Beauty & Wellness

Branch Out: New Forms of Fitness for 2025

When your usual gym routine gets stale, or if you’re recovering from surgery or an injury, or if you’ve made a resolution to start your fitness journey, there are several avenues to explore. I sampled a few that were new to me and enjoyed each of them. I like to rotate weights/cardio workouts with aquafit and bicycling, so it was interesting to explore new-to-me forms of fitness. Perhaps one or more will intrigue you enough to try something different.


QIGONG

I tried tai chi once and liked it but didn’t love it; it was a real test of my bad knees to stand and rotate on bent legs for an hour. I appreciated the flow and beauty but decided it wasn’t for me.

Enter qigong. Developed thousands of years ago as part of traditional Chinese medicine, it spawned tai chi a few hundred years ago, according to Kim Morrison, who is a Holden-certified qigong instructor. She says that it is simpler, and many prefer it to tai chi as the arms and legs usually move independently. “It’s slow, intentional movement that promotes flexibility and breathing.”

Because I need help being intentional about breath work and am always looking for new methods of stretching and working on balance, I enjoyed the class. The flowing movements are calming and relaxing, but I felt like I’d had a good stretch and core workout. It was an hour of moving meditation, leaving me grounded and energized at the same time.

Morrison adds, “Qigong can benefit those with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.”

At pay-by-donation classes on Friday nights at the Trinity United Church Community Centre, Morrison leads a group of men and women who range in age from late 30s to mid/late 70s. In a soothing voice, she explains breathing patterns and demonstrates movements (showing modifications) as the group follows along. Some were regulars but several of us were first-timers. All participants were able to follow Morrison’s movements to their abilities, while soft music flowed through the room.

According to Morrison, qigong can be done while seated in a sturdy chair. She also offers classes over Zoom (kimlouisemorrison.com).

In London, some yoga and tai chi studios offer qigong.


CHAIR YOGA

Across the city and region, you can find a range of types of yoga classes on offer — hot, power, flow, to name a few. I’ve experienced several but found some challenging because of balance issues due to hip replacements; I love the movements, but some things just don’t work for all of us. So I tried chair yoga while travelling, and enjoyed being able to work on flexibility and not feel like I might tip over at any moment.

Lisa Shackleton, of Yoga Shack (yogashack.ca), says this is the case for many. “It’s good for people who have mobility issues; it builds confidence.” She adds that while some people’s limitations mandate that they continue with a seated form of the exercise, others move to using the chair as a balance aid, eventually building up to standing yoga.

Judy Dougall, of Heartfelt Yoga, adds that chair yoga answers a need for those who don’t want to or can’t easily get down or up from the floor.

The movements are adapted versions of poses done in other classes with the same intent of building strength and flexibility.

People of all ages and fitness levels can participate, but Shackleton says that it’s ideal for those with desk jobs, people who watch a lot of television, or when travelling long distances by airplane — wherever and whenever one is seated for a longer period of time.

“It gets the blood moving and helps circulation, works on conscious breathing and can help anxious feelings.”

As she demonstrated the movements, I found myself flowing through cat/cow to Warrior 2 without fear of falling. Rotational movements felt so good for my back and neck. Mindful breathing is always welcome to fight the breathless got-too-much-to-do feeling.

The movements are adapted versions of poses done in other classes with the same intent of building strength and flexibility.

Dougall adds that a hidden benefit of the deep breathing done in class can continue through the day to get more oxygen into your system. Learning breath control can help to manage anger issues and lessen stress.

She cautions that yoga isn’t a “quick fix. You must be consistent with it to see benefits over the longer term.” (heartfeltyoga.info)

You can also find classes through the City of London, at some YMCAs and many fitness facilities.


WATER WALKING

I love anything water, from splashing about at the beach to doing some laps in the pool, so it wasn’t a hardship to try out water walking at the Stoney Creek YMCA.

Aquafit can be a good workout for both cardio and strength, but finding a new way to exercise in the water was a welcome change. Even more so when I learned that it isn’t only kinder to joints but also burns more calories than walking on land and almost as many as doing aquafit.

The volunteer instructor put on some fun up-tempo music and started the class — made up of men and women, ranging in age from mid-50s to 80s — with walking forward to warm up and get our balance. In sequence, she had us do side strides, walk backward, and reverse directions to walk against the current (added core work), changing it up every six minutes.

According to Vicki Williton, Stoney Creek Y’s manager of health and wellness who also teaches water walking classes, “With water supporting you, you can do more with less pain. You can work on balance and core, as well as functional fitness. With more resistance, you can work harder in the water than on your usual walk.”

She adds that the classes were created with people recovering from joint surgery and those with limited mobility or difficulty accessing other types of fitness. “It’s good for people who become overheated during dry land exercise.”

Water walking also provides social opportunities. Talking with other participants is encouraged, while it’s not allowed in most other types of group fitness. “We wanted to find another way to build community,” says Williton.

The routines concentrate on bringing energy, encouraging coordination, and promoting communication between the brain’s hemispheres.

The routines concentrate on bringing energy, encouraging coordination and promoting communication between the brain’s hemispheres.

To make it more challenging, I used my webbed water gloves and noticed a participant named Val wearing waterproof ankle weights. You can go as easy or work as hard as your abilities dictate.

Stoney Creek YMCA offers water walking three days a week. It is also available at Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre.


AGELESS GRACE

I didn’t know what to expect walking into an Ageless Grace class. Some of my friends enjoy it, and I knew it was a form of seated exercise that offers a mind/body approach to wellness.

Attending Odile (Dillie) Brockman-Lee’s class was surprisingly enjoyable and, I even worked up a sweat.

Brockman-Lee has been an instructor for 11 years and is certified as an Ageless Grace Brain Health Educator. She explains the program presents “the three Rs of comfort and ease: react, recover, recuperate.”

The lively group remained seated on chairs during the 45-minute class I attended. Routines, set to energetic music, took us through a series of movements with fun names like “juicy joints” and “bread bag.” The movements are a series of choreographed routines, doable by the attendees, who are in their 60s to 80s. The routines concentrate on bringing energy, encouraging coordination, and promoting communication between the brain’s hemispheres.

No part of our body was neglected; from head to toe, we wiggled, danced, vocalized, and laughed — while seated the entire time.

“We don’t use chairs because the people can’t stand, because they can. Sitting in a chair while exercising actually makes both the body and brain work harder. We have to figure out how to do it all sitting down.” She adds that being in a chair helps core conditioning.

Ageless Grace concentrates on brain health and aging well. According to Brockman-Lee, they use the acronym SMACK because “It activates all five functions of the brain: strategic planning, memory recall, analytical thinking, creativity, and imagination.”

Brockman-Lee (odilebrockmanlee@hotmail.com) teaches four classes each week in various locations. Others are available through the City of London and at churches.

Whether you want to be seated or stand, stay dry or get wet, there are options to shake up your fitness routine or get back on track as we begin a new year.


About the Author
A life-long swimmer, Jill Ellis-Worthington is combining her love of writing with a passion for aquatic fitness. She’s dedicated to helping others in their pursuit of better health through aquatic personal training and can be reached at jill@wateronpro.com.

About the author

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Jill Ellis-Worthington

With a writing career that has taken her from Ontario’s lakes (Power Boating Canada), on travel adventures (The London Free Press) and into award-winning gardens (Canadian Gardening), Jill Ellis-Worthington loves telling compelling stories. Writing about home construction and renovations are among her favourite topics.