There is something new and interesting happening in downtown KC!
When Laura Johnston, owner of Ready Set Flow Yoga, and Matt Scanlon, owner of the longtime CrossFit gym in downtown KC—The Hill KC, began collaborating they immediately knew they were on to something big.
“What I realized in my many years of doing yoga at a studio inside a CrossFit gym, was that yoga, for most was very polarizing and misunderstood. I had an interesting perspective of trying to recruit CrossFitters to do yoga.
What do CrossFitters say about Yoga?
Typically people would say, ‘I would try yoga, but I’m not flexible—I can’t even touch my toes.” I know they say this to be nice, but I also knew that they had completely missed the point.
Is yoga about flexibility?
Sure…but the folks that actually give it a chance realize that the mental aspect is much more life changing than the ability to balance on one leg or touch your toes.
Most people will never experience the benefits of yoga because.. it’s yoga.
I knew these mental tools could change peoples lives at a time when anxiety and depression seem to be at an all time high. But in order to do so, I had to step out of the yoga studio and repackage the mental fitness elements for the everyday athlete.”
What is mental fitness?
While mental fitness is a term that has been gaining popularity over the years, it’s definition has always been vague, not actionable and certainly not approachable to the every day person.
Who is practicing Mental Fitness?
There are millions of dollars invested in mental fitness every year, but most, if not all, of that money is found in professional sports organizations or executive programs in places like Silicon Valley. To help top performers have the mental capacity to perform at their best, when their best is needed.
At the core of these programs are a simple set of tools that when implemented consistently can truly change someone’s life. We believe that these tools and the program supporting these tools shouldn’t only be available to the rich. That’s why we created this program — The Mental Fitness Toolkit.
Who is the everyday athlete?
You Are! The everyday athlete is all of us. The student preparing for a big test, the business owner tackling each days problems, the professional preparing for a big meeting or presentation, a working parent trying to balance it all or anyone in between.
We all want to be the best version of ourselves and show up when the moment calls for it. Our program is designed to help you achieve your goals and rise to the challenge no matter what it may be.
The gym—aka the lab.
While we have a Mental Fitness specific program and classes, we also use our group fitness classes in the gym, aka “the lab,” as a controlled environment to practice and perfect these tools to go out into your every day arena and kill it! The mental tools we use in the gym are subtle and not so in your face like you would find in a yoga class. But they are very intentional and create an environment that empowers the individual to take accountability for their health in a way that resonates with them.
Training for Real Life
“When Laura first came to me with this idea, I was hesitant. I agreed that the Mental Fitness Toolkit could be a great resource, but initially I didn’t see how it could be incorporated into the gym setting. Then I realized that the skills found in this toolkit are exactly what we have been trying to equip our members with all along. We used things like attendance challenges, accountability text messages, and competition. But we never were able to get to the root of the issue — actually empowering YOU with the tools.
We are continuing to Evolve
I’m 10 years older now and so is The Hill. It’s clear that our path forward is to empower you to carry the lessons learned in ‘the lab’ through your daily life.
Are we still CrossFit?
There are things about the CrossFit culture that really resonate with me and our community. One thing in particular is the novel programming that CrossFit deploys and the sense of community that CrossFit brings.
We don’t plan on letting go of any of that. But there are also some things that don’t resonate with me. Like being so hyper focused on your performance in the gym that you forget to do something cool with all that fitness.
Incorporating the Mental Fitness training reinvigorates the idea of training for real life. Not just to have the fastest times or heaviest lifts. But to show up in life as your best self and rise to the challenges that each day brings.”
The Mental Fitness Toolkit is part of a larger program called Continuum soft launching this May at The Hill KC! To learn more about this program, complete form below or check out our website by clicking here!
Laura Johnston, Continuum Founder, Ready Set Flow Yoga Founder
Matt Scanlon Co-founder The Hill KC, CEO 321 GoProject