A tiger-hearted conformity killer, she’s revolutionizing the way we feel about our bodies... and our beliefs.
Through her rapidly expanding collection of feminist-inspired barre and yoga studios, she’s teaching others how to own it all—and trust themselves unflinchingly.
On the outside, Barre & Soul® might look like an everyday barre and yoga studio— with an edgy, hip vibe—but its DNA is much different than any other class out there. That’s largely because of the vision that founder Andrea Isabelle Lucas had when she launched the company in 2013 and rapidly expanded to 5 studios from New Hampshire to Rhode Island, with a flagship location in the heart of Harvard Square… and more studios to come.
“At the end of the day it's always up to you. Of course it's hard to take care of yourself when you have kids, or you work full time, or you have a business, or you have something really hard going on in your life. But you find a way. You do whatever it takes.”
Lucas is crazy devoted to helping women stand up for themselves and take radical personal responsibility for their own happiness, and her passion comes roaring into every class you take. From an environment designed to encourage your own self-expression through its distinct original flair, to a staff that’s hand-selected based on not only how knowledgeable they are, but how welcoming they are to students, to a thriving and active sister—and brother!—hood of #BARREANDSOULMATES, coming to class is about so much more than getting exercise. It’s an exercise, yes, but in learning how to trust yourself—and, dare we say it: loving yourself, even.
“A lot of us are waiting for someone else to tell us that it’s our turn. We’re waiting for permission to abandon the things we were doing to be a ‘good girl;’ waiting for permission to do what we really want. One day I realized I was never going to get that letter in the mail: ‘Hey, Andrea, your company Barre & Soul is ready and waiting! You start Monday!’ And that’s when I knew it was time to stand up and take radical personal responsibility for the legacy I wanted to create. That’s when Barre & Soul was born.”
Lucas fell in love with barre in 2006, when she began taking classes while pregnant with her second child. Soon, she not only had a new obsession, but an entirely new physique—and less than a year after giving birth, while going through a long and difficult divorce. It was one of the first times she learned how to trust herself, body and soul.
Fast forward a handful of years, and she would soon find herself training in the tradition based on the exclusive Lotte Berk Method and dedicating her life to barre. (Which is to say she meant business.) She even completed the widely-respected 200-Hour PranaVayu Yoga Training with founder David Magone, to further deepen her knowledge.
Today, a decade later as a master barre teacher trainer, Andrea’s become a prominent thought leader in this branch of the fitness world, being featured in places like Forbes, lululemon athletica blog, Entrepreneur, the Huffington Post and Boston Magazine, where she serves as testimony to what we can do when we stop putting ourselves in the backseat. Not only is she in the best shape of her life, both physically and mentally, but the Barre & Soul® collection of boutique studios continues to grow mightily—and she grows right along with it. Which is, of course, a philosophy that underscores everything she does: As long as you keep showing up, you ARE doing enough.
And you are enough, period.
A Personal Note from Andrea
Hey there!
I’m popping my nosy little head in here, on this page, because I obviously want to say hello (HELLOOOO!) but more than that, this:
I want you to know that you are welcome here, in any of my studios, anytime, no matter who you are, and what you’re going through, and what shape you’re in, and how you feel. Whether you feel happy or sad, elated or miserable, energized or exhausted, you are welcome here. Whether you’re fit and firm, or squishy and soft, you are welcome here. Whether you’re a master at headstands, or someone who laughs at the thought, you are welcome here. Whether you’ve done this a trillion times, or you’ve never done it before, you are welcome here. And whether you’re right at home, or nervous as hell, you are welcome here, friend.
I won’t let you down. And neither will my team.
In my own life I’ve found that, no matter what kind of head space I’m in, the most important question is the one I’m asking next. And that question is always: “What are you going to do now?” Forget everything else that has happened —nothing else matters. None of it. Only the thing you’re doing next. How much you’re willing to take it upon yourself to act. How much you’re willing to own it all.
So I want to personally invite you to come be here, and try this. To make me the answer to your question. “What are you going to do next?” The thing you’re going to do next is find one small way to take care of yourself. Because barre and yoga changed my story forever, and now, I hope now it can be an important part of yours.
Come be an Honorary Member for 30 days with me. Try it. Trust yourself. Trust us. I promise we don’t bite! Do it despite everything else on your plate. Make time for YOU.
And fall in love with your courage again.
Andrea
For the Press
Andrea Isabelle Lucas is the founder of Barre & Soul®, a collection of modern boutique studios teaching an edgy, bespoke, world class, science-based proprietary barre and yoga method—with locations rapidly expanding across the eastern seaboard—where rebels of all walks are gathering to not only re-engineer their body shape in a revolutionary new way, but to do so in a place where everyone’s encouraged to own it all... together.