The Fitness Trend: Gyrotonic

Is the training equipment at your gym boring you? Do you have no desire to do repetitive gym exercises? Well, it’s time to try something new! The Gyrotonic is a new fitness trend from the United States. What it promises: with a small amount of training you can become more flexible and relaxed.

Admittedly, the training equipment is very strange and rather resemblant of medieval torture machines instead of modern fitness machines. But in reality, they are fairly easy to use and gentle on the body. This specially-made device’s motions are three-dimensional, circular and spiral. The result: your muscles are alternately stretched and relaxed.

This odd machine was invented by the movement system by Juliu Horvath. Horvath worked as a classical dancer in New York until a spinal injury forced him to resign. In following years he worked with a lot of Far Eastern medicine - including acupuncture and yoga. Combined with his experience as an athlete came the new training method: Gyrotonic. Initially it was used mainly for dancers, but later on it became popular for many performance and recreational athletes.

Gyrotonic combines elements of movements of various sports: sequences of swimming, dancing, yoga and ballet. Juliu Horvath developed special training for his device, so it could be fit for all ages. Anyone can increase their agility, stamina and strength, and more specifically help reduce back pain. A nice side effect: it reduces stress! The Gyrotonic movements can affect internal organs and prevent neurological and cardiovascular diseases.

If the exercises on the devices do not suit you, you can easily change your Gyrokinesis. Behind these exercises are wave-like movements, that train the body gently. Just as important as using the device, is your breathing pattern while using it. The most common method is a simple breathing exercise where you breathe in until your spine reaches the center and then back out. This helps to re-mobilize the body.

Gyrotonic is offered in special studios. Coaches, and physiotherapists usually have special training using these devices. A unit can cost about 30 to 80 euros, but it may benefit you in many ways.