“That’s how I think of things to do … I wish that this existed, I look for it, it doesn’t, [and] well if I want it there’s probably other people who want it,” says Amanda Fulmer, owner of Yoga Strong in downtown Cleveland and the newer women’s-only fitness studio, Forte, located on Madison Avenue in the Birdtown neighborhood of Lakewood.
‘Forte’ is the feminine version of the word ‘strong’ in French. After some job hunting, followed by lots of soul searching in the years after she graduated college, Fulmer opened her first yoga studio in Canton in 2013. After expanding to her downtown location in 2016, she wanted her third location that opened in fall 2024 to be something different. Now a mother of two, she drew from personal experiences to create a safe space for females of all ages and stages of life to come together and focus on their wellness in various ways.
After having her first child and taking on her new identity of mother, while trying to hold onto some of her previous identity of being very independent, Fulmer craved opportunities to move her body again with other like-minded women, while still having her baby nearby. After being unable to find anyone teaching classes that fit her needs, she started teaching her own “Mums and Bubs” yoga classes for new mothers. The classes focused on doing gentle exercises focused on postnatal recovery while bonding with their babies on the mat. This was just one of her inspirations to open a women’s-only studio.
Women’s-only fitness studios are not new, but their popularity has waned. Curves emerged in the 1990s and had franchises in Greater Cleveland, but all have closed over the years.
“I had a gut feeling the wave was shifting,” says Fulmer, and that wave was moving away from gentle yoga and high-intensity crossfit to low-intensity pilates and sculpting. Forte’s core classes include yoga sculpt, body sculpt, mat pilates, and a pilates fusion. Beyond the style of exercise, women’s-only fitness studios are also appealing to women for being a more psychologically and physically-safe environment.
Forte leans into this safety mindset with a variety of regular classes and one-time workshops on their schedule for adults, teens, pre-teens, and kids. Manager, Halle Trapp, has been coaching young girls in gymnastics for years, and brought her passion for working with children to Forte and Yoga Strong by coordinating and teaching some of the different workshops. Trapp has a history of teaching kids yoga and creative mindfulness kids camps, where she would have students say something they were grateful for, or teach them to meditate or use their breath to calm down. She is continuing these same lessons with a monthly, free yoga program after school for children aged 5-10 years old.
She is applying similar lessons to her Girls Yoga Club for pre-teen and teenage girls between 9-14 years old. The Girls Yoga Club aims to teach middle schoolers how to reduce stress, feel good about their bodies, find confidence, and enhance their strength and flexibility.
“These girls…they’re coming to the idea of…‘I get to choose who I am’,” says Trapp, describing how heavy the influence of social media, school, and parents can be on girls during these formative years.
Trapp shares an example of one of her practices for young girls. In the beginning of a class she sometimes sets a theme, such as ‘What does it mean to be strong?’ “Yes, it means having big muscles. Yes, it means being able to run fast…it also means sticking up for what’s right. It also means telling the truth when it’s hard,” says Trapp. These are the kinds of principles she aims to teach to her students in her Girls Yoga Club to support them in their personal development.
“We are moving to an era where it’s women supporting women,” describes Trapp of what she hopes to foster with this program. “Community over competition, compassion and not comparing.”
The Girls Yoga Club is held after school on Fridays, with a mission to provide young girls with peace of mind after busy weeks of schoolwork and extracurricular activities. In addition to this program, Forte hosts a monthly Women’s and Teen’s Self-Defense workshop, and occasional prenatal yoga classes, including a new partner prenatal yoga class.
In terms of the cultural difference between Forte and her other studios, what Fulmer wanted to create was a ‘sanctuary’ which is defined as a ‘safe haven,’ “I want it to feel safe for women to just be who they are…whatever stage of life you’re in, from the teenage girl to the woman going through menopause.”
As for what she notices most, it’s “women just feeling more comfortable in their bodies…and less self-conscious.”
To learn more and register for classes and upcoming workshops, a schedule can be found at www.forteisforwomen.com and www.yogastrongstudios.com. Once an account is created, registered users will receive email updates on upcoming programs.
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