Mt. Airy studio quite a stretch

by ED MAHON

Law school is stressful enough, but for 27-year-old Katonay Mosley, who suffers from sciatica — a pain along the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down the legs — the added stress of law school was torture.

“I had it before law school, and I thought it was under control, but my first year made it worse,” said Mosley.

Mosley tried various forms of traditional therapy — from epidural shots to a morphine drip, from hot pads to cold pads, from moist heat to dry heat, from stretches to surgery. Nothing helped.

That is, nothing helped until she went to The Balance Point in Mt. Airy (formerly the House of Pilates) and used a device that looks like a science fiction torture device, complete with leather straps and wires.

Almost a year ago, Mosley began using the gyrotonic tower—a workout machine that focuses on extension of the muscles, and that extends a person’s body in all sorts of directions.

The gyrotonic workout is complemented by the gyrokinesis workout, which does not include a machine. Both workouts are known as “gyro” for short.

The workout session is a blend of dance, yoga and tai chi. Unlike yoga, postures are not held for long. The emphasis is on fluidity. Postures are smoothly and harmoniously connected, making exercises appear and feel more like a dance than traditional yoga. Sudden burst, yells and hand thrusts are where the tai chi comes in.

While most workouts are designed to make the person feel like a He-Man, this one makes you feel more like Gumby.

“This is the only thing that’s given me relief,” Mosley said.

The tower stretches the body, further than most people stretch their imaginations, but it also has an effect on the mind.

“After a session of gyro, you wake up; you’re present, more clear,” said Bobbi Tighe, who with her husband, Joe, runs The Balance Point at 400 W. Hortter St. in Mt. Airy.

Joe and Bobbi have had the gyrotonic machine in their studio for three years.

It took them each over a year to become certified as a gyrotonic instructor. The process ended during a three-day certification weekend, where Joe and Bobbi had to demonstrate their knowledge in front of the inventor of gyrotonic, Julio Horvath. (After the Hungarian-born Horvath had ruptured his Achilles tendon, ending his dance career, he designed this machine to aid in his recovery. He then brought the tower to New York.)

Joe described the workout sessions with Julio as interesting. “We received some profound alternative states that weekend,” Joe said.

While Joe’s euphoric description sounds more like the side effects of a drug, than a workout program, gyrokinesis has an undeniable effect on the body. The Gyrotonic Expansion System — used in rehabilitation centers, dance studios, sports training and fitness facilities all over the world — is used to gain strength, flexibility and coordination.

The machine is also said to make a person a better dancer, but for one of Joe’s customers, the machine had a much more profound impact.

Joe is currently working with a stroke victim, whom he calls an “extremely motivated individual. A pleasure to work with.” Through the workouts, the stroke victim has improved his mobility in his hands and legs.

While the gyrotonic sessions are conducted with only one or two people — soon there will be three machines — the gyrokinesis sessions are open to as many people as can fit into the room.

Seven people attended a Saturday morning session, including this reporter. Only one man was in the group; the rest were middle-aged women, plus Mosley, the law student. The sessions last for a little over an hour, and stop once in the middle for a joke break.

Other people who participated shared Mosley’s sentiments.

 “It’s just so relaxing. I feel great from it,” said Gina Greenberg a 55-year-old resident of Mt. Airy. She added that Bobbi and Joe “have terrific energy.”

“It really increases your flexibility,” said 50-year-old Mount Airy resident Shelly Brick.

Bobbi said the primary focus is not on how you look, though it does help, but instead on “improving how your body functions … Our average customer is a middle-aged golfer.”

The gyrokinesis session involves numerous stretches, focusing on extension of the body. The gyrokinesis group session serves as a precursor for the gyrotonic machines.

“I got into gyrokinesis to recover from yoga, and I got into yoga to recover from Pilates,” said 36-year-old Bobbi, who wore black stretch pants and a white tank top with the yin-yang symbol in the middle.

Bobbi said people who get injured from power yoga usually come to them.

Bobbi became a massage therapist when she was 20. Joe, a former weight lifter, is 50, but doesn’t look it.

They have a 4-year-old daughter, Isabelle. “The agility in her spine is our inspiration,” Bobbi said. “Our goal is to have her teaching gyro by 12.”

Bobbi first heard of gyro through the Pilates community. After trying gyro, she sold her Pilates equipment.

“And I first heard of it because my wife made me try it,” added Joe.

Quoting one her friends, Bobbi said, “You’re either headed toward rigor mortis or away from it.”

Joe and Bobbi are also both massage therapists and licensed physical therapists. Group classes for Gyro are offered Mondays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. Pilates mat classes are held Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. Yoga classes are held Thursdays at 9 a.m. and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. For more information call 215-844-7773 or go to www.gyrotonic.com.

Mosley, now in her third year at Temple Law School, said she wished she could take a gyro class before every test. “It’s insane how much better I feel.”