Gyrotonic has been referred to as ?yoga with resistance?. It puts an emphasis on breathing, flexibility and strength. Its routines work different parts of the body using circular movements.?The spine is the main focus in gyrotonic,? said Mrs. Rollin. ?It makes spaces between the vertebrate of your spine. Usually you are very flexible afterward. A lady I use to work with introduced me to gyrotonic. I went to New York and did some classes there. From there I decided it was a great thing.?

Gyrotonic is a mix of yoga, ballet, swimming (in air), martial arts and gymnastics, so all aspects of these different movements are done with resistance.

The machine itself is crafted from wood. The creator of gyrotonic, Hungarian Juliu Horvath, was a carpenter as well as a dancer. To the uninitiated it looks like someone softened up a medieval torture device. There are stirrups for the feet. Weights to work abdominals and hamstrings, and round circular things similar to bar stools to turn for arm strength. But student Mrs. Maxwell-Smith said gyrotonic, is far from torture. It is actually fun and relaxing.

?I had a problem sleeping,? said Mrs. Maxwell-Smith who works as an accountant. ?I was also having a problem with acid reflux disease. That keeps you up all night. This is so therapeutic. The breathing you do helps to get the toxins out of your system. Everything comes out. It helps me to sleep at night. It also helps me to keep up with my daughter.?

Mrs. Maxwell-Smith has been taking gyrotonic for six or seven months. When she needs more energy, she comes in and Mrs. Rollin puts the gyrotonic straps on her feet. Then Mrs. Maxwell-Smith ?runs? with her feet in the air above her.

?Amanda will suggest different exercises,? said Mrs. Maxwell-Smith. ?She knows the solution to whatever is bothering me. I need someone who understands my anatomy. She does that and she is very attentive. She even remembers my settings on the machine, from week to week.?

According to the website, www.gyrotonic.com, creator Mr. Horvath had a successful dancing career until he injured his Achilles tendon. As he was recovering he became interested in yoga, and developed what he called ?yoga for dancers? which was more challenging than regular yoga. His new system of exercise was dubbed gyrokinesis or gyrotonic. One of his goals in creating the gyrotonic expansion system was to help dancers improve their range of motion and flexibility. This would help them to make better turns and pirouettes. The machine became popular with other dancers recovering from injuries, and is now found not only in dance and exercise studios, but also in rehabilitation centres.

?I teach a lot of older people who have a lot of limitations and issues,? said Mrs. Rollin. ?I want to say this machine is great for all walks of life, from children to the elderly. They use it in rehab. It was made for dancers. Dancers, especially young ones, can take advantage of the machine. It can also be used for pre-natal or post-natal fitness.?

It doesn?t matter how fit the student is to begin with. It can even be used by people who have arthritis, according to Mrs. Rollin.

?This machine is very versatile,? she said. ?We can take people who have never done exercise in their life. We just work with the persons limitations and abilities.?

Mrs. Maxwell-Smith said since starting gyrotonic she has a new-found sense of physical confidence. She takes gyrotonic once a week, and she is so loose the day after a class that she feels almost as though she could ?tie myself up like a pretzel?.

?It makes your body leaner and longer,? she said. ?When I walk around town I feel like I have this air about me. I feel so confident. When I sit at work I no longer round my shoulders. My posture is better. That is why I am here. Because I spend most of my time at work staring at the computer. My range of motion is so much better. I am doing things now that I haven?t been able to do since I was a kid. It is beautiful.?

The gyrotonic expansion system is only taught by a qualified instructor. You aren?t even supposed to use the machine without a qualified instructor being present.

?We did the training last year,? said Mrs. Rollin. ?It was an intensive three weeks. We did pre-training first which was three days. Then we had about nine months to practice with people and that sort of thing. Then our master trainer came back down and we finished 35 hours of supervised training where she had to watch us teach. In March, I went to South Beach and did the test which was an intensive three days, and passed. I don?t have any more tests to do.?We do training upgrades every two years. There are also specialised courses, such as post-natal and prenatal teaching and pelvis issues.?

Mrs. Rollin has about ten gyrotonic clients in addition to her regular Pilates students. She herself tries to get on the gyrotonic expansion system at least three times a week.

?It is a great movement modality,? she said. ?I like to do all of the spine work. It is important to use it so that when I teach it to my clients I can relate to how they are feeling.

?It makes your skeleton and body more balanced, I feel more flexible. My co-ordination is a lot better. My range of motion is increased by I don?t know how many degrees. Everyone leaves here walking taller, and feeling a little straighter.?

For more information about the gyrotonic expansion system go to www.gyrotonic.com or telephone the Health Co-op at 236-0336.