Kaley Skoglund Roof | Remembering How to Reconnect, Disconnect, and Sharing it With Others
Meet Kaley — SoulCycle & Virtual Workout Instructor, Creator of Connect/DisConnect. She shares her experience of tuning into her own well-being and helping others do the same through her virtual challenges. Enjoy your special savings on “Reconnect” and “Disconnect,” where you will be guided to trust your body, harness your thoughts, and let go.
Photo by Kaley Skoglund, artwork by The Purple Thread
Share a little bit about yourself & your current work.
Hi! I'm Kaley. I have been in the fitness/wellness space full time for about 6 years but it's really been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. I've spent the past 6 years on the bike as a Senior Instructor at SoulCycle, dabbling with other forms of movement & meditation for a couple of years and then getting the push I needed to really turn the interest into a business when COVID hit and the world of at-home fitness exploded.
I now teach a Pilates-inspired mat class called Connect and a music-based meditation class called DisConnect on zoom! I am hosting our first ever live Connect class this month in Hoboken which is VERY excited because a lot of the crew has been doing this workout for a year but we have never vibed together in person which is hard to believe!
What problem do you strive to solve?
Oh, this question has a million layers to it.
On the surface I teach fitness but that feels like the tip of the iceberg. Connect & DisConnect were created to give women an accessible fitness routine that they can consistently commit because it focuses on strengthening their entire body while also giving them an opportunity to breathe and connect back to not only themself but a community.
I guess the why behind that is even bigger — the why is that when a woman consistently honors her body and her mind by strengthening them, the results trickle into every single corner of her life: how she feels in her skin, how confident she is in social and professional situations, She begins to believe in her ability to overcome obstacles and the level of respect she'll require from others.
When I'm programming or teaching, THAT is what I have in mind.
What is a defining moment that drew a clear before & after line in the sand for you? How did it “light the way” for you going forward?
The minute we went into lockdown because of the pandemic. When COVID hit and everything shut down I was one of the only people who took a big deep breath and felt...happy.
I was exhausted and the idea of sleeping in for two whole weeks was unfathomable. I LOVED my job but I had been waking up at 4am for 5 years, all on my own choice but still, it was a lot of work and not a lot of sleep. So I took those first two weeks to sleep and recover and step away but then I remember waking up one Saturday morning and realizing the entire nation was doing the same thing — sitting at home.
All of a sudden I realized that I had the opportunity to bring some semblance of normalcy not only to myself but to the women in my life by jumping on Zoom and teaching whatever the hell I could teach. This was a major pivot that has stuck with me as the world starts to reopen.
I've held onto what is now the business of Connect/Disconnect and also have really shifted my teaching schedule to be much more realistic and has a lot more longevity to it. I also am moving my body in many different ways because of Connect and it feels really amazing. COVID forced me to make changes to my schedule and my lifestyle that I had been thinking about for years.
How important is your overall health and well-being? When do you feel your best?
It's everything!
It has always been important but I could get away with a lot more when I was younger and still feel okay. Now if I don't have the sound machine going, the humidifying running, and the room set to the perfect temp, I can't even think about getting in bed.
My well-being drives literally every decision that I make, from what I say yes and no to, to who I engage with, to what I'm willing to give my energy to. I feel my best when I am in the flow of my schedule. When I'm sleeping a full 8 hours and allowing myself to rest and play in unison with working. It's a constant work in progress but I do feel like every year I take in more of what makes me feel good and stick to those things more firmly.
If you could pick one song to play every time you walked into a room, what would it be?
Easy. Dog Days by Florence & the Machine.
I know it's like psychopathic to pick a favorite song but this is literally my favorite song of all time.
What or who will always make you laugh?
My dogs are HILARIOUS. They both have massive personalities and sometimes I just look at them and think how the hell did you get here and why are you like this LOL.
One is in a wheelchair and the other is an actual human who comes from a hoarding situation so she is VERY attached to me and loves to eat toilet paper, paper towels, soap — anything she can find in the shower or trashcan.
What seems to be a current lesson that the universe is trying to teach you?
SLOW DOWN! I have always been a go, go, go girl and it totally worked for me for a lot of years but then when COVID forced me to stop I had this realization of like wow, is this what it feels like to be well-rested??? WHO KNEW!
What is something you’re really interested in/curious about right now?
A lot of my friends are pregnant or have had babies recently and I am slightly obsessed with fitness in regards to the pre/postnatal body. What's safe, what feels good, what exercised you absolutely should be doing.
I feel like there is such a massive lack of knowledge to the general public about this and that it’s such an area for improvement because giving birth is literally the biggest endurance challenge a woman will ever face. There are SO many ways to prep your body both for birth and for the postpartum phase and I feel like women simply do not have enough info.
So that is a huge interest of mind currently. I completed my pre/postnatal certification a few months ago.
What is new and good in your world that you’re eager to share?
We start a brand new 3-week challenge on Monday 10/4!
It's called the ReConnect challenge and it is all focused on coming back to routines and healthy habits that you want to reinstate into your life. It's giving women a plan to commit to and a journey to follow when it comes to fitness.
It's 10-minute videos that drop on weekday mornings for 3 weeks. It will get you moving consistently and bring you back to the reason why you move because it makes you feel good!
There's also the first-ever DisConnect challenge which is also 3 weeks long but is 5-minute on-demand meditations!
Exclusive offer for The Purple Thread:
20% off packages with code PURPLETHREAD
Valid until Monday 10/4 at 12:00am EST on virtual challenges. Please note the 10/24 live in-person class is sold out.
Leave us with a ray of light. A simple reminder that grounds you or helps you through.
Whenever I'm coming into a situation or a class, I ask myself if I can leave them or the situation better than how I found it.
The shifts me to think big person and to see the human first rather than their form or their skills. It reminds me that fitness is just another way in which we witness people experiencing life.
All photos provided by Kaley Skoglund Roof
Stay in touch with Kaley
www.kaleyskoglund.com @kaleyskoglundroof
Founder’s Note:
Kaley and I met during our sophomore year at Marist College. On-campus, she managed an on-campus chapter of the I Am That Girl campaign. Upon getting out of an abusive relationship, I was grasping for something to ground me, and a community that understood. A mutual friend connected us and from there, Kaley held space for me to create what I had trouble finding. We held an event through IATG, and eventually, The Purple Thread took on a life of its own, advocating for self-empowerment.
Since then, we’ve supported each other’s ventures, co-founded and hosted monthly curated events, and yes, even pivoted to bringing the celebration to others when we couldn’t connect in person ... through none other than local balloon deliveries. We always find a way to laugh our way through the ridiculous and keep perspective. She reminds me that you won’t know if you don’t try, pizza is always a good idea, and that doing it all together is a lot more fun.
Kaley — thank you for letting me share the story of you, and for being my go-to brainstorm partner.
Purple Thread Friends — for all that is good, please (!!) surround yourself with people that make you laugh and remind you that if nothing else, life is an adventure. Enjoy your time with Kaley connecting to yourself. You deserve it.
Be well,
Danielle