SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — Crissy Jory is a holistic health specialist who offers custom movement treatments and personal care to her clients, so not being able to see them right now is difficult.

“We closed pretty early on because a lot of my clientele is over 65 years old and as an everyday ayurvedic practitioner I do a lot of 1-on-1 work,” Jory says.

When COVID-19 happened, Jory spent days trying to figure out how to continue helping her clients and keep that close connection since so much of what she does is individual bodywork.

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“I became a tech wizard. I’m so used to being with people 1-on-1 and a lot of them are not too computer savvy,” Jory said. “They want to be in the community and see each other in person.”

On top of that, internet connections would cut out and live Zoom classes would become disrupted, which would make the distance communication even more frustrating.

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“So, I started pre recording classes that people can watch and I use a live chat box to interact with them as they watch the videos,” she added. “I’m lucky that my husband is a videographer and can help me, but it’s tough being at the mercy of Zoom and its glitches. I’m trying to get my classes to work online and hopefully it happens for them when they hit play, but we’re such a personable studio that it’s been challenging. I’ve been spending a lot of time talking clients through on how to get them online and some just aren’t that interested and give up. So, since I know all of our clients personally, I’ve been doing a lot of phone conversations with them. Some have been empowered and others have gotten further away from it, they don’t want to use their phone, computer, or anything.”

Her younger clientele has been a bit easier to work with, though. She said they haven’t missed a beat and they show up for their online appointments with no trouble.

“About a year ago, I was lucky to work with college students who helped me put together an online HIPAA-compliant platform and it’s really helping out that side of the business right now,” Jory said. “I’m also lucky to have a 10-year-old who kind of gets it and a husband who’s super techy. The hours spent educating some about how to access online sessions are grueling but then some others have embraced it. It’s like they have been exposed to a new world and it’s boosted their confidence.”

Like many other health studios trying to keep her businesses alive while being apart, The Studio Lake Tahoe’s offerings are all donation-based right now so that the community doesn’t have to become even more stressed in their transition to an online platform but Jory appreciates seeing people step up and pay for classes that in turn allows others to try it out.

“It’s great seeing the community take care of each other because it helps everyone else have the tools to cope with stress, the isolation and changing lifestyle,” she said.

All of The Studio’s classes have downsized 80% due to moving everything online, but luckily Jory still has a little savings to get by on and help from the Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community until hopefully she receives some assistance through the SBA loan programs.

She says that she’s never been this busy in her life working through this abrupt business model change with less money coming in, but she trusts that if she can do whatever she can to give back to the community that it will in turn support her.

“I’ve been writing little notes, sending birthday cards, and pictures of stretches to send in the mail to my clients,” Jory said/ “I’m doing a lot more with that side of it, going back to the traditional way of doing things with handwritten notes and phone calls, connecting with people that way. Because we’re a community studio and it’s all about walking the talk and supporting them in a way that goes beyond business.

“I can’t wait to get back to my classes since most of our clientele works with us in private 1-on-1 sessions, but I can see the silver lining in the way that the community is coming together,” she added. “We’ll all make it; we’ll all be okay, and this is proving that we’re all here for each other. Trying to keep The Studio open is really scary and hard, but these are our people and we have to take care of each other. And it helps knowing that I’m not in this alone.”