If you have ever been too intimidated to try a ballet barre workout, maybe try a combination of yoga, Pilates and barre instead. The Yoga Barre in Lakewood Ranch, which opened in April, offers a unique class called "Barrelates," a combination of ballet barre and Pilates. Studio owner Janette Brown came up with the idea for the class during her time as a fitness instructor at Crunch.

"I just started combining movements from both classes and making it my own," says Brown. "I used to teach both at Crunch and when the pandemic hit, I began teaching over Facebook live. People loved it." A Barrelates workout takes only 30 minutes, and is set to music to inspire movement and to help you, as the study website says, "discover the badass ballerina within."

While the Covid-19 pandemic caused gyms to close down, Brown was inspired to open her own yoga space, and put the training she gained from Bradenton's Heartwood Yoga Institute to use. Brown also wanted to draw from her previous customer service and business experience at Victoria's Secret and Express in New York. After several years in the retail industry, and an accumulation of life changes and stress, Brown decided to dedicate more time yoga.

"The teacher training gave me a greater awareness of myself and made me feel at peace and strong," says Brown. "It changes your whole way of thinking, and I want others to experience that."

The studio opened in a growing plaza on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, next to Wicked Awesome Ice Cream, a natural pharmacy and coffee shop. Since opening in early April, the naturally lit, open-concept studio has drawn regular customers from surrounding neighborhoods, and has begun offering a variety of classes, ranging from $15 to $25 per session. Customers can also purchase unlimited monthly packages.

Classes include regular Hatha and Vinyasa flow yoga, power yoga for an intense workout, aerial yoga (during which you are suspended in a thick fabric resembling a hammock), restorative yoga for rest and other fun classes like belly dance fitness and, of course, barrelates. Brown has a separate meditation room that boasts a full Himalayan salt wall. There, she hopes to conduct naturopathic treatments like massage, reiki, sound baths and more.

Upcoming events include a master class on Friday, June 11, with a master yoga teacher from Georgia. Brown also hopes to have a grand opening event in the near future.

"I have so much gratitude that I am able to provide a space for people to come and practice," says Brown. "I want this to be a place where people can come to sweat it out, and work it out mentally, spiritually and physically."

The Yoga Barre is located at 4124 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Bradenton. To register for classes, click here or call (941) 867-0812.