Yoga with a twist: Improve balance, strength with these unique local classes

The pandemic forced many people to creatively come up with unique ways to work out, from Zoom fitness to roof-top Zumba classes. And although the pandemic has subsided for the most part, there are still ways to get in a workout outside of the home gym or local fitness center, particularly for those who enjoy yoga.

Ivy Schwartz, 71, is a Shelby Township-based yoga instructor who leads fitness-inspired yoga classes on a paddleboard and near the boat launch at Stony Creek. Her land-based sessions, which take place Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. are accompanied by saxophone player Greg Racette. The live music creates a meditative, calm atmosphere for her students, Schwartz said.

“It’s in the park, under a big oak tree. I like to call it sax on the grass,” Schwartz laughed. “It’s a fusion of yoga and pilates, but more biomechanically orientated for injury prevention and physical health.”

Schwartz has been leading her yoga classes, which are called “Sunset YoPIvy” (a blend of the word yoga and her first name), at Stony Creek for seven years. The classes, which take place at sunset, enhance flexibility, breath control, balance, and core strength. Class participants link breath to movement in fluid flows to improve balance and total body strength.

Although Schwartz teaches at several fitness facilities in the area as well, she especially enjoys leading sessions at the park because of the atmosphere it provides. “There’s nothing that can compare to being in nature, feeling the sun, and hearing the birds and the water sloshing around,” Schwartz said.

Likewise, the Troy Historical Society has partnered with Explore Yoga to offer yoga classes at the Troy Historic Village for about nine years now. The Troy Historic Village is a collection of 11 historic buildings and a gazebo that are filled with artifacts from the 1800s and 1900s.

Yoga class participants practice various styles of yoga every week, including slow flow and others.

“The first couple of years, we offered classes smack dab in the center of Village Green, but more recently we’ve moved to a quieter space behind the historic Casewell House with a few nice shade trees and less road noise from traffic on Livernois and Wattles,” said Stephanie Arwady, adults program director at the Troy Historic Village. “I attend pretty much every yoga class we offer here and I love them. It’s nice to see both new and returning participants every year and our program has grown.”

In addition to the Village’s Tuesday Museum Yoga classes (which take place every Tuesday from June 13-Sept. 12), they’ve recently added Yoga & Wine night at the end of each session so people can socialize and enjoy the historic buildings. “Yoga has lots of physical and mental benefits and practicing it outdoors takes it to a whole new level,” Arwady said.

At the Rochester Older Persons Commission, Aqua Yoga classes are offered regularly in their Therapy Pool. Yoga in the water is easier on the joints, but more challenging when it comes to balance due to the movement of the water.

Wherever you practice yoga, you benefit. That’s because when you do yoga poses, you’re putting your body in positions and orientations that you ultimately have to support with your muscles. So, you’re lifting weight, although you’re not using weight machines, deadlifts, or dumbbells, but getting the same results.

The benefits of yoga can be substantial, with a growing body of research suggesting that yoga helps people age well. For example, regular yoga practice has been shown to improve blood pressure, heart rate, and insulin resistance, relieve anxiety and depression, ease back pain, alleviate sleep problems, and enhance the mental and physical health of sedentary adults with arthritis.

To learn more about Sunset YoPIvy or to make an appointment for a yoga on paddleboard class, call or text Schwartz at 586-873-3782. For more information about Museum Yoga at the Troy Historic Village, visit their website at troyhistoricvillage.org. Visit the Rochester Older Persons Commission online at opcseniorcenter.org.

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