At Grounding Spot, creator Frances Borshell envisioned a first-of-its-kind concept, a mental fitness club.
On May 25, she accomplished that goal with the grand opening at Coconut Point shopping center in Estero.
Grounding Spot took the space previously used by Our Yoga Place at 8002 Mediterranean Drive, adjacent to Best Buy.
Our Yoga Place founders Tom Palmer and Nancy Gerald are continuing as partners with Grounding Spot as part of a merger. Palmer already has led yoga classes in the 102-degree workout room—a room that can be cooled for other classes.
Grounding Spot takes an inside–out approach to mental health, Borshell said. They are promoting connection, exercise, nutrition, mindfulness and self-care.
Monthly memberships start at $29 and range up to $245. The latter membership provides access to bio neurofeedback, IV vitamin therapy, halotherapy, yoga, meditation, life coaching, mindset classes and more.
Grounding Spot also will have a salt cave to help expand breath, float therapy for self-reflection, cold-plunge tanks for endorphins, electromagnetic stimulation and a superfood grab-n-go cafe featuring menu items that enhance well-being.
“Grounding Spot is the world’s first mental fitness club,” Borshell said. “We are super excited about realizing our vision that everybody comes here to thrive.
“We have a single mission, which is to mainstream mental fitness. It’s such an important conversation. And it comes with a negative stigma. People are embarrassed. They’re afraid to reach out and get help. We’re really mainstreaming it. We’re making it really beneficial.”
Grounding Spot has coaches like Alonso Yabar, who carries the title of chief mental fitness officer.
“I have developed a program to make it easier for people to create a journey,” Yabar said. “They can be more aligned with a purpose or connected with a purpose.
“It’s amazing. It’s a blessing. This is a place that I can’t wait for what’s to come. It’s going to be a wonderful thing.”
Borshell cited statistics showing the need for her niche business. Anxiety and depression increased by 25% following the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. But this runs deeper than the post-COVID-19 world, Borshell said.
“The World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control have declared a mental health crisis,” Borshell said. “A global mental health crisis. There’s a theory that COVID and the pandemic sort of triggered all of this. But I really think it’s been percolating under the surface for many, many years. The numbers have been climbing before COVID. It’s not just COVID.
“Every one of us has been touched by mental health issues. The majority—the overwhelming majority—of Americans report debilitating stress. There’s $300 billion dollars in lost productivity, because people aren’t showing up for work, because they’re too stressed. Let’s just get it out on the table. And get it out in the open. At Grounding Spot, we take an inside–out approach to mental fitness. One is that what’s happening on the inside affects how we think, how we feel, which affects what we do in our lives.”
