Zjana Muraro is GYROTONIC® trainer, yoga instructor, somatic movement therapist and classically trained dancer who teaches regular GYROTONIC® sessions in Camden. In this blog, she shares how one-on-one GYROTONIC® sessions compliment her regular yoga asana practice and what students can expect in a session. It’s well-known among trainers and students of the GYROTONIC® method that words just can’t do it justice – but Zjana does quite the job with her poetic descriptions below.
Most of my life I’ve been a dancer and I love to be active with my body.
My clients often ask me, what my favorite form of exercise is, and I think of it like this – something different every day, my body craves different ways of moving every day. Some days I want to go for a bike ride, other days it’s yoga, a swim, Pilates, a walk, GYROTONIC®, dancing or a combination of things.
But wait, what is GYROTONIC®?
Let me explain.
I’ve had a regular asana practice for over 15 years, I absolutely love my yoga practice and I can say that GYROTONIC® is a wonderful and complimentary addition to that.
What is different about GYROTONIC® is the individual sessions use of equipment to support the repertoire and progressions of movements alongside the instructor’s applications and hands-on adjustments. The GYROTONIC® equipment supports each movement removing many of the restrictions each of us normally experiences due to pain or limits in our range of motion. With GYROTONIC® I have learned and continue to learn, what it feels like to move with clarity and freedom in my body. Words don’t do it justice.
It really is something you have to experience to fully understand.
What does a GYROTONIC® feel like?
I feel the effects of the movements deep in my bones, muscles, fascia and nerves. It’s opened my eyes to unchartered territory in the way that I move and how I feel. I now know an ease in moving that I’ve never known before. I leave every session more open and connected, energized yet grounded and humbled yet inspired. These effects linger for days.
To me, a GYROTONIC® session feels like I’m dancing with a partner under water. My partner is the equipment and the water is the resistance that creates a sensation of weightlessness or floating as I move through. Somewhere between floating in saltwater and swimming in a jar of honey.
What equipment is used during a session?
GYROTONIC® equipment is something to marvel. The main piece of equipment is a tower and handle unit. The tower is made up of a weighted pulley system to provide smooth resistance to a huge variety of possible movement patterns. There is also a bench that utilizes ball-bearing plates that provide consistent support for undulating the spine in every direction.
When students see this equipment for the first time I hear reactions like, “What are these torture contraptions?” “Wow, what a piece of art!” or “Oh, it looks like an instrument.” No matter what your first impression is, you will surely fall under it’s hypnotic spell once you get a taste. I know I did.
Zjana Muraro is a yoga instructor, somatic movement therapist and GYROTONIC® trainer. She trained as a teacher with Juliu Horvath, the inventor of the GYROTONIC® method as well as Sebastian Plettenberg and Kathy Van Patten in New York City where she is originally from. Zjana is also a classically trained dancer and contemporary dance choreographer and has been performing internationally since the age of 13. She has seen first-hand how the GYROTONIC® method can heal, transform and open her own body and she loves to share that spiral feeling in her classes. Click here to book a GYROTONIC® session with Zjana.
Our GYROTONIC® page shares more details about this low-impact, strength building practice. If you are new to GYROTONIC®, please click here to book a 60-minute start assessment for only £50.
