The Adelaidian, an Adelaide-based online magazine/blog focused on fashion, food and local events, joined us at our Burnside Village Studio for a class recently.
Here's their rundown...
On a scale of 1-fit, I’m probably about a -5. While I try to eat all my three-fruit-and-five-veggies a day, the reality of it is I barely have enough time to sleep let alone spend hours working out in a gym.
To celebrate Aleenta BARRE opening a brand new Burnside location, The Adelaidian was invited to try a class. Aleenta BARRE is a fitness class that combines yoga pilates and ballet together to strengthen, lengthen and tone your entire body. This sounded kind of fun, and since they only run for an hour I decided to hop on down to Aleenta BARRE, hoping I wasn’t going to break my poor, fragile, unfit body.
When I walked into the foyer, I was met with tranquil music, warm glowing candles and tiny kitschy potted plants. If I exercised regularly, this is exactly what I’d like the foyer of my classes to look like. Entering the classroom, it was spacious, yet only held about a dozen yoga mats to keep the classes intimate. My sprightly instructor David gestured for me to choose a mat, and I chose the one closest to the door. Just in case.
The class I’d booked in for was Yoga Barre, recommended for beginners and busy people. The beginning of the class consisted of mostly yoga, and reminded me of a Body Balance class I used to take years ago. The sun salutations were surprisingly centring, but the lunges, balancing and core work was where I was most challenged. These are the parts that would get easier as my body became stronger, and as each position becomes more comfortable, there are additions to the pose that will create more of a challenge for those fitter people.
What makes Aleenta BARRE classes unique is their ballet-style bar work. This was by far the most fun part for me, and I spent most of it giggling and pretending to be elegant and graceful. The bar work consists of common ballet warmups, including plies, releves and leg stretches. After about 45 minutes of working out, our instructor David guided us through an extremely relaxing meditation session to reward our exhausted bodies.
Yoga Barre was an achievable class for such an unfit person like myself, although I did chose the easiest option for every position! The class would become more difficult as you increase the challenges of each position, which enables regulars to continue to build and tone their bodies without and avoid becoming too comfortable.
The class left me feeling energised, and I could still walk the next day, something that doesn’t always happen to me after exercising. If you’re a beginner or pro fitness guru and looking for a change in routine, check out Aleenta Barre for an hour of fun, exciting workouts!
