An Aroostook woman’s health crisis inspired her to open a fitness studio

HOULTON, Maine – An Aroostook woman’s new fitness studio, Soul to Sole on Bangor Street in downtown Houlton, is the fulfillment of an 11-year-old’s dream.

Alissa Beals’ desire to one day own a fitness studio actually came about through a childhood health crisis of her own.

“At the time I was 11 and diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes,” said Beals, adding that she was competing nationally in rigorous New England region track and field events. “I had to learn how to balance those two worlds.”

Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition that has no cure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Treatment includes managing the amount of sugar in the blood with insulin along with a healthy diet to prevent complications.

With the support of a team of endocrinologists, sports medicine doctors, and dieticians, the Houlton native learned how to manage her diabetes while competing. And once she realized that she could help others, she knew she wanted to do that for a career, she said.

“It came to me that there are people working in this field. I didn’t know exactly which capacity, but I knew at that point I wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” Beals said.

While men occasionally drop-in for a class or two, most of the people in Beals’ fitness world are women. And after offering mobile fitness support throughout the County for 25 years, she has finally settled into her new space that honors women’ s fitness journeys.

There are a handful of fitness offerings in the area, but Beals’ studio is unique in its focus and daily class offerings.

Along with a bachelors degree in therapeutic recreation and certifications as a fitness instructor, personal trainer and health coach, she started off doing health classes on the side and thought someday she would eventually have her own studio.

“So, here we are, now I get to do this everyday,” she said.

During a Thursday night Zumba class with 10 women, Beals’ love of sharing the dance steps with the women in her class was apparent as she smiled, laughed and made the 45-minute rigorous workout feel more like a party than work.

In the darkened studio, lit only by rotating lights of red, blue, white that seem to hover in the draped sheer fabric ceiling, the women laughed and encouraged each other to keep going.

When the dance-based workout was finished, there was no post exercise groaning, rather the women were energized, inspired, prodding each other to come to cardio-drumming in the morning.

“I just love it,” said Gen Lovely, adding that she’s going to try cardio-drumming when she returns from a trip.

In Beals’ fitness offerings, the hard work is hidden in the fun and camaraderie.

“During a 45-minute drumming class you’re doing between 500 and 700 squats and lunges, but they are hidden in there so you don’t feel like you are doing them,” she said. “We have a blast.”

It wasn’t until the late 1960s that women began exploring fitness training and pushing their bodies to more challenging feats, said Danielle Friedman in her book, Let’s Get Physical.

Prior to that, women’s physical prowess was relegated to housekeeping chores, believing long-held cultural messages that women’s bodies were less able and physically inferior to men, she said.

Many women start exercising to change their appearance, but they stick with it after discovering more meaningful rewards, according to Friedman.

Beals too, believes that women’s fitness is much more than appearance and that negative self talk actually affects a woman’s fitness progress.

“That’s where the term soul to sole comes from,” she said. “Everything about health begins internally and moves its way out.”

A recent National Institute of Health-supported study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that women who exercise regularly have a significantly lower risk of an early death or fatal cardiovascular event than men who exercise regularly, even when women put in less effort.

With data collected from nearly half a million people ages 27-to-61 over two decades, scientists showed that women were 24 percent less likely than those who do not exercise to experience death from any cause, while men were 15 percent less likely. Women also had a 36 percent reduced risk for a fatal heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event, while men had a 14 percent reduced risk.

Beals’ group fitness classes include: Barre; cardio drumming, circle mobility which is a combination of yoga, dynamic stretching, and pilates all combined; zumba and strength training. Participants can drop into a class or sign-up for the month. Rates vary, depending on the class but are approximately $15 per class for drop in and $12 per class for a monthly sign-up. Beals also offers personal training at $25 per hour.

“I feel very centered here and the place you can create the vibe and a place that these participants can come to,” Beals said.