I begin to settle and stretch onto the mat in the heated Pilates studio, feeling the tiredness from the long day of classes and meetings. Then, Grace Davis enters and that fatigue leaves the room. She smiles, pumping up the other attendees as she jams out to the hyperpop remix music coming from the speakers. She’s honest, admitting that she instructs a challenging program, but all the while she reassures others to take breaks or step out if needed. Yet one thing is required throughout the entirety of the workout: energy. My muscles cry with soreness when I pulse my arms with 3-pound weights near the end of class. Davis suggests rocking our hips side to side as we do, so I join her in popping my hips to the beat of the John Summit set that sounds through the room. Suddenly, the same energy that was felt in the beginning of the class comes back.
Cedar + Ember, a boutique mat fitness studio, opened its doors in September, but it feels like it has already become an empowering, established member of Columbia. The beat-based and instructor-guided workouts fuse elements of Pilates, sculpt, strength and mobility training in either warmed or infrared-heated settings. Davis, the founder of Cedar + Ember, built the foundation of the studio around the idea of strength and heat.
“When you open our website, the first thing that pops up, it says ‘Rooted in Ritual, Grounded in Community,’ because that’s what it means to me,” Davis says as she reflects on Cedar + Ember’s values. “Waking up every day, getting to come into this place and move my body, it’s a privilege and that’s my ritual. The people I meet along the way, that’s the community that we’re grounded in.”
That curation of community is the driving force behind Cedar + Ember, as Davis felt she was missing hers after moving to Columbia. Originally from Florida, Davis moved to Boston to enroll in a top 15 dental school program. Apart from being a student in the medical world, she found herself becoming a teacher in the fitness world as well. After four years and moving on to her residency, Davis made the move to Columbia, only to find they were lacking the fitness studios that built her a strong, loyal community in previous cities.
Davis remembers her breaking point, as she called her fiancé back in Florida, Patrick Doyle. “I was just like, ‘I’m gonna be all alone. I’m not gonna have any friends, and I don’t know what to do with myself. There’s not even a studio here for me to go meet people.’”
Hearing her concerns and fears, Davis recounts Doyle wanting to make her happy in any way that he could, leading him to ask the question, “‘Well, what if I opened you (a studio)?’”
Though it wasn’t a smooth-sailing journey to open up a studio, Davis’ army of friends fully supported her dream that evolved into Cedar + Ember. As Davis instilled these community-driven values and intentional practices into each instructor who is a part of the Cedar + Ember family, every instructor has their own unique identity and style.
“There is an instructor here for everyone,” Davis says. “This was the first thing I said in our very first instructor training session. I’m not training you to be me. I’m training you to take a method that I created and be yourself while teaching it. Because that’s what’s important. People will show up to your class because you’re authentically you.”
The beat-paced studio not only drives their instructors to embrace their true selves, but also anyone else who walks through the studio doors. Frannie McCormac, an instructor at Cedar + Ember and junior at the University of Missouri, shares that the ultimate purpose of taking these classes is to support and empower yourself – detailing that your wellness journey is a marathon, not a sprint.
“Modifications make you stronger, and I think I’ve learned that even more as I’ve been teaching,” McCormac says. “Sometimes when I’m demoing something, my body’s just more exhausted, and so I drop my weights because I remember modifications make you stronger. You know your body better than anybody else.”
For those interested in trying a heated sculpt-fusion session, these high-energy classes are offered at a variety of commitment levels, whether you would prefer drop-in purchases for a single class or a membership that ranges from four to unlimited bookings per month. Additionally, four different student membership deals are available by providing student identification, gaining exclusive merchandise discounts and guest passes.
For those who haven’t stepped onto the mat quite yet or feel intimidated by a heated workout class, know that I have personally been there too. Despite being an athlete my entire life, once I stepped into a gym and trained on my own, I felt my self-confidence in my abilities fall and that insecurity prevented me from gaining effective strengthening or training. I felt as if I was constantly comparing myself to the person on the machine or mat next to me, striking a sense of judgment even if it was my own. This is not the case with Cedar + Ember, as McCormac encourages you to enter the inviting, invigorating atmosphere that the studio facilitates.
“Try not to think about anything, just going, trying it, and seeing if it works for (you),” McCormac says. “It’s not for everyone, but I think that, for a lot of people, they fall in love with it, which I love.”
Speaking to those hesitant about taking a class, Davis reflects on the thoughtful intention and uplifting purpose that makes Cedar + Ember so special.
“I care that you leave class feeling stronger than how you came in,” Davis says. “I see so many toxic videos on the internet of instructors yelling at people for taking breaks or like spraying water guns at them, and I’m like, shut up! No, that’s not what this room is about. This room is about celebrating all the small victories and feeling strong while doing that. So if you’re scared to take your first class, just know Cedar + Ember is the perfect place to do it because you’re celebrated every step of the way.”