Tue & Thurs    8:30 - 10:30 AM   All year regardless of weather.

This morning Outdoor - Hike Body Aligned Class class begins with 50 minute Slow Weights class in the studio and then goes outside for 50 minute hill hike and movement education class in the hills of Pt. Richmond.    This is 120 minute class 

Call Nancy if you are interested in this class 510-232-4566

SEASONAL CLASSES

Outdoor Exercise

Workout format Mother Nature's outdoor exercise studio:

6 - 7:30 PM   This class meets outside April - October
 
Local Park Areas
The parks are a great location for Restorative Exercise workouts, similar to the studio with added movement, walking in proper alignment, and for developing upper body strength and shoulder stabilization using hanging bars and resistance bands.  The large flat areas are a great place for core work, improving our flexibility and working with balance.  The rolling hills are a great location for walking and light jogging on soft trails, developing strength with full body movements  perfect planks, push ups for arm and abdominal strength, one-leg stands, core work and a few other adventures now and then.  The tall dense eucalyptus and meandering shoreline are our refuge from the hot summer sun.
 
Pt. Richmond Hills
The hills around the Point offer us vertical movement to practice optimal use of the feet, legs, pelvis and core when moving up and down steep terrain.  This is great preparation for any outdoor experience.  Take in the million-dollar views  while you improve your hip lists, monster walk, one leg stand and feel those core muscles engaging as you hold a plank as the sun turns the dusk sky deep shades of pink, purple and blue.

Self Myofascial Release     Workshop February 4th 1- 4 PM 2012

Have you ever wished you could give yourself a deep massage to release the tightness in your body?

• Do you wake up in the morning feeling so tight you think someone must have wrapped your joints with duct tape while you slept?  
• Can you turn your head side to side without feeling the muscles pulling all the way into your back and shoulders?.
• Ever feel like standing up straight is a HUGE effort?
• Do you have hip or knee pain but the MRI and x-ray show there is nothing wrong?

Release the fascia to relax and release the pain.  Simply put, fascia is connective tissue. It is a three dimensional, continuous web that surrounds and envelops all parts of the body. It provides stability and support while allowing for gliding and flexibility with movement. Fascia suspends organs, gives muscles shape, provides protective sheaths for nerves and blood vessels, and encases the brain and spinal cord in fluid. Furthermore, it permeates throughout these structures down to the cellular level. The very walls of our cells are actually composed of fascia. Since fascia is a continuous structure, this means that every cell is connected to every other cell from head to toe!

We are very excited to offer this Myofascial Release Workshop focusing on self release techniques.  You'll learn to use powerful tools for your own therapeutic pain relief, improve alignment, flexibility and more.   Myofascial Release also provides a space for deep healing.  We'll use the soft foam roller, small soft ball and other tools you may have at home to relax and revive yourself.  You'll leave feeling lighter and understand the importance of the connective tissue system that supports your body. 

• engage your powerful posterior muscles that propel you forward 
• decrease negative forces that damage knee, hip and ankle joints
• use engaged walking to improve breathing and general health
• decrease the risk of injury and promote lifelong mobility 
• maximize calorie burn by raising your BMR

You'll walk at your own pace, learn basic exercises to improve the alignment, strength and flexibility of lower body muscles and joints.  Then we'll take those skills outside and practice walking  around the beautiful Brickyard Cove Marina and the local parks.  Please wear walking shoes.

BOSU Strong Body      Restorative Exercise TM     Winter 2012

Proprioception: This is another fancy word describing how your body responds to external forces to keep your joints in the right position. When you stand on a Balance Trainer, all of your muscles are forced to contract to keep your joints in proper position. This helps make normal activities easier.

The best thing about the Balance Trainer, besides its versatility, is that it adds fun to your usual workouts. It makes workouts challenging and interesting.

What Is It?
The BOSU Balance Trainer is one of the more exciting exercise tools to hit the fitness world in a while. Why? Because you can use it for so many different activities, all while working on endurance, strength, balance, and stability. The Balance Trainer is like an exercise ball that's been cut in half with a platform on the bottom. The squishy dome side on top and flat platform on the bottom allow you to use the Balance Trainer in many unique ways to build strength in upper body, lower body and core, correct alignment in knees and hips, dramatically improve your balance and much more . The possibilities are endless.

What It Does
Doing exercises on the Balance Trainer requires you to maintain your center of gravity over a surface that is constantly changing. Just standing on it is challenging, as your body moves and shifts into and out of balance.

Using the BOSU Balance Trainer can help improve:

Balance: Because the Balance Trainer is never stable, you're constantly engaging the small stabilizer muscles in the upper and lower body to keep you in place.

Kinesthetic awareness: This is just a fancy word for your awareness of how the body is positioned at any given moment. This awareness is something that often declines as we age, so the Balance Trainer can help you stay connected with how your body moves.

Embrace Life's Joy Through Meditation:  

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Aquatic Exercise    Brickyard Landing residents and guests only
This is a great 50 minute cardio workout designed to get you moving in the deep water.  A buoyancy belt is provided and swimming is not required.  All exercise movements have modifications to fit any fitness level or special need such as joint replacements, respiratory challenges, post surgery or physical therapy restrictions.  No previous experience is needed.  Jump in, the water is 80 degrees.

• Develop muscle strength and endurance without building bulk.
• Increase range of motion in your joints and decrease joint pain.
• Help lower your blood pressure.
• Improve your muscle tone.
• Reduce your waist size.

Focus on Core Workshop / Restorative Exercise      
Date to be announced                              Class Fee $35

In this introductory class you will learn the basic movements and body concepts that constitute deep core connection effectively engaging the correct muscles. This is an effective method of body conditioning that works to strengthen your center, lengthen your spine, build muscle tone, and increase body awareness and flexibility. Relief of joint pain including many forms of low back pain often results from this core training. The system of floor exercises is progressive.
This workshop is a prerequisite for the following classes:

          Focus on Core

          Whole Body Workout