An interview with Ian Fox by Edward Johnson, about the main benefits of holistic practice to health, weight loss and wellness.

 

 

EJ: What are the main health benefits that come from practising yoga, pilates and tai chi on a regular basis?

IF: All these disciplines help to promote health and healing within us. Yoga, meaning mind and body union and Tai Chi, meaning Grand Ultimate are deep rooted ancient disciplines that have evolved over thousand of years. Pilates is a more recent form of exercise and very effective all the same. All these holistic methods teach us to breathe correctly, deeper, more from the abdomen. This helps to re-align our posture, and release tension so we can move more freely.

Yoga, tai chi and alike have all become more widely known as ‘mind-body’ exercises as the disciplines help us to relax, take control of our thoughts and to manage our ‘state of mind’ more effectively. Practising these disciplines on a regular basis can improve posture, breathing, tone, shape, strength and mental focus.

Even at the end of a challenging day the practise of yoga, tai chi or pilates can bring you renewed energy, a feeling of tranquillity descends upon you with regular practice. These can all help with weight control, retention of a youthful appearance and a stronger immune system.

EJ: How can these exercises help achieve successful weight loss?

IF: Whilst any form of exercise will aid successful weight loss, holistic exercises such as yoga and tai chi will bring you a lot more besides. For many it becomes a way of life, not always in the form of the actual physical exercises (I’m sure you’d get a few funny looks whilst standing in a yoga pose doing the photocopying or on the bus home!) but more in the way of positive thinking, free flowing thoughts and appreciating the finer things. The things that you once found challenging and stressful become more manageable and, dare I say, more enjoyable as you accept rather than resist. That’s often the major problem when tackling weight loss; the focus on the negative, what’s not right and all the other thoughts that are self defeating.

Holistic exercises all allow you to use your mind and body together to achieve great things; so you’re physically exercising and mentally practising. If weight loss is your goal, you’re more likely to achieve when training your mind and body in unison.

EJ: Is one more suited to the novice, or would you say they are all equally easy to take up, and that they will all produce equally good results?

IF: If you are just starting out then you need to make sure that whichever exercise you choose it is a beginners or introductory class. There are many different styles of yoga, tai chi and pilates and not every style will suit. At the end of the class you want to feel that you have done sufficient for your ability without it being too easy and you were bored or too advanced and you felt out of your depth. It is best to ask yourself what you are looking to achieve from taking up one or more of these exercises.

Tai chi is more slow moving and standing, yoga and pilates can be more floor based and focusing on your core strength. All are equally effective forms of exercise.

EJ: What are the best ways to get started? Do you have any tips for people that are just starting out or thinking about giving it a go?

IF: First of all think about what you want your goal to be; are you looking to de-stress, tone up, lose weight, etc? Ask your friends, family or colleagues if they know any classes in yoga, tai chi or pilates; recommendations of any classes are good as you know the instructor is good, likeable and professional.

You could also ask at your local leisure centre or health club, go there at times you know classes are running and have a look in.

Are the classes full, are they too full, do people look like they are enjoying the class? These are all ways you can get a feel for if the class is for you. Some instructors may want you to pay for a series of classes, be prepared to negotiate this, if the class is not suitable you will have wasted your money.

Ask the instructor for their qualifications or certificates as this will give you confidence in their training and dedication to ensuring their class members are practising correctly and safely. All professional instructors will not mind at all. If you have never tried one of these exercises before, think about going with a friend, this will help you feel more confident and you can support each other in keeping up the regular attendance.

Whichever exercise you choose enter the class with an open mind and a sense of achievement for getting through the door. Enjoy the process even if you can’t manage all the moves the first time, this will give you further goals to achieve over the weeks and months.

EJ: In what ways are yoga, pilates and tai chi particularly good forms of exercise for people who are currently overweight and wanting to slim down?

IF: Holistic exercises are very suitable for those that have not exercised for a while and are currently overweight because they are slower and more controlled forms of exercise. This means you can work more within your own capability and not forced to over-exert yourself like in aerobics or circuit classes, for example.

If you are currently overweight or have not exercised for sometime your body will be out of condition and you need to be careful in easing back into any activity at a sensible level. A 30 minute class of yoga or tai chi twice a week in conjunction with a sensible eating plan and other activities such as walking is far better than 1 hour a week of jumping about in an aerobics class and feeling exhausted, uncomfortable, unwell and finding excuses not to go the next week.

Holistic exercises help you find balance in all areas of your life, increase muscle tone to make you stronger, improve lung capacity and correct breathing through special breathing exercises, improve your flexibility and give you an improved feeling of health and wellbeing.

All these elements will assist and aid weight loss.

EJ: How many calories can you burn per hour with yoga or pilates?

IF: It is important to remember that exercises such as yoga and pilates provides more than just burning calories. They are used for balance, flexibility, relaxation, strength and tone and should not necessarily be measured for their calorie burning effects only. The intensity of the class and exercise will also determine the amount of calories used during that class.

A medium paced yoga class (such as Hatha Yoga) can burn 250 calories per hour, whilst a more advanced yoga style (Ashtanga Yoga) can burn up to 400 calories an hour. This is very similar for an hour’s Pilates class and the amount of calories burned really depends on the intensity and the effort exerted during the class.

EJ: These forms of exercise are obviously very good for reducing stress and focusing the mind. Do you feel this aspect of them could increase weight loss as well?

IF: Absolutely, a lot of people carry ‘mental baggage’ around with them that is unnecessary and causing them to feel weighed down in more ways tha n one. From a biological point of view stress releases a hormone called ‘cortisol’, which is useful to an extent to keep us alert and active. However, if we do not find ways to relax and allow the cortisol levels to drop then prolonged high levels can have negative effects. One of these being increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body.

It is therefore important that we find ways to relax, unwind and find forms of exercise that we enjoy, holistic exercises are very good for helping to release stress, worry, anxiety and can have a very positive effect on weight loss as well.

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