Mix up your fitness routine with singing bowls, the Feldenkrais method, and more

Zen & Zip Fitness

Sure, you could walk the dog around the block. Or you could optimize your time together—cranking up your workout and teaching your dog obedience—with Zen & Zip.

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The hourlong classes are broken into 10-minute sections of strength and cardio. “The Zen happens when [participants are] doing strength intervals,” says co-founder Greg Mallin. In the meantime, the dog (on leash) practices sitting and staying. “During cardio intervals—Zip—[participants] grab their dogs,” he says, and do a run-walk-jog exercise in which both dog and owner are given rapid successions of commands and exercises.

In addition to providing a “total-body workout,” Mallin says, the program builds healthy relationships between dogs and owners: “I have a lot more fun when I’m working out with my dog.” Stay tuned for an “urban bootcamp” that runs the Zen & Zip program on the streets and paths of the city—say, on Delmar and through Forest Park.

Singing Bowls

Himalayan singing bowls are an unexpected means of calming and, in some cases, healing. The technique puts people in a room with bowls of all shapes, sizes, and metal compositions. When played, each bowl produces a unique tone. Low and high pitches alternate, creating a pattern that guides listeners into relaxation.

“It’s like dropping the person in bit by bit, taking them into a deeper and deeper state,” says Pati Pellerito, a certified sound therapist for St. Louis’ Center of Sound.

Many practitioners, including Pellerito, offer two forms of therapy. “In the large group setting, people come to deeply relax,” she says. People use the singing bowls to enable meditation with “almost a dreamlike quality” and feel the vibrations of the bowls. In an individual setting, “all of the attention and healing is focused on you being enveloped in this circle of sound by the bowls,” Pellerito says. She may place the bowls directly over or on the body for a more direct, intense experience. The result: reduced stress and greater clarity of mind.

Feldenkrais Method

This exercise system helps its students become aware of their movement patterns and then learn new ones through slow, deliberate, low-impact practice. “An awareness movement lesson is like a puzzle,” says Kelly Feder, who’s taught Feldenkrais for more than a decade. Her clients at Feldenkrais Movement Academy of STL include members of Big Muddy Dance Company and theSt. Louis Symphony.

Feldenkrais doesn’t look much like normal exercise or therapy. “You’re not going to work up a sweat. You’re not going to stretch. You’re not going to be in pain,” says Feder. “We’re going to encourage you to move slower, smaller—sometimes even in your imagination.”

Although therapy is not the intent, it’s a byproduct for some practitioners. In some cases, the method can relieve chronic pain and improve posture; Feder, for instance, began learning to teach Feldenkrais after it ended her limp, which developed after she blew out her knee twice. The focus is on self-awareness, becoming more attuned to your body and changing how it works.

Themed Yoga

Yoga isn’t exactly unusual, but some St. Louis organizations have been stepping beyond the typical dimly lit room and ambient music, from drinking booze between Tree poses to doing Downward-Facing Dog in a church-turned-skatepark. Elle Potter founded Yoga Buzz, which aims to “bust the concept of what yoga looks like”—a mission started with a Yoga + Beer series. Since then, the group has hosted more than 300 events at such unexpected places as the Saint Louis Science Center and Peabody Opera House. “It’s a great way to introduce someone to the practice and make it less intimidating,” Potter says.

Yoga Buzz isn’t alone. The LotusEater Collective hosts goat yoga (yes, yoga surrounded by goats) and skate park yoga. The St. Louis County Library offers book-themed yoga classes—and sessions inspired by Game of Thrones and The Princess Bride could be on the way.

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