At seven in the morning, a group of stationary cyclists furiously pedal to the uptempo electro-beat of a Britney Spears remix. The song is 鈥淭ill the World Ends,鈥� an uncanny title given that the cyclists are there to find something akin to salvation. 鈥淗ow you do anything is how you do everything,鈥� calls the energetic class leader, readjusting her headset. 鈥淗ell yeah!鈥� responds a member from somewhere in the back of the room.

Lights are dimmed to near blackout, save for a few grapefruit-scented candles in the corners of the intimate SoulCycle studio. You鈥檙e cocooned in the darkness鈥攁 muted support system that lets you, the individual, shine. Working individually but in the reassuring presence of others, members can focus on themselves. There鈥檚 an element of freedom despite being squished together like sardines, a closeness purposely manufactured. Julie Rice, who along with Elizabeth Cutler stepped down after selling SoulCycle to Equinox in 2016, :

鈥淲hen people were done complaining about 鈥淐an you believe they鈥檙e going to charge $27 and I鈥檓 going to have to sit that close to somebody?鈥� What actually happened was, the lights were dark, and people could all feel the music at the same time, and you could almost feel somebody breathing next to you. Your foot was on the same beat as their foot was on, and all of a sudden it became connected, and it became tribal, and it was dark, and there were candles. The music was amazing and an instructor is telling you that you could be more than you thought you could be . . . There鈥檚 something about a moving meditation with other people that are rooting for you, that are holding space for you, that aren鈥檛 there to compete with you, that are there to elevate you so that they can be elevated as well.鈥�

Heavily contributing to this altered state is the combination of music with movement, similar to the way EDM concerts inspire euphoric emotions. Such strong emotions can spark a spiritual connection to something outside ourselves; we submit ourselves to see the world as something good, beautiful, and powerful. And when we鈥檙e deeply entrenched in something, like when we鈥檙e wildly dancing at a party, the absorbing activity puts us into . We shut off that nagging voice in our head (with all its to-do lists) and redirect our focus to repetitive rhythmic motions. Hence the term 鈥渓osing yourself鈥� in an activity: when you鈥檙e so absorbed in pedaling, there鈥檚 no room for intruding, ruminating thoughts.

The self, as you鈥檙e accustomed to it, melts away. A 鈥渨e鈥� takes over. And suddenly you feel nothing but love and connection to your fellow rider. You look around the room and think, 鈥渨e鈥檙e all getting through this ride together.鈥�

Pedaling in unison takes on a powerful force, even in its digital equivalent, Peloton. But , it is exercise鈥檚 mood-enhancing endorphins and serotonin (nature鈥檚 uppers) that might be responsible for some of those feel-good bonding emotions. In experiments where strangers were brought to row together, they discovered that moderately intense group exercise creates more meaningful social benefits than lower-intensity exercise. 鈥淚t may be that experiencing exercise-induced natural highs with others leads to a sort of 鈥榮ocial high鈥� that facilitates group bonding, friendship, and cooperative behaviour,鈥�

Of course, much of SoulCycle鈥檚 success also lies in its talent. (Before there were Peloton influencers snagging brand endorsement deals, there were SoulCycle star instructors, often known only by their first name, like Oprah.) The brand does not hire the average fitness instructor. It recruits charismatic performers. Dancers, cheerleaders, actors, models, Broadway veterans, and professional athletes audition in what Rice once called 鈥淎merican Idol on a bike.鈥� The company scouts for charismatic showpeople oozing star presence鈥攖he same kind of people who can lead a congregation. Fitness pastors, you could say. SoulCycle promotes talent as the main attraction, some of whom reportedly earn up to $1,500 per class. And they make sure to live up to the hype.

Instructors say they 鈥渟trengthen faith muscles,鈥� supplying a kind of emotional catharsis for those in need of healing. , 鈥淚 get them to a point where they are so tired that emotionally they are so much more vulnerable. They no longer rely on their physical strength; they have to go deeper. That is when the experience becomes more than a workout.鈥� Instructors motivate, but they also exhibit a slice of vulnerability to connect with congregants. 鈥淪orry I鈥檓 late, my four-year-old was sick,鈥� one instructor told a class. 鈥淚f you thought I looked too young to have a kid, I also have a six-year-old, a ten-year-old, and a divorce.鈥�

Plenty of SoulCycle instructors develop strong ties with repeat customers, who at times rely on them during moments of crisis鈥攁 divorce, a breakup, Barneys closing. Fans report that they鈥檒l text their fitness mentor when they鈥檙e going through a rough patch or stop them after class to seek counsel on sensitive matters. This attachment is not unlike the dependence on self-help books, which some researchers say fill in the gaps once filled by organized religion or closer-knit female communities.

鈥淚t is possible that the emphasis placed on friendship in women鈥檚 lives has diminished as we have entered the paid labor market in greater and greater numbers, as the division of labor has become more specialized, and as families have become smaller and more isolated,鈥� writes the sociologist Wendy Simonds in . 鈥淎ll these trends may have helped to professionalize the giving and receiving of advice, at least among the rich and middle class.鈥� What was once a mainstay of female friendships鈥攐f telling someone to dump their dumb boyfriend鈥攈as now been outsourced to 鈥減rofessionals鈥� as a commodified service. One鈥檚 psychologist or Peloton instructor has replaced a once ordinary exchange because we鈥檙e all too darn busy or far away to be there for one another.

Fitness brands may have created new ministers, but people need more than just a priest. They need a congregation. People need people. And with those people, they need to feel something. SoulCycle emphasizes 鈥渃ommunity鈥� as much as it does its impressive talent, and Peloton advertises working out 鈥渢ogether鈥� in your living room. As the beloved indoor cycling brand posted on Facebook in 2020, 鈥淪un up to sundown, you鈥檒l never ride alone.鈥�

So exercise classes are group therapy and High Holiday services and country club social time all rolled into one. They are, as the sixties 鈥渟eekers鈥� sought, an experiential spirituality. Whereas once mankind shook at Sinai to bombastic commandments or participated in gleeful revelry with faith healers, now we get a spiritual boost from group cardio. There are now even wellness festivals where 10,000 or more people (80 percent of them college-educated women) join in mass yoga like . Women are expressing a need for intense tribal gatherings. And Beyonc茅 goes on tour only so often.

Excerpted from by Rina Raphael. Published by Henry Holt and Company.聽 Copyright 漏 2022 by Rina Raphael. All rights reserved.

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