Unusual activities to try in 2022
Aerial Yoga (or Air Yoga)
Inspired by gymnastics, circus, choreographic dance and yoga
Aerial yoga has emerged in the last 10-15 years and uses a method of using silk fabric in the form of a "hammock" to raise the practitioner from the ground to less than one meter. The use of the "hammock » creates antigravity effects, which allows a greater range of acrobatic-type postures to be included in the practice.
The advantages:
· Develop muscle strength
· Increase flexibility and joint mobility
· Decompress the vertebrae
· Help the cardiovascular system
· Improve the ability to let go
· Improve balance
Very fun, you can find introductory courses almost everywhere.
Meditation bar
This is Christine Barois, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of No need to be Tibetan to meditate, who came up with the idea for this place.
After observing similar places in the United States, Christine Barois surrounded herself with about fifteen qualified instructors, mostly psychologists and psychiatrists. Her team delivers the keys to mindfulness meditation in order to be more focused, efficient, creative, attentive and simply healthier.
The first place of this kind opened in Paris just a year ago, in the Opéra district.
On the menu, the possibility of enjoying short 30-minute sessions in a comfortable armchair or in the basement, alone and in peace.
Meditation Bar. 5, rue Gaillon (2nd). Tel.: 01 47 42 00 00. Mon. to Fri. from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Guided sessions from Mon. to Fri., from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. €15/trial then €20. From 8 years old. And also: in-depth eight-week programs, from €480.
Hoop Dance/Fitness
This very complete sport has come back to the forefront in recent years, combining endurance, coordination, balance and flexibility.
The waves allow for a flat and toned stomach
You can buy one at Decathlon and do it alone at home or join group classes with lively music.
In music, one spins one's hula hoop not only around one's waist, but also around all other parts of one's body, in choreographed sequences.
Surfset fitness
Not lucky enough to live near California beaches and dreaming of surfing?
No problem, come and discover this activity, which consists of reproducing the imbalance felt by surfers when they are on the water and have to face the waves.
while adding a fitness dimension
You learn the basics without getting your swimsuit wet or drinking from the cup 😉
Benefits: Strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, abs, triceps, and works the cardio. Intense effort guaranteed. Especially if you get into the game, helped by the waves projected on the screen, for the Hawaiian atmosphere.
We therefore work the whole body, through core strengthening
Not to mention the cardio effect that a session brings.
Count 60€ for an individual course or 50€ for a package of 10 sessions. – group course session: 30€ per person in France
25$ per session in Quebec
Lightsaber Lessons
Become a Jedi at the Sports Lightsaber Academy and Training Center
Whether you are a Star Wars fan or a great athlete looking for new sensations, you can come and try your hand at it
You will learn the basics with a trained and passionate instructor: movements, basic attacks, fun games and guided combat.
The 1.5-hour introductory course costs 20 euros
In Quebec, there are also places like The Force Academy to get started. The individual ticket is 24,95$
https://montreal.dodgebow.ca/produit/force-academie-billets-individuels/
Kangoo Jumps Fitness
Born from the imagination of Canadian physiotherapists and then developed in Switzerland, trampoline boots (Kangoo Jumps) were invented with the aim of allowing patients to return to exercise following an injury or surgery.
This type of activity has the big advantage of allowing its practitioners to do sport while having fun. A Kangoo power class is rather fun: we dance and lose weight in a good atmosphere with lots of energy!
Training takes place with shoes that look like ski boots. They are called Kangoo jumps or Kangoo power shoes. Made with an elastic arch on the sole of the foot, they are used to intensify movements for greater effectiveness in weight loss and at the same time they help to reduce the impact of the shock on the joints.
Benefits of a session
✓ Improves muscle tone
✓ Increases endurance and oxygen consumption
✓ Works on balance, mobility and coordination skills
✓ Allows you to burn up to 1000 kcal/class
✓ Prevents osteoporosis – Kangoo Power exercises increase bone density
✓ Reduces impact on joints up to 80%
✓ Anti-stress effect
These courses are becoming more and more popular in Europe and are very popular across the Atlantic.
Jump for Kangoo
Every Tuesday at 7pm at Let's dance studio, 10 rue Tournefort, Paris 5th. Metro Place Monge. For more information: https://jumpforkangoo.com/
Studio Bizz Mont-Royal – Montreal
Aqua pole dance
As its name suggests, this sport uses pole dancing moves but in water, which makes the exercise more accessible. Like aquabiking, this sport is very effective for reshaping your body.
Aqua pole dance combines dance and fitness with music and gentleness. Classes generally last 1 hour and include warm-up and choreography. If pole dance requires strength in the arms, in a pool this is much less the case since the weight of the body seems lighter than on land. Therefore accessible to beginners.
To help and stimulate you, you will be provided with a lively soundtrack and you will learn choreographies that you will perfect throughout the classes. You will start with the cupid, the spin or the flag and the more experienced you are, the more you will be able to perform more difficult figures such as floorwork.
Ultimately, you will tone your body while limiting the risk of injury and protecting your joints thanks to the water.
Classes last an average of 45 minutes.
Several swimming pools offer this activity on demand.
Mermaiding
From English " mermaid ", which means " siren », mermaiding is the art of swimming like a mermaid and is of course practiced using a costume and a monofin. Generally perceived as a more childish derivative of synchronized swimming, it is nevertheless a real sporting discipline that combines endurance, beauty and apnea.
Man, woman, child: the good thing about this sport is that it is open to everyone as long as you know how to swim.
Be careful, however, for people with fragile backs, because they are put under a lot of strain during swimming.
A former top athlete in synchronized swimming, Julia Sardella went to Las Vegas to work as an artist. When she returned to France, she created her own aquatic show troupe Pearl Events, in which there are some mermaids. She realizes that these creatures, half-woman half-fish, amaze and fascinate. Julia then decides to make the dream of many girls come true: to turn into a mermaid!
The world's first mermaid school opened in the Philippines, and others have since opened in Canada, Australia, Germany... and now in France.
Its benefits
Being a mermaid, living at the bottom of the sea, swimming with fish… it’s a dream come true for many. In fact, it’s so fun and magical that it has already helped many people overcome their fear of water. Others have simply learned to accept their bodies and love themselves. Mermaiding, in fact, works on grace and beauty.
The idea of transforming and swimming like a mermaid may be fun, but it's much more athletic than you might think... There's real cardio and core work involved. In fact, just by putting on the tail, your knees are glued together, and your body is strengthened.
As for apnea work, it allows you to relax: you necessarily improve your way of breathing. In the water, you will oxygenate yourself a lot, and by oxygenating the body more, you will feel relaxed. By blowing into the water, and inhaling on the surface, you activate and maintain the entire cardiovascular system!
