Our "Love" Stories

Raquel

Albuquerque, NM

This year has been the awakening year for me. It’s been a year full of mixed emotions and accepting changes for the better. It’s been the year of rediscovering myself. Being part of BarreLOVE has taught me that no one is perfect and that we all at one point have suffered from some sort of trauma and it’s okay. No one should ever feel ashamed or let their past define who they are. We each hold our own world in the palms of our hands and we have full control of shifting it in any direction we chose to... so why not chose the positive one.

This year has been a blast!!! Of course not everything has been perfect but that’s part of life and somehow you manage to work through the humps along the way. I’ve met some wonderful people and am fortunate enough to call some of them my friends. This year was full of wonderful experiences, weekend getaways, dirt bike rides, and Harley rides. I met the most positive group of empowering women that I look forward to seeing on Sundays for barre, yoga and thecoolest field trips. Yes, I am talking about my BarreLOVES!

Tabby provides such an awesome workout program. My body has changed for the better. Tabby makes 5lb dumbbells feel like 25lb dumbbells. Watching the transformation that my body has made has been an amazing journey. BarreLOVE has provided the essentials that my body and soul need. I first heard of BarreLOVE in 2017, but I never took a class. I finally reached out to Tabby the beginning of this year and she was very responsive and attentive to my needs.

Tabby, it was only the beginning for me when I found you. I was trying to find myself and battle some hidden insecurities. YOU gave me light. You’re so blessed with a beautiful heart and every person that comes around you falls in love with you and the beautiful person that you are inside and out. BarreLOVE will forever be in my heart! The unity that you bring to each and every soul that walks in through that door is beautiful. I have to say that the most touching thing about you and the BarreLOVE community is the love that is shared and given. It's sincere, honest love. I walked in to your class not knowing anyone and you shouted out my name. You took me in and made me feel so welcomed. You took me under your wing, Mrs. Tabby Love. I was welcomed with open arms from each and everyone of you. I walked out of there knowing that I had made the right decision by choosing BarreLOVE. There’s no judging and it's never one sided. Everyone, regardless of their level of expertise, is welcomed and accepted as they are. No one is flawed. We are one and we stand strong together to support one another. BarreLOVE is as genuine as it gets! It’s not about competing with others; it’s about competing with yourself while encouraging and lifting others!

I love you Tabby and I love each and everyone of my BarreLOVES. ️ Lastly, I want to thank each and everyone of you for being so positive and supportive! Thank you Tabby for all your guidance through my rediscovery stage.

BarreLOVE is my love, my home, my happy place.

Tia

Albuquerque, NM

About 7 months ago I started going to barre at the JCC ,After I took my first class I was hooked. Barre has showed me how easy I can give up when things get hard and I never realized that until I took this class. After grasping the hang of things I have learned that it’s okay to be uncomfortable in life and you can push yourself to get anything done! Tabby’s class is a safe place to feel welcomed and valued as an individual. I have made new dear friends and workout buddies and I try to make this a priority every week. Tabby is such a genuine person who actually cares about your well being and I’m so happy to have crossed paths with her in my life! ♥️

Alberta

Albuquerque, NM

I was surfing through Facebook and found a Barre class was available on Sunday mornings. My cousin in Denver loved Barre and always posted about it. I thought I want to try, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. I go to class not knowing what to expect or what's needed. I'm given a mat, weights, a band and a ball and this very friendly fellow tells me where to set up. I go to the farthest spot, so nervous and intimidated. This bubbly, beautiful, most friendly lady comes over and introduces herself as the instructor Tabatha. I'm immediately at ease, she knows my name, welcomed me and has the essence of calm and comforting. I'm simply amazed.

Then class is just about to start that this beautiful lady lays her mat next to me and smiles at me with the friendliest demeanor ever. She says welcome my name is Jennifer. Throughout the class Tabby is positive, reassuring, energetic, & TOUGH!! During cool down she speaks from her heart and has some amazing words about self love, your own worth, taking time for yourself and knowing that it's okay to L️OVE yourself. Little did she know I have just been cheated on by my husband of 12 years, he's just moved out and my life is in shambles. So these are all words I'm desperately needing to hear, feel and understand. As our eyes are closed and she's spraying us with the beautiful scent of rosewater I have tears rolling down my cheeks. This class has just touched me in ways I can not even explain. I continue on EVERY Sunday.

I have found my happy place! I have found my person! Each weekly class is harder and different than the last, pushing you passed yourself and your self doubt. I walk in and see Adolfo's friendly face, Bronx wagging his tail and a smile that lights up the room from Tab! I have had friends join me along the way and all have loved, loved, LOVED the class. You push yourself and get rewarded in the end.

One Sunday was my anniversary and I'm so thankful I had a place to escape. Along the way I have met the nicest ladies, so welcoming and always getting a fantastic smile and wonderful hug from Jennifer! I love you Jen! So for #SelflessSeptember I would like to shout out to Tabby Love. My lovely your ever so big heart has welcomed me with open arms and helped this hole in my heart heal and be okay. I treasure the hour I have every Sunday morning with you. It's more than a chance to sweat, feel amazing, work hard and gain strength. It's given me my self love and internal strength back. For that I will forever be grateful to you and BarreLove. Your impact in my life will never go unseen and will forever be appreciated. You will always be in my heart and I will always support your amazing classes and work ethic. Love you and love BarreLOVE!

XO, Alberta

Felicia

Albuquerque, NM

Tabby, is amazing! Her heart is full of love, kindness and wisdom for everyone. She is positive, knowledgeable and she is a true beauty inside out. She has built a community of women to challenge their strengths mentally and physically. I love Tabby’s positive vibes and motivation in the way she's always believing in me. I am so delighted that Tabby crossed my path and excited for her next adventure. Each class that Tabby teaches is challenging and is never the same. She is passionate, a genuine friend, and an instructor with an open heart. The barre classes never get easier. You get better by building your strength and focusing on small movements in your body with power that you never knew you had. It is a full body workout and you will be guaranteed to be sore, leaving fully satisfied and wanting more Tabby LOVE! The shake is real! If you want results, take her class.

BarreLOVE has been a heart lifting journey! I have meet the most amazing women and we all have the same common goal to live a healthier life. I love the talks we have and stories we share. Tabby is what you call an inspirational leader. She always has a positive outlook and her encouraging words always touch your heart. She is loyal, humble and pushes you to never stop. These genuine qualities that Tabby has make one feel absolutely loved.

A beautiful thing is never perfect, but it comes from being consistent. You attract what you expect and you reflect what you desire. The BarreLOVE community will not judge you. If you want to be around a community that dreams and supports you, BarreLOVE is where you need to be. I am honored to have met Tabby about three years ago. Not only she is passionate instructor, but also a loyal friend. No matter how hard core the classes are, I always remember that progress made in each class adds up to big results. Tabby has built her dream, worked hard in silence and her success has been heard.

The best leaders are humble leaders. The first things that come to their minds are vision and influence. They attack their dreams. Tabby is a humble leader and shifts attention away from her and she focuses on the contributions and needs around others. Thank you for creating a beautiful, encouraging and positive community!

Lots of Love,

Felicia Cde Vaca

Pamela

Albuquerque, NM

The first time I attended one of Tabby’s classes, I felt an instant negative reaction. She was beautiful, obviously fit, great hair, and even wearing lipstick! I couldn’t keep up and I felt like her words during class were calling me out for sitting out many exercises. I left and vowed never to return, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it how that class affected me and I realized that my negative reaction had absolutely nothing to do with Tabby at all. It was just a reflection of how I see myself in such a negative light. I tried going to her class again a few months later and her words felt a lot more like encouragement this time. I found myself wanting to do better, to be better.

Flash forward about a year and a half and I find myself trying to make my schedule work so that I can go to one of her classes at least once a week. I still can’t do every single exercise in the class, but something about hearing her say that it’s okay to be exactly where I am soothes my soul. She’s so genuine in a way that I never knew existed. She’s never shown a hint of judgement or disdain for our differing beliefs. She teaches me to accept myself and it makes me a better mother to my daughters because I can take her words and apply them to my girls. She is real and amazing and I’m so so lucky to have crossed paths with her.

P.S. I love her dog too. ️

Felicia

Albuquerque, NM

Lots of Love,

Felicia Cde Vaca

Kathyrn

Albuquerque, NM

I first met Tabby a few months ago when my friend Rachel asked me to attend a barre class with her. Let me set the scene. It was 5 something or other in the morning on a Tuesday in January. It was cold and it was still very dark out. I woke up and thought to myself, "What the hell am I doing?" I stumbled from my bed to get dressed and went out the door. I felt a growing sense of both anticipation and trepidation.

I had done some barre at home with the help of DVDs and my bar stools. Barre, bar stool... I was on the right track, but I was also still in my squirrel-storing-food-for-the-winter phase and hadn’t done any real-deal exercise since before the holidays...

...and there were rumors, those kinds that everyone hears in the back rooms and on the floors of Lululemon’s all over: “Oh….Tabby is hardcore” or “Oh….even Tabby’s yoga classes are hard!”

I was sensing a theme and it involved the word hard, every time. I somehow managed to make my way there, early even! When I walked into the room, Tabby welcomed me like we had known each other for ages. Her warmth radiated from inside out and her smile was one of those smiles that when you see it you think to yourself, I want this girl to be my friend. She just seems awesome! She also had an incredible way of personally and sincerely greeting each individual who walked through the door. She remembering names of kids, dogs, holiday vacation destinations that had just been returned from...the little details that mean the world to you when you realize you have just mentioned them in passing to someone, but that they had really listened she really heard what you were saying and had stored it away because they truly cared about you and whatever you were just rambling on about.

And then class began….I don’t remember exactly what we did that day, but I do remember it was hard. In fact, I came home afterwards and fell asleep on the couch for a solid 30 minutes after that first class. I do remember that there was great music (a staple of all of Tabby’s classes) and that if you weren’t 100% involved and counting down with Tabby, you were 110% going to be doing it all over again. I also remember every time I thought I could not lift my leg another inch or lower my plié one single millimeter more, Tabby told me I could. She believed in me and so I did.

Although I physically felt that first class for several days afterwards, I found that there was something I truly loved and emotionally felt, and feel to this day. I have been going as often and regularly as I can to either her barre or yoga classes and find that when I can’t go, I feel like I am missing out on so much more than just a workout or regimen. Tabby has a gift. She is a teacher in the deepest and most profound sense of that word; someone who believes in you, encourages you, and leads you to being the strongest, happiest, healthiest, most complete version of yourself you can be. Some days are harder than others (there’s that word again) but, as she always reminds you, you are worth it- a lesson that for me has reached so much deeper than any stretch ever could and made me stronger than any muscle might ever appear.

Tabby gives so much of herself to her practice and through sharing her practice with others. She is hardcore in the very best way imaginable.

I am honored to know her.

Cyndi

Albuquerque, NM

How "Tabby Love" brought me back to life--

After losing a two year cancer battle we fiercely fought together, my best friend, my soulmate, my Prince, my fairytale come true, my Love of over 22 years was called Home. After losing this Godly man chosen for and quite literally brought to me by my King, I was lost. I resigned myself to just existing for our children until I too was called Home, secretly praying for swiftness.

For two years, I functioned in what I now call survivor mode. I did everything that was expected of me. I maintained our routine, kept up the house, took our weekend and annual lake trips, and went back to work. And then most nights, I'd collapse on the shower floor, sobbing uncontrollably until I settled in prayer. I resided in my grief; I was present but numb, smiling on the outside, but deeply pained on the inside. I closed my heart, my mind, and my body. I was broken. And I began to feel the weight of the brokeness; it was taking a toll on my spirit, and destroying the only thing I lived for--my passion as a mother. My children deserved more, I deserved more.

So I decided to take a chance and attend a barre class taught by my longtime friends' beautiful daughter-Tabatha. She was a sweet girl my children had long looked up to and adored growing up. Unexpectedly, I was hooked after my first class--this was a place I could escape and wasn't numb; I felt pain, I felt relief, I felt challenged, I felt a release physically and emotionally, even if it was for just an hour.

Tabby was young yet wise, strong yet gentle, and pushy (as a trainer) yet kind. She rekindled my spirit and I thurst for more, so I began training privately with her. She would come to my home and we would turn on some music, use my entertainment wall shelving as a barre, and chat about our day as we worked out, all idle talk...so I thought. Unknowingly, this "idle chat" was slowly awakening my spirit.

Tabby's Love chipped away at the pain, built me up, and inspired me. I no longer wanted to live in my grief, I became hopeful in my prayers. She believed in me and I couldn't get enough, so I started walking the soccer fields at my daughter's practices, asking Tabby for workouts to do at home, doing CD and online video workouts, anything I could to get me through to my next "Tabby sesh." Over time, I felt stronger, self-confident, beautiful--I FELT again!

Before I knew it, I had lost over 35 pounds and was stronger and more toned than I had ever been in my 20s, 30s or early 40s. Tabby transformed me--mind, body, and soul. I found peace in my loss, comfort in my being, and an appreciation for this life.

Over six years later, I still can't get enough of Tabby, and I'm not alone. I'm blessed to be a part of an incredible group of strong, kind, supportive, and beautiful women of all sizes and ages that Tabby lovingly calls her "BarreLoves." Together we've done more crunches, clammies, fire hydrants plies and things that look strange and don’t have names (but trust me, are extremely painful, in a good way) than anyone has a right to do in a week unless (and only unless) they’re up for some "Tabby Love."

When Tabby says, “Get lower in that plie because you can!” and my legs are shaking like a baby doe learning to walk, I could give up, but I don't. I don't want to disappoint her, I can't, I'd feel like I'm letting her down. It’s easy to give up on your own challenges. But it’s really hard to give up on a challenge someone else sets for you, someone who pushes you, someone who believes in you, someone like Tabby. So maybe it's time you let someone else push you, and surrender yourself to Tabby, I did. And that, my BarreLoves, is how "Tabby's Love" brought me back to life. ️