Hip Hop, Yogis and Belly Dancers

As a certified aerobics instructor at my university in Des Moines, I worked hard to keep up with fitness trends. I brought new music and new moves to class every week. High-impact, low-impact and toning classes became my specialty, or at least as special as I could make them. Still, class turnouts were … not great. Cardio kickboxing classes were the rage in 2000, and Jane Fonda-type toning was decidedly passé. One trendy on-campus alternative to aerobics was yoga, and the visiting instructor packed the university gym. To be honest, I preferred her classes to mine.

Fast forward to present day Grand Rapids, where local yoga and dance studios are doing their best to innovate and evolve in an increasingly competitive market, with offerings that range from hip hop dance to prevention training for sports-related injuries. And these studios aren’t just trendy, they’re inclusive. Children will become yogis-in training. Pregnant women will proudly shake their hips as bona fide belly dancers. And for those of us who aren’t fitness-forward, we’ll learn a little about what it takes.

“Everyone is doing yoga now,” says Carolyn Heines, a 30-year veteran of West Michigan yoga and owner of The Yoga Studio in Grand Rapids’ East Hills neighborhood. Starting from her home in Heritage Hill, Heines taught Hatha yoga at various locations in the area before settling into her year-old space at 955 Cherry St. SE. Classes encourage self exploration through attentiveness in postures, breathing and relaxation.

Now five yogis strong, The Yoga Studio has recently extended the definition of “everyone” to include children age 4 to 11. Kids spring for the winning choir-gym combo class called “Sing Song,” led by the studio’s junior-most yogi, former kindergarten teacher Deb Weiss-Gelmi.

“When I was teaching in elementary schools, I taught children to read. Then I had the idea to write songs for yoga,” said Weiss-Gelmi. "I sing a song for each pose, and the lyrics explain specifically what to do in the pose. I’ve written songs to familiar tunes. They [children] can pick up words easily because of that.”

The Yoga Studio welcomes new customers with a 15 percent discount for students, a 10 percent discount for seniors and a 15 percent discount for the über involved … those who commit to at least two classes a week. Most classes at The Yoga Studio are adult-specific and low-impact, and Heines says seniors often bring their adult children to class.

The student discount recently increased from 10 percent to 15 percent in an effort to recruit more young people, including teens. The majority of classes at The Yoga Studio are adult-specific and low-impact, and Heines says seniors often bring their adult children to class.

The well-received Sing Song Yoga classes, along with student and senior discounts, contribute to The Yoga Studio’s ageless environment. Its seasoned instructors and calm setting serve as catalysts for conscious breathing and well being.

A fusion of ancient and modern movements

For fans of high-impact cardio, hip hop belly dancing class is the place to show off your best dance moves.

The Armenta Studio has been offering modern dance and yoga classes since it opened its doors in 2003. Laura Armenta, owner and artistic director, encourages mothers and daughters, sisters and best friends to sign up for classes together. They’ll each receive $10 off an eight-week session.

The studio is featuring a belly dance/modern hip hop fusion class on Tuesday nights. Armenta says that popular ethnic dance icons like Shakira piqued public interest in more modern belly dancing styles, and that she was looking to try something new. Even the music is a blend of tradition and experimentation. A Detroit deejay mixes traditional Middle Eastern music with American pop music, and puts his music onto CDs for the studio. Armenta says her modern dance movements and eclectic music library make hip hop belly dancing a priority for trendsetters.

“We actually have people on the waiting list. People love it,” says Armenta. “The hip hop class was a workshop, and it had a fantastic turnout, so we now keep it as a regular class. So during the fall we will run it again for eight weeks. That’s open for pretty much all ages, mainly 17 and over. My average is later 20s [and] early 30s. That’s my crowd.”

Although twenty- and thirty-somethings bring the most business, teens are the up-and-coming demographic. Moms and daughters requested a class exclusively for teens, so Armenta offered a teen belly dancing class. It encourages young women to reinvent their self-images by spending time in a woman-friendly environment, surrounded by their peers. Few classes draw crowds like the prenatal yoga and prenatal belly dancing classes, though, where expectant moms gently stretch and shimmy-shake.

Prenatal belly dancing classes are a bit longer than prenatal yoga classes. They include additional stretching at the end. Armenta encourages pregnant women to stay active without pushing their limits. “As far as dance moves, I recommend hip rotations and rib cage rotations,” says Armenta. “Those stimulate the internal organs, improve posture and ease back pain.”

Injury prevention and relief, for all ages

A way to ease back pain for the non-pregnant crowd is to take the 90-degree “Hot Yoga” class. Daniel Dauser, co-owner of Seva Yoga, uses heat to create a relaxing environment for eliminating toxins from the body and stretching sore muscles.

“If you have arthritis, it feels like you just had a massage,” says Dauser. The class draws beginners and more advanced yogis, age 16 and up. Hot Yoga fans tolerate heat well and get fired up for hearty workouts. “It’s the bad boy of yoga because it’s not like a traditional yoga class. It’s a little bit more militant than highly spiritual. There’s no music. There are 20 to 25 poses. We get right down to business until all of the poses are done.”

The studio also promotes four classes for children – ages 4 to 6, 7 to 10, 11 to 14 and 15 to 17. Co-owner Michele Fife partners with cross-country running coaches at East Grand Rapids High School, has introduced a yoga unit as part of physical education classes, and provides a private yoga class for the high school hockey team. Most of her young students live and/or go to school within walking distance of her studio in Gaslight Village.

Seva Yoga is open 364 days a year, and closes only on Christmas Day. Other offerings include gentle yoga classes, advanced yoga classes and prenatal yoga classes. There are even plans to introduce a free “Yoga for Healing” class for the terminally ill.

Fife says appealing to students of all ages and life stages has been a worthwhile task.

“At Seva we have strived to provide classes that are accessible to all aspiring yogis. I think that sometimes people may be afraid to try something like yoga and that it is very important to offer classes for every level of student as well as all ages of student,” says Fife. “It has not been uncommon for us to have spouses, children and grandparents all from the same family come to our studio. Our yoga community here in Grand Rapids continues to grow and we are excited to be a part of it.”

Laura Armenta balances at Amenta Studio - East Hills

The Yoga Studio on Cherry Street - East Hills (courtesy photo by Jim Gebben)

Carolyn Heines of The Yogo Studio (courtesy photo by Jim Gebben)

Laura Armenta

Laura Armenta dances in her studio

Photographs by Brian Kelly (except as noted) - All Rights Reserved

Brian Kelly is a commercial photographer and owner of The Photography Room. He has been Rapid Growth's managing photographer since it was launched in April of 2006.

You can follow his photography adventures on his blog here.