Summer fitness brings Yoga back Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette Summer is here, well for most of us in the Middle East, it never left. But the only time we get to enjoy the season is on holiday mode and when our days revolve around the beach. If you have your vacation planned, we know you have your fitness routine switched on to the max and there is nothing that can get in the way of that. Ramadan is coming up so everyone is already watching their weight and getting into a healthy uninterrupted routine. The beauty and health trend this season is to be fit and work on that body you aim for. Yoga is empowering that notion around the world and has reached its market in the Middle East. First in Abu Dhabi, now in Dubai. Saudi women are also actively participating in the routine. NYLA has surfaced on the shores of the GCC world and has set up women-only yoga beauty boot camps for private group sessions. With these lessons and the correct yoga workout, you can also check on their social media, you can see the changes in two weeks. What they call the NYLA Method is a 60-minute workout that targets women's problem areas, tones your muscle groups and boosts metabolism. The instructors use the ballet barre (a horizontal bar at waist level on which ballet dancers rest a hand for support during exercises) along with props such as light weights, a stability ball, and resistance bands during the workout. The NYLA Method class works muscles to fatigue to develop strength, which you need if you are not physically active, it builds your stamina and you train through cardio blasts and opening stretches to ensure a complete workout. The NYLA class is designed to create length without bulking, boost the metabolism, to reduce body fat, give you thinner, streamlined legs, toned arms, a better waist with the flat abdominals you want so bad and of course more energy while fixing your posture. The barre-fitness concept was pioneered by Andrea DeBellis. She told Saudi Gazette: “I fell in love with barre-fitness 6 years ago in New York when it changed my body and my life. I made it a mission to bring what I thought was the most effective form of fitness to more woman. Once I did this in London, I realized how it created a community and my new mission became to create an entire wellness community based on love of the method and a passion for fitness.” Talking about how NYLA is shaping up the status quo of women in the Middle East, she said NYLA aims to empower women to lead a healthier more satisfying lifestyle through fitness and wellness. “With NYLA House, I think we have an opportunity to change the way that we bring wellness and fitness to women. By offering a destination where we can focus efforts on bringing NY and LA standards of wellness to the Middles East and make it accessible, we help women to easily achieve a healthy and balanced lifestyle.” NYLA method is importing standards from New York and LA and supporting women in their lifestyle choices when it comes to nutrition, fitness and overall wellbeing. She said it all started when she visited Dubai and fell in love with its energy. “I also demand not only for the most effective workout for modern women but the need for a wellness community that supported, educated and encouraged a healthy lifestyle.” Obesity is another national concern of health cabinets across the region, especially as few schools allow physical activities for girls. She said: “I definitely see the need for education as well as support on perhaps the most important social issue in the region — health and wellness. When someone understands the benefits of exercise and nutrition and also knows how it can be fun and effective, they have the information and courage to make a change. When you add in the support of a community, you can work together to make very big changes.” When asked why ‘women only' and how successful the one-month courses turned out to be, she said so far it has been fantastic. “Two weeks in we have already had women say they have lost inches and kilos. We have even more women who say they have never wanted to wake up at 6 a.m. for anything, but are so motivated and inspired by our instructors and the class that they love the mornings and feel more healthy and energized than ever! It's so rewarding and inspiring to hear this!” With the growing demand for fitness regimes that actually work and are attainable in women-only classes, in the Middle East, she said: “We will look at opportunities throughout the Middle East. Though, right now we are focused on building NYLA House Dubai.” NYLA Kitchen symbiotically works with NYLA Method, to help optimize the body. Andrea said the menu features food combinations that are endorsed by her team. “The focus will be on organically sourced produce, nourishing superfoods that that boost the metabolism and cleansing ingredients that alkalize and reduce inflammation to keep the body running clean and optimizing weight loss and muscle repair.” DeBellis has collaborated alongside experts from a variety of disciplines including Ballet, Yoga, Pilates and Physiotherapy to create the method that helps the wellness program for fitness and nutritional balance. Talented and super fit instructors who have relocated to the UAE from New York, Los Angeles, and Australia teach the fitness classes. So if you are really looking to make a difference and the gym isn't doing you any good, adapt to what is the most sought after trend this season. After all, nothing beats confidence and this is your key to feeling good. NYLA Method website www.nylamethod.com
