What will BODYBALANCE™ do for me?

• Improve your joint flexibility and range of movement
• Increase your core strength
• Improve your cardio-vascular function
• Burn calories
• Reduce your stress levels
• Provide a lasting sense of wellbeing and calm
• Focus your mind and raise your level of consciousness

So describe a typical class.

Each class follows a set sequence of exercise disciplines and is made up of 45 minutes of simple yet challenging exercises followed by ten minutes of relaxation and meditation. Your teacher takes you through the moves and gives you options depending on your level of fitness.

Like all the Les Mills programs, a new BODYBALANCE™ class is released every three months with new music and choreography.

• Tai chi warmup

  Easy, flowing moves from the ancient Chinese exercise discipline let you leave your day behind, centre yourself and warm the body.

• Sun salutations

  A traditional yoga sequence that warms your whole body more deeply, stretching and strengthening key muscle groups.

• Yoga standing strength

  Poses such as warrior pose and triangle pose strengthen and tone your entire body.

• Balances

  Concentration and focus allow your mind and body to adapt to meet the challenge of balancing poses.

• Hip openers

  Focuses on stretches to produce greater flexibility and freedom of movement in the hips and lower back.

• Core work

  Uses exercises from Pilates and yoga to strengthen core abdominal and back muscles.

• Twists and forward bends

  Poses and stretches to create suppleness and flexibility in the hamstrings and back.

• Relaxation and meditation

  The final ten minutes deliver the mental and physiological benefits of meditation and enhance the effects of the exercise you have just completed.

What do I need to bring?

Just yourself! You should wear comfortable workout clothes – and no shoes. We do the class in bare feet because you need to feel full contact with the floor for the balancing and postural work. In colder weather you may also need to bring something warm to wear for the relaxation and meditation sequence. Some clubs may ask you to bring a yoga mat and you may prefer to do so anyway – however, this is not essential.

How often should I do BODYBALANCE™?

You’ll feel real benefits from coming to class just once a week but coming three times a week is usual.

When will I notice results?

It usually takes about three classes to understand the feel and structure of the class and moves. You may experience some mild muscle soreness at first but this will quickly pass and be followed by noticeable strength and flexibility gains and postural improvement.

From the very first class you should start to experience the stress-reducing and spiritually renewing benefits of BODYBALANCE™.