Amala x GOOD MOVE
Self Care is about much more than a skincare ritual, a workout class, or reading a good book. If you look at your life holistically, what can you do to help yourself feel more at peace, well rounded and stress-free? We believe that incorporating wellness initiatives into your daily life can help you create a natural and attainable self care ritual to better serve yourself, your body and your mind.
As we continue to explore ways to embrace our love of wellness, we came across GOOD MOVE - a dance and mindful fitness studio located in the heart of Brooklyn, NY. This all-inclusive studio creates an environment where highly skilled artists provide access joy, healing, freedom, connection, and expression through movement. We sat down with the founder, Jules Bakshi, to learn more about GOOD MOVE and her unique approach to wellness.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a dancer, teacher, holistic health coach and wellness entrepreneur, living between Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and the western Catskills. My brick and mortar dance and fitness studio, GOOD MOVE is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. My greatest joys are movement, my dog Winnie, and spending time relaxing in the sunshine. Other pleasures are cooking, hiking, organic skincare, photography, reading or listening to a great audiobook.
Why should someone want to come to GOOD MOVE?
GOOD MOVE takes the intimidation out of dance and fitness and creates a really fun and intentional environment for adult beginners—a safe space for folks looking to drop into their bodies, come into deeper and more compassionate relationships with themselves, experience joy, well-being, and community. It’s a movement home that combines the elevated aesthetic of a boutique fitness studio, but with a focus on community, offering classes for movers of every level, gender, age, race, shape, and size.
Dancing has all these incredible health benefits— the obvious ones like increasing strength, stamina, flexibility, cardiovascular health etc, but it’s also an incredible way to strengthen the connection between mind and body– it’s creative, empowering, community oriented, and deeply healing. New studies even show that dancing has the greatest effect of any treatment for depression, including SSRIS and other forms of fitness and mindfulness! Still, it’s really hard to find movement classes that are for non- professional or aspiring professional dancers.
I created GOOD MOVE as a space that offers dance as wellness practice for everyone, regardless of their level of experience, where all different kinds of people can experience the myriad benefits of a dance and mindful movement community.
What is one non-negotiable in your self care ritual?
Alone time! My work is very social, running a business and teaching classes are very extroverted activities. People are always surprised to learn this about me but, I’m really more of an introvert! I need a lot of quiet time completely alone to refill my cup and be able to be “on” for my work and social life. I delight in spending a weekend night in, alone with no plans–like I actually feel really excited thinking about it!
Are there any beauty & wellness trends that you’re loving recently?
Intentional self-care is my favorite wellness trend forever! That’s kinda broad, but beauty and wellness rituals that work in harmony with nature instead of against it, and that nourish the whole self appeal to me the most. For face, I’m a big fan of Gua Sha and facial massage- 5–10 minutes a day goes a long way! Infrared sauna is my go-to when I’m feeling stressed out or tense in my body, and sensory deprivation floating is my newest habit for when I feel disconnected, overwhelmed, or when I really need a time out– it can be a very psychedelic experience.
If you could only pick one skincare product to use, which would it be?
The Illuminating Pro-Retinoic Treatment Oil from Amala. It’s breakfast lunch and dinner babes! You can use it as a cleanser, moisturizer, serum and a mask, it does it all. It’s what I use for my Gua-Sha routine, and it feels amazing!
Do you have a favorite healthy meal or drink when you’re on the go?
I really try to carve out time for all my meals so that I’m not eating on the go, but I realized that for the amount of activity I’m doing on a daily basis, I actually need to eat every 3-4 hours, so I’ve become kind of a snack fiend! My bag and my car are always stocked with my favorites: Marcona almonds, Bjorn Qorn popcorn, any salty seaweed, Aloha plant protein bars, and whatever crunchy looking apples I can find.
How would you describe your approach to holistic health?
It’s all about listening to the body. Our bodies have so much wisdom to offer us if we can remember how to listen. I say remember because I think we come into this world with an innate understanding and connection to our bodies, but we get stripped of that as we get older because we live in a society that is pretty dissociated and disconnected from the body and the natural world. Health is not a one-size fits all thing, we all have different genes and encounter our own unique health challenges, so for me it’s about taking the time to find out what is right for each of my clients, which might be really different than what is right for me! We do that by tuning into the body, strengthening and deepening the mind body connection.
What is your favorite destination for a getaway to relax & unwind?
My partner and I have a house in the western catskills and it is my version of heaven. Rolling green hills, wildflowers, spring fed ponds, streams, rivers, delicious fresh food, and plenty of room for our pups to run free.
What are 3 things that make you feel the most calm & serene?
Floating in our pond, playing with Winnie, a bath.
If you could give one piece of wellness & self care advice to someone reading this right now, what would it be?
Your body has more wisdom than any guru, any teacher, any influencer. Start listening to your body and learn to trust its signs and signals, and it will tell you everything it needs and wants to heal, grow, be strong, nourished, and radiant. Gifted healers and teachers can help you get there, but at the end of the day, your body knows best. Don’t know where to start? Take a deep breath, drink some more water, take a dance class, and see how you feel
