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Exercise Program Design

The Feldenkrais Method®

Are you recovering from an injury or suffering from chronic pain? The Feldenkrais Method of somatic education may help. It offers a holistic approach to human development and motor function improvement through the medium of movement and sensation. The effectiveness of the method lies in its ability to work with the whole person. It is also useful for elite athletes and expressive artists. Buffy Owens, GCFP, a Guild Certified Feldenkrais PractitionerCM with experience as a personal trainer, yoga instructor, birthing assistant and life coach, explains how the method works.

Balance Training for Seniors

One of the most challenging issues that affect older adults is instability and loss of balance. Improving balance is vital for improving the quality of this population’s workouts. Recognizing and enhancing the various components of balance provides the greatest chance for success.

Feldenkrais Method® Improves Balance

Feldenkrais Method balance classes can help older adults improve balance and mobility, according to
a small study published in Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2009; June 24, epub ahead of print). Research suggests that balance training may be more effective in preventing falls than either strength or endurance training.

Guiding New Instructors

As vice president of GoodLife Fitness
clubs in Canada, Maureen “Mo” Hagan, PT, still teaches group fitness, inspiring
200 participants per week in her classes. She also travels to several new club
openings a year, introducing hundreds of members to group fitness programs. She
combines her passion for group exercise and her intere…

REALITY CHECK; America’s fittest city? Well, maybe not

We’re fit! We’re fat! We’re kind of sweaty.
Huh?
It’s hard to say where San Diego stands when you read the myriad rankings that stack us up against other cities. Case in point: Men’s Fitness picked San Diego as No. 9 on its fittest list in 2005. For the last two years, the same magazine put us at No. 21 — on its fattest list.
Yikes! That’s quite a weight gain. Had you n…

Survey Finds Personal Training on Top; Aerobics on Decline

SAN DIEGO-Personal training still is the most successful program for retaining newcomers, according to a survey by IDEA Health & Fitness Association.The survey showed a growing trend toward putting people first before choosing the mode of exercise, which is reinforced by the variety of programs now available to meet a wide range of consumer needs regardless of age or physical condition, say…

Ryckman: Exercising all options

The nation's recliners, lounge chairs and overstuffed sofas are full of them – the lumpy, the lethargic, the barely mobile. The inactive, the unfit, the workout-opposed, the yo-yo dieter, the anti-exerciser. So ubiquitous, and yet so difficult to catch (they aren't fast, but they can be slippery) and even harder to keep. Sure, a beginning yoga or Pilates class might lure them in, but ho…

Twist the day away with Gyrotonic

Sabrina Aspesi straddles a wood and metal exercise machine that resembles a reincarnation of a medieval torture rack – complete with pulleys, chains and weight plates. Her torso bends forward and back, arms and hands pushing and pulling two large knobs in fluid, sweeping, circular movements – as if stirring a giant vat of milk.This is the Gyrotonic workout, a regimen that some fitness-in…

Feldenkrais Method May Help People With Alzheimer’s

The Feldenkrais Method may improve quality of life for patients with Alzheimer’s and enable them to learn new habits, according to an article published in Alzheimer’s Care Quarterly (2006; 7 [4], 278–86).
As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, individuals lose reasoning and communication abilities. Motor skills are retained the longest. The more that pa…

Full Breath: The GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® System: A Primer

Juliu Horvath, creator and founder of the Gyrotonic Expansion System® and Gyrokinesis, is the epitome of a modern-day man for all seasons. An intuitive teacher, a former professional ballet dancer, a yogi and a wood sculptor, this 63-year-old Hungarian has developed a unique system of movement that gently works the joints and muscles of the body through rhythmic, undulating motions that embrace key principles also found in swimming, dance, yoga, tai chi and gymnastics.

Full Breath: The GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® System: A Primer

Juliu Horvath, creator and founder of the Gyrotonic Expansion System® and Gyrokinesis, is the epitome of a modern-day man for all seasons. An intuitive teacher, a former professional ballet dancer, a yogi and a wood sculptor, this 63-year-old Hungarian has developed a unique system of movement that gently works the joints and muscles of the body through rhythmic, undulating motions that embrace key principles also found in swimming, dance, yoga, tai chi and gymnastics.

Feldenkrais Clinic Offers Low-Fee Services

The Feldenkrais Resources Center in Berkeley, California, is offering people with limited income the opportunity to benefit from the Feldenkrais Method at reduced fees ($25–$40). Trainers use gentle touch to guide clients through existing movement patterns to heighten body awareness and to explore alternative movement patterns. The goals are to find new ways of movement that reduce …