Motionlab pdx located in NE Portland offers unique groundbreaking workouts for all types of people. Whether you are a seasoned athlete or someone trying to get back or stay in shape, GYROTONIC® will help. Whether you enjoy more personalized private workouts specifically made for your needs or you enjoy being sociable and exercising with someone in a more generalized workout, Yelena offers opportunities for both. Katie Behel has been doing GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® at motionlab since it started in 2010 and has worked with Yelena prior to the opening. In total Behel has worked with Yelena for over six years. In an interview she helps give us an experienced personalized look at how motionlab is different, has helped her, and the many different exercises Yelena offers.
Katie has done both duo and private sessions with Yelena. She sees that there are specific pros that make both experiences different that can fit the needs to each person. When working in duo sessions with a partner Katie states, “It’s better for my budget and because I love having a partner and the community feeling working with other people in the studio provides. Taking duos with Yelena is an experience that is easy to bond over.” Working in duos does not only give you extra motivation when working with a partner but it allows you to bond and make friends with the person you’re with making for a more enjoyable experience.
But Yelena’s private sessions are something you have to experience as well, Katie says the, “private sessions are phenomenal!” Whenever working in a private session under any circumstances they always allow for a more personalized and challenging workout. They are made specifically to fit your needs and give you more attention to your form. When working with Yelena one-on-one, “Yelena works really hard to curate one-of-a-kind sessions that are specific to my abilities… It’s like she has a sixth sense about what I need… Yelena is there to concentrate fully on my form.”
When deciding whether to do GYROTONIC® and Pilates instead of more traditional workouts such as Crossfit, Yoga, Zumba, or just going to the gym there are many aspects in which GYROTONIC® hits where others do not while still giving you what those offer as well. When doing GYROTONIC® or GYROKINESIS® you are asked to physically and mentally focus on accessing and flexing specific muscles while moving in ways other exercises do not (diagonal, spirals, and twists). When comparing GYROTONIC® and Pilates, Katie states, “(In Gyro) the repeated movements are almost dance like. There is a linear quality to Pilates that is just different from Gyro… I think the two are complimentary, but Pilates is just not as deep.” GYROTONIC® exercises allow you to not risk getting injured the movements and work are meant to prevent you from getting injured, compared to Zumba or Crossfit where there is a lot of fast movement and jumping in which you could possibly strain a muscle or or tweak a joint.
Katie loves both Pilates and GYROKINESIS® but she believes that the exercises themselves do not push the workout from just good to phenomenal. What she loves most and what makes the largest difference to her are the teachers. With Pilates, “Cheryl is an excellent teacher who has such a strong grasp on the modality that she can really crack it open and take it to the next level.” While she says for Gyro the system itself pushes her to open and exercise her body, she really loves it because, “Yelena makes it very special and dynamic.” So you could go find some other places to do Pilates and GYROTONIC® but at motionlab pdx, the highly experienced and fantastic teachers are what separates it from everywhere else.
The differences you feel when you start doing GYROTONIC® and when you stop doing GYROTONIC® are noticeable immediately. When you begin and continue with it you feel the awareness and control of your body grows along with your body will be pain free. When Katie was not able to do GYROTONIC® due to traveling she, “noticed a huge difference in the way that I looked and felt. GYROTONIC® has become for me something I can’t live without.” It helps support your body and keep you in shape as well as making your mind more clear and engaged because of the focus you must have when doing GYROTONIC®.