Recently I was interviewed by “Energy and Me” curator Maddy Hinkamp on the advantages of GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®. Below is what we discussed. Enjoy :)
Put simply, there’s nothing quite like it. While pilates, gymnastics, dance and yoga come close, there’s an element to the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® method that you’ve probably never experienced. In fact, GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® may just be the most holistic, engaging workout for your body, you’ve never heard of. And the element that’s got professional athletes, dancers, doctors, physical rehabilitation patients, and everyday health fanatics shouting its benefits: a 360 degree range of movement coupled with supportive equipment and individualized instruction: a recipe that results in a calmed mind, engaged core, strengthened muscles, better posture, and an almost unrivaled feeling of connectedness with your body. The most prized constituent of GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® however, is most definitely its range of motion. The 360 degrees of rotary exercise offers a breakthrough in body fitness through its ability to stimulate synovial fluid, a fluid that works to protect joints. As such, performed regularly, GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® may prevent a wide range of joint problems, including arthritis (http://www.livestrong.com/article/102573-gyrotonic-workout/). If pilates, which is GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® ‘s most comparable exercise, is already your go-to work out for core- strengthening and all over body toning, you may want to give GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® a try for this reason alone. Because GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® is a unique concept to many, we sat down with Stephanie Spencer, MFA, Master Trainer of GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®, as well as a certified Pilates instructor, to get a more comprehensive understanding of the somewhat daunting exercise. After, we realized just how truly beneficial GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® can be. And as Spencer said herself, it’s all about finding enjoyment in the fluidity of the movement. It’s about connecting with your body. And with the hectic, disconnected world we frequently find ourselves in, the thought alone of losing ourselves in something so physically and mentally beneficial, was enough to make us smile in anticipation
1. How have you, personally, seen GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® benefit your clients?
The most important benefit I observe in GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® clients is their newfound appreciation of their body and movement. They enjoy moving for fun without having to worry about how many repetitions they need to do. The clients also find new ways to move that they may not have ever experience before, and that is exciting to them.
2. What is the difference between GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®?
I usually explain the difference between GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® as the following: GYROKINESIS® is GYROTONIC® without the equipment. A lot of the movements that are done in GYROKINESIS® are done in GYROTONIC® but with the support of the equipment to guide you.
3. Who can benefit from practicing GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®?
I believe anyone can benefit from GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®. I remember being at the Rheintal Clinic in Bad Krozingen Germany. The physical therapists who were also trainers in GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® would do rehabilitation with patients in the morning on the GYROTONIC® equipment. In the afternoon, athletes would come and workout with the physical therapists on the GYROTONIC® equipment and do similar exercises. The main difference seemed to be the duration of the workout, but they did similar workouts. I was amazed at the versatility of this work on two different populations of people.
4. How would you best describe the exercise in relation to cardio, strength- training, and stretching?
The GYROTONIC® exercise system touches on cardio, strength training and stretching, but I would say that it most obviously focuses on the stretching and strength training. I have seen Juliu do some cardio workouts in his classes, but most clients do not start with that. His breathing techniques though do add a cardio component that you don’t realize until you attempt to run for a good distance and find that you do not get as short of breath as you used to. As for the stretching, the exercises are designed to encourage you to move your body in multiple directions at once. It is called contrast. The strength training comes in the isometric exercises as well as the cuing from the trainer. The GYROTONIC® system is designed to balance someone’s strength and flexibility, so you would never want to work so hard in the strength component that you would see excess tension in the body. The goal would be to maintain a fluid, strong and rhythmic dynamic in the movement.
5. GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® have been compared to tai chi, dance, yoga, and swimming. Can people who practice these other forms of exercise benefit from adding GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® to their exercise routine?
The GYROTONIC® system is a complete movement system that adds components of dance, yoga, gymnastics, tai chi and probably more. People who practice these movement systems or any other movement system could benefit from GYROTONIC® because the components and themes of movement in GYROTONIC® are universal. GYROTONIC® was designed to help any body do any movement better. It is based on getting the body to move, not to accomplish a particular task. It could benefit a dancer as well as a baseball player do whatever they need to do better, stronger and with less effort.
6. Can you go into a little more detail about how GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® can help people with their physical rehabilitation?
GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® can help people with their physical rehabilitation because it can be modified to fit any limitations of movement. Even if someone is not able to move their spine, they can begin by looking up and then down. That is the start of an arch and a curl. There are GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® instructors who take special training in working in the area of physical rehabilitation.
7. Lastly, could you describe what specific health conditions GYROTONIC® can help and how?
I have seen GYROTONIC® help people with multiple sclerosis, diabetes, scoliosis, back pain, shoulder injury and other joint issues. GYROTONIC® works on the whole system, not just a part of the body. I am not a physician, but I would theorize that it could help many different issues because it works the whole body
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The Amazing Moveable Shoulder Girdle
Your shoulder girdle is one of the most movable and capable joints in your body. Unlike the hip joint that is the typical ball and socket joint that allows you to stand and walk all day long, the shoulder girdle does not have as much stability as the hip socket. What it lacks in stability, it makes up for in mobility. The shoulder girdle is designed to be strong, but more so, to move in all possible directions. Try moving your leg in all directions, then move your arm in all directions. Do you notice a difference?
Anatomy of the Shoulder Joint
The shoulder is made up of three bones that create what is called the glenohumeral joint. The bones that create the shoulder are the humerus, scapula and clavicle. The only bone to bone connection is at the sternoclavicular joint, where the sternum and clavicle connect. The scapula lies on top of the ribcage connected by soft tissue, and the humerus lies in the glenohumeral joint cushioned by the subacrominal bursa under the acromion. See picture below.
Movement of the Glenohumeral Joint
As mentioned before, the movements of this joint are highly complex and therefore need to be well coordinated in order to prevent injury. The first thing to know about your shoulder girdle before you start to move it, is that it is a lever system. As your arm moves upward, something needs to counter the action by moving downward. In this case, the scapula needs to move downward. In the Pilates world, we call this anchoring the shoulder girdle. Anchoring means allowing the shoulder girdle to drop down toward the pelvis, and open the front of the shoulder girdle. Looking at yourself from the front, when you anchor your shoulder girdle, your shoulders are not in your ears and your clavicles are parallel to the ground. This is an anchored and neutral position of the shoulder girdle.
Once you find this neutral anchored position of the shoulder girdle, you are ready to move. There is so much movement in the shoulder girdle, that it is designed with three changing axis of movement. The axis of movement changes as you want to increase your range of motion. So, your coordination and understanding of this joint is paramount.
The first axis of movement is the humerus rotating around the scapula at the glenohumeral joint. The second axis of movement is the scapula rotating around the clavicle at the acromioclavicular joint. These two axis of movement bring your arm to a little above ninety degrees to the ground. The last axis of movement is the clavicle rotating upward at the strenoclavicular joint. This brings your arm over the top of your head like Caroline’s serve on the title page. Take a moment to move your arm from by your side to over your head and see if you can feel the change of axis of movement. First, the humerus, then the scapula and lastly, the clavicle. Without using all three, you will have a decrease in your range of motion, or potential for injury.
Rotator Cuff
No shoulder class is complete without talking about the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that connect from various points on the scapula to the humerus. The rotator cuff coordinates the movements of the scapula and the humerus. As you may have realized from the last portion of the class, that means that this group of muscles need to be well versed in the movements of the glenohumeral joint. The four muscles of the rotator cuff are the teres minor, the supraspinatus, infraspinatur and subscapularus. The first letter of each of these spells out the work sits. Sometimes this
group of muscles is referred to as the sits muscles. The only muscle that is not shown in the picture is the subscapularus that lies underneath the scapula.
To make sure that these muscles are working correctly. Make sure the you stick to the three axis of movement. The two axis of movement that often do not get used to their fullest are the movement of the scapula and clavicle. So, when you move your shoulder, make sure you allow the scapula and then the clavicle to move. If you notice that it is not easy to get your scapula to move, you may want to add some scapula exercises to your exercise regime. Bring your arms in front of you, parallel to the ground with palms facing each other. Keep the arms long, and bring the scapula together and apart. Also check that your shoulders are anchored most of the day, and that you incorporate all three axis of movement in the shoulder girdle. These types should keep your shoulders happy and healthy for years!
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Why do you have a Spine?
You have a spine to connect the upper and lower portions of your body together. Through your spine runs your spinal cord which is the major thoroughfare between your brain and the rest of your body. Your spine is one of the most important aspects of your whole body.
What does your spine look like?
Your spine is made up of three main curves and the sacrum. There are twenty four vertebrae; 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, and 5 lumbar. The cervical are curved in a what is called a lordotic curve, the thoracic are curved the opposite direction or, kyphotic, and the lumbar are curved like the cervical, in a lordotic curve. A kyphotic curve is the primary curve and the lordotic curve is a secondary, or functional curve. A functional curve is one that does not show up until movement occurs.
The curves of your spine not only act as shock absorbers between your head and tail, but allow the head to be over your pelvis. Your spine allows you to stand upright and see the horizon! The curves of your spine also allow areas for your organs to be placed and supported by the body while maintaining its central axis.
Vertebrae and Discs
You have 24 vertebrae and 23 discs in between each vertebrae. There is no disc between the first and second cervical vertebrae. There are 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, and 5 lumbar vertebrae. The vertebrae are smaller at the top of the spine and larger as you move toward the lumbar spine. It looks like and egyptian oblisque.
Each vertebrae has a body, spinous process, transverse process and facet joints. The body is the round part of the vertebrae that stack with the discs in between. The spinous process is the part of the spine that you can feel in the back. The transverse process are t-shaped on each side of the vertebrae. The facet joints are how each of the vertebrae articulate with each other. Take a look at the length of the spine and the way the facet joints face. Due to their shape, can you tell which parts of the spine are prone to rotation and which ones more adept at side bending? Between the body of the vertebrae and the processes is the vertebral canal that maintains the spinal cord inside a sheath called a dura mater.
The discs live between each vertebrae except between the first and second vertebrae. The discs are made of an outer fibrous material that criss cross for strength called the anulus fibrosus. The inside of the disc is made of a gelatenous material called the nucleus pulposus. The criss crossing of the fiberous material creates the strength to keep the nucleus pulposus in place. There is no vascular system in the discs. The only way the disc get nutrients from blood is through movement. Simple compression and decompression of discs in all directions is what keeps them healthy and happy. So make sure you flex, extend, rotate and side bend your spine everyday.
Muscles of the Spine
There are multiple layers of spinal muscles that run along the spine. Close to 11 layers of spinal muscles including a few superficial layers, it is like filo dough in there. The more superficial the muscles the further away they are from the spine. The more superficial muscles are longer, they cross more vertebrae. The closer the muscles are to the spine, the deeper the muscles. They cross less vertebrae and are shorter muscles. The direction that these muscles run dictate their job. For example, the rotatores connect from the transverse process to the spinous process, therefore, they rotate the spine.
To take the discussion of the attachments of the muscles a little further, the muscles that attach to form a V shape, are ipsolateral or same side flexors of the spine. The erector spinae is an example of this group of muscles. The muscles that run in an upside down V shape are contralateral or opposite side flexors of the spine. An example of this muscle group is the transverseospinalis. Figuring out if you recruit mainly from one of these groups or the other can tell you how deeply you initiate your spinal muscles.
Spine Release
As we discussed in your organ workshop, it is important to allow the posterior portion of your spine stay relaxed and lowered, and the anterior portion of your spine lifting upward. You know now, that the spinous processes need to release downward to keep the spinal cord relaxed. The anterior aspect of the vertebral bodies can be thought of as being held upward in a majestic kind of way.
In summary, your spine is an incredibly important part of your body. It runs through the center of your body and is therefore effected by everything in the system. Without your spine designed the way it is, you would not walk upright with your eyes looking at the horizon. There is also an emotional aspect to our spine. We tend to posture our spine in relation to whatever cultural social status we are trying to achieve. We also have more of a hysteria around something being wrong in our spine rather than something being right. So, give yourself a nice pat on the back and think happy thoughts about your spine today.
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