Tonita Moniz, a fitness instructor at Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, Minn., teaches a class called “Body and Soul” that combines free-flowing movements with core exercises, yoga and Pilates, controlled breathing, and lots of music.
One survey even found that more than half of fitness professionals are creating hybrid programs, blending principles of yoga or Pilates with other forms of exercise. Increasingly, these classes are being offered at places beyond fitness centers, including hospitals, resorts, schools and senior homes. About 25 million Americans practiced mind-body exercises like yoga, tai chi and Pilates in 2005, according to a 2006 study by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association many others are exploring activities like qigong and belly dancing. Mind-body fitness is one of the hottest trends in the exercise industry.
Being able to focus gives you a base that can enhance any aspect of your life.”Ĭlearly, millions of people are discovering the same thing. “Once you get that discipline, your performance will really begin to skyrocket. “Mind-body connection leads to discipline,” says Seabourne, PhD, author of Mind/Body Fitness: Focus, Preparation, Performance. For Seabourne, the mind-body connection is many things – a way to summon a powerful punch, concentrate on the ball during a tennis game or free himself from worry in order to relax.
He’s a two-time national champion in tae kwon do who can chop cinder blocks in half and bench 275 pounds he also once pedaled 458 miles nonstop in the “Ironbutt” 24-hour bicycle race.