Just Breathe combines exercise, wellness

New downtown facility aims to de-stress clients

Linda Helser
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 16, 2007 12:00 AM

Michael Minkus could easily pose as the poster child of off-the-chart stress.

Recently surrounded by miles of electrical wiring, exposed trenches, unpainted walls and still wet cement, Minkus had every confidence he’d be opening up his dream today.

“There’s no point getting upset,” he said, stepping over a hammer, around a ladder and past a dozen construction workers. “I just try to breathe.”

It’s an exercise he not only preaches but practices.

Looking cool and collected amid the chaos just days before opening, the 36-year-old Minkus is the mastermind behind Just Breathe, a Wellness Sanctuary, housed in an extensively rehabbed building at the corner of Second and Garfield streets in downtown Phoenix.

“It’s a place that combines exercise with wellness in a green building and you can walk in off the streets and sign up for services or become a member and have a wellness coach,” he said.

Regular services include yoga, Pilates, tai chi and spinning (indoor cycling) classes, along with massage therapy.

Occasional input will come from other practitioners including acupuncturists, nutritionists and chiropractors.

Fees range from $18 a class for a walk-in non-member to $45 to $75 a month for a six-month or one-year membership card.

But make no mistake. Just Breathe is not a gym or a fitness club.

“We have no weights,” said Minkus, a former advertising, marketing and design executive, home renovation specialist, metalworker and fitness and kick-boxing instructor.

Rather Just Breathe’s ultimate objective is to reduce stress on a regular basis.

“I have a passion for health and fitness and I’ve seen people transformed for life,” he said. “If you can change your stress levels you can make clearer decisions.”

In the past, Minkus believes that gyms and fitness centers have not been doing enough to create converts for life.

“Eighty-five percent of people who join them don’t come back to renew their contract,” he said.

Minkus, instead, believes that his sanctuary will become habit forming.

“Like instead of waking up in the morning and having a latte, you wake up and do your Pilates or spin class,” he said, “and it empowers you throughout the day.”

He hopes to accomplish that by offering his clients more support.

“Our instructors will help people assess their personal goals and their needs and then they’ll navigate them along,” he said. “We’re not telling anyone what to do but just help them find themselves.”

Minkus is also not too stressed over a shortage of clientele.

“All the businesses downtown are filled with stressed-out people,” he said. “Just look at some of those corporate lawyers who work 12 hours a day.”

With nearly 5,000 square feet to work with, he plans to de-stress many of them on a regular basis.

Two giant walls of cascading water will greet them as they enter the pale green and serene blue sanctuary, behind which is the 900-square-footroom devoted to Pilates, yoga and tai chi classes.

Down one hall is the spinning room where music and lights will accompany 18cyclists.

Farther down the corridor is a series of seven massage treatment rooms, all with posted names such as “Earth,” “Wind,” and “Water.”

During the remodeling of the building, Minkus utilized green materials such as cork for flooring and Styrofoam for wall arches that were then sprayed with cement.