Here at U.Va., there are a few standard ways in which students stay physically healthy. No. 1: running. Who can say he wasn't overtaken by a dozen runners on his walk to pick up the paper this morning? No. 2: using the elliptical. This is mainly for the women. Every time I've been to the Aquatic & Fitness Center, the second floor ellipticals have been packed with lady Hoos monotonously swinging their legs back and forth to keep their hams tight. No. 3: weight lifting. There are a lot of bodybuilders on Grounds, mainly men, and they come out in stride at the various gyms, curling 50- and 60-pound dumbbells and reiterating just how feeble an Ichabod Crane like me is with every rep. Here's the point: The standard conception of "working out" is a tried-and-true means to stay in shape, but it is by no means the only option out there. U.Va.'s fitness horizon is much broader. Here are some alternative ways to break a sweat.
Asana yoga
Don't be intimidated by the exotic name. Asana yoga is what we normally conceive of as simply yoga, but to be accurate, asana is only one of several branches of cultivating the mind-body-spirit connection collectively known in the East as yoga.
Up until a few months ago, I knew vaguely what yoga was but had never considered it, or any form of exercise for that matter, as a worthwhile use of time. Now that I have some basic yoga experience under my belt, I can say the world of asana is a wide one. When it comes to physical strenuousness, yoga ranges from something of a glorified stretching exercise to a full-on physical exhaustion. In short, yoga is the assumption of physical poses intended to strengthen and exercise the body, especially the "core" or abdominal muscles to the ends of, as one instructor put it, forgetting about the body and being able to focus on the mind and spirit.
Some aspects of yoga practice have been common to all the classes I've attended. Classes are held in an exercise studio with about six times the floor space of a first-year dorm room. There is always a teacher at the front of the room dictating the bodily movements you should be making and often assuming the poses himself as a visual aid. Classes always end in savasana, corpse pose, in which you lie on your back and focus on relaxing every muscle in your body.
Some notable postures are Downward Dog, in which one stands on his palms and feet and raises his hips up as high as he can, Cobra pose, which requires one to curve his back upward, lifting up his chest and neck while supporting his upper body with the arms and pressing the legs into the ground, Shoulder Stand, in which one lies down and raises the torso and legs, putting his feet towards the ceiling in vertical alignment with your chest, and Forward Fold, which requires one to bend his knees slightly and let his head drop to the floor. Please don't attempt any of these poses based only on the previous instructions; I am not a qualified teacher, and I don't want to be responsible if you hurt yourself. I'll let YouTube handle that.
There are a multitude of yoga classes available in Charlottesville. Classes are held at U.Va. in the AFC,, and the Charlottesville Public Library, of all places, hosts Ninja Yoga.
Capo-what now?
While browsing through the short course catalog brochure on the University Programs Council Web Site, I was immediately drawn to a class under the "dance" heading described as focusing "on enhancing timing, play, theatrics, acrobatics, flexibility, [and] strength" called capoeira, roughly pronounced ka-po-ey-ra. According to ithaca.edu/capoeira, capoeira was developed in Africa in the early 17th century and brought to Brazil by enslaved Angolans. A mixture between dance, acrobatics, martial arts and music, capoeira has become a distinct element of Brazilian culture. Outlawed there in 1892 because of its popularity with street gangs, capoeira survived underground until the repeal of the ban around the same time prohibition was repealed in the U.S. Today, capoeira is practiced around the globe.
Here's how it works. The foci of a capoeira exercise are two opponents surrounded by a ring of spectators, known as a roda. During nonviolent play, the two competitors feign offensive moves at one another and gracefully dodge each other's blows. Capoeristas are never idle during play and are always moving to advance and defend against their opponents' moves, the most basic of which is the ginga, a horizontal stride. Other techniques include bicycle kicks, mid-air roundhouses and flips. A capoerista's entire body is constantly in motion.
Music is an essential element of capoeira and is played using instruments of African heritage, primarily the berimbau, resembling a bow with a gourd attached for resonance, the atabaque, a drum with a cow-hide head and the pandeiro, similar to a tambourine. The low-toned berimbau leads in capoeria music, supported by the fast and regular tempo of the atabaque and pandeiro.
The University Programs Council offers a short course for those interested in learning capoeira.
I'm melting, melting
Newsflash everyone: There's a sauna in the AFC right next to the jacuzzi. I didn't know about it until my hallmate mentioned it, but since then I've been going a couple times a week. It closes at 10 p.m. and, in my experience, usually has sparse attendance after 8 p.m.
From what I've heard, visits to the sauna clear the body of "impurities" through sweating; what exactly these "impurities" are is unclear. I can say for myself that a trip to the sauna is relaxing for about the first 10 minutes in the 160-degree wooden chamber. By then, my entire body is covered in a viscous film of sweat, and I am ready to take a dip in the pool.
Scandinavians are notorious for their love of the sauna; after all, they invented it. The Sauna World Championships are held every year in Finland and are conducted in a sauna kept at a balmy 230 degrees. The current championship record is just over 15 minutes. Beat that Satan!
Thanks for sticking your nose in Zumbody's Business, Cav fans. Until next Monday this is Thomas Zumberge, wishing you a healthy and sexual two weeks.
Thomas Zumberge is a Health & Sexuality columnist. He can be reached at zumberge@cavalierdaily.com
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