Striking a Balance

Melanie assists Joyce with the ”leg spring series“ on the Cadillac.

There is something magical about this time of year. It’s a time to take inventory and set a new course. Typically our goals focus on balancing our lives, whether it be readjusting our work/life balance or balancing the family checkbook. But what we often overlook in these resolutions is the importance of balancing the body.

As fitness walkers, we focus a lot on our cardiovascular health. Walking three to four times a week ensures that our heart is efficient and strong. Yet what we enjoy in heart health, we often lack in strength and flexibility, both keys in overall fitness health.

Unless we take countermeasures, as we age we gradually lose strength and flexibility. With the loss of strength comes the loss of muscle mass, which translates to a slowing metabolism and weight gain. Loss of flexibility leads to problems and injuries such as muscle strains, stiffness, and joint aches. These maladies are often referred to as ”getting old.”

So, how do we balance ourselves out? While there are many ways to increase your strength and flexibility, the practices of yoga and Pilates are built around the idea of balancing the body. Both also have the added benefit in that many poses tackle both strength and flexibility at the same time, leaving us more time to focus on those other pesky resolutions…

Yoga:
For many, the word yoga conjures up rooms thick with the smell of incense populated by absurdly flexible people whose legs are pretzeled around their heads. The truth is that yoga is an extremely approachable and sensible way for normal, everyday folks to increase their strength, flexibility, balance, and piece of mind. ”Yoga helps one to reclaim. . . full range of motion, re-align themselves, and correct bad form and posture habits,” says Holiday Johnson of Holiday’s Yoga Center.

There are many different types of yoga that range from the less demanding to the more strenuous, from the physical to the more spiritual. A typical yoga session begins with a series of light stretching poses to warm up the body, then moves into poses that focus on strength, flexibility, and balance. Sessions usually end with a relaxation routine. ”Most yoga poses can be modified to work for the beginner, intermediate, or expert,” says Nina Pileggi, owner and instructor at Sunset Yoga. ”The key is to listen to your body and go at your own pace.”

Pilates:
Like yoga, Pilates (pronounced pul-LAH-teez) focuses on the balance and control of the body. Pilates was developed in the 1920s by Joseph Pilates as a way to rehabilitate soldiers after World War I. Widely embraced among dancers for years, Pilates has recently hit the ”mainstream” and Pilates studios are now available in most areas. ”Pilates focuses on the core — the muscles of the abdomen and back,” says Melanie Hall, owner of Geometry, a Pilates studio in the Pearl District. ”By increasing the strength and flexibility of these muscles we improve our posture, balance, and overall stability.”

”For walkers, this balance is particularly important, since they are susceptible to hip and hamstring injuries,” adds Wendy Foster from Bodies in Balance Pilates. ”The hip flexors are used with each stride and if the pelvis is out of alignment from musculature imbalances, the hamstrings, low back, and posture will suffer. Pilates concentrates on correct biomechanics and facilitated stretching of the hips and pelvis. This can bring more power and freedom of movement to the walker.”

Pilates can be done in a group setting or one-on-one with an instructor. Group classes usually involve mat-work while one-on-one sessions usually involve exercise equipment with names like the ”Cadillac” and the ”Reformer.” ”I admit that the equipment can look intimidating,” says Hall, ”but the truth is that a Pilates workout is completely customizable to a person’s abilities and goals.”

Getting started:
For both yoga and Pilates, the key to a successful, positive experience is to choose the right instructor. ”The first question I’d ask an instructor is ‘Who do you take classes from?’ A good instructor is always trying to learn themselves,” says Pileggi. Hall agrees, ”To become a qualified Pilates instructor takes extensive and continuous training; a weekend crash course doesn’t cut it.” In addition to finding a qualified teacher, you should also feel comfortable with your instructor’s personality and style. Most studios will offer a discounted introductory rate for this purpose. If you’d prefer to start out in the safety of your own home, you can choose from a bevy of introductory DVDs.

Practiced regularly, yoga and Pilates literally change the body: strength and flexibility are increased, and posture and balance are greatly improved. Both teach control of the body that can then influence control in other aspects of life — much like the way a good walk can yield peace of mind. ”I feel at least 10 years younger,” says Joyce Pepos, 51, and a recent student of Pilates, ”I have a spring in my step that I’ve never had before.” By adding balance to the body we may find that the ”balance” we are continually seeking in our resolutions for the new year is finally attained.