" is so important to you?
Finishing this program over the summer – when I needed it the most – was how I knew it was time to share Rooted+Winged with my base. It opened my eyes to how much I needed what I was creating at the very same time. I have a few (100) things on my plate. We all do. Saying goodbye to a place I spent the last decade and a half educating, teaching, connecting and laughing was so hard. This constant list and the closure paired with learning how to raise a kid during a time when they can’t go play at a park, see their friends at school, or have birthday parties brought me to my knees. Needless to say, I had to dig really deep. I had to find steady ground. I needed to surrender so much of what I desperately wanted to control. I launched Rooted+Winged because I knew how much the content helped me. Hopefully it could help many other women looking for the same peace. I needed tangible concepts, easily explained and easy to follow to help me stay the course. I wanted simple exercises to help me clear the old patterns I was constantly defaulting to, and movement plus meditation in my inbox. I wanted a clear path forward with more balance and joy. This is what R+W offers.
BIO
Keary Ann Bixby, founder of two Los Angeles based health and wellness businesses, has been involved in health and fitness since an early age. Playing sports throughout her youth, Keary’s love for conditioning was just the beginning of a budding career in wellness. In 2003 she fell in love with Pilates and its focus on the mind-body connection. After 10 years of teaching and completing two comprehensive Pilates and yoga trainings, she developed her own Pilates teacher training program. In 2015, Keary welcomed daughter Teagen. Her new role as a mother deepened her understanding of the mental and physical challenges women face allowing her to offer more specialized pre and postnatal programs. More recently she completed studies in nutrition, lifestyle medicine, individual trauma, and mindfulness based cognitive therapy. Her spirit for continued growth in physical and emotional wellbeing can be found in her movement and wellness sessions, workshops, trainings and retreats.
You can find Keary on Instagram @kearyannbixby or at her website www.kearyannbixby.com
