Studio owner Natasha Bandeali recently celebrated four years since opening the Oakville Joshua Creek branch of Oxygen Yoga & Fitness, but Natasha’s journey with OYF started far longer than four years ago. In fact, before going into business with Oxygen, Natasha was a member.
“I actually lived in Vancouver, so I used to be a member over there for many years and then I moved here about six, seven years ago” Natasha shared. Speaking about passion for yoga and fitness, Natasha explains “It’s always been there, but probably more so after having my son”. It was after having a child that Natasha considered opening a studio.
“I moved here about six, seven years ago and got pregnant so then kind of after that, once I’d had my child, I thought oh gosh, what do I want to do, and this was something that was missing from over there so the idea of looking into doing it here came” Natasha shares.
“There was one person who had opened it here so I checked it out and that was kind of the work of Oxygen & Fitness. But I’ve known the brand for many, many years”. Natasha looked towards the OYF studios in Toronto and how they were functioning in regards to looks, classes, and style and considered how to bring that to the Oakville Joshua Creek studio.
As for Natasha’s favorite part of OYF, it’s “the heat and the [fusion]style classes. And being able to choose a variety of different styles so I don’t get bored. I get bored easily”. Oxygen Yoga & Fitness offers over 17 different class formats including Yoga, Fitness, Barre & Pilates influenced classes.
The four years Natasha’s been running Oakville Joshua Creek haven’t always been easy. When speaking of recent success with the studio, Natasha notes “if you look at it from the bad side. It took four years to get there”. Natasha attributes a big part of this delay to operating during the pandemic. Natasha shares that switching to a OYF exclusive marketing company’s processes as of late has allowed for massive growth to spark.
Natasha also speaks highly of the team at Oakville Joshua Creek, explaining “most have them have stayed [through the four years] and new ones have come but everyone has been super supportive and given it their all, so I’m really really proud of them actually because they are really what makes the space what it is. So, you know, without them I wouldn’t be able to do it. They give it their 100% which I really really appreciate”.
This atmosphere the team helps to create no doubt helps Natasha ensure each member gets what they are looking for when they come into the studio. Natasha hopes that when members leave the studio, they are “feeling good about themselves. Any health ailments that are there for them to help to relieve any of those stressors and just to generally come in, you know we all have stuff going on in our days so just leaving feeling happy and good”. When considering goals looking forward with the business, Natasha hopes to keep this positive environment and “just to keep growing. Keep it constantly busy but also keeping everybody happy in the space and a positive atmosphere”.
If you are in the Oakville area of Toronto proper, Find a time to try Natasha’s favorite class, Fast and Furious. Check out the Oakville Joshua Creek studio here, and keep up with the studio and their upcoming events, like their Mothers Day yoga event, on their Instagram.