Exercise Discretion
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday May 21, 2002
MOUNTAIN, hands up, head to knees, lunge, plank, stick, upward dog, downward dog, lunge, head to knees, hands up, and mountain.
Are you lost yet?
This may sound like an odd combination of words but it is in fact the sun salutation (or surya namaskar), the series of poses commonly used in yoga as a warm-up.
The postures are designed to build strength and increase flexibility and should be performed in a graceful flow, with coordinated breathing.
Werri Beach Therapies co-manager Nick Tabley has practised yoga for 15 years and recently has observed a dramatic shift in its acceptance.
``It's really, really changing. We have been delighted to get quite a large number of people who have never practised before," he said. ``They have only vaguely heard about it and are interested in finding out what it's about.
``Most people see it as a gentle form of exercise, which it is because it is very much self-paced but at the same time (it's) very challenging and very demanding."
The physical aspect of yoga has been taken up much more readily than the meditation, breathing and philosophy, Mr Tabley said.
Mr Tabley said there was a diverse range of age groups practising yoga.
``It used to be that it was mostly women and mostly in their 40s to 60s. But now we are finding that we are getting a lot of younger people and even some elderly people," he said.
``We also have every possible type of body shape in the class you could imagine, including some people who have some quite severe disabilities.
``Because the postures are done slowly and with awareness they are able to be adapted to suit them."
According to yogasite.com, there are at least 12 different styles of yoga that all share a common history.
The creators of the three major styles - Astanga, Iyengar and Viniyoga - were students of Krishnamacharya, a famous teacher at the Yoga Institute at the Mysore Palace in India. Two other styles, Integral and Sivananda, were created by disciples of the famous guru Sivananda.
The differences are due to variations in emphasis on body alignment, coordination of movement with breath, posture flow and holding.
Mr Tabley's observation of an acceptance and popularity of yoga as a mainstream exercise is supported by yoga devotee and teacher Sue Brittain.
Ms Brittain has taught yoga to many people, including participants in the Bulli Community Health Centre's Older and Bolder Program, and a depression group.
``(Yoga) works with breathing, relaxing and calming the mind," she said. ``People can take time out from their stressful lives and relax the physical body and the emotions. Stress takes its toll on the physical body.
``I have noticed while teaching in the last few years there is a higher level of understanding of what it's about.
``It's been slowly building in the last 16 years. There is more awareness of it through newspapers, movie stars and celebrities."
Actor Gwyneth Paltrow praises yoga as enabling you to ``feel so inside your body, it is a real purification process"; singers Madonna, Sting, Jimmy Barnes and Geri Halliwell all get into their downward dogs; and supermodel Christy Turlington wears her own yoga brand.
Meantime, actor Cate Blanchett is singing the praises of another phenomenon - Pilates.
Pilates - pronounced pih-lah-teez, puh-lah-teez or pill-arties depending on who you ask - is an exercise method developed by German-born Joseph Pilates and uses principles of yoga, Tai Chi and strength.
Maria Ventura, from Wollongong's Bodycare Essentials Pilates method studio, said Joseph Pilates used ``exercise as a way of strengthening his body", which had been weakened by illness during childhood.
The method evolved during World War I when he worked to maintain the mobility of hospital patients while he was interned in an ``enemy camp".
At the conclusion of the war he moved to the United States to continue his work, with his focus on athletes and dancers.
``It's been around since the 1920s but it's only in recent years that the general public has become aware of it," Ms Ventura said.
``It's a way of exercising that connects both the body and the mind and it's a gentle form of exercise where we teach people to lengthen what's short and tight and to strengthen what's weak, to relax what's tense.
``There are modifications being made and variations in the exercises that build people up from a basic level."
Ms Ventura said there were two Pilates studios in the Illawarra that taught the system as a way of improving fitness and lifestyle.
``Today it's being used by the general public as a form of general fitness, strengthening and toning but also as post-acute rehabilitation and it's very well accepted in medical circles for rehabilitation," she said.
Physiotherapist and author of Strong to the Core, Lisa Westlake, said it was not surprising yoga and similar activities like Pilates or the fit ball were increasing in popularity. The large inflated fit ball has been used in physical therapy for 40 years. During the past decade, it has enjoyed increased popularity in gyms.
People were realising the importance of strengthening their core muscles through these activities, she said.
``There's a big shift in what the participant is looking for...both in classes and in one-on-one training," the Australian fitness leader of the year for 2000 and 1999 said.
``There's a big move towards mind/body health. Certainly the yoga classes, the Pilates classes, the ball classes are growing and not only in the numbers around Australia but also in their popularity.
``There is still a group of people that will always like to huff and puff and sweat but a lot of people are looking to alternatives."
Ms Westlake, director of Physical Best, a company that develops specialised exercise programs around the fit ball, said core stability was about training muscles deep within the body that, while not often seen, played a vital role in one's health.
``Instead of just working on the muscles we can see for strength, appearance and definition or how we look in the mirror, core stability is about training the deep muscles that are sort of out of mind, out of sight," she said.
``These deep muscles actually attach to the spine and are responsible for supporting the spine while we move and while we exercise."
The Melbourne mother-of-two said the eastern influences on western exercise philosophies had been welcomed as a combination of cardiovascular, strength training with stress release, and relaxation.
``Everyone seems to be working so hard in this day and age and at their desks for long periods of time," she said.
``People are suffering both stress in the mind and stress to the spine and these programs really do target those areas."
© 2002 Illawarra Mercury