WORKING OUT

If you were to run into Maddie Zonino last summer and tell her that in less than a year, she would have more than 30 people on a waitlist to get into one of her Toned Yoga classes, she may not have been that surprised.

“My husband and I say that we’re the generation that freaks out our parents,” Zonino says with a laugh. “We have these big dreams and we’re willing to risk it all to make them happen.”

By risking it all, this University of Michigan graduate is referring to quitting her job in the Chicago tech world just two months after opening Toned Yoga in June 2023. Toned Yoga is a boutique fitness studio in the heart of downtown Lake Bluff. Its tenured instructors offer classes in multiple formats—high intensity strength training, breath-infused movement classes, and restorative restful practices.

“In less than six months, I got married, moved to Lake Bluff, and opened Toned Yoga,” says Zonino. “That’s all of life’s big events in just a few months. I always knew that working in health and wellness was my goal. And when I doubted if I could pull this off, my husband encouraged me to go for it.”

The Zoninos discovered the vacant space once occupied by Hansa Coffee Roasters and decided that should be Toned Yoga’s home.

“We didn’t want to open another fitness studio in Chicago,” she says. “It made sense to open in Lake Bluff. We’d work all day at our corporate jobs and then come and work on the studio at night,” Zonino says. “It was crazy because we were these 28-years-olds who didn’t know anything about construction. But somehow it all came together.”

That savvy approached extended to who she hired to teach her classes.

“I had a vision for the vibe that we wanted at Toned,” she says. “It was really important to find fresh faces who could match the energy I wanted the studio to have,” she says. “Now, we have more than 15 instructors from all over the North Shore who have been with us for the whole year. When we launched our website and social media, we had hundreds of members sign up right away. People were excited about what we were bringing to Lake Bluff.”

Probably the biggest shock to Zonino has been the runaway popularity of her meditative and restorative classes.

“I was hoping these classes would strike a chord with our clients—especially the ones that incorporate sound baths,” she explains. “My favorite thing is how popular these classes are with high schoolers.”

With so many local schools now incorporating yoga into their curriculums, Zonino designed classes targeted for younger students and is increasing the number of these classes as summer vacation begins. She’s also hosting birthday parties, workshops, and events for even the littlest yogis, her “Toned Yogis in Training.”

While Toned Yoga has clients racking up milestones of having taken 200 and 300 classes since the studio opened, Zonino stresses that she has first-timers in her studio all of the time.

“Your first week at Toned Yoga is free and I always encourage newbies to take as many classes as they can that week,” she says. “It’s a great way to find the class format and instructors you like.” You can bring your own mat, or the studio has them to buy or rent.

When asked what she thinks the secret to the success of her studio has been, Zonino says it’s how much her family and her instructors have invested in the Lake Bluff community.

“I grew up in Lake Forest, attended Lake Forest High School, and I know a lot of my clients from my childhood,” she says. “But it was important for me to connect with this community as a business owner. The best way for me to show up for Lake Bluff is to go to as many things as I can. If a local business, school, or someone from Lake Bluff is sponsoring something, I try my best to be there and support them. It’s really true that the more you give, the more you get back.”

Having once taught 16 classes a week, Zonino is happy that she can now take a week off for vacation knowing that the studio will run smoothly, and her members will be happy.

“Toned Yoga is my baby. So much has happened in just one year—I can’t wait to share all the surprises that are coming in year two. Get ready for some big things!”

To learn more and stay up to date on all things Toned Yoga, visit tonedyoga.com or follow the studio on Instagram @tonedyoga.