Alternative wellness activities becoming more popular

By GARRETT NEESE, DMG Writer

HOUGHTON - When it comes to exercise, many Americans are looking outside the traditional types of activity.

A survey released earlier this month by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that 38 percent of Americans have used complementary and alternative medicine, up slightly from 36 percent in 2002. While the most common form of use consisted of natural products such as fish oil or echinacea, physical activities such as yoga and meditation saw a jump in popularity outpacing CAM as a whole.

Michigan Technological University's next sessions for adult yoga and pilates start up next week. Joan Kero began teaching the yoga classes three years ago, four years after a friend introduced her to yoga.

"I took a class just to see if I would like it, and found out it was definitely for me, and I wanted to share that with others," she said.

The six-week class has anywhere from 23 to 30 students, Kero said, and is mixed-level.

"I will often just show variations of the same pose," she said. "A beginner could do it one way, but the advanced student could do a variation of the same pose."

Caro said yoga's popularity comes out of a desire to bring balance to people's lives and reduce their stress level.

"We live in such a fast-paced world we need to slow ourselves down, listen to our bodies, get that flexibility and strength," she said.

Also available locally are classes in pilates, a system of strength and flexibility exercises.

Portage Health offers pilates classes through its group fitness program. The latest session, which started this week, is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Angela Lucas, Portage Health's Director of Community Health, said practitioners of pilates see benefits including increased flexibility, strength and a "long and lean look."

The classes, which vary from six to 12 people, focus on technique and form, Lucas said.

"It's kind of fun to do something different," she said. "Especially if you can find something you like, you're more likely to stick with the exercise."

As with yoga, participants with different skill levels can take the same class.

During the warmer months, the Aspirus Keweenaw Rehabilitation and Fitness Center in Laurium offers pilates classes as well, said Laurium fitness coordinator Katie Curtis. The classes have been offered for about a year, she said.

"It focuses a lot on your core muscles, and you use your core for everything - lifting, running, jumping," she said. "It helps you in daily life, more so than a lot of other activities."

People have also asked about the possibility of yoga classes, Curtis said.

"There's definitely a growing interest in that," she said. "And yoga really helps with the fliexibility of the body."

For more information on Portage Health's pilates classes, call 483-1887. For information on Michigan Tech's yoga and pilates classes, call 487-2975.

Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.