|
Q: What are the main differences between GYROTONIC and GYROKINESIS exercises? A: Juliu Horvath first developed GYROKINESIS exercises while living on the island of St. Thomas in the 1970's, and when he moved to New York City, he began teaching these movements and quickly developed a following. At the time he called it "Yoga for Dancers", but what he was teaching, fluid movements that offer the same benefits also found in yoga, dance, gymnastics, swimming and tai chi, evolved into the thorough yet simple methodology that he later named "GYROKINESIS". GYROKINESIS exercises are not derived from these other exercise modalities however. All that are needed to perform GYROKINESIS exercises are ample floor space to allow one to move unhindered and a small stool or chair to sit upon. While living in New York City, Juliu's observations of injured and wheelchair-bound people, in addition to dancers and athletes, led him to experiment with creating exercise machines and a corresponding movement philosophy that incorporated these same GYROKINESIS exercise principles into them. The Gyrotonic Expansion System thus came into existence. GYROTONIC exercises are related to GYROKINESIS exercises in that they both contain many of these same movement principals, such as fluid, sequential movement coordinated with conscious breathing, yet GYROTONIC exercises are performed on equipment and GYROKINESIS exercises are not. |