If you have ever been one of those women, like me, who has sat by the sidelines for years wishing your mom would have let you be in a ballet class, now there is a new fitness craze created just for you! Barre classes are springing up all over the nation designed to, well, what I call nurture your inner ballerina.

It is hardly a ballet class and yet there is just a hint of it. You will do some plié’s and use first and second position (possibly other positions depending on the instructor) and if you have arthritis setting in, like me, will use the barre more than most people. Mostly you will do planks, downward facing dog, put a ball between your thighs or hold onto it with your back leg in the air. You will do side planks, lift your legs up while in the plank and a lot of other difficult maneuvers (if you are 55). None of this would have been too daunting for me as a 20 year old, back in the 80’s when I was already in advanced yoga and had done gymnastics as a child. It’s a dream class come true a little too late but I am not giving up nor should you. Stick with it and you will begin to have some shape again where the sagging has long begun and if you are young, get going as you will have so much fun!

Recently at one of my classes, taught by Krystal at the Phillip Heit Center in New Albany, Ohio, I began to have an idea for some clothing for the class that I felt would be a great idea. A fun little pun to add to the exciting group we already have (mostly older women) and this was based on what I was already noticing in myself. I started to make a design through a larger outfit who does online DIY clothing but it just wasn’t working for me and I don’t like their pricing or their shipping rates. Then by accident of looking for active wear DIY manufacturers, I stumbled upon a locally owned website called CustomizedGirl. Their prices are more amenable and they offer free shipping for $60 and over which isn’t too hard to spend on there! They also offer some artistic icons to choose from which makes your creations come to life and of course you can also download your own artwork as well.

I created a shop called Enlightened Gal (a name I had come up with a while ago) and got cracking yesterday with my puns. The store sells active wear tops, athletic bag, water bottle, and a few more novelty items for someone in a barre or ballet class. My favorite pun is “I owe my body to a barre,” but I also have “Barre Girl” for young girls as I don’t think it would be appropriate for a little girl in ballet class to be talking about her body (not to mention she hasn’t really formed one yet). But I didn’t stop there, I also have “Do you plié?” on the backs of some of my products or as the main line on hats and mugs. The cutest award goes to a gift item called Teddy Plié in which “it” sports a t-shirt that says “Plié with me.” Awww… I know you have to see it.

Check out the line of clothing I have created (at the moment they only have bottoms for young girls, not misses) and note that while I have most items in grey, pink, black, you can change the colors on some of these items when you go to order them. Keep an eye out though for the sizes when you change colors. Not all sizes are available with each color choice. Also, if you are changing an item from pink to black (for example), make sure to change the font color to white or some other bright color so you can actually see it.

Make sure to like us – Enlightened Gal on Facebook.

Haven’t taken a barre class as of yet? Google search it and find out where the nearest one is to you.