Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Friday 26 May 2017
Popular new workouts target the body, mind and soul

KELLI KENNEDY “Women kept saying as I
Associated Press was just developing it, ‘I’ve
NEW YORK (AP) — It would been waiting my whole life
be easy to brush off fit- for this,’” said Schieck, who
ness guru Taryn Toomey’s has trained some 300 Qoya
The Class as another hip- teachers.
pie trend, but you’d miss Nadine Abramcyk, a
the magic. (She sprinkled 38-year-old small busi-
crushed crystals under- ness owner and mother of
neath the studio floors, two, attends one or two of
which she says is designed Toomey’s classes a week,
to draw out energy.) calling it her “personal ther-
You’d also miss stargaz- apy.”
ing at celeb devotees like The change was so dra-
Naomi Watts, Jennifer Anis- matic, her husband started
ton and supermodel Christy going.
Turlington Burns. “I had a very cathartic ex-
Within minutes, the mu- perience with it. ... It really
sic swells, the mirrors in the isn’t about the physical for
85-degree heated room me. It’s really about the
begin to fog and sweaty mental combined with the
ponytails come undone as physical. It’s so multidimen-
participants perform 5 gru- This April 27, 2017 photo provided by Jaimie Baird Photography shows New York celeb fitness guru sional in that way and does
eling, uninterrupted min- Taryn Toomey, facing forward, during one of her fitness classes in New York. something that regular ex-
utes of squat jumps while Associated Press ercise can’t.”
Toomey unleashes occa- ing, agility and intensity; the what it feels like when they vous system. The class ends Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
sional expletive-laced in- class ends with a 15-minute don’t feel free. Then they with a fun, choreographed is an associate professor of
sights. guided meditation. express those emotions dance that might include history at The New School
“We’re really using the Qoya founder Rochelle through free-form dance. kickboxing moves to “Eye who is researching femi-
physical body as a meta- Schieck incorporates lots Schieck says there’s im- of the Tiger.” nism and group fitness. She
phor to deal with what’s of free movement into her mense value in acknowl- Both Toomey and Schieck spent years working out at
out there,” said Toomey, a women-only workout that edging uncomfortable followed a similar jour- the gym, “but as a feminist,
former fashion executive refers to “movement as emotions like fear or an- ney in creating their work- I was so disappointed in the
for Ralph Lauren and Dior, medicine.” It’s the least ger and “letting people outs. Yoga wasn’t enough culture and the language
who opened a luxe studio ... there was this dominant
in Tribeca in January. language, ‘This is for your bi-
The goal of her 75-minute kini body, what did you eat
class is to train the mind last night, how many inches
to create new ways to re- did you lose ladies?’ It just
spond — rather than react fell short in many ways of
in the moment — to chal- the much broader, deeper
lenging external triggers. potential of what exercise
Other spiritual workouts can mean to women.”
gaining popularity around Petrzela started teach-
the U.S. include the inten- ing the high-energy car-
Sati Method, Qoya and dio and strength intenSati
Equinox’s Headstrong. Method, which includes
Yoga and tai chi have vocal affirmations. “When
drawn from these principles you’re sweating, your heart
for years, but a new crop is pumping (and) there is
of workouts includes more science that shows you’re
cardio and strength-train- open or particularly sus-
ing moves as many fitness ceptible to your mind-set,”
buffs seek more than a six- she said.
pack from their workouts. IntenSati, created by Pa-
Toomey leaves a moment tricia Moreno, starts with
at the end of each song an affirmation reminder
to stop the physical move- This April 27, 2017 photo provided by Jaimie Baird Photography shows New York celeb fitness guru that you can choose how
Taryn Toomey during one of her fitness classes in New York.
ment and encourage par- Associated Press you react to things. The
ticipants to reflect. “How class includes squats, lung-
are you feeling, not what es, side roundhouse kicks
are you thinking?” she asks physically challenging of embrace their wholeness for Toomey, who longed and punches while chant-
the class. the bunch and is good for instead of pretending I al- for more fire and cardio. ing something like “I am
Headstrong uses high-in- beginners, but it has a pow- ways feel free.” Schieck was a yoga instruc- strong.”
tensity interval training and erful emotional takeaway. Part of the class includes tor but also felt something “I felt I finally had the words
changing stimuli to chal- Each Qoya class has a a few minutes of shaking, was missing. She also took to express something I’d
lenge the body and brain. theme. If the theme is free- which is designed to shake pole dancing classes and been feeling but didn’t
The first three sections of dom, participants are giv- fear and discomfort out of loved its physicality, but have an outlet to,” said
the class focus on stretch- en a moment to reflect on the body to calm the ner- kept getting injured. Petrzela.q