Fusion Fitness

The cure for exercise boredom

AUTHOR BONITA SUMMERS

If you get bored doing the same kind of exercise day after day or if you’re looking for a new form of cross training, then fusion fitness may be right for you.

Fusion fitness is a combination of different exercise disciplines, often incorporating approaches for the mind and body, including spiritual practices such as meditation. Fusion fitness instructors recognize the personal growth and achievement needs of the whole person, not just the body they inhabit. Fusion is used to tone the body and calm the mind—which can come in handy in a hectic world.

Combinations can include various dance forms from belly dance, to bhangra, to ballet, to hip hop and exercise routines that include yoga, pilates, cycling, exercise ball, and Tae Bo. A variety of movement disciplines ensures a full-body workout and keeps the experience fresh and exciting.

Fusion fitness studios are springing up across the country. Bellyfit, a program for women, offers classes in every province, and the number of teachers is growing. “Bellyfit connects women to their primal feminine while delivering a potent, holistic workout. It blends the power and wisdom of ancient cultures with the research and trends of the modern world: belly dance, Bollywood, African dance, pilates, yoga, meditation and a visionary musical soundscape are blended together within the framework of precision fitness,” explains Alice Bracegirdle, Bellyfit Founder and CEO. More than just another fitness class, fusion is also linked to improved confidence and a sense of empowerment vital in today’s economy.

“Women become connected to their power in a profound way,” says Bracegirdle. “In these tumultuous times, every woman of every age, background, religion and fitness level must be in her full power.”

Another body-mind experience empowering to men and women and growing in popularity is NIA (Neuromuscular Integrative Action). Designed for people of all physical capabilities, the routines blend Eastern and Western styles with healing exercises—such as the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais—martial arts and dance, and are adaptable to the specific needs of the individual.

No longer the domain of exotic dancers, pole dancing is fast becoming incorporated in fitness routines as part of an intense and effective workout. Tammy Morris, a professional dancer and certified fitness instructor who runs two successful dance studios in British Columbia, claims that pole dancing originated at the circus and that the movements required to successfully pole dance are good for improving core and back strength, as well as posture and flexibility.

If the circus concept interests you, check out circus fitness in Canada at the Toronto School of Circus Arts for classes in such skills as aerial arts, flying trapeze, and Chinese poles, which involves some of the movements learned in pole dancing but with movements alternating between more than one pole. At the Wonderful World of Circus out of Thornhill, Ontario, circus fitness classes incorporate gymnastics with circus apparatus, including ropes, rings, and climbing walls, and trampoline.

Article first published in Your Workplace magazine issue 11-3.