As we move on towards another new year, here we go again with our resolutions and goals. According to sites like Statistic Brain and The Guardian, people’s top ten resolutions included: losing weight, staying fit and healthy, and wanting to learn something new.
In fact, 38%-47% of people set fitness and self-improvement related resolutions for the new year. The good news is that we don’t have to wait for start of a new year for us to reset our goals. It’s OK to have ever-evolving goals, so change it up and be very specific.
I personally believe that everyone is a mover, a dancer, a groover and, yes, we should want more health and fitness goals for ourselves. When it comes to resetting goals it might be best to take a different approach. If I want to incorporate more exercise into my new year goals but know I’m not a big fan of running, then my goal should be to ‘find a new exercise that I enjoy’ instead.
From teaching the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Methods, Dance and Barre classes – a lot of people are aware that they are ‘not a dancer’ and become timid with three-dimensional movements. Anything from walking, running to the train, standing up to get a cup of coffee, to sitting for long hours requires proper alignment and a certain level fitness. Posture, alignment,and fitness awareness can help maintain a healthy body for the long term, which I’m sure will compliment any other fitness goals you may have for the new year!
Here are a few important ways the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Methods can help you with your fitness goals.
Awareness of Posture
Posture is such a big deal. We’ve heard it from our elders and our mothers and now you’re hearing it again. There are even posture apps that exist to support this importance. Posture isn’t just the spine. There are a lot of muscles involved in both sitting, standing, and walking. In order for us to adhere to those muscles we must focus on how the body should be moving as a whole. Clients have told me that they’ve felt improvement within their alignment the minute they’re finished their session.
Improved Alignment Overtime
Realigning the body, both muscularly and skeletally, from years and years of bad habits take time and over that time it’s important to realign correctly and efficiently. Alignment is especially important for balance and appropriate range of motion in the joints. Without this, the joints become impacted and no longer have room to move causing unwanted pain. Therefore, these methods (and its equipment) focus on the prevention and reduction of joint impact. Therefore, when this kind of alignment is maintained, usual areas of pain and stiffness are less present.
Strengthens While You Stretch
Functional flexibility supports strength and strength supports flexibility. Without one or the other your body could be in danger or prone to injury/pain. Both methods allow the body to move in its natural three-dimensional makeup. Without this type of movement the body can become rigid and resistant. In other words, we want our body to be able to respond to movement and impact like a rubber band: with elasticity (longevity) and strength (sustainability).
Improves Other Workouts
I always see more improvement in my dancing, yoga practice, standing, walking, and even running when I’m taking Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis classes regularly. This also goes for all sports enthusiasts and professional performers (i.e. Andy Murray as pictured in the cover photo). Many of my clients who play football, run, swim, row, etc. said that they’ve never have felt or performed better. It’s completely necessary that the body is challenged in all ranges, so when you need to focus on a specific area or exercise the entire body is all set up to support you and these methods do just that.
No matter what your fitness goals are this year, next year, and beyond, be sure to try something new. In addition, you’ll never know what kind of positive reaction your body may have with experiencing full bodied movements that the Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Methods have to offer. It might be just the thing you’ll need for you aches and pains to be relieved once and for all.
Happy New Year and Beyond!
Love,
Kindall & Rob
TheMovementBlog
