A positive spin: SoulJah Wellness in Rockford focuses on uplifting classes for mind and body
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app
ROCKFORD — A new indoor cycling studio that focuses on fitness for your mind and body celebrated its opening Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and quick demonstration of the energetic and positive vibe it puts on its classes.
SoulJah Wellness, 412 E. State St., cut the ribbon on its studio during a ceremony with Mayor Tom McNamara and Justin Fern, founding principal of Urban Equity Properties, which owns the building.
Theresa McDermott, a registered nurse and longtime fitness instructor who runs the business, then had McNamara, Fern and others hop on a bike for a preview of the bass-thumping, heart-pumping class.
McDermott prides herself on her focus on both physical and mental health, which she says go hand-in-hand. Motivational and sometimes funny messages flash on an overhead screen, and she tries to keep the both the music and her instructions encouraging.
“Fitness is not just physical fitness. It helps your mind, it helps your body and it helps your spirit,” McDermott said. “If we help our mind and our spirit, then the body follows.”
McDermott works as a nurse by day and hosts classes at night and on weekends. You can download the free Glofox app on Apple or Android to start booking classes.
Classes are open to all adults, or those age 16 and 17 who are with an adult. There are memberships, drop-in and class packages available.
McDermott also plans to offer free classes to domestic violence survivors by working with the city’s Family Peace Center, Remedies Renewing Lives and the trauma recovery center at OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center.
“I’m a survivor myself and physical fitness helps your mind,” McDermott said.
McNamara thanked McDermott for using her experience as a survivor to help others. He said the studio should feel welcoming for anyone.
“When you come in you immediately feel welcomed,” the mayor said. “It’s not daunting. It’s good for someone if it’s there first time. It’s good for an expert rider.”
SoulJah Wellness is inside an Urban Equity Properties-owned building that previously housed The Bubble Hive next to Wired Cafe.
It’s been renovated with new Life Fitness ICG bikes, an elliptical machine and other sound and visual equipment for its classes.
“This is another win for downtown,” Fern said. “As you can see we’ve been doing several of these ribbon-cuttings the last few weeks. … I think this shows that there’s confidence in our downtown, in our market and there’s going to be additional businesses opening in the future here.”
The back of the studio is also home to MJ Blade the Barber, the shop run by her son Matthew Joseph Bielefeldt. The appointment-only barber shop has bookings through Booksy.
Fern said SoulJah Wellness provides another new option that adds activity to downtown.
“All the businesses are definitely going to work together, and that’s going to create that ecosystem that we’ve been working on for a couple of decades now,” Fern said.
McDermott said her goal is to create a cycling community that motivates and uplifts each other, so you leave feeling better mentally and physically.
“If you can help your mental health, it’s going to help you be more motivated to come out and get that physical part of it,” she said. “We want to create a space where people feel safe to come in and just let go, be free, feel like they can be themselves.”
Follow | SoulJah Wellness
Where: 412 E. State St., Rockford
Facebook: Go HERE
Instagram: @souljahwellness
Contact: souljahwellness@gmail.com; 815-988-5313
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
