A WELL-KNOWN community centre that acted as a health hub, retreat and sanctuary for men, women and children in Bahrain has closed its doors.
World Beat Fitness Centre and Café’s founder Jane Goodwin, 59, is embarking on a new adventure in her native US after having spent more than 12 years helping the kingdom to stay in shape.
The mother-of-two, from Janabiya, said: “I will personally miss seeing everyone at our ‘home away from home’ and wish each one of you wellness and peace wherever you are in Bahrain and in the world.”
The centre opened in 2001, offering a plethora of activities and classes for people of all ages, fitness levels, nationalities and interests.
Mrs Goodwin has had a long-lasting relationship with fitness. She used to teach jazzercise in Saudi Arabia to women in compounds when she lived there for 12 years with her husband Khalid Al Suhaimi, 60, her daughter Miriam, 29, and son Yousef, 22.
When the family moved to Bahrain in 1994, she continued helping women to stay fit with her dance workout routine, instructing classes at different hotels and venues. After six years of learning the ropes and gaining experience she decided to open her own venue.
She said: “During my experiences at different locations, I heard from my students for years and years what they thought was missing. One year I was teaching somewhere and I had this epiphany. Why was I teaching in everyone else’s place when I could be creating a place of my own?
“I started asking myself what I would want to create? The answer was ‘something that is important for the Bahrain community’.
“I appreciate all the different cultures here in Bahrain and that is what I will always love about this country. It’s a melting pot of so many different people and the locals are so welcoming.
“Through movement we find health and through being together we take care of ourselves as well as others – that became the central theme for the centre.”
Jane Goodwin’s dream of creating a venue that not only provided a location for people to get fit and exercise but also a home for the community to get together and share their interests with one another soon became a reality.
She converted a villa in Janabiya into a two-floor fitness centre which features a large, airy barefoot studio with shiny pine floors perfect for dancing around downstairs and a smaller studio upstairs for more intimate classes.
When it opened, World Beat offered classes in karate, jazzercise and belly dancing. Over the years it hosted a range of other disciplines including yoga, pilates, nia, zumba, capoeira and Taekwondo for children and adults.
The centre has had around 800 members using the facilities at different stages.
The café on the ground floor served tasty treats to members who wanted to unwind before or after a class and also became a meeting place for different workshops and events.
Many people on the island will remember the centre’s involvement with various cancer support groups and fundraising events, something near and dear to Mrs Goodwin’s heart as she is a cancer survivor.
The centre hosted ‘coffee mornings’ where women could discuss their interests, help organise Think Pink fundraising events, take part in weekly healing classes for cancer survivors and monthly meetings for the Breast Cancer Support Group.
Mrs Goodwin started the healing classes with Adrienne Buck, a breast cancer nurse, after she returned from the US after completing her own treatment.
She said: “Adrienne was very interested in helping give women a place to talk about this. When you get diagnosed who do you talk to?
“So she started organising a class once a month at my premises and later Joanne Lund, head of the Bahrain Breast Cancer Support Group, who is also a survivor, took over.”
Mrs Lund is one of the many members sad to see World Beat’s time come to an end.
She said: “There is no other centre like it on the island and it is a big loss for many, but especially for me. It was the place where I was supported throughout my recovery from breast cancer and where I gained strength both physically and emotionally.”
Although World Beat closed its doors on July 31, the venue will be re-opening on September 15 as Life-Fit Bahrain, a new fitness and wellness centre. However, the café will be in a state of suspension for the time being.
Mrs Goodwin said: “With Sarah Al Hamad at the helm, this business will be migrating into the premises during August, our usual month of closure.
“Life-Fit is well respected on the island for personal training, classes, and gym facilities. We know that the destination, World Beat, has been an anchoring point for many of you in a rapidly changing world.
“Thank you for making a dream come true these past 12-plus years. The magic that lives in the bones of the building cannot be erased. It is an energy that was built with love and we all know that’s an energy that lives on forever.”
Mrs Goodwin, now retired, will be focusing her energy on studying at the Sacred Art of Living Centre in Oregon, US to feed her mind, body and spirit. She will also use the opportunity to spend time with her children in the US.
She said: “I have spent 30 years in the Gulf, it’s been wonderful and am sure it will continue to be wonderful. It’s time for me to go back to my roots and be back where I came from.”
