From postpartum walks to 100+ moms, Motherhood Moves finds its stride

When Nicole Garcia became a mom for the first time at 18, she didn’t have the kind of support system many new mothers hope to find.

Her friends weren’t having children yet. She was young, figuring out motherhood while building a life and eventually beginning a career in education.

Years later, that experience would help inspire Motherhood Moves, a growing fitness and support community that brings moms together to work out, make friends and remind one another that they don’t have to navigate motherhood alone.

“Community is a big part of my marketing,” the Sayville mom and founder said. “Come for a workout and connect with like-minded people who want to become a better person for themselves.”

Before launching Motherhood Moves, Garcia spent 11 years teaching, primarily special education at the elementary level. After having her second daughter and taking a leave from teaching, she began thinking more seriously about what she wanted her next chapter to look like.

Exercise had always been part of her life, though she typically worked out virtually or on her own. Around that time, however, she found herself surrounded by a small group of women who were also newly postpartum.

“We were all on maternity leave together,” she told Greater Long Island.

Rather than spending those difficult postpartum months at home, Garcia began encouraging the group to get outside and move.

“I’d tell them, ‘Let’s meet once a week. Let’s go for a walk,’” she said. “Let’s keep us in a positive situation.”

Those casual meetups became the beginning of something much bigger.

During her first year away from teaching, Garcia saw videos of friends in other states participating in outdoor workouts for moms and decided to try something similar.

“I decided to give it a shot,” she said.

She earned pre- and postnatal fitness and personal training certifications, initially unsure where the idea would lead.

But when she decided to take another year at home with her baby, Garcia realized she wanted to devote herself to building the community.

“It was kind of a natural progression,” she said.

Nearly four years after launching Motherhood Moves, the community has grown to more than 100 members, with roughly 15 to 16 classes offered each week.

Garcia offers multiple class times and virtual options and often streams in-person workouts for moms who can’t make it there.

But the workouts are only one piece of what Motherhood Moves has become.

Members also connect through mom meetups, book clubs and laid-back run clubs. Some gatherings happen without the children, giving moms a chance to step away from their routines and spend time with other adults.

“Making new friends at this age is awkward and uncomfortable,” Garcia said. “You have to step outside your comfort zone and do it. No one is going to do it for you.”

And many have.

“I didn’t know it would grow into that,” she said. “People have become best friends in my groups just from meeting people at workouts — friends they would have never met before coming.”

Garcia’s classes bring together women with vastly different fitness backgrounds. Some have never picked up a weight and may find traditional gyms intimidating. Others are experienced athletes looking for the camaraderie that comes with working out alongside other mothers.

“They show up as they are,” she said.

Sometimes that means nursing a baby. Sometimes it means arriving, in Garcia’s words, as a “hot mess express.”

Either way, she wants mothers to know they belong.

“The girl next to you isn’t judging you,” she said.

For Garcia, Motherhood Moves is also about what happens beyond exercise.

“Motherhood is hard,” she said.

She encourages members to become more self-aware, whether that means examining how they speak to themselves, their relationship with food or how they are feeling emotionally.

Garcia has also worked to connect members with professionals and resources related to nutrition, mental health and other areas of wellness.

Rather than simply searching for advice online, she wants women to find support among people they know and see regularly.

“Instead of going on a Facebook group, you’re being supported by people you know,” she said.

That community-minded approach extends to local businesses. Garcia frequently partners with small businesses to host workouts and events, introducing members to places and services that align with her focus on families, health and wellness.

“We’re bringing everyone together,” she said. “Moms need support, and small businesses need support.”

For now, Motherhood Moves continues to move around, with classes and events held in different spaces. Garcia eventually hopes the right opportunity could lead to a permanent home, possibly with indoor and outdoor space and room for other practitioners.

But she’s in no rush.

“Right now, I’m enjoying being a little gypsy,” she said with a laugh.

For a community that started with a few postpartum friends meeting for walks, its growth has been more than Garcia expected.

“I’m passionate because it doesn’t feel like work to me,” she said.

Nearly four years later, the Sayville mom is still doing what she did at the beginning: giving mothers a reason to get moving, step outside their comfort zones and find connection with women who understand what they’re going through.

As Garcia sees it, you can build a house with walls. But a home?

“You build it with people,” she said.

Photos from one of Motherhood Moves’ popup workouts at Nicky’s on the Bay in Bay Shore. Photos courtesy of SocialMediaJames