Photography by Liesbeth Powers.
Inevitably, someone starts snoring at the end of Ellen Hoffman’s Sunday class.
It’s perfectly fine, though, because this is “reset yoga and moving sound meditation,” where Hoffman leads participants through movements while using a singing bowl and mallet to create soundwaves that aid mindful relaxation.
Falling asleep is about as relaxed as it gets.
Hoffman, who was born and raised in Oak Cliff, opened The Movement Loft in Exposition Park at the end of February 2020, and it was open a few weeks before COVID shut it down.
“We tried to do online, but we were brand new, and how do you generate interest during a pandemic and also cut through the noise of established businesses that are now doing online stuff?” Hoffman says.
She kept her day job in marketing and reopened The Movement Loft last August.
The concept is to “build a community around movement,” she says.
Hoffman, 31, and seven other instructors offer yoga, dance, conditioning and meditation classes, and they focus on making people feel at home in the space.
“We’re small, but we’re growing,” she says. “Members that come know each other. They build relationships in the studio and outside the studio, which is cool.”
There’s always complimentary tea and a place to sit and hang out.
Hoffman, who started dance lessons at age 3, is a lifelong dancer. She recently added a retail component to The Movement Loft called Hello Moon Apothecary, offering self-care, wellness and post-workout recovery products.
She quit her job this past January and spends most of her time at the studio now.
“It’s just always a climb,” she says. “You’re constantly building and refining, and I’m so lucky to have a team that wants to be here.”
The Movement Loft is open every day, and class schedules are available at movementloftstudios.com.
How she came up with the idea
There’s a gap in adult dance education. You can go to a studio that has adult dance classes, but it’s usually an add-on to a children’s dance program. I would walk in, and there would be moms waiting there waiting for their 6-year-olds, and it didn’t feel like I should be there. For someone who has always wanted to take a dance class or has wanted to get back into it, it’s not very inviting.
Podcast inspiration
Five or six years ago, I started listening to a lot of podcasts, and I even had my own podcast at one point. My ex-boyfriend was in the tech world, and that was a whole new world of entrepreneurship and raising money and being ballsy and daring. Not having a 9-to-5 where someone is paying you and you have insurance benefits was something I’d thought of but never had seen in practice. I started listening to all these founders’ stories, like how did somebody start this business? I started saving money and not really knowing what I was saving for, and I would just write ideas down.
How she took the leap
I made a PowerPoint deck, and I would just work on it at night. Then, casually, I started looking at spaces. I looked at a place on Jefferson, actually. One day I saw pictures of this place online right before Christmas of 2019, but the money wasn’t right. I hadn’t made my savings goal. So I had a little talk with myself and asked if I was really committed to this. So I filed my LLC and set up my business account, and by Christmas I’d signed a lease here.
Seeing the light after a yoga injury
I was doing super intense yoga. I injured my right wrist and had to take a step back from everything. We’re taught no balance because you’re constantly told “no pain, no gain” and to go 2,000% and give everything you’ve got in every direction. No one ever says, “It’s OK to give the 10% you have today. It’s OK to take a rest day.” I wanted to mix everything together and give people the option of things like stretching and meditation but also some intense things.
