Exercise Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Tired of your old exercise routine? Try something new! Fort HealthCare’s Community Calendar offers a series of Body, Mind and Spirit classes in Pilates, yoga and T’ai Chi, all of which promise to work muscle groups you never knew you had, improve your flexibility and focus your concentration.

Pilates (pronounced pih-LAH-teez) focuses on core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and are essential to providing support for the spine. Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and aim to strengthen the deep torso muscles.

Many people think yoga is just stretching. But, like Pilates, yoga is really about creating balance in the body through strength, awareness and flexibility. This is achieved through held poses or postures, each of which has specific physical benefits. Poses can be done quickly in succession, creating heat in the body through movement, or more slowly, to increase stamina and perfect the alignment of the pose. The approach varies depending on the tradition in which the teacher has trained. Anyone can start yoga, regardless of their level of fitness or flexibility. Participants may want to invest in a yoga mat for comfort, but it is not required.

T’ai Chi is well-known as slow-motion routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks around the world. T’ai Chi is sometimes classified as a “soft style” of martial art, focusing primarily on the health benefits of relaxation and meditation rather than self-defense. Centering the mind on the movements helps bring about a state of mental calm and clarity. People of all ages and physical conditions can participate, and no special equipment is necessary.