Hatha, Kundalini, Yin, Vinyasa, Ashtanga…

Yoga style descriptions:(for all EquiVita yoga programming)

Hatha Yoga
While the term Hatha refers to all yoga poses/postures, typically the style of
yoga referred to as Hatha in the US is a slower pace, methodical practice in
which alignment is key and exploration of the pose is emphasized. Students are
encouraged to penetrate into a deeper understanding of their individual body and
the dynamics of the pose and it’s benefits.

Vinyasa Yoga
(Also referred to as Flow Yoga; may be practiced in a more intense variation
called Power Yoga)
Typically a more vigorous style of yoga, in this class yoga poses are combined
in a flowing sequence that moves at the pace of the student’s breath, inhaling
and exhaling, into and out of poses, with occasional holding of postures. These
flowing classes will help build strength, endurance, flexibility and body
awareness while improving mind-body balance through coordination of breath and
movement.

Slow Flow
Slow Flow is a vinyasa-styled yoga class that moves at a more deliberate pace than EquiVita’s regular vinyasa yoga class. Taking a more measured approach to the flow of this type of practice, students in this class will move into and out of poses over the course of several breaths, deepening into stretches and longer holds of poses. This style of yoga will help to improve flexibility, endurance, body awareness and strength while improving mind-body balance through coordination of breath and movement.

Ashtanga Yoga
A flowing style of yoga ashtanga is similar to vinyasa with the exception that
an ashtanga practice typically follows a preset sequence of yoga postures. These
sequences were designed by Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India. Beginners to ashtanga
will follow a modified Primary Series class; those with more experience will
work into the Primary Series with fewer modifications. If your experienced group
of ashtanga-focused students is interested they can schedule a session of yoga
in the Second Series and begin to play with deepening into more backbend poses.

Restorative Yoga
Students engaging in this style of yoga will begin by using techniques to shed
the stress and doing-ness of the day, finding their way into a more balanced
state of mind that is conducive to relaxation and stillness. This style of yoga
uses the support of bolsters, blankets, and other props in non-weight-bearing
poses. The use of props allows students to ease into a gentle opening throughout
the body (rather than a more intense stretch that may occur when fewer props are
used.) Breathing techniques, guided imagery and directed awareness are some of
the practices that may accompany this form of yoga.

Yin Yoga
Poses in this style of yoga are generally non-weight bearing, passive and are
held for longer durations, giving the body a chance to deeply stretch connective
tissue and fascia. The seated and supine pose poses may be lightly supported by
blocks in a manner that allows for a deep stretch and release. Poses may be held
for as long as five minutes as students are guided to work with the breath and
let go of resistance.

Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini yoga (as taught by Yogi Bhajan) is a set of techniques that
strengthens the nervous system, balances the glandular system, and develops
peace of mind. Each class includes yoga breathing techniques (pranayama), yoga
postures, deep relaxation and meditation designed to support you being you at
your best. The practice of yoga is an opportunity to uplift yourself, to elevate
your consciousness, and to take what you learn on your mat out into the world.
It’s yoga for everyone; you work at your own pace and develop awareness of what
is going on in your body and mind.

Pre-natal or Post-natal Yoga
Yoga designed to help support the changes and challenges that come with
pregnancy, birth and beyond. Learn yoga practices and poses that will support
your physical and emotional needs throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery and
birth. Share your practice with others in a community of experience. Learn how
to adapt your yoga practice and develop new practice tools to help you breath,
move and relax.

If you would like more information about any of our yoga classes or styles of instruction, please contact

Mary Binion at 614.298.8781

or via email:
amilligan@equivita.com

or via text:

614.805.8252

10 Weeks to 10 years: Week 7

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 7 About 3 years after moving into our new space we were again looking at expanding and as luck would have it, the suite next to us became available. This suite was the same size as our current one (the one that just a few years prior was 3x the size I was looking for) and would mean another big leap to doubling our square footage. Oh, but the possibilities. Through many, many design iterations we were able to create a layout that flowed with our current space while partitioning off individual areas like a completely new massage area and yoga studio/classroom. Separating the massage rooms to an entirely separate massage “wing” provided a far more relaxing atmosphere. The colors, softer lighting and music create an environment that has a distinctly different feel than the more public fitness area. It provides the Yin to complete the YinYang balance of EquiVita. As a business we have always had a foundational focus on education, so ensuring that we had classroom space for seminars and workshops made sense, but we also had much interest from our clients for movement classes, especially yoga. So, to build the classroom for yoga, much less to provide yoga classes, I sought out the experts and created a relationship with Yoga on High. With their guidance we built the classroom and through them we began offering yoga classes at EquiVita. New massage area, yoga studio and twice the fitness training space! We had grown in a completely different direction than my original business plan, but it all seemed so organic. People need a place where they feel comfortable. Period. Those in the health industry encourage people to make lifestyle choices, while those in the fitness industry focus on short term goals. EquiVita is a place to support both of these, because an active lifestyle will involve varying levels of fitness focus. There will be times when you want to see how fast you can run or how small you can get your waist, and there are other times when you just hope to not lose all the muscle that you worked so hard to gain. These and every variant on the spectrum are a valuable part of a healthy life and we support all of them. There may be goals along the way, but there is not a destination. There is only the process. Meet one of our clients: Sarah As Sarah Hildreth put it, “most people go to EquiVita because they want some sort of pain to stop” or “for some sort of fitness reason.” But the five-year EquiVita veteran started going simply to burn energy: “I was just wired. I was just wrapped a little tight.” Sarah had tried other fitness facilities and gyms and had even participated in an Ohio State University research study in diet and exercise. Such stress-relief outlets initially kept her attention, but she said she always eventually lost focus and the drive to maintain a consistent training regimen. “I’m not an athletic person,” Sarah said. “I’m not. I’m 51. I grew up when there were still girl push-ups. I started to run for a while and no one had told me how to run. My younger cousin looked at me like I was insane. Girls didn’t do sports back then. I didn’t know what I was doing.” A friend who had been going to EquiVita recommended Sarah to try it out. And kept recommending it. And recommending it. And…”I blew it off and she kept pushing me to go,” Sarah said with a laugh. EquiVita stuck thanks to the welcoming environment, Cheers-like camaraderie and a personal approach to fitness that Hildreth was unfamiliar with. “It was the first place where I’d almost had somebody talk me out of weight loss,” she said. “It’s a spandex-free, very comfortable place with people in all different shapes. It’s not the 27-year-old body everywhere there, which is really nice. It’s about having a functional body versus a bimbo body.” For the past five years Sarah has worked with EquiVita founder Adam Milligan twice a week. She said her fitness goals change all the time and Adam adapts workouts to meet her needs. In the past couple of years the goals of the self-described “recovering social worker” have ranged from preparing to climb to and walk across the Great Wall of China, to simply maintaining flexibility, strength, stamina and mental clarity while working full time as a contract manager and sending her kids off to college. Sarah participates in cardio boxing sessions and has taken tai chi and yoga classes. In her private and work life she is a motivated, self-starting citizen, but when it comes to fitness she said, “There’s a certain amount of working out with someone that makes me want to show up more. Adam’s got an ability to see the body in a completely different way.” “But I think the reason (EquiVita) makes it better for me is that Adam works with how I approach life. He’s just really in your head. It’s hard to describe it to somebody else, but for me he just makes sense. He will see what you need to push in your mind as well as your body. Adam keeps challenging me. I’m never bored there and that’s why I still go there.” As always, please let me know how I can help. Adam Meet Our Staff: Kimm Marks Kimm Marks is passionate about yoga. She encountered the practice in 1993 shortly after beginning her graduate studies in dance and cultural studies at The Ohio State University. To relieve the stress of being in school again she started taking a yoga class at a local church. The teacher was amazing and the practice deeply compelling and it wasn’t long before she knew that she could find in her yoga practice what she had always sought in her dancing: the movement of the body and mind even in the deepest stillness. Abandoning plans to pursue a Ph.D in dance, she used the last of her student loans to enroll in yoga teacher training at Kripalu Institute of Yoga and Health where she earned her 200-hour certification. After ten years of teaching and continuing study, Kimm is nearing the completion of her 500-hour certification through Yoga on High. In addition to her work with EquiVita, Kimm currently teaches classes at The McConnell Heart Health Center, Wyandotte Athletic Club and at the North Broadway United Methodist Church in Clintonville. A particular area of interest for her is introducing older students to yoga practice. She feels that it is the perfect adventure for middle agers and up … “yoga helps us to re-connect to and re-discover the wonder of our bodies. In the process, we become able to not only achieve better health and vitality but also become more inquisitive and joyful!” She loves how yoga helps us to deepen our awareness of ourselves and, in the process, our awareness of others. Her classes are lively and engaging, and have a distinctive feeling of community. In addition to her yoga practice, Kimm is an avid reader whose interests span literature, anatomy, philosophy and religious studies. She loves to be outside in the early morning, she enjoys cooking when she can and going to films at the Drexel.  Recently married, she lives quite happily in the company of her husband Ross, her lovely and lively daughter, Isabel, a very loyal Lhasa Apso named Roly Poly Pad-Ma, a slip of a cat named Streak, and a sweet little African pygmy hedgehog named Hazel. Meet Our Staff: Colette Haley Colette Colette Haley decided to follow her lifelong passion in the healing arts in 2005. She graduated Valedictorian with honors in 2006 from the American Institute of Alternative Medicine (AIAM). During her time at AIAM, Haley excelled in Neuromuscular Therapy. After graduation, she continued to seek more education in the field of Cranio-sacral Therapy. She has earned certification in Reflexology and is a Reiki Master. In 2006, Colette established Sit Down and Relax, specializing in on-site therapeutic chair massage as an employee benefit for area businesses and agencies. She has worked in a variety of environments, including office settings, spas, and clinical and training facilities. Currently, Colette is expanding her healing practice to include a license of Acupuncture. She recently returned from studying abroad at the world-renowned Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine Hospital under the guidance of Drs. Li, Yu, Yao and Zhao. Colette is already incorporating many techniques from her extensive training into her everyday clinical practice, such as cupping, Acupressure, and ear seeds. She will be completing her Acupuncture degree in May 2011. Colette says, “I love what I do. I love it so much, I can’t even call it a job. I really love it that much.” Colette has many passions in her life. When Colette isn’t riding her motorcycle, she enjoys traveling to warm tropical islands, meeting new people, and experiencing cultures around the world. 10 Year Celebration Special Discount on Group Fitness Only one week left to try out the group exercise classes at our great low rate! Time to work off some of that Christmas cheer. Register online to ensure you have a spot reserved in the class and save 55% off the typical single class price. Each class is only $6.75 through the end of the year. Members, you get 3 of these classes for Free but still need to register. Registered participants are guaranteed a space in the class. Don’t forget: Saturday, January 15, 2011. To celebrate our 10th Anniversary we will offer a full schedule of group fitness classes, massage, and educational discussions with our Naturopathic Physician, Dr. Kalfas and founder, Adam Milligan.

1508 Hess St Grandview OH 43212 p: 614.298.8781 t: 614.805.8252 f: 888.216.8339 Adam Milligan amilligan@equivita.com equivita.com

10 Weeks to 10 years: Week 6

Thinking about a gift for the holidays? Purchase 5 $20 gifts and get a $20 gift yourself. Choose the amount you want on your gift certificates and your bonus will be based on the total. Gift certificate amounts as low as $15 allow recipient to take a yoga, Kick Ass Cardio or group exercise class OR apply the gift to decrease the cost of a massage, fitness training, or naturopathic physician services. Give the gift that shows you care about their wellness without placing restrictions on how it is defined. Purchase the gift online at equivita.com, call 614.298.8781 or email us amilligan@equivita.com 10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 6 At this point in the 10 year reflection it occurs to me that EquiVita came to be, in part because of my story as a person in business. Since the earliest days of my work life I have always been an entrepreneur. While I was offered positions, from several facilities, to manage staff and run the facility I did not accept because I had no desire to be a manager. In fact I left facilities and turned down positions with well-respected organizations because management was the only growth option. I didn’t want to manage others. I wanted to become better at my craft and work with others who were also the best in their field. I suppose what that means is that I have never seen myself as a leader; I see myself just as someone making the way that seems right to me. In fact, at one point I had a leadership assessment and the results showed exactly that: that I was a leader simply because there were people who saw the direction that I was headed and decided to go along with me. This seemed like the right time to admit this because the first 3 years that the business was in our new 3000 sq ft facility was a time of great growth and, for me, a time of significant challenge. My idea had been to bring together professionals that would all work together as a team – all fairly self-directed. Rather than detail the specifics of my trials and errors of learning how to get people to work together, I thought this might be the right opportunity to discuss stress. Prior to starting out on my own, I had worked with people in various states of healing and one of those states was chronic pain. Chronic pain can be the continuation of the physical cause or it can be the pain cycle repeating itself even after the cause is gone (sometimes the pain recurs even when the cause has been surgically removed from the body). Working with these clients who suffered chronic pain, I learned that the effective process is about disrupting the pattern. If a client with chronic pain was able to find a state of quiet and relaxation, the pain could be reduced. This, of course, is far easier said than done. We live in a society that is all about stimulation, not to mention the amount of consistent distractions the brain will create whenever you try to quiet it. Without delving further into the research and specifics of stress responses, here is a secret that I have often used when it comes to dealing with stressors: just don’t give a shit. Think about the things that are taking up so much of your energy and focus and imagine…what if you just didn’t care? This idea was particularly impactful for one of our clients, so much so that she actually had some bracelets created. So, if you would like a J.D.G.A.S. bracelet which might prove beneficial especially during this time of year, just stop in and tell us that you don’t give a shit. Free bracelet for you! And you should wear that bracelet proudly! Let the concept provide the role I had to take as the business grew and challenged me in new ways, making me thankful that I had as much experience and understanding as I did. After all, once you let go and change your perspective you find opportunities you never knew were there. Meet one of our clients: Joanne When you’re experiencing recurrent pain in a specific part of your body, exercise often is the last remedy most of us seek out. But since the spring of this year when her intermittent back pain led her to EquiVita, Joanne Corrotto has learned that in her case, exercise is exactly what the doctor should have ordered. A nurse at Mt. Carmel and a licensed massage therapist at Kneads For You, Joanne, 55, underwent the 5Keys Fitness Assessment with Adam Milligan and shortly after began working with trainer Chris Yeoman two days a week. “I just needed a jump start,” Joanne said. “I needed someone to get me going. I had been reluctant to do anything because I was having a lot of back pain and back pain led to less and less exercise. I had back pain on and off for about a year and the more my back hurt the less I did.” The assessment, Joanne reflected, honed in on her gait, her hip strength, her posture and other body mechanics that, to her, didn’t look like conspicuous contributors to her pain. “I really wasn’t aware of how bad it was until Adam put it all together,” she said. “It was like, ‘Wow, how did I get this way?’ It’s fascinating how your body adjusts over the years so that you can just keep walking.” Joanne, who occasionally used to work with personal trainers at gyms with varying results, said she thrives at EquiVita because “it’s not like your normal every-day-go-to-the gym/trainer workout.” “The EquiVita Transitional Fitness Trainers,” she said, “know how the body works and how it moves and what it’s supposed to do in its correct alignment.” “If I was to go to a gym and they were to say, ‘Here, walk on this treadmill’ – that is not going to work for me because I can’t walk because my back hurts. At EquiVita they really know what they’re doing. I’m just really impressed. I’m telling everybody to go here because it’s a different kind of training. It’s subtle (movements) but it’s intense. It’s not going to a gym and someone saying, ‘Ok, hey do 20 reps on that thing over there.’ Chris said that if I would do 20 reps on a regular machine I could injure my back more because this muscle is underdeveloped and this one is overdeveloped.” She’s enthusiastic now but will she keep going? “Oh, absolutely,” said the nurse of more than three decades. “As you age, if you don’t take care of your body things get worse. Then you get into this chronic condition and you go to a doctor and they give you a pill and it’s like ‘I’m not doing that’. The approach here is very different, very hands-on. They’re always stressing if you don’t eat right, sleep or drink enough water you’re not going to get good results. Chris will text me and say, ‘How’s your water intake today?’ which blew my mind the first time. I can’t say enough good things about Chris. He really cares and he really knows what he’s doing. All of them do.” As always, please let me know how I can help. Adam

Meet Our Staff: Andrew Lizon Andrew I wasn’t always into fitness and overall wellness. In fact, not too long ago, I actually hated the thought of putting in effort and sweating like crazy for something that I thought I didn’t need. Improve my health? For what? I was young, full of life and shouldn’t have to worry about my health. All that I needed and wanted to focus on was my work and my music and I’d be just fine. Unfortunately for me, I was wrong. Very wrong. I was working as a graphic designer for a corporate company where I sat in a cubicle, 8 to 10 hours a day, 5 days a week. When I wasn’t working for “the man”, I would sit around at home and work on my music, which is and always will be a big passion of mine. This sedentary lifestyle in addition to my careless eating resulted in me gaining a lot of unwanted weight. I’ve always been a lean, thin person and I’ve played sports as a kid all the way through high school. So as you can imagine, the large amount of fat that I packed on was a shock to not just myself, but to my friends and family. My health deteriorated rapidly. I wasn’t as focused or as driven as I once was, and this in turn affected my happiness. I gradually became content with my new look and continued to ignore the warning signs that my body was throwing at me. I had no desire to exercise or to eat healthier, and I kept telling myself that I didn’t have the time for it anyway. My body disagreed, however, and decided to teach me a lesson. I eventually became very ill and went through a frightening ordeal in which I spent two weeks in the hospital and over a month recovering from emergency surgery. I often think of this event in my life as a blessing because the recovery time really allowed me to think about the “why did this happen” and if “I could have prevented this from happening.” I completely recovered from my health scare and rebounded with a new insight on life in which I believe has kept me from returning to the hospital. I no longer make excuses for why I can’t or shouldn’t do something and take full responsibility for the state that my body was and currently is in. I’ve learned that to truly be happy, one must embrace the true definition of wellness. I’ve learned to find balance in life to continue doing the things that I love to do without worrying about whether I have the time. This new change in thought helped me find the desire and dedication to start and continue a fitness plan that worked for me. I worked hard to lose the unwanted fat that my body packed on and actually added muscle mass to my body. I believe that I am healthier and in much better shape now than in my high school years in which I considered myself to be a pretty good athlete. It was this new active lifestyle and mindset that directed me to a unique and interesting facility called EquiVita. My personal experience with health and fitness struggles made me want to help others who want to change their lives for the better, and as a Transitional Fitness Trainer with EquiVita I can do exactly that. As a Transitional Fitness Trainer, I’m dedicated to listening and helping each client reach his or her personal fitness goals. Through my own personal experience, I feel like I can relate to the pain and struggles that naturally arise when trying to tackle a fitness project. The feeling that I felt once I achieved my goals and realized that my hard work paid off is a feeling that I want to share with each and every client. That’s why I love doing what I do. I love being there for each client to help push them to take that extra step. I know that every fitness goal can be accomplished with hard work, and while you might end up doubting yourself at times, I can promise you that I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you stop doubting yourself…and that you never doubt yourself ever again.

Meet Our Staff: Kimberly Kalfas, ND Dr. Kalfas I am so excited to be a part of the EquiVita wellness team helping you to optimize your health! I went to The Ohio State University with a great yearning to be a Medical Doctor, and as I went through the program, I started to feel like there was something else out there for me. This journey led me to work at The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) as a nursing aid instead of working with my microbiology degree (merely a step to getting to medical school). Being with patients day in and day out made me realize that most people were unsatisfied with their experience of medicine. For those who did not express this, I could see that chronic disease care was severely lacking in terms of healing the sick. I spent my slow time at OSUMC looking for alternatives online… and I found naturopathic medicine. What a joy to find an accredited and National Institutes of Health recognized school which satisfied my craving for both science and true healing. Bastyr University was a unique place that offered didactic training in all basic and high level sciences, training in Eastern philosophies such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Five Element Theory, Botanical Medicine, Hydrotherapy, Physical Therapeutics, Homeopathy, and more. We had electives in movement therapies, a whole foods vegetarian cafeteria, a large medicinal herb garden, and the best alternative medicine library on the continent! I also received clinical training at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health. Here, we had a variety of shifts in general Naturopathic Medicine (general medicine with naturopathic philosophy), homeopathy, physical medicine, and counseling. There were specialty shifts that were both on site at the clinic and off site in the public arena, of which I chose homeless shelters, Hispanic speaking, HIV Immune Wellness Shift, and ADHD. My experience at Bastyr was like no other. All of our classes were through the following principles: The Vis Medicatrix Naturae: The Healing Power of Nature Primum non Nocere: First Do No Harm Tolle Totem: Treat the Whole Person Tolle Causam: Find and Treat the Cause Docere: Doctor as Teacher Prevention: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! As well as the idea of therapeutic order and the determinants of health. I find that my perspective is a balanced one, one of understanding who each person is, what their perspectives are, and how we can work together to make true healing happen! I am now so committed to this field, that I am currently President of the Ohio Chapter of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. I look forward to working with all of you as you make your wellness journey.

CONTINUING HATHA: DEEPENING YOUR PRACTICE, With Elaine Torrie, Saturdays 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.:

CONTINUING HATHA:  DEEPENING YOUR PRACTICE,                                                                With Elaine Torrie, Saturdays 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

De-stress for the weekend while building strength, flexibility and balance
through an exploration of yoga poses, breath work (pranayama), and meditation.
Build awareness of the breath and the flow of energy within your body as you
increase flexibility, develop strength and learn to relax. We will explore a
variety of yoga poses (standing, seated, hip and shoulder openers, forward
bends, backbends, twists) as well as relax in restorative poses. This relaxing
class includes holding poses in order to focus on alignment. (Some prior
introduction to yoga is helpful.)

Click here to register for CONTINUING HATHA:  DEEPENING YOUR PRACTICE

or please contact Mary Binion

phone:  614.298.8781

email: amilligan@equivita.com

text:614.805.8252

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 5

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 5 Our fantastic new space provided us so much opportunity. As a staff, I knew we had to develop a way of working together to provide the best service possible. One of the complaints I often hear about the medical community is that every practitioner stays focused on a very narrow and specific area, yet often there are other areas of the body – much less a person’s life – that are involved. People go from one doctor to another and are personally responsible for collecting the data and finding the connections – trying to ask just the right questions to figure out what to do about their health. From working in health care, I knew that from the professional side that there was so much fear of liability and of crossing boundaries that collaboration by the professionals was a challenge. So, how were we going to bring together our professionals, who are trained to see the body in very different ways, to work together for the benefit of the client? Well, as luck would have it there are some rare spots in the medical community where this type of collaboration occurs from which we could learn. The Mayo Clinic is one such example. The key seems to be putting the patient at the center. I know this sounds crazy, because every hospital “staffs” (assigns care) patients with treatments by getting feedback from different practitioners, but that is not collaboration as I see it. This feedback model looks at the condition and not the patient first. Back to EquiVita where we have practitioners that are trained in fields that are sometimes not really seen as professional, simply because the profession doesn’t have the longevity in our society. To use the Mayo Clinic model, we needed staff that are at a level of comfort with their own knowledge, skills and abilities that they can respect each other enough to focus on what is right for the client – even if it goes against what they know. This started a very challenging time for EquiVita and brought us to some key component foundations of belief. First: Always think of the client as a person. Second: One cannot know everything about the body. Third: There are many right ways. Our goal is simple: To improve the health of those we serve. There are more ways to do this than there are people, and keeping our focus as a staff of professionals on this goal enables us to find solutions. Meet one of our clients: Aaron Recreational long-distance cyclist and very amateur cyclocross and mountain bike racer Aaron Beck used to consider lifting bean burritos to his face proper strength training and lying on a couch in front of movies and reaching for his beer sufficient stretching. These days at EquiVita, Aaron, who has a history of sports-related injuries (partially torn rotator cuff, concussion, broken fingers and toes) and surgeries (knee and back) subscribes to a more progressive and comprehensive fitness plan. The 38-year-old free-lance writer and reporter works to strengthen his limbs, core, hips and back with EquiVita founder Adam Milligan three times a week and receives a monthly deep-tissue massage from Barbara Huebner. “Of anyone I’ve worked with during physical therapy or in gyms, they know how to work specifically with every single person and maximize the time spent during a 60-minute session,” Aaron said. “I don’t know if my body was ever ‘balanced’, but working with Adam for an hour three days a week and getting a massage every month from Barb is pushing it closer to the realm of that description.” Aaron added that the last time someone could possibly describe his body as ‘balanced’ was “probably in 1988-the moment just before a cornerback’s helmeted head plowed into my planted left knee during a junior varsity football game.” That audible pop of his ACL led to four knee surgeries by 2007 and a lifetime of favoring his “good” knee (his right knee). That, he said, coupled with sub-par posture, inconsistent weight training and non-existent hip-flexor strengthening, “probably led to a herniated disc in my back in 2002 and 2009 and a ruptured disc in 2010. Probably. Or maybe these things just happen. Maybe someone put a hex on me. Maybe I’ve done bad, bad things in a former life.” Aaron made his maiden visit to EquiVita in 2009 at the behest of a friend, EquiVita Transitional Fitness Trainer Tami Wise. Aaron had summoned Wise to his home to see if she could alleviate back spasms that had him pinned to the floor. Wise recalled that, “The spasms were severe – the kind of spasms that make a man think of nothing in the past or the future: a Zen-like spasm that puts a man in the moment and nowhere else.” In time, Aaron made his way into EquiVita, improved his back strength thanks to work with Adam and Barb, took a job loading and delivering Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, and in time, stopped going to EquiVita and stopped doing the body balancing exercises he’d learned. “I was tired as hell after slinging ice cream all day,” Aaron said. “I figured I was getting all the strength training I needed. Plus, for me, it was expensive, you know? I’d never paid to exercise beyond paying a monthly gym membership or an entry fee for a cyclocross race or a charity road ride.” In February 2010, though, Aaron was in the most severe pain he had ever experienced. “I couldn’t stand up straight. I couldn’t sit without squirming and cursing. I couldn’t sleep. I was crawling to the bathroom and kitchen. I was watching way too much early morning local news. I wasn’t working because I was eating Percocet. I couldn’t stand up, let alone lift gallons of ice cream all day or drive.” Diagnosis: Ruptured disc between the L4 and L5 vertebrae that was severely compressing a nerve in his left leg. Following surgery March 3, Aaron was advised not to lift any significant weight for six weeks. Upon visiting his surgeon a month and a half after the operation, Aaron was told by his surgeon that he was “healed” and that he should progress with normal activities. “I asked if I should go to physical therapy and he said only if I wanted to,” Aaron said. “This talented, articulate and worldly man knew how to open my back and lop off the offending portion of my disc, but I thought he was insane when he said I was healed. It was as if my body was a Pontiac Fiero that just needed a new gasket and I was as good as new. Doing nothing to prevent a disc from rupturing again just seemed loony.” He said he looks forward to coming to EquiVita every time because “Adam and everyone here consider everything in my body’s history and present state every single time I work out with them. Everything they do is tailored to me and everything they do for other clients is suited to fit them. They don’t use any textbook applications for fitness, strengthening and conditioning.” “Plus, you know, I’d rather pay someone who knows what he’s doing to help me get into good shape than pay someone to operate on me again. I’ll take the atmosphere of EquiVita over the atmosphere of an O.S.U. East operating room any day.” As always, please let me know how I can help. Adam Meet Our Staff: Barbara Huebner Barb I came to EquiVita by way of a very circuitous route. I grew up in the country, milking cows and working in the fields. My parents didn’t farm, but my uncle and neighbors often hired me to help with their farm work. When I graduated from high school I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life! I have always been a very handy person, able to build and fix many things. So, I actually started working for a government program in Ohio, rehabbing houses for low income families. This seemed like the perfect job for me… But after a few years of working outside during winter, I knew I needed to find something inside. I fell back on my technical school training and found a job in Fort Wayne, Indiana, running a multi-color printing press. I spent the next 16 years of my life mastering ever more complicated and expensive presses. Unfortunately, with printing comes a lot of noise and dangerous chemicals…something I knew I would eventually need to get away from. So, when my sister, who lived in Columbus at the time, gave birth to my nephew, I decided a change was in order. I moved to Columbus with no real plan in mind. In fact, I took 3 months off from even looking for work and watched Evan for them. I taught him how to crawl… how cool is that!!! After my 3 month hiatus, I started looking for work. After finding and turning down several jobs in the printing field, I decided to jump outside my comfort zone and try something new. That is how I ended up in retail management… big mistake. As anyone who has worked retail before knows, 80 hour weeks are not uncommon. I was miserable, but the pay was good and vacation time plenty so I suffered through it for 3 years. I hated it… never having time for family and friends… and now, I also had a niece to spoil. I felt I was missing out on the most important time of their lives. I was on vacation in Mexico when I had my defining moment. I was lying naked on a rooftop cabana getting a massage. I had always considered going back to school to become a massage therapist, my friends and family always telling me I had the knack (I was always working on someone’s shoulders, back and neck… in fact I still do.) As I was lying there, I thought that I could spend winters going from resort to resort giving massages to tourists and no longer spend my winters freezing in Ohio! When I arrived home from vacation, I started looking for a school. I decided to continue working full time while going to school. So, I dedicated the next ten months to changing my life. After graduation and passing the state board it was time to look for the job that would allow me to use my skills and treat clients in the best way I could. After a few false starts. I found EquiVita… or actually they found me. I received a letter from Adam Milligan asking me to apply. I had never heard of EquiVita, but after a bit of research online I knew it had the type of philosophy I was looking for and decided to apply. Well, as they say, the rest is history… I am now one of several remarkable massage therapists on staff at a facility that puts the client first. Meet Our Staff: Elaine Torrie Elaine Ironically, I hated gym as a kid. I didn’t like the regimented, team sports. I didn’t think of myself as flexible; I couldn’t even touch my toes. I was the kid who couldn’t hit the softball or tennis ball. If you had asked me at the time if I liked to exercise, I would have said “no.” At the same time, my family only had one car as I grew up, so my brother and I rode our bikes everywhere. I loved bike riding, whether alone or with friends. We used to ride to Antrim Park before it was a park and just ride in the country on dirt roads for hours. My mother and I used to ride to Delaware and go all day on back roads, before everything was developed, but I didn’t consider that “exercise.” Once I was in high school and college, I began to get into hiking quite a bit.  I even began traveling out West and hiking on some pretty rigorous mountain trails, but I didn’t consider that exercise, either; I thought of it more as being in nature and exploring. Towards the end of high school, I took a few ballet classes with a friend. I loved the body awareness and flow, even though I was starting too late to ever be able to dance “en pointe” (on my toes). I became more and more interested and even ended up minoring in ballet while getting my undergraduate degree at The Ohio State University. After college, I kept up my interest in bike riding. Through the encouragement of my doctor and some friends, I began lifting free weights but never enjoyed it very much (did it with an attitude of “need to do this.”).By around 2000, I noticed that my muscles were very strong from the bike riding and weight lifting, but because I was no longer doing ballet due to long work hours, what little flexibility I had was disappearing. Finally, my quads were so strong and my hamstrings so under stretched and utilized that I found I could no longer straighten my leg! I had heard about yoga so I thought I would look into it as a way of stretching and lengthening my muscles. I was nervous, though, because remember I was the kid in gym who couldn’t touch her toes! Yoga immediately spoke to me. I loved the flowing connection to the body, much as in ballet, but unlike ballet, found there were a lot of varieties and modifications to the poses. As I progressed, I began to learn about the other pieces of the yoga system – breath work (pranayama), meditation, and philosophy. They all spoke to me and I began to explore. In my professional life, part of what I have done for more than 20 years is to train adults. I have always enjoyed facilitating learning. My love of yoga and enjoyment of facilitating learning culminated when a very dear friend of mine needed to have a hysterectomy at a young age. I worked with her, using tools of meditation, pranayama, and yoga, to prepare for the surgery. Her doctors were amazed at her speedy recovery and credited a lot of the work we had done together. At that point, I decided to integrate more of these pieces of my life and enrolled in the 200-hour level teacher training program at the Balanced Yoga studio in Clintonville.  After completing that certification, and registering with Yoga Alliance, I taught for about a year and then became interested in going for my 500-hour level advanced teacher training certification. I decided to obtain this via Janice George’s Yoga Therapy program because her program contained advanced teacher training as well as yoga therapy. I was finding in my teaching I wanted more information on how to work with students who had special conditions or injuries. A few months ago one of the instructors from both of these teacher training programs, Julia McSheffery, approached me about teaching a continuing Hatha class at EquiVita.  I met Adam and was immediately hooked on the integrative approach at EquiVita. So far, I have loved sharing my knowledge of yoga with the wonderful students at EquiVita and look forward to continuing to grow and develop as the yoga program expands. 10 Year Celebration Special Discount on Group Fitness The holiday season is a great time to try a new group exercise class without the commitment. That is why we dropped the price on all of our Group Exercise Classes to the cheapest price package rate per class. Register online to ensure you have a spot reserved in the class and save 55% off the typical single class price. Each class is only $6.75 through the end of the year. Members, you get 3 of these classes for Free but still need to register. Registered participants are guaranteed a space in the class. Don’t forget: Saturday, January 15, 2011. To celebrate our 10th Anniversary we will offer a full schedule of group fitness classes. 1508 Hess St Grandview OH 43212 p: 614.298.8781 t: 614.805.8252 f: 888.216.8339 Adam Milligan amilligan@equivita.com equivita.com

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10 weeks to 10 years: Week 4

Thank you for all of the feedback and, yes, it was my mistake that the membership special offer was not included in last week’s mailer – I must have been distracted by turkey. So, these membership specials will now be available until December 10^th.

Sign up for a year’s membership and choose a gift for you to use: Get 1 month free and get a free additional 30-minute massage (save $120 off the cost of individually buying the massages).

OR

You can choose to look really good by giving the gift of 3 massages and 9 group exercise classes ($210 value) with the gift of a 3-month membership for free. We can keep it a secret that you actually got this gift for free just for taking care of yourself.

Click here to take advantage of these membership specials before December 10th.

Click here for an autodraft option.

EquiVita members receive monthly massage, free class passes and discounts on EquiVita services. The membership program is a rewards program for those that choose to incorporate regular massage into their health care. EquiVita services do not require membership.

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 4

In the summer of 2003 it was becoming painfully obvious that the transitional fitness company was outgrowing the space we were leasing. So, I started looking at options and found many spaces around Grandview but I was looking for a space that wasn’t a retail store front nor an office space and since our existing space was about 300 sq.ft., I was looking for around 1000 sq.ft. -  a size I thought was doable. Then the realtor showed me 1508 Hess St, admittedly he was first showing me the upstairs suite because it fit the size we were looking for, but I think he really knew that the much larger Suite D would be far more appealing. (Thank you EJ!)

When we first found Suite D it was fantastic and had lots of potential. The front of the building has the small off-main-street appeal that fits within the neighborhood, providing the feel of the place that people in the know go to – not the typical store front – and is deceptively small compared to the inside. Suite D itself is nearly 10x the amount of space that we were moving from – and 3x larger than the size I was looking for.

The idea of moving to a space that was 10x larger and figuring out how to gradually fill the space as we grew without it seeming desolate was a serious challenge. And as anyone who has been involved in a small business knows, this type of challenge is extremely stressful. It is one of those “fly or flop” opportunities.

Did I mention that the space was fantastic? That it fit the model of creating a comfortable environment where people could focus on taking care of themselves without feeling on display? This model is similar to the model of many serious bodybuilders I used to lift with: they would have two memberships where they would workout: one for work (the place for building your body) and one for show (the more fitness-ey gym).

I saw the business developing into this model of providing a place where people would feel comfortable being themselves and pushing themselves without the feeling that they were on display nor being judged. From the comfort of this space those that chose could transition to using what they had learned to workout at the more showy places.

Thankfully with the combined efforts of our fantastic staff, clients and our new landlord we were able to build out the entire 3000 sq.ft. and move in about a month – crazy fast.

Meet one of our clients: Joe

Since its inception, EquiVita has prided itself on an ability to draw a variety of people with a multitude of fitness goals. From clients with injury rehabilitation needs and acute aches and pains to clients with simple desires to get back into shape or improve posture, the spectrum is immense and EquiVita’s adept staff knows how to accommodate anyone who walks through its doors-including those seeking a properly guided thrashing.

“When you do something during your free time you want to see and feel results and that’s never been a question at EquiVita. When I work out there it’s always ass kicking,” said long-time client Joe Sabo. “Right now it’s a lot of high-rep-, low-weight stuff. It keeps my heart rate up and burns calories and helps maintain muscle.”

When the 37-year-old runner, downtown Columbus resident and IT consultant isn’t applying techniques learned at EquiVita to his own physical fitness regimen Joe works out with EquiVita founder Adam Milligan or Transitional Fitness Trainer Christopher Yeoman at least once a week. During a typical session, Joe will do 30 minutes of “intense” cardio, and then with Adam or Chris as a guide will do 45 to 60 minutes of resistance training.

Joe is a self-motivated recreational athlete but he deems EquiVita necessary for a number of reasons. “Working with someone who has a vested interest in my results motivates me,” he said. “Also, this is something I’m paying for and it’s something I’m doing with my free time. There’s never enough of free time, so if I’m using it I’m going to make sure I’m squeezing the most out of it.”

Although a member of a “regular” gym, Joe said he truly appreciates the refreshing atmosphere and spirit of EquiVita.

“EquiVita isn’t full of meatheads or completely full of people with perfect physiques. It’s full of people with all kinds of backgrounds. It’s sort of a community thing and people are very accepting of one another. I also like that you can’t hide at EquiVita the way you can at a regular gym. There’s no opportunity to slack at EquiVita so you get results. If a trainer sees another trainer letting some slack they’ll say, ‘Hey, maybe he should do this now’ and then you hurt again-in a good way.”

“There’s always a vested interest in how I’m doing and what I’m doing and that’s why I keep coming back.”

As always, please let me know how I can help.

Adam

Meet Our Staff: Aneaj Deletra Aneaj Belly dance has taken me from Saskatoon to Sakkara and in September 2009 it brought me to EquiVita. It seems like yesterday that my journey into belly dance had somehow fallen into the fitness world. After working at traditional fitness centers, I wanted something different. The traditional fitness center mentality no longer worked for the goals I had in mind for my students. With little time to share the true beauty and history of middle eastern culture as it related to the modern, folkloric or fusion styles of belly dance, these nuances had to be sneaked in between target heart rates. I needed to make a connection with my students that dance fitness can be soulful, invigorating and fun. During my interview, Adam didn’t get a word in edgewise. I actually thought that I was talking too much. What I discovered is that he was actually listening. EquiVita’s philosophy on the general well-being of the members was completely in line with what I wanted my students to have. My first day at EquiVita, Mary told me who would be in my class by name. At previous fitness centers, the staff knew very little about their members, let alone their names. From the first day, I knew I was in a extraordinary place and it was time to dance. My mom says I danced before I could talk. My personal viewpoint is that dance has been stolen from adults. We dance from toddlers to about the time we go to college and then something happens – we stop moving. How can that be when dance is one of the easiest ways to get fit? As an instructor I’m always looking for different ways to give dance back to adults. Being at EquiVita has allowed me to explore sound and music healing, hoop dance and meditation. Fascinated by the way that certain tones affected my general well-being, I looked for further study with Dawn Grey, at the Reiki Rays Institute and received my Vibration Healing Certificate this past November. I’ve incorporated music selections in both my hooping and belly dance classes to allow my students to feel the movements. Hanging around a bunch of fire performers and dancing at Fire Festivals, I jumped into Hoop Dancing, which is the modern version of Hula Hooping(tm). Back in the old days, hooping was just done around the waist. Now hooping is done with adult-sized hoops, twirling and whirling around legs, arms, chest, on and off the body. It’s such a great workout and meditative practice that I wanted to share this giggle-filled dance and got certified through Circles of Joy program with Carolyn Maubry. After ten plus years of trying to meditate and not really being successful, hoop dance got me on the right path. Later, I became aquainted with Anmohl Mehta and began to learn breathing techniques, postures, kriyas, etc. Before, silent meditation seemed impossible, but with the help of Anmohl’s instruction I now meditate twice a day, both silent and guided. This summer I completed Meditation Instructor Training and write for the Examiner.com as the Columbus Meditation Examiner exploring meditation methods. To me, EquiVita is a fitness temple: the calm and serenity I find when I step into the group fitness room is amazing. I often get to class early just to meditate or turn on the music and dance. You should come join me.

Meet Our Staff: Carla Fox Carla I’m a yoga teacher. It took me a minute to get here, to get to the job I love, that I rarely separate “work” vs. “the rest of my life”. My path into the world of well-being started with muay thai, the Thai martial art, similar to kickboxing. I attended a class, fell in love with it and committed myself to its study and practice. A couple of years later, I moved to Thailand to train and compete. It was during that time that I learned how deep the connection is between physical and mental health. In hindsight, I see that it was a period of life where I needed to learn about power, confidence, and how to find those things from the inside. By the time I came back to North America, I knew that I wanted to find a way for my work to revolve around teaching people how to be well and happy through the use of exercise. The execution of that plan was much slower than I thought it would be. I ended up going back to work in the field of graphic design in Vancouver BC and doing a home study course for personal training. The personal training course turned out to be great information for me, but it never became a focus for my work. It finally became clear to me in 2008, that what I was doing wasn’t serving me, nor was it creating space for me to serve others the way I felt pulled to do. So, I went on a yoga retreat, seeking some guidance. What I came away with was an illuminated path to follow, to become a yoga teacher. What I didn’t know then was that I would end up doing a whole lot of work on myself before I would ever teach anyone else anything, and I thank my lucky stars for that. My exploration into yoga and meditation has proven to be infinitely interesting, scientifically and spiritually. The use of breath, postures and meditation creates balance in our glandular system, strengthens our nervous system and creates clarity in the mind. Fascinating. It is my great pleasure to get to share the sacred technology of yoga and meditation as my job. In addition, I feel called to work with women, using yoga to prepare them for birth and parenthood, and have been blessed to train specially in order to support families as they expand and welcome new members. One of the newest developments in my path is my connection with EquiVita, and the Your Yoga program which supports education for clients and using that education as a tool to help you attain your unique goals. Did you know? To minimize spam we don’t post each staff’s address, but you can email any EquiVita staff member directly by using our simple system of initial of first name + last name@equivita.com. (Adam Milligan is amilligan@equivita.com)

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 3

Not long into the business of fitness training I realized that there was something missing in the way that fitness trainers are taught to address tightness of the body. These restrictions must be addressed because if a muscle is tight and contracted it is not always effective to try to further the contraction through exercise, and stretching could actually make it worse. The basic reason has to do with the fact that when a muscle is contracted it doesn’t get good blood flow. A muscle without good blood flow is not supple and will not move fluidly with the flow of the body. Rather than naturally lengthen with a stretch, a muscle in this state is more likely to rebel against the stretched position and contract even further. When a muscle reaches this state, the best approach, by far, is massage.

So, within the first year the second staff member I added to the business was a massage therapist. When it comes to massage, there are many people that see it limited as something only to be done as a special pampering, but the type of massage that I knew we needed to provide was the type that could address the restricted areas of the body – the areas that were hindering clients through postural distortions.

Postural distortions are changes to the movement patterns of the body. These changes are usually adaptations to how the body is typically used; often the body adapts to the easiest possible way. The easiest way is the most efficient way and efficiency is using the least amount of energy to perform a movement. At first, this sounds good but then if you consider that in our society we often have the exact opposite goal – because energy, measured in calories, is pretty easy to consume and hard to expend – you realize that it is the exact opposite of what you probably want. And even if you are trying to conserve as many calories as possible, the efficient way is the way your body leverages joints and connective tissue. These are tissues of the body that aren’t as capable of recovering from stress and can wear out over time.

When we started offering massage as specific therapeutic help for restricted areas I didn’t fully realize the benefits to be gained through regular massage. Now I see regular massage, about every 4 – 6 weeks on average, as an important early detection tool for addressing potential restrictions before they cause a problem. That is why we started a membership program that includes a monthly massage: to reward those who choose to place massage into their regular health care.

Meet Frenchy:

Her parents called her Ann. Her students during the 35 years she taught art in the Upper Arlington school system called her Ms. Heineman. To everyone at EquiVita she is “Frenchy”.

She spends time between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at EquiVita and soon you too will be familiar with the mellifluous sound of Frenchy counting off her exercise repetitions in Francois-the language she’s been studying in retirement (when she isn’t walking, reading, swimming, gardening or doing lithography).

Frenchy, who is 66 and lives in Beechwold, exemplifies what it means to live a mentally and physically active life. She’s worked out at BodyByMe/EquiVita since its inception. Now with Transitional Fitness Trainer Tami Wise three times a week, at other times she has taken kickboxing lessons and yoga classes. She also continues to be a regular massage client.

“If they had tap dancing I’d probably try that, too,” Frenchy said.

This EquiVita mainstay’s affiliation with Tammy and EquiVita founder Adam Milligan dates to the late ’90s, when Frenchy “received a wake-up call” in the form of a severely broken bone in her arm. The injury required surgery, and after four months of intense physical therapy she was looking for someone to help her continue her rehabilitation. A member of the Columbus YMCA, she met Adam who at the time was one of the Y’s personal trainers.

Her initial work with Adam, who was known for specializing in working with clients who had suffered acute injuries, was a continuation of her hospital-prescribed physical therapy. As they worked together Adam developed a comprehensive plan to, as Frenchy put it, “strengthen everything.”

When Adam founded the EquiVita precursor BodyByMe in 2001 and moved to Built Solid (now Go Fitness) in Grandview Heights, Frenchy followed him. As she healed and grew stronger she began to work with one of Adam’s other fitness trainers, Tami. She continued her pursuit of wellness when EquiVita moved to its own facility in 2003.

Frenchy says she greatly trusts Adam and Tami (and any of the other trainers she occasionally works with) “because they give me everything I need for someone my age and they all know me very well. They always challenge me but they also know my limitations. And everybody here is very professional but they’re personal, too, which I like. They’re like my brothers and sisters.”
As always, please let me know how I can help.

Adam

Meet Our Staff: Mary Binion Mary The day after retiring 30 years as an educator – first as a preschool teacher of students with multiple disabilities and then as director of a statewide center for parents and educators of students with disabilities, I began a new career managing EquiVita in 2006. No stranger to EquiVita, I first came to EquiVita in 2001 when a friend purchased a massage for me for relaxation prior to cancer surgery. I had the massage, the surgery and my 5Keys Fitness Assessment by Adam. I’ve been coming ever since. My life has always been about making a difference. Before retirement, it was with parents and educators of children with disabilities and through volunteer work in the field of rehabilitation engineering and assistive technologies. At EquiVita, it’s with people who want to take charge of their health and well-being. I love the clients, the staff, the work and helping others to find the difference that EquiVita can make in their lives. The biomechanical approach makes so much sense as well as the notion of individualized services. EquiVita takes it to a different level. There is such an integrated approach to what your body needs and what you want to accomplish, what are you willing to do to get there and then helping you to reach those goals. I continue as a client, challenging myself and changing goals from just wanting a 6-pack on my 50th birthday (Adam’s vision had to do with the body – mine had to do with something to drink), to running a marathon (mission accomplished). I’ve been doing this for 10 years now and so my goals change as my body changes. So does the program Adam gives me. Working out and working at EquiVita is double the fun. I also find great joy in my family and friends. My husband Mike is also a retired educator and we are so fortunate to have 4 grandchildren living in Columbus. So if you don’t see me at EquiVita, I’m sure you’ll be able to find me at one of the parks pushing a swing, throwing a ball or laughing while I watch kids do what kids do. You might catch me at the library, running along the river on weekend mornings, or drinking tea and eating breakfast with friends – the best part of any exercise routine! It’s all about the balance. Actually, it’s all about the chocolate.

10 Year Celebration Special Discount on Group Fitness You still have time to take Zumba, Nia, Tribal Belly Dancing, Hoop, and Kick Ass Cardio – all for one low price. You can see the class schedule and register online by clicking here. Through the rest of the year you can save 55% off the regular single class pass price. All of our classes are limited in size to ensure the instructor can actually instruct you, so register online to ensure you have a reserved spot. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for Saturday, January 15. To celebrate our 10th Anniversary we will offer a full schedule of group fitness classes. More details will follow! amilligan@equivita.com                   Equivita 1508 Hess St.  Ste. D   Grandview   OH   43212                     614.298.8781

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 2

When I was in school the professors made it clear that they believed the only way to make a career in Exercise Physiology was to work in cardiac rehab or to teach/research. But, I knew from my experiences that what the majority of people needed and what could make the greatest impact in their current quality of life was found in biomechanics.

Biomechanics can be a confusing word- as I learned many times through advertising attempts- but it basically means how your body moves. From the body builder trying to develop his calves, or the runner trying to relieve hip pain or the person too busy to exercise but trying to minimize muscle loss: the movement of the body is the secret to success regardless of the goal.

With my belief in the value of biomechanics, the question became not what I wanted to do, but how to do it. Prior to starting the business I had developed the concept as a post-rehab training model for the hospital where I worked, as well as, tested the model at 3 other health care facilities. All of these facilities were interested in third-party reimbursement for the program but I knew that direct insurance billing was already a major limitation and hindrance to so much quality of care that it didn’t feel like the right direction.

In January of 2001, I officially incorporated BodyByMe with the simple premise: provide the education to enable people to make biomechanical choices. My belief was that many people didn’t need (want nor afford) 1-1 training, but the value of the information about how their body moves and how that movement could be causing pain and/or hindering goal attainment could be realized in a single assessment. The design of programs from this assessment would vary dependent on the specifics found and the individual. This concept I called Transitional Fitness: guiding the transition from one level of fitness to another.

Although it has evolved over the years, this assessment is still the foundation of all of the fitness training at EquiVita and one of the main reasons that we have been able to help clients from every fitness level achieve successes they have not been able to realize elsewhere.

Speaking of clients, it seems like the right time to introduce one of our clients:

MARYSUE

In her 20s through her mid 40s Marysue Fitzsimmons regularly worked out on her own in a gym. The self-motivated exerciser refused to pay someone to instruct her. A few years ago, while talking with her sister who had been working with EquiVita Transitional Fitness Trainer Tami Wise, Marysue noticed something peculiar. “I wasn’t doing anything!” she said. “I was so disappointed in myself. I couldn’t drag myself to do anything. I thought, oh, ok fine. I’ll get the (Comprehensive) Assessment from Adam. When I did I was so impressed by that.”

She said Adam explained clearly and concisely why she had specific aches and pains in her shoulders and back and she worked with him to strengthen “all those secondary and tertiary muscles. Adam really knew how to do that without hurting me.”

These days, Marysue, who is 56, works in sales, lives in Bexley, and works out twice a week with Adam and trainer Andrew Lizon. During the six years she’s worked out at EquiVita she’s learned that a knowledgeable staff trumps a gym full of gleaming equipment and thumping “high-energy” music. “I was always comfortable with the usual gym environment,” said Marysue. “When I first started here I was a little concerned. I didn’t see the typical equipment you usually see in a gym. They just had the bands and the balls and a few weights. You don’t need all that other stuff. With the proper trainer you can do a heck of a lot. You can be more creative with less.”

Beyond the equipment at EquiVita, Marysue echoes what every other client stresses when asked why they spend time at EquiVita: attention to details. “Adam works with all the clients and their individual trainers to make sure they’re on track,” said Marysue. “Adam knows everybody’s issues and concerns. When he’s in that room he knows what’s going on all around him (with other trainers and clients) without saying anything.”

Marysue also gravitates to EquiVita for the everyday environment of the place. “It’s a completely jovial atmosphere,” she said. “Everybody works hard and respects each other. People know what’s going on in each other’s personal lives-not in a nosy way. I’ve gained a lot of confidants there-particularly in Adam. I’ve gotten through some tough times and had a lot of friendships there. It’s such a diverse group. Everyone I meet there is smart and funny and very entertaining. If you’re in a bad mood and you go in there it’s really hard to hold on to that. I can’t say enough about Adam and his philosophy. Adam really knows how to keep you in the present.”

As always, please let me know how I can help.

Adam

Meet Our Staff: Tami Wise, Transitional Fitness Trainer Level II Tami In the last month of my ’9-5er’, I day-dreamed of being the guy outside the building cutting grass for an hourly wage. Then I got canned and met Adam Milligan, or met Adam and then got canned.  Either way, ‘Fate is not quite as strange as it appears!’ (John McLeod) I was working part-time in the evenings at the neighborhood gym; I liked being there. I started lifting with a trainer who held national titles in Powerlifting and I loved it. I was a college lacrosse player for four years, but never before had I focused on isolating strength from muscles. Adam leased a space off the side of that neighborhood gym. His space had good coffee, a Matisse print, the Sunday Times, a treatment table, and various other things we didn’t have in the gym. Although he looked like a meat-head, Adam was polite, articulate, and funny–and to communicate knowledge, he rarely used definitive statements–something else we didn’t have in the gym. I love people, I like exercise and I revere vigilant-quality. My decision to get certified through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and make a career shift started with my desire to work in the midst of vigilant-quality: Adam (examples: the ability to make fine distinctions, lower one’s own level of reactivity, respond in a more conscious way, and pay attention to the unexpected–the surprises that are part of everyday work but that we often ignore–). When we met, I could press 400lbs with my legs, yet I could not do a simple hip stabilizer exercise with only the weight of my own leg. Eye-opening! So I began a very in-depth, sometimes exhausting, ongoing, examination of many of the elements that help people keep moving. Those elements aren’t what you do, but more how you do them. As an EquiVita staff member, it is cultural to keep wading through the changing information that addresses the ‘fit human.’ The body is packaged lessons and rules: there’s always something new to learn from the body.  So we are always learning. Working in the family business, which all the kids in my family did–starting summers around 6th grade through college–meant working for my dad’s medical practice, a tremendous cardiac rehab center. I love that I was raised with this back drop, because at the same time that body workers (trainers, massage therapists, acupuncturists, cranial sacral therapists, etc.) have begun to explore the fields and forces within the body that have self-organizing and self-healing capacities, physicians have also begun to recognize self-regulating processes within the body that work to defend and heal the individual. Both groups are perhaps uncovering the same field phenomena. Whatever one calls this self-healing/self-regulating capacity, this inherent defensive and survival strategy helps the body act with wisdom in adapting to all stresses and to heal and transform itself as it acquires greater complexity and biological strength.  This is the topic of rich conversations in my medical family and with my EquiVita co-workers. I love people and am excited to continue to support vigilant-quality care for the people in Columbus. In my position as a transitional fitness trainer I help people achieve regular exercise and exercise represents a key chunk of our youthful vitality. What a great way to work with people!

Meet Our Staff: Cheryl Harris, Licensed Massage Therapist Cheryl Finding ourselves, and what we want to pursue as a career and passion in our lives sometimes doesn’t come easily. For me, and my massage therapy journey, it started at home, with my dad. I grew up in central Ohio with a younger brother, and great parents. I always loved reading, sports, socializing and cooking, and as I got older, I learned that I liked gardening as well. I played softball all through middle and high school, and coached after graduation. One of the best things I can remember as an assistant coach was winning the State Championship in 2000.  I’d never had a feeling like that before, ever! As I was growing up, my dad worked as a machine operator: graters, scrapers, and bulldozers. He would come home from work in the evenings and ask me to rub his back on the family room floor after dinner.  As a kid, I hated it. I did it for a few minutes, and then would ‘fall asleep’. Oh, I continued to rub my dad’s back for years, but never really enjoyed it. I started college just after high school, and thought I wanted to be a nurse, but realized it wasn’t what I really wanted to do and I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do. While working as a manager at a restaurant, I would work the tension out of a coworker’s neck and shoulders during our breaks and discovered I was good at it. I continued working full time, and after a few years, found the massage school close to home, and decided to try it. I absolutely fell in love with this type of bodywork, and therapy, and process of helping people. Going to school and working full time for just over a year, I got my Massage License in early 2002, from The Columbus Academy of Medical Massage. A lot of hard work paid off, because after that first client came out of my massage room and said ‘that was wonderful’, the incredible feeling of winning the championship was back! I knew I had finally found what I wanted to do, and had a passion for my life. To see people come out of a massage room with a smile on their face, and having to really focus on knowing where they were after a massage, was what I was looking for. Their feeling good made me feel good and I knew I never wanted to work in a spa atmosphere. I wanted a more therapy-based massage practice. I rented my own office from a chiropractor for a few years, and then through a mutual friend, found Adam, Tami and Jessica at EquiVita. The minute I walked in the door, things changed for me, my career and desire to be the ‘best massage therapist ever’. I immediately felt welcomed, and looked forward to learning more from my coworkers and clients. I had never known, or been involved with a place like this, but it was perfect for what I wanted to do. I wanted to get to know my clients, help them feel better, and be able to see them on a regular basis, and help them progress in their therapy with my massage skills. I have been with EquiVita for over four years, and continue to learn, grow, and enjoy what I do every day. I am happy with my career choice, and truly have a passion for what I do, and how I help my clients. I have found a great fit for what I want to do with my career, and I can exercise my passion for bodywork, and therapy and helping people. Wonderful. amilligan@equivita.com                   Equivita 1508 Hess St.  Ste. D   Grandview   OH   43212                     614.298.8781

10weeks to 10years!

10 Weeks to 10 Years: Week 1

My first position in the fitness industry was working as a strength training instructor for the YMCA. This particular strength training class  was different from strength training as I had known it, because the previous instructors had limited the class to using only a room called the Nautilus Room. At that particular YMCA the Nautilus brand of fitness equipment was kept in a separate room away from other equipment and was separated by 2 racquetball courts from the free-weight room.

While I see the benefit that machines have to limit stabilization requirements and isolate movements, I felt that the class participants were missing some potential benefits by not using free-weights. My class, however, would not budge from the comfort of the Nautilus room. Not for the first 7 weeks, nor the second. Finally, in the 3^rd 7-week period I was able to convince the class to try some exercises in the weight room. I should point out that this class was all women, and the free-weight room had mostly men, but the class was during the day and was never very busy during class time.

So, there we were: me and my class of about a dozen women aged early 20s to late 60s in a huddle in the free-weight room.

Over time, as the class learned how to use the equipment and proper technique of the exercises they became more comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that one day during class one of the women went up to a man who had been making lots of noise and leveraging his knees, back and momentum to move the weight on the leg press and said that she could probably move that much weight too if she didn’t care about form. I was so proud!

Flash forward a few years and I was working in rehab settings noticing that people who are over the acute phase of care needed the education of how to transition from rehab to fitness. And I don’t mean fitness as the industry would have you understand; I mean fitness in the sense of having your body support your lifestyle. For some, this is simple stretching or posture correction and for others it could be a plan to see how much weight they can lift. The goal is only relevant to the individual and for most of the people I met who were going through rehab, they had the first goal of not ever needing it again.

At around this point I realized that people just need education: education to know what to do and the knowledge that provides comfort going to a gym. My business started with the simple intent of providing a tool to gather the information needed from each individual to appropriately design a specific program to improve his/her fitness – fitness as they defined it.

That idea proved successful and here I am preparing to celebrate our 10 year anniversary! Over the course of the next 10 weeks I want to share with you some stories about how we developed from that simple premise to the business we are today. I am very proud of our staff who have worked hard to create this very unique personal service business and of our clients that have consistently proven that a different perspective can be the key to achieving successes that were otherwise unattainable.

I hope you enjoy hearing about the people who make our business and I look forward to hearing your comments.

As always, please let me know how I can help.

Adam

amilligan@equivita.com                   Equivita 1508 Hess St.  Ste. D   Grandview   OH   43212                     614.298.8781

Did you pick up your lemonade?

I was talking with my son trying to explain the fitness industry model for selling memberships and clearly I wasn’t doing a good job, because he just didn’t understand. So, in an effort to put it more into terms he would grasp I asked him to imagine that he started a lemonade stand. At this stand he was selling cups of lemonade for only 25 cents. Easy; 1 cup of lemonade only 25 cents. Pay a quarter get a cup of lemonade. Now, I said, imagine that instead of handing the person the cup of lemonade you had it on the table for them to take for themselves. They pay you the 25 cents and can take a cup of lemonade, but because they actually have to reach for the cup, many don’t. Most, in fact, 9 out of every 10 of them will not take the cup of lemonade.

“What?”, he said. “But they already paid for it!”

“Yeah, I know it is crazy, but what is even crazier is that not only will they pay for the lemonade, they will blame themselves for not picking it up!”

I realize that this might be overly simplified – he is 8 – but it is the foundation of the big-gym fitness centers. The majority of members, something around 85%, actually use the facility less than once a week.

If you are in the 85% who are paying for a membership and not making the most of it, it is time to try something different. Start with a plan that is specific to you, right for your body and realistic for your lifestyle. Then design some accountability by getting someone on “your team” that will hold you to the plan that you have established. This model is the foundation of EquiVita with our comprehensive 5Keys Fitness Assessment and flexible fitness training packages.

I created the fitness training model we use at EquiVita because the fitness industry model made as much sense to me as this fictional lemonade stand. I envisioned a fitness business that was actually on the side of the customer; teaching, helping and challenging. Over the past 10 years this model has worked for all ranges of people because it is focused first on the individual. Regardless of your particular fitness goal at the time, the benefits of exercise are realized through consistency and the more support you have on your team the more likely you will keep on your plan and achieve what you want.

As always, let me know how I can help.

Adam