WHOLE PEACE WORKOUT
Sixty-minute yoga-, stretching-, Pilates-styled workout• Miami Conservatory, 5818 SW 73rd St., South Miami; 305-666-5191• 9:30 a.m. Monday, 10 a.m. Friday• Cost: $10• Grade: A''I call it the whole peace workout because you never know what you're going to get,'' says fitness instructor Nan Imbesi as she introduces a newcomer to her total body workout class at the Miami Conservatory in South Miami.
''Peace'' comes out sounding like ''feast.'' Maybe that's what Imbesi meant because her 60-minute class is a smorgasbord of exercises borrowing the best from Pilates (core work), yoga (stretching, flexibility, positive affirmations), regular mat work and even dance (a smidgen of Swan Lake -- not surprising given that Imbesi was a cofounder in 1982 of the Momentum Dance Company).
Imbesi's Whole Peace Workout shrewdly takes place on Monday and Friday mornings, thus serving as a near-perfect bookend to the work week. Not too hard, certainly not too easy, the workout eases us into Monday with some stretches using a Pilates ring and a resistance band. Feels good. Imbesi stresses proper form -- shoulders down away from the ears -- and reminds us often to breathe. That's no small thing. A common mistake is to hold your breath while exercising, which makes the moves more difficult.
Next, we move on to some core work that dominates the rest of the class. ''Your abdominals should be participating throughout the day,'' Imbesi instructs as we work on balancing on our sides, a difficult feat that makes us sweat, despite the comfy AC. Later, we're stressing the abs by reclining on our backs with elevated legs drawing ever-expanding circles in the ceiling with our pointed toes.
Yoga moves such as downward dog and happy baby pose find their way into the mix. Rolling like a ball offers a great lower back massage. World music provides the pulse as we move from Pilates-like push-ups to various positions challenging our flexibility and stamina. Imbesi gathers a friendly group of about five or so students for each session making Whole Peace Workout a wholly gratifying beginning to our work week.
Health writer Howard Cohen visits and reviews pay-as-you-go fitness classes.
