Solcore Fitness

The personal training program at Solcore Fitness has virtually saved my life! In six months I have gone from an overweight, pre-diabetic woman to someone with new energy and stamina. I've lost weight, I no longer worry about diabetes and I face each day with strength and vitality!

The personal trainers at SolCore fitness work the whole body. They have the best focus on chronic pain issues, especially back pain. I was sitting in a meeting. It was about an hour and a half long. Half way through I noticed I was the only person sitting up straight and I was perfectly relaxed. There have been other changes, some more significant than others. I guess the biggest one is my recovery from meniscus surgery. I can get out of my car and climb stairs without pain. My abs and core feel strong and my remember to relax tension in my body throughout the day. I know my muscles have been retrained but I like to call it brain training. I feel smarter.

My primary goal for fitness training is to embrace aging with vitality, grace and strength. From waking to slumber, my desire is to feel alive and vibrant as I move throughout each day. I consider myself a pretty physically active human; I began seriously dancing at age 10 and danced professionally until 25. After I stopped dancing I dove into yoga, first as a committed student, then into a yoga teacher, which eventually led to opening and running my own yoga studio in West Los Angeles called the Hub. I developed some serious injuries after years of repetitive, misaligned movement, which were causing daily pain and discomfort in my low back and psoas. The low back injury began in 2009, and I experimented with a wide vareity of different movement and healing modalities to no avail. Basically, my body was experiencing extreme imbalance. I knew it, and yet I wasn't able to pinpoint or correct it. I've spent years searching for help from an intelligent, educated practitioner who could read my body, analyze what was going on and provide me with the appropriate medicine for healing.And then Bam! Through divine grace, I found Ekemba. It's been 6 months since I started the myofacial stretching-ELDOA exercises. I am a true believer! YES, finally I found something that works and sticks. My back pain is gone as long as I continue to do the stretches, my chronic neck pain is disappearing as I open my cervical spine and strengthen my neck, and my Psoas is finally releasing and healing. Ekemba is the best. I also just started working with Joris and he's knowledgeable, thorough and I enjoy the variety he brings to my private sessions. They never leave me feeling bored or unchallenged.This is the most conscious intelligent approach to physical fitness I've ever encountered.

I began training with SoleCor Fitness in a group class one year ago to address chronic pain remaining after several surgeries in the lumbar and cervical regions of my back. Under the tutelage of Ekemba and his staff I have developed muscle and stamina in areas of my body which have been neglected and abused over decades of running, hiking, skiing, coupled with poor posture at home and in the gym. Today my standing, walking, sitting postures and core strength has greatly improved and I’m mostly pain free except on those days I exceed my own limits.

In just a few weeks I will be celebrating 1 year of training with SolCore Fitness. I began small group classes after meeting and speaking with Ekemba Sooh. This guy was saying things that really got my attention. He knows his stuff and the so-called “rules” of the body. At the time I first met with him and agreed to meet with him for a l to 1 consultation I had been experiencing pain in the hips, lower back, and knees. I was slowing down, losing energy and just over-all feeling imbalanced. I was planning an out of the country group tour and was thinking I may not be able to keep up with the tour group since it would involve a great deal of hiking. So when Ekemba asked what my initial goal would be I told him “I just want to be able to keep up with the upcoming tour group”. I only had 2 months to get ready for the tour. He stated that was a reasonable goal that could be met. The goal was met & I had a great time. I continue to progress and establish new goals for myself. Suffice it to say I now experience progressively less pain in the knee and hip but rarely have any discomfort in the back. With continued coaching from Ekemba and Jo Van Cutsem my balance has improved significantly, my endurance/energy has improved, my posture is visibly improved and I have gained confidence to begin actively participating in other exercise groups, knowing what best benefits my body. I only say this because I had tried other exercise programs that had caused more injury. It’s a wonderful thing when you gain body awareness and understand proper/correct movements. It’s also very empowering when you not only see improvement in your body structure but also truly feel it.

I am pleased to recommend SolCore Fitness and thank Jo (one of the trainers) for excellent help. I have lived with lower back pain for years. At 72 years old, I had fusion surgery of the L-5 plus physical therapy but knew I needed a special exercise program for the rest of my life. Because of SolCore, I'm gaining flexibility, strength and knowledge about how to improve my quality of life.

I'm so thankful to be working with Ekemba and Jo! I feel a big difference after just one month of my personal training sessions. I have tried many other approaches for a year and a half including chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage and none of these approaches eased my pain in a sustainable way. Since working with Ekemba and Jo one-on-one, I now wake up with significantly less back pain which is miraculous considering the level of chronic pain I've been experiencing. I feel like I'm getting my life back! I'm happier, more optimistic of my recovery, and more aware of my body than I've been in a long time. For anyone considering working with SolCore, I can tell you that your investment will be worth it!

I have been out of shape and had low energy for years. After working with Ekemba and Maja at Solcore Fitness, I have noticeably more energy. My body tone has improved enough to begin martial arts seriously again.Thank You Ekemba and Maja! :)

My massage therapist recommended I talk to Ekemba and see if his program could help with some nasty sciatica pain that had developed several months earlier. From my past experience with physical therapy and exercise for back issues, I had hope that Ekemba would have some encouraging words, and he did. But given my financial circumstances, I had some hesitation about making a three-month commitment of time and especially money. But I did, and I’ve never regretted it.During those three months, I found my sciatica pain gradually improving, and I felt an overall sense of rejuvenation and accomplishment after each class. Ekemba and Maya are skilled and highly motivational, and I enjoyed the camaraderie with the other class members. When the first month ended and my membership renewed, I didn’t give the cost a second thought; the classes were worth every penny. And as an added bonus, I lost five pounds over the course of the three months.Travel is keeping me from signing up for another three-month session right now, but I plan to go back. Ekemba did what he thought he could do: help me reduce my pain. And I learned I have more discipline than I imagined—especially as I continue on my own with the specific stretches Ekemba recommended for my situation. The combination of expertise and personal attention he gives all his students is truly priceless.