Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2015 - The Health & Wellness Issue | Page 31

HEALTH & well-being plines — a combination of circus tricks and dance moves. In aerial silks, performers climb, wrap, swing and fall using a length of material suspended from the ceiling. Using strength and grace, performers defy gravity as they hold elegant poses mid-air before unwrapping and tumbling to the ground. Aerial hoops is a more dynamic discipline, requiring rock solid core strength to create striking shapes and poses using a suspended hoop. Aerial yoga with Ching Matthews of Synergy Fitness HOW IT'S DONE Silks and hoops look more like an art form that an exercise, but few things will give you a better — or more enjoyable— core and upper-body workout as you rely on your own strength to lift and control your body’s vertical movement. Classes follow the usual set up of stretching, strength and conditioning training, and movement training, with the very important cooldown period afterwards. Perhaps you’ll be asked to climb up the silk for the first time, try holding static balance poses, or practice swing techniques using your aerial hoop. Whatever you do, ultimately you’ll be toning your body and strengthening your core and upper body like never before! And all this swinging on silks or hoops suspended from the ceiling. What’s not to like? WHERE TO TRY Aerial Factory is a professional circus school here in Bangkok offering classes for both aerial hoop and aerial silks. They have an extensive timetable and professional instructors. Check out their classes and prices via their Facebook page www.facebook.com/aerialfactorybangkok AERIAL YOGA es the spine while training upper body, grip, and core strength. Sometimes called anti-gravity yoga, it’s a great way to work on your balance and strength at the same time. It’s an especially attractive form of exercise for those with spinal issues such as sclerosis. HOW IT'S DONE First, your instructor will help you adjust your hammock so that it is at a proper height for you. How high you are off the ground depends on skill level and your body type. The class begins with stretches and twists using the silks with your body mostly on the floor and either arms or legs suspended. After a warm up, you’ll hold poses while fully inside of the hammock and hovering above ground. The poses are progressively more difficult. If something is beyond your skill level, do as much as you can but without pushing yourself too far. This form of exercise requires practice to master, but the benefits reaped make it well worth it. WHAT IT IS WHERE TO TRY Aerial yoga is closely related to aerial gymnastics. But instead of tricks and dance moves, aerial yoga involves performing yoga poses and stretches while suspended from silk hammocks. This graceful form of yoga decompress- Synergy Fitness, run by internationally certified trainer Ching Matthews, and is located close to Ekkamai BTS near the Gateway Mall. In addition to aerial yoga, Synergy offers classes in Rebound, Freeform, Pilates, and more. See their website for more at www.synergyfitnessthailand.com ROLLER DERBY WHAT IT IS Roller derby is a fast and furious full-contact sport played on skates around an oval track. Originating from American sports entertainment in the 70’s, the recent explosion of roller derby worldwide started in the USA in 2010. The sport, dominated by women but known for its inclusivity, is a team game. The aim? To score more points than the opposing team during frantic 2-minute segments called jams. How? A team’s ‘jammer’ scores a point every time she legally passes an opposing ‘blocker’. The blockers’ job is to prevent this using a ferocious array of blocks, knocks and stops whilst the jammers dodge and race around the track. HOW IT'S DONE Newbies learn basic skating, stops and falls first, just what you need to prepare for the main training session. The main session with BRD usually starts with dynamic stretches focusing on arm and leg rotations, then onto a lap drill that works on the group’s fitness levels and skating speed. What follows can be a mixture of derby-focused www.wanderlustmag.comWANDERLUST  29