Pregnant?? Try Yoga!

We cannot overemphasize the delicate condition that most women experience during pregnancy. In fact, as a pregnant woman, you are encouraged to seek prenatal and postnatal care to make this difficult stage in your life more bearable. Health care providers encourage you to perform regular exercises that are suitable to your condition. These exercises are expected to make you better fit during the entire nine- month period and lessen difficult moments during your labor and childbirth.

Have you ever thought about practicing yoga during pregnancy? Did you know that nowadays, more and more pregnant women resort to yoga to prepare them for the painful moment of childbirth, and even the challenging world of motherhood?

Being pregnant will of course not allow you just to perform the regular routines that require strenuous postures which may pose complications to your delicate condition. You shall not be allowed to do back bending; balancing poses on one leg, camel, handstands and headstands as well as upward bow, to ensure the safety of both you and your baby.

Breathing techniques used during yoga exercises provide oxygen to your whole body. This gives benefit to the fetus because of the pumping in of the charged blood. In addition, the breathing exercises result to the soothing of muscle tension and muscle cramps which are always normally experienced during pregnancy.

In terms of physical fitness, the mild yogic exercises allowed for pregnant women like you will help maintain your muscle tone. These muscle tones are particularly for the back and the pelvis, the body parts that take on the most pressure during the nine-month period of pregnancy and one year thereafter.

On the other hand, yogic sleep calms the mind and body and to some extent prevents the trauma during childbirth. Stretching and gentle toning exercises modified specifically for you can really work wonderfully to prepare your body not only for delivering your baby but for caring as well. Prenatal and postnatal depressions are common problems of would-be mothers like you. But practicing yoga exercises calms and relaxes the mind and allows your worries and fears to vanish. The peace within you descends to your child and this makes childbirth bearable.

Generally speaking, the great benefits you can acquire with the practice of yoga during pregnancy cannot be outweighed by the risks other people may think about. To avoid any risk and enjoy the full benefits of a peaceful and enjoyable journey to motherhood, you have the responsibility of checking it out first with your doctor if you are in the right condition to practice yoga.

Because different people have different strengths and weaknesses, what is usually good to one may not be good for you. You have to carefully check with your yoga teacher which exercises are allowed during each stage of pregnancy. You should also be able to share with him if you have certain conditions that may prevent you from doing certain positions or exercises. But most of all, you should be very conscious about the effects of each activity to you as you go along to ensure that you and your baby are protected from harm.

SJAC Water Exercise Classes

C L A S S E S

Water Exercise

From our Master Swim program to Water Aerobic exercises, working out in the pool is an excellent non-impact way to build strength, reduce body fat, and increase flexibility. As you participate in water aerobics classes, you can easily burn 200 – 300 calories* while also reducing your risk of injury compared to other forms of exercise such as running, weight lifting, or contact sports.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

WATER EXERCISE

In addition to the standard benefits of any exercise, the use of water in water aerobics supports the body and reduces the risk of muscle or joint injury. The mitigation of gravity by flotation places less stress on the joints when stretching, and can allow a greater range of motion. The mitigation of gravity makes water aerobics safe for individuals able to keep their heads out of water, including the elderly. Exercise in water can also prevent overheating through continuous cooling of the body. The classes last for 45-55 minutes. Listed below is a list of classes taught by a few of our top notch trainers.MASTER SWIM The San Jose Athletic Club offers a FREE afternoon Masters Swim Program, a successful blend of fitness and competitive swimming for adults 18 and older. The structured workouts use techniques of interval training in an atmosphere of fun, fitness, friendship and participation. Individuals who find it difficult to stick with a self-imposed, keep-fit routine will find it easier to maintain the Masters Swimming Program. Whether you swim for the physical fitness benefits or are a competitive swimmer, you can improve your stroke technique and physical fitness in this program. All skill levels welcome. AQUA ATHLETICS Up your game! Water is the perfect medium to explore and improve dynamic balance, strength, agility and coordination. The San Jose Athletic Club water aerobic workout class combines a variety of techniques from land aerobics, including walking or running backward and forward, jumping jacks, mimicking cross-country skiing, along with various arm movements. The workout also incorporates equipment such as flotation belts, specialized water aerobics shoes, flotation devices, & ankle and wrist weights. The exercise is done with music in water tempo. Take advantage of water properties in this efficient total body workout. All work and no play, well you know the rest–Join us!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

SUMMER SWIM PROGRAM

YOUTH SUMMER SWIM PROGRAM The San Jose Athletic Club (SJAC) Summer Swim Program provides structured group swim lessons for children from the beginning level through competitive levels. Non-SJAC members will not be allowed to use the locker rooms or any of the other facilities. Parents must accompany children at ALL times. Enrollments start at the beginning of June of each year. If you would like to know more about our Summer Swim Program or would like to pre-enroll, call us at 408.292.1141.Parking Information: Metered parking on the street from 9:00am to 6:00pm Monday thru Saturday (parking is free before & after those hours). Third Street Garage – Only one block form the club building, validated parking up to 2 hours. Following are Lesson Descriptions: Please use this information to help determine proper placement of the student. Classes may be cancelled or combined if the minimum student requirement is not met. Lesson ratios: Pre-School, Youth Levels 1, 2 & 3 (4:1 ratio) and Youth Levels 4 & 5 (6:1 ratio). Pre-School: Ages 3-5 years. Orientation to the aquatic environment, to create a solid foundation for aquatic safety, supported floating and kicking on front and back. Supported alternating arm action and safety skills. Youth Level 1 (YL2): Ages 5 and up. Orientation to the aquatic environment, to create a solid foundation for aquatic safety, supported floating and kicking on front and back. Supported alternating arm action. Youth Level 2 (YL2): Ages 5 and up. Expand on fundamental aquatic skills. Floating skills and kicking front and back. Rhythmic breathing for freestyle, backstroke and safety skills. Youth Level 3 (YL3): Ages 5 and up. Develop competency in freestyle and backstroke, introduce brainstorm, treading water, deep water bobbing and aquatic somersaults (to prepare for flip turns). Youth Level 4 (YL4): Ages 7 and up. Continued development of freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke to improve efficiency, introduction of butterfly and flip turns. Youth Level 5 (YL5): Ages 7 and up. Introduction to fun competitive swimming! Master the 4 competitive strokes, butter

SJAC Fusion Belly Dancing Classes

C L A S S E S Fusion Belly Dancing Belly Dancing came to America in the 1890s for the first time appearing at the Chicago World’s Fair. From there the dance spread across the United States. Over the last century belly dance has taken on many new forms, all based in the original, classic Middle Eastern movements. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— THE HISTORY Belly dance is one of the oldest forms of dance. The style of this ancient dance has evolved over the years, but at its core it remains the same. It is our understanding that all belly dance styles have a basis in Middle Eastern dance that come originally from the villages of North Africa and the Middle East. This dance spread all over the world, taking on a slightly different form in Egypt and other places in the Middle East in later years, now called “Cabaret“ or “Oriental“ style.It then came to America in the 1890s for the first time appearing at the Chicago World’s Fair. From there the dance spread across the United States. Over the last century belly dance has taken on many new forms, all based in the original, classic Middle Eastern movements. In California in the 1960’s there was a belly dancer by the name of Jamila Salimpour who took these classic movements and gave them a name and a format; taking this dance to another level and changing it into a skilled art form, like any other such as ballet or piano. Jamila Salimpour taught most of the belly dancers active in the bay area today. Those dancers, in turn taught more dancers. One of them being Masha Archer, who then went on to teach Carolena Nericcio, who went on to create an entire new genre of belly dance called American Tribal Style(ATS). This style of belly dance fused many different ethnicities in its dance form and also brought in a unique aspect of belly dancing, where one dancer leads the set of other dancers in improvisational style dancing. We believe that ATS became the gateway to creating Tribal Fusion Belly Dance and all sorts of other new and creative styles of belly dance. ATS used different costuming than traditional cabaret or folkloric styles, as well as different hair costuming and allowed dancers to express themselves with tattoos, piercing’s and all sorts of jewelry and adornments. In fact, an abundance of adornment became the norm. And it also led to a fusing of different styles of music that were not necessarily Middle Eastern. From this evolved Tribal Fusion, with dancers, all pushing the envelope, and fusing the elements from different cultures as well as stylizing the dance in their own unique way. They moved away from the improv style of dance and moved toward choreography. Bringing a modern, new, creative element to an old ancient dance. But at its core there remains the basic movements of Middle Eastern belly dance, with a few other ethnic influences, modern fusion music and personal stylizations layered on top. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— THE CLASS In this class you will learn how to move your hips, chest, abs, shoulders, arms and head through simple yet demanding drills. Get a total-body workout while having a ton of fun!