Amidst all the changes, the important things remain.

Amidst all the changes of late, the important things remain.

Music plays as I sit at the Den Waialua’s bar. Mariana slicing mangos. People sliding in and out of the sauna. Talking about their aspirations for the day. Chels’ “wooo” lightly heard from the yoga room above.

All of it adding to the writing on a day where it feels some reflection is needed.

What a few months it has been.

We’ve opened the Den Waialua. A place to come for spin, yoga and sauna ice bath classes. A perfect combo in our mind to the foundational reformer strength classes. We’ve continued to expand the amount of teachers at both The Den Pupukea and Haleʻiwa. With each new group as excited as ever to dive into our unique reformer Pilates Sculpt classes. We’ve been holding our community events. Including planning out the Den Kahuku, in the Kahuku Sugar Mill.

Then of course the Kona Low floods.

What started as a storm that wasn’t as bad as predicted, quickly on Friday night became the worst Oʻahu has ever seen. At least in our lifetimes. For all who didn’t see online, our Den Haleʻiwa space turned into a river for the night (our prospective Kahuku location, a pond, too). All of it leaving a new found appreciation for a dry space. Also for mud free rooms. Nothing compared to those who lost homes, but still a shock to our system.

Thank you to everyone who came out to clean in the days afterwards. It was a full community effort. One that left us feeling lucky and loved.

One that inspired us to pass it on. Helping our neighbours, Surf n’ Salsa, completely uproot from their Haleʻiwa location before supporting the broader community in the only way we knew how: opening up the Den’s classes to get people back into routine as they could. In total giving away around $4,000 of classes during the toughest phases of the community rebuild. Hosting daily body workers, too, to help anyone who needed to get a needed reset.

Eventually we reopened our payment system in Waialua. As we did, you all helped us sell $6,876 of packages in our first flood fundraiser. All of it going directly to community members in need. First Baptist Preschool received a new seating area outside their newly remodelled classrooms. Surf n’ Salsa received a direct donation after losing their entire Haleʻiwa location and being forced to rebuild in Waialua. Lawetera Farms, who lost all their crops. And a few Den members who lost all belongings in their homes.

All of which makes us feel incredibly grateful. That we have a community that is willing to help. That we were able to find resources between our rents to contribute.

As the dust settles, though, we’ve unfortunately underestimated how much things would slow down for us. So now we begin our own rebuild. In part of our physical spaces, but mostly of our membership base that has largely paused. Especially in Waialua. Where we’ve been daily cancelling whole blocks of our schedule.

We’ve been told to create a GoFundMe, but at this point it feels right to us simply to try to get more people into our studio. Since we’d prefer for everyone to receive value from their contribution.

And there’s no value like how the rest of your day feels after you commit yourself to moving in community for just an hour. Especially during stressful times. So we just ask that you all continue to do that.

Buy a Den membership or class pack. Or invite a friend to class — if you ever were able to vouch for us to friends and family, now is the time. It’s the best type of peer pressure because in the end it’s getting them something that we believe truly can change your life for the better. Especially if they don’t already have daily movement medication with friends in their lives.

Every dollar spent is a vote to continue to have spaces to move well together. With classes that are accessible to every age and body. Just ask our resident 70 year old who does back to back Pilates and spin classes. Even if ear plugs are needed from time to time for the spin.

And if that’s not possible, please simply help in ways that require no money spent. Writing a review on Google or Yelp. That’s huge. Shouting us out and sharing about your experience at The Den. That too helps immensely as we slowly build back our community.

Same goes for all local businesses you love. Now is the time to support, because everyone is feeling it.

If there’s anything learned in this time it’s that we all rely on each other more than we know. Even in this time where more and more of our lives are online. It becomes all the more important to continue to say hi to your neighbour. Maybe to sweat with them, too.

Which is what I’ll do now. The sauna is at 185 degrees. Chels has come downstairs. Talking to a friend who just took yoga about service animals. The finer details of Hawaiian versus United for travelling with a pet. The conversation sings along as Gryff lazily curls up below the AC.

Amidst all the changes of late, the important things remain.

Written from the bar at The Den Waialua. More about how this started.