Conversations with Angie Toman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angie Toman. 

Hi Angie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Truly Living Balance Studios began in 2001 here in Fayetteville, NC, where I was 1 of 2 yoga/Pilates instructors in the area. I worked at a local gym but was soon approached by various students asking if they might take private classes with me. As I was a mom with three young children and no space of my own for classes, I became the “traveling yogi.” My car being loaded with kids’ stuff and yoga props as I traveled from home to home of each of my clients to work with them. I would literally drop my kids off at daycare and start my rounds. I would teach each client for an hour and then head to the next client’s house. I would do this all day until it was time to pick my kids up at daycare around 3:30. I taught approximately 25-30 classes a week as I built my clientele word of mouth. As my then-husband was military, we left the Fayetteville area in 2005 and worked our way up the East Coast. In each location, I would teach at a local gym, and again, I would build my private clientele. When we moved to the DC area, I designated a sunroom in our house as my “studio” and again built my clientele. In 2011 we returned to Fayetteville. The majority of my original clients returned to practice with me, this time coming to my house, where I had again designated a room as my studio. By 2013, it was obvious that I could not handle all the clients that kept calling. I advertised for another instructor, hired Melissa Aguirre to assist me, and opened a small space so that I could continue to teach out of my house, and Melissa had a studio space to teach in. This is truly when Living Balance Studios was named, incorporated, and branded within 2 years; it was time to expand again. Melissa was leaving me, but we had added several instructors, including a Pilates instructor with Pilates equipment. We added another small studio. For four years, we enjoyed the two small studios and the many private clients who continued to come to us and spread the word. We worked with people therapeutically (hip, shoulder, knee replacements, scoliosis, poor posture, or simply just those with pain because of lack of flexibility). We worked with people who, mentally or emotionally, did not feel comfortable in group classes. We worked with people who simply wanted their yoga and Pilates on their schedule and made specific to their needs. We nourished the “movers and shakers” of Fayetteville, NC. And there are MANY! In 2020 as COVID shuts the world down, it, unfortunately, devastated the yoga community in Fayetteville. Studio after studio closed their doors for good. LBS was able to weather the storm as we worked privately and so still met with many of our clients live or on Zoom. We taught classes live on FB. We switched to Zoom. We offered our clients incentives. In short, we hustled, we pivoted, and we made it. Therefore, in fall of 2020, I made the decision to expand and offer group classes. I knew once COVID ended, people needed a yoga studio to return to. We spend 6 months gutting and renovating a large restaurant in our same building that had closed permanently during COVID. In March 2021, we opened our doors with 2 private studios to continue to accommodate our private clientele, but also two large group studios (one hot) to accommodate our new group class students. It has been two years of hard work and marketing for the first time! But it has paid off. We now have a staff of approximately 5 instructors who teach mainly private classes, an instructor who focuses her attention on private and semi-private Pilates clients, and approximately 15 more instructors who teach our wide range of group classes. We offer hot yoga, warm yoga, gentle yoga, yin yoga, restorative yoga, feel-good yoga, kundalini yoga, prenatal yoga, kids’ yoga, sound baths, puppy yoga, and more! Our latest endeavor will commence in August of this year, when we will move into the realm of yoga teacher training. We were recently licensed by Yoga Alliance as a 200-hour yoga teacher training school. Now along with reaching out into the community to offer a variety of classes, we will also train the next generation of yoga teachers and yoga enthusiasts! 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I said in the last, the beginning was fairly easy. Business grew organically word of mouth. Once we opened our doors in March 2021, right after COVID for group classes, the challenges began. Basically, 10Xing our overhead, it became necessary to get people in the door! It has taken 2 years, but we seem to be turning a corner in becoming a space that people now know about and love to come and invite their friends and family. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I grew up dancing. I put my first pair of ballet slippers on at age 5 and was in love. I performed constantly as I was growing up in ballet, toe, tap, jazz, modern. It was my life, and I LOVED it. I even moved to NYC when I was in my 20s to seek my “fame and fortune.” That did not work out, and although I left the world of dance for a while to go to law school and become a lawyer, it was my purpose and calling to be in the world of body awareness, fitness, and creativity. And so, although I did practice as a lawyer for 6 years, I kept coming back to my body and movement. That was where I found my joy and my calling…my Dharma. In 2001 with very young children, a husband who deployed quite often, I made a choice. I left law and have never looked back. My passion started in supporting people in their journeys to physical heath through yoga and Pilates. Mind you… this was 2001 in a time when yoga was not widely accepted and understood in Fayetteville, NC, and hardly anyone had even heard of Pilates. Through the years, I have enjoyed watching and facilitating not only the physical wellness of my clients but also their mental and emotional health as well. I would say I work intuitively. I just seem to know what my clients need. Often, they comment at the end of class, “How did you know I needed that stretch, those words, that move, etc.?” I just do. I can only explain it by saying that I am truly doing what God put me here on Earth to do. And so, I KNOW. 

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love the convenience of Fayetteville. I love being close to the mountains and the ocean. I also love the lack of traffic! I love that I can be at my studio in about 3 minutes. 

I don’t love the education system, which I have found lacking. I think that is unfortunate, considering I have raised 4 children here. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.livingbalancestudiosnc.com
• Instagram: @livingbalancestudios
• Facebook: Living Balance Studios
• Youtube: Livingbalancestudios