The weirdest and wackiest fitness classes in Tel Aviv.
By RACHEL MYERSONKangoo Power(photo credit: OR PORAN)
Exercise in Tel Aviv is a big trend. Perhaps the ever-present sun can be held accountable for pressuring inhabitants to work on their beach body, or the long office hours create a need to let off steam. Either way, it is an integral part of city life.Among the yoga and the Pilates offerings are some unique gems that will keep you toned while entertained. We’ve done the legwork to introduce you to the three weirdest and wackiest fitness classes available in the White City that will keep you smiling while sweating.Vocal Yoga After training as an opera singer in the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and as a yoga teacher in the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in India, Abigail Amster created Vocal Yoga, which combines two of her passions and areas of expertise in a unique method of relaxation. Her vocal class/yoga hybrid uses the human voice to aid meditation and stress release as well as easing overused vocal cords, such as those of teachers.Amster begins each class with voice-aided relaxation, using her voice to lead her students into a state of calm, concentrating only on the here and now, before beginning the typical yoga exercises, ending with a period of voice-aided meditation once again. During the class, she encourages students to explore their own voices, be it to express themselves or to exercise their voice as an instrument, in the quest to feel at ease in their body. She takes particular care to ensure that shyer participants are not singled out.“It is a safe (and noisy) environment, and nobody’s in the spotlight.”Vocal Yoga is suitable for any age and accommodates for any mental or physical health problems. There is also a women-only group for those with religious concerns.Amster’s approach to the voice is fresh and interesting. She advocates the power of song, placing it firmly in the spiritual realm. Trained in Reiki, the ancient art of energy healing, Amster soothes and channels her positive feelings through her voice, a gentler approach to the traditional hand placement. She believes that holding things inside creates unwanted tension in the body, thus her classes encourage people to release the tension of the unsaid and unidentified emotions through song, which she believes is “essential to our wellbeing.”While her methods may appear too “hippie-like” for many, her students are filled with praise for Vocal Yoga – even those who approached the class with cynicism. One student who was particularly unenthusiastic pre-class gushes of the experience, “[Amster] haunted, bewitched, entranced and overwhelmed me from the first sound that came out of her mouth.”vocalyoga.co.il No Lights No LycraIf you love to dance, but don’t rate your moves too highly, then this fun fitness class could be for you. The concept is simple: an hour of dancing, as you wish, in the dark. Originally thought up in Melbourne, where two friends held popular impromptu dance parties in their living room, No Lights No Lycra has expanded globally, with ambassadors in London, New York and Berlin.Hannah Schwartz , Tel Aviv’s No Lights No Lycra ambassador, was motivated by her own desires to “dance like I wanted to.” Warming to the community feel of Studio Naim in the south of the city, she proposed the class to owner Amir, “who was very receptive and supportive of the idea, and agreed that it seemed perfect for an Israeli audience.”Indeed, it has been well received. Israeli participants are reported to be “far more comfortable and outgoing” than their Australian contemporaries.NLNL’s only rule is to dance, and while it may take some first-timers a few songs to feel comfortable, the class is open to all, with one regular bringing her dad along! Due to the lack of instruction, everyone is free to exercise according to their own fitness levels, boogying along to whichever tunes the global team determine to be bop-worthy, life-affirming and uplifting. This is a class to let loose and have fun with – a fantastic mood booster – which will leave you feeling totally rejuvenated and happy.With 25 fellow participants, there is no need to feel shy. Note that the class is for both males and females, with no specific dress code.www.naim.org.il/en/nlnl Kangoo PowerKangoo… Kangaroo? Yes, this wacky workout is named after the jumping animal, and to get the perfect hop you’ll need the specialist equipment: Kangoo Boots, boots with rebounding springs, which drastically reduce the impact on the body’s joints during vigorous athletic activity by 80%.This is great for anyone, especially those with sports-related injuries affecting their joints. In fact, the Kangoo Boots were first used in physiotherapy treatment, becoming a fitness tool in the 1990s.The class itself is essentially one hour of high-intensity, high-energy aerobics, including choreographed routines and isolations – exercises that focus on a particular body part. The boots, which Liza Hazan, the Kangoo Power ambassador in Israel, provides, aid both forms of exercise. In the choreographed routines, they up the energy, giving more bounce according to the amount of energy one performs with. In the isolations, they serve as weights. While the 1.5.-kg. boots may feel undetectable while dancing, when worn during leg lifting exercises, they are challenging.Hazan herself is reason enough to attend her class. She is a vivacious personality who deeply cares about each participant enjoying her workout. After finding the Kangoo Power concept on YouTube, she felt she must learn it for herself, so she went to Romania to train as an instructor, and going 10 years later to the US to gain certification to train others, which she does in Israel. There are classes in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva and Haifa to name a few, with the bouncing set to hit Jerusalem in the upcoming months.While the thought of any specialist equipment might seem pretty scary to those unaccustomed to regular exercise, the class is overwhelmingly fun. Many participants are hooked because it doesn’t feel like exercise at all. All ages are welcome; Hazan mom herself is a regular attendee!www.lizakj.com
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