Heavenly limbo: Reiko Soo demonstrating the ‘camel’ pose on the Fly hammock in her studio. ‘You can do this on a mat but going aerial gives your body a far better stretch,’ she says. By CHERYL POO
star2@thestar.com.my
Fly fitness is a form of aerial yoga that makes for a great workout for beginners and veterans alike.
After eight years of teaching and practising yoga, Reiko Soo needed a breath of fresh air. She just wasn’t getting a good enough “stretch” anymore and often felt dissatisfied after class.
Even her students were starting to feel restless – the older ones unable to flex into advanced-level poses, while long-term ones were plain bored.
As Soo pored over her notes and did some research in order to breathe life into her class, aerial yoga caught her attention. It’s a fitness workout that combines yoga with aerial arts and Pilates. Intrigued, Soo began to work on a version of her own called Fly Fitness, which utilises a fabric hammock for body strengthening and stretch activity.
She was certain that enthusiasts of low-impact fitness workouts would like it.
“We needed something fresh, so I decided to create a new exercise that would enhance and challenge the workout. Fly Fitness is just as good for beginners as it is for veterans,” said the limber 34-year-old, who obtained her qualification from the Malaysia Yoga Society (MYS) under the tutelage of P. Manisekaran, president of the MYS and the Malaysian Association of Yoga Instructors (MAYI).
Soo’s fitness centre, Dreams Dance Studio, is meant to help women – and men – “achieve beauty without the monotony of a gym routine or typical dance studio concept”.
“I want it to be a place where a group of girlfriends can get together after work and enjoy a full body workout,” she said, mounting a nylon hammock in her studio to demonstrate the exercise.
The Fly hammock can be adjusted to provide little or more support while doing a full aerial pose.“It’s strong enough to hold 500lb (227kg)!” came a voice from the hammock, which now looked like a giant rectangular structure.
Because the apparatus follows the natural contours of the body, it is especially beneficial to people who struggle with flexibility of the limbs.
Proceeding to demonstrate the “camel” position, a fully-extended backward stretch with the hands gripping the ankles – with the lower back resting firmly on the hammock – Soo explained how “inverted” exercises like that help the spine to decompress after a long day, especially for women who wear heels.
While Fly Fitness is challenging, it’s also fun and easy to learn, said 27-year-old Amira Umar, an instructor at Dreams who was trained by Soo and is now completing her instructor’s qualification at MAYI. When she was new to the exercise a year ago, Amira related, it took her just four months before she was able to sink into a full split.
“It’s really not difficult. And your workout goes a long way with this,” she assured.
Like all low-impact workouts, the benefits of Fly Fitness include improved blood circulation and overall flexibility. It’s also less conventional than other low-impact workouts in Malaysia, and this makes it a refreshing change from other fitness regimes.
“The difference is that this gives you better control than yoga as the cloth distributes your body weight evenly. You are bound to feel fitter by the third month,” Soo assured. “Also, this helps corrects a poor posture.”
A basic Fly Fitness course at Dreams spans over six months: Depending on the partipant’s progress, it starts off with four to six weeks of “standing” exercises, where the hammock is only used for balancing. Then, a similar period follows for floor workouts, where the student is now trained to impose half her body weight onto the fabric. Finally, there is the six to eight weeks of full aerial exercises.
“All that stretching will do you good as your coordination and concentration improves,” Soo explained. “Balancing your body weight on the hammock against the pull of gravity makes you use more brain neurons and muscle fibres compared to mat yoga or even aquatic exercises; this blends traditional yoga methodology with the basic conditioning of aerial arts.”
Soo’s exercise is now being practised in the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong, and will soon debut in Australia.
Before you think of jumping straight into it, there are precautions to consider. Patients with high blood pressure or heart problems must consult their doctor before giving this workout a go. And pregnant women should not participate.
The group sessions at Dreams are capped at eight persons so that each participant can receive more individual attention from the instructor. According to Soo, injuries – or aches – may occur if participants pushes themselves too hard.
“There are people who complain of pains and injuries that could have otherwise been avoided. Follow the instructor closely and listen to your body,” she advised.
“Ultimately, Fly Fitness is a wonderful, full-body workout you can practise with your friends. It’s a great way to end an evening.”
No comments:
Post a Comment