Check Out Mahri Relin’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mahri Relin. 

Hi Mahri, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Yes absolutely! 

I danced from a very young age, but I didn’t fully jump into a dance career until I decided to leave my Ph.D. program in Clinical Neuropsychology. I liked the topic, but I didn’t find work that I wanted in that field. I realized that dance was my true passion and decided to leave school with my master’s and go for a career in musical theater in New York City. Amazingly, it went well and I had the chance to dance in productions all over the world for over 12 years. 

I loved to travel, but I realized eventually that I needed to settle down and focus on living and working in the city more consistently. That was when I discovered dance-based fitness, and I was hooked right away! I learned a lot at my first studio, but I also learned how I wanted to do things differently. Unfortunately, I was asked to work with pregnant women without proper training. This motivated me to get my own certification, and I also noticed how little the fitness industry understood pregnancy at that time. 

Realizing that I had a lot of my own fitness ideas with strong feelings about how to run a company, I decided to create my own dance-based fitness method with a specialty in pregnancy, and my company Body Conceptions by Mahri was born! I came to understand that there were even larger needs, so we eventually expanded our work to include postnatal healing, fertility support, and even perimenopause. We started in NYC originally, but we have since expanded our work to Denver and beyond, with virtual training helping us connect with even more people around the country! 

I moved to Denver five years ago, and I am so grateful for this lifestyle with lots of connections to nature. I have also loved meeting the people here, and it has been exciting to expand my life and my business in such a vibrant place. 

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?
I had lots of bumps along the way, which ultimately taught me some big important life lessons. 

I went to graduate school because I thought neuropsychology would be an impressive job, and I soon realized that I was choosing that path for the wrong reasons (family pressure, status, etc.). My true love was dance, so my decision to leave that program and move to New York was scary but incredibly important. I was diverging from a path that seemed more secure and predictable, and my decision was met with lots of skepticism from my family. I was incredibly lucky to find success in the city, but the biggest lesson I learned was that I needed to listen to myself and my gut above all else. 

Starting my own company was another big stressful step. I had never considered business as an option, so I had to learn everything from the ground up. Luckily, I had the instinct early on to get lots of help, and I was incredibly lucky to work with people who guided me well and also listened to my mission and my instincts along the way. I can’t thank those people enough, since they are a big part of helping me realize my dream and bringing the company where it is today. 

I continue to hit roadblocks as time goes on since that’s the natural life of a business — and the pandemic was an especially crazy obstacle! Many of our clients are new moms who were overwhelmed having to home school and work from home when everything closed, so we lost lots of them in the beginning. We jumped on virtual training and spent lots of time honing our virtual skills. It was incredibly challenging, but we learned so much and ultimately got our clients back plus many more. I am grateful that virtual work has expanded our borders, but it was quite a ride getting here! 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Our company is based on the Body Conceptions method, which is combination of cardio and body sculpting that uses dance principles (but you don’t have to be a dancer at all to do it!). Our workouts are music-driven, and each session is different and also tailored to each individual client. We primarily focus on private training, either in-home or virtual, and we have trainers located in NYC, the Hamptons, San Diego, Dallas, and Denver. I teach group class once a week at The Clayton in Cherry Creek, but otherwise, all of our sessions are private sessions or small groups. 

We do general lifestyle fitness and work with both men and women, but the majority of our work focuses on pregnancy, postnatal healing, fertility support, and perimenopause. These are times when women tend to have fear or uncertainty about fitness with very little guidance from their doctors. We provide them with personalized sessions and individualized education in addition to connections with networks of practitioners we have vetted who provide additional services (like PT, nutrition, psychological services, etc.). 

I am extremely proud of the team of trainers we have built. They are so motivating and supportive, and every member of our team cares tremendously about their clients and also about learning as much as possible about their craft. Our team sets us apart in so many ways, and they are also supportive of each other (which makes me especially happy and grateful). 

Moving into the future, I hope to contribute more and more to the conversation around women’s fitness and how we can help empower women to understand their bodies, learn how to navigate difficult times safely, and gain confidence in the process. I think we need to change the focus of fitness from making ourselves smaller to using it as a tool for healing and also gaining balance, strength, stamina, and happiness. I feel grateful to be in this position to help others and to hopefully change the fitness landscape to become more inclusive and educated. 

What matters most to you?
I am most motivated by helping others and creating connection. As a performer, I also love expressing ideas and emotion through dance and also connecting with others in the context of dance. I feel like I have found such a great balance of all of this with my work and also with my personal life, so I feel very lucky to be where I am today. 

I have been affected a lot by the division that has arisen in our culture and also around the world. I am encouraged that we are talking more about mental health and about the struggles we face (especially women!) a little more openly. I think this will open paths to greater education, and I hope it also helps us rebuild our connections with each other again eventually. I hope to be part of the change, and I feel encouraged by the potential of what we can be if we work together! 

Pricing:

• Virtual private sessions (singles): $90/hr
• In-person sessions: $120
• 10-session in-person package: $1100 ($110 each)
• On-Demand subscription: $14.99/mo, $89/yr

Contact Info:

• Email: mahri@bodyconceptions.com
• Website: www.bodyconceptions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodyconceptions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BodyConceptions
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bodyconceptions

Image Credits
Corey Rives
Chelsea Chorpenning
Victoria Will