The gentle gymnastics

Pilates

- This practice owes its name to a German nurse, who imagined a gymnastic method that would allow you to stay fit and healthy, in small spaces and with little means.

- The exercises (more than 500 in all) respect 8 key points: breathing (with the chest, not the abdomen), concentration (movements are reasoned, they start from the center of the body), control (of gestures in space and over time), relaxation (straight and loose positions), fluidity (the body performs slow movements), balance (the abdominals are stressed), order (the exercises follow a precise order) and relaxation.

- If most of the exercises are practiced without tools, some make use of more or less large accessories: balls, rubber bands, hoops, foam tubes, chairs ...

The qi gong

- Literally it means "exercising with" energy. This discipline is based on a millenary Chinese tradition that believes that man must live in harmony with his environment, both interior and exterior.

- The qi gong consists of a real art of the positions and their assemblages which, through large and fluid movements, simultaneously produces both a rooting of the body to the ground and its impetus towards the world.

- It often imitates the attitudes of certain animals and requires a great effort of concentration, breathing and elasticity, aimed at activating the energy flow in the body.

Yoga

- This discipline, originally from India, has existed for over 5,000 years. More than just gymnastics, it is a global approach to health.

- There are many forms of yoga, but all seek fulfillment, self-awareness, physical and psychological well-being, serenity.

- Most yoga classes mainly concern the body dimension, that is hatha yoga. It is based on three main elements: the positions (more than 1,000, static or dynamic), the breathing exercises (inseparable from the practice of the positions), relaxation (the last phase of the sessions, to be done while sitting or lying down).

The tai-chi-chuan

- Halfway between a martial art and gentle gymnastics, this discipline has existed for 500 years. It would have been used by Chinese warriors in training to develop the qualities necessary for combat (concentration, calm, balance).

- Tai chi combines precise movements (a hundred: undulations, rotations, stretches ...) with breathing control methods. The movements are approached with rigor and slowness. They follow each other in more or less long and complex sequences.

- This art involves working on internal energy, not on external muscular strength. The movements start from the center of the body, the seat of vital energy. If the feet are deeply rooted in the ground, the body is slender upwards, the head is straight, the nape taut. Relaxation is essential and allows you to loosen up the movements.

Stretching

- It is a muscle relaxation method that combines typical practices of traditional gymnastics, ballet and yoga.

- Stretching can be an end in itself, a discipline in its own right (stretching course), but it can also be integrated with other disciplines (running, jogging, hiking ...), in the warm-up phase, in the recovery phase, or in both phases.

- It consists in stretching the muscles of the body segment by segment, in a slow and precise way. The gestures seem simple, but in reality they are complex and their execution requires concentration and rigor. You have to stay still, concentrate on the positions, inhale deeply and then exhale trying to go further and further. By reducing tensions, breathing guides the gestures.