It's more than yoga, more than hip-hop, more than modern dance.
Adilibria II and Adi Street Hop mix yoga, dance styles and hit
music.
Sport is fun and now you can enjoy the pure joy of it - that's
the message behind Adidas Fitness Academy's two new courses,
Adilibria II and Street Hop. The theme is "Sport is a Game.”
Inhale, open your arms. Exhale, close your arms. Raise your
head, open your eyes and release your arms. Inhale deeply, raise
your arms. Exhale, drop your body forward. Again, one more
time.
The hall in the Shanghai Oriental Art Center has a touch of
tranquility and relaxation. Around 30 women in purple yoga pants
with wide legs stand on yoga mats and follow the instructions.
You may think this is a yoga class. Partly right. This is an
Adilibria class at the Adidas Fitness Academy.
Adilibria is designed especially for Asian women. It combines
elements such as libria, or balance, and modern ballet and fuses
static and dynamic states. It relieves both the body and the
nerves.
Adilibria was created by veteran yoga instructor Lin Min, a
sports expert with Adidas. "The course is largely inspired by kyoga
created by yoga master Kamal, who is the most influential trainer
in my yoga career," Lin says. "His yoga theory says that no matter
how stiff your body is, you can soften it through persistent
practice."
She notes that through regular practice of Adilibria, the body
becomes limber and strong.
The class offers different practice focusing on different parts
of the body. Stretching and turning the backbone and muscles will
increase flexibility and improve blood circulation. Static practice
of balance strengthens the stamina of joints and muscles. Dynamic
practice strengthens the flexibility and heart and lung
function.
"Just like the slogan of Adidas 'impossible is nothing,'
Adilibria is 'the story of the impossible'," Lin adds. "The
backbone, joints and muscles are the hardest to soften. But this
program can turn the impossible to possible."
Like music, yoga has its own specific rhythm. The rhythm of
Adilibria reflects the four seasons.
The first part falls in the morning or when the body is stiff.
It warms you up by waking up your joints and muscles. The second
part falls in the day to fill you with energy. The third part falls
in the late afternoon to calm you down and relieve your nerves. The
fourth part falls in the evening to fully relax your body and bring
you peace in body and mind.
Lin adds different rhythms. "With the same music, you can repeat
it three or six times at home. It's up to you, according to your
own breathing rhythm."
Adi Street Hop also illustrates the concept "Sport is a game."
This lively course is a mix of several dance styles and introduces
hit music to encourage people to express their passion in dance and
exercise.
It is created by US-based Christopher Michael Jones and Mandy
Kerr, both all-around dancers. Jones began his dance classes when
he was only two years old.
He is a true triple threat with performance credits as actor,
dancer and vocalist that include Broadway touring companies,
dancing for well-known artists and television and film
appearances.
Having appeared in the popular TV sitcoms Sex and the
City and Sesame Street, Kerr also performed with
famous artists such as Michael Jackson and N SYNC. She is now
recording her own single.
"The experiences of dancing, acting and singing have great
influence on the creation of Adi Street Hop," Jones says. "We try
to bring entertainment to the fitness world."
"We want to give people a new exciting way to exercise," Kerr
adds. "It would be exciting to blend dance and fitness. It's also
good for the lovers of dance and fitness. That's the urge where it
came from."
Though the course combines dance with fitness and the class
covers a wide range of dance styles including waving and locking,
it is very accessible to starters.
"The point is to keep it easy and fun," Jones says. "The program
is mainly designed for our young generation, particularly the
white-collar, blue-collar and everyday worker. We just want them to
get relieved from all the burdens and have fun."
Super Girl Reborn group took part in the class, showed great
interest and said in a statement: "Sometimes the exercises of
artists are too results-oriented. This brand-new form of exercise
offers us chances to experience the true joy of sport."
(Shanghai Daily August 17, 2007)
