Village Gyrotonic — Local services in New York

Upon reaching age 86, I relinquished my first violin chair in the Greenwich village orchestra, so that a younger, more adept young player would be able to join the orchestra. Beginning signs of arthritis and lack of stamina contributed to this decision.

But my violin teacher had impressed upon me a life moulding maxim: to always keep your instrument in top functioning condition. For a violinist, that means replacing strings as they become untrue to the pitch, not letting the bridge warp, and above all, don’t let the wood get cracked.

My real life profession was as an actor, and an actor’s instrument is herself. Her soul, mind and body. And I had long maintained an instrument that was strong, lithe, and as beautiful as I could, with ballet and voice exercises. But here I was, with signs of irreparable damage due to aging, facing an agonizing decision: to do something, or not. And if yes, what should it be? Not ballet any more… far too demanding. My daughters all did yoga and encouraged me to try that. But I found the positions put too much weight on my arthritic wrists and knees. It was not right for me.

Right down the street from my house is the Bedford street Gyrotonics studio. I often passed the window, saw lithe and not so lithe people doing strange exercises on strange weight bearing machines. More out of curiosity than anything else, I decided to go in and find out what it was all about.

I was assigned a beautiful young trainer, Desiree. Right away we hit it off. She explained that gyro, meaning circular, was the basis of the work . I gathered that muscles, which in yoga would be lengthened by lateral poses, would here be strengthened by circular repetitions. The strange machines would assist in helping to isolate which muscles to concentrate on. That normal positions instill good alignment., and that I did not know what normal positions were. It means to respect the lumbar curve, and not tuck your behind underneath. A cultural thing, to a wasp like me. To make the pelvis your floor! To let it swing a bit! Unheard of to a ballet dancer! Another thing was to learn to walk with my feet parallel, not turned out. And although my hair is white and it’s more comfortable to slouch, I must try to keep the torso pulled up and hold the head high.

That was 5 years ago and Covid came during that time. The studio remained open and all the preventative measures were taken to keep everyone healthy. I reached 91 and never got sick.

Desiree never forces me to do more than I am comfortable with. If I get light headed, she is right there with a glass of water. If I get tired doing repetitions she assures me, just 3 more…I won’t say it doesn’t take effort and determination to do the work, but it’s not exhausting.

I was relieved to know that there’s a package plan for payments. I go twice a week at a time when the studio is relatively empty, but there are times when floor space is at a premium.

I just wish I had this training long ago. But believe me, it’s never too...

I came to Village Gyrotonic as part of a path towards recovering physical resilience after a long illness. As a West Village resident, the proximity to home and the importance to be supportive of a local business in my community were key to my choice.

What I found was a new understanding of the body, new frontiers of movement, fascinating and challenging, revolutionary even, an approach that is very much aligned with what I was looking for and from which we can all benefit.

I am most grateful to Esther Moreno, the owner of Village Gyrotonic and Zoe Brod, Studio Manager, for the warmth and kindness with which I was welcome to the Studio, which has made my experience so pleasant, rewarding and fulfilling. I loved the relaxed, friendly, and very professional environment you provide which helps us all accomplish our goals smoothly and successfully. It was everything I expected and way, way more.

I would also like to especially thank you for having listened to me when I first contacted you and having paired me with the Instructor who was best suited for my needs amongst all your extremely well qualified professionals. I needed a specific kind of Instructor, and you could not have found a better fit for me. This Instructor is Olga Maidan.

Olga's set of skills and experience were instrumental in this training process. She is an incredible Instructor, an accomplished professional, dedicated, vigorous and at the same time, creative, with a keen sense of humor that never compromises focus. She talked "Gyrotonic" to me in a way that I could see and execute it as a fluid, expansion system that allows smooth and harmonious movement. Olga is very hands on, always strives for perfection, wants more of you, which makes you want to push yourself and develop. I felt growth, excitement, an awareness of my body in a way I have never had, discovered specific movements I did not know we had in us (!), had great "break-through/"a-ha!" moments that were almost magical (at least to me). And to top it all, we share the same birthday!

In my recovery journey, I have been fortunate enough to have met and partnered with great people who have helped me get where I am now. That's one if the best lessons and rewards in life - we can accomplish better results together. I have found in your Studio and in Olga a killer combination that I look forward to coming back to as I continue to pursue my recovery goals. Slowly and humbly, I am getting there!

In the meantime, enjoy your summer and please send all in the Studio my very best!

Kind...

I highly recommend this studio:

I did something weird to my lower back/right hip while lifting something last year and have been struggling with back stiffness and lower back and hip pain for over 6 months. I had never heard of Gyrotonics until a friend mentioned it a few months ago. I tried chiropractic, pilates, yoga for back pain, cranio-sacral therapy as well as acupuncture and massage to try to heal. All these modalities helped, but it seems that Gyrotonic addressed the root of my issue: I continued to reinjure myself due to overall weakness.

I visited the studio in the West Village, working with Mariana Muller (who is a highly skilled instructor and a gem of a human being!). The staff there are so kind and personable and I could easily get a hold of anyone if needed. Over the course of a few months, Mariana identified the flaws in my alignment and worked with me to fire up the muscle groups that were asleep/immobile. She had me focus intensely on the curvature and flexibility of my spine, not just laterally, as in cat/cow stretches, but on different planes, 3-dimensionally by twisting, which was very awkward at first, but I grew to love these types of movements.

The classes are always different and I feel totally supported. I never need to worry about tweaking my back the way I worry in yoga classes. I love the spinner/slider bar the best, and feel like a big kid, spinning around on the disks! I definitely notice a difference in my posture these days, not just standing and walking, but also sitting (which I do a lot, having a desk job).

I am so grateful that I can now bend forward easily without pain or stiffness. AND I am no longer prone to re-injuring myself - my muscles, sacrum, lower, middle, upper back and neck are communicating with each other in a new way! I recommend trying this modality at...