My hips have hurt for about a decade. It wasn’t until two years ago, though, that my pain was vaildated by an MRI that revealed torn cartilage in both hip joints––probably from a combination of hatha yoga [0], dance, and genetics. Though I’ll probably have to have surgery some day, in the meantime my chiropractor’s been recommending gyrotonic [1]. Called “yoga for dancers,” the fitness method (officially called Gyrotonic Expansion System) was developed in the 1980s by ballet dancer Juliu Horvath [2]. The yellow flier from my local studio says, “he dreamed of a machine that would help a dancer achieve a better pirouette.”

Now it’s moved well beyond the barre, catching up to pilates [3] and yoga [4] (from which it borrows heavily) in popularity. It’s different from those movements though in its emphasis on joint opening and injury rehabilitation. Many movements are spiral. One instructor recently told The Washington Post [5]: “Pilates is great for isolation and stabilization. Gyrotonic is more three-dimensional… you can work in all planes at the same time.”

After months of procrastinating (and looking at the flier on my fridge), on Wednesday I’m going to climb aboard a wood machine near my apartment and try it. I’ll let you know how it goes. For more info: Gyrotonic.com [6]