The Taylor Method for Pain-Free Living

Episode 037: What is Gyrotonic Movement? (with Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio)

• Dr. Derek Taylor & Dr. Hudson Taylor • Episode 37

Share episode

Have you ever heard of Gyrotonic movement?

 

Gyrotonic movement is a unique and effective form of exercise that combines elements of yoga, pilates, and rhythmic movement. It is a great way to improve your range of motion, flexibility, and strength. It is based on the principles of human anatomy and physiology. It uses a series of specialized machines to help you move through a full range of motion. The machines are designed to provide resistance and support, which helps you to move more safely and effectively.

 

In this episode of the Taylor method for pain-free living podcast Dr. Taylor interviews certified Gyrotonic instructor and co-owner of Gyrotonic Jupiter, Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio. They talk about Maureen’s journey into Gyrotonic from yoga and pilates. Maureen explains the Gyrotonic movement system, the method of exercise, and the noticeable positive changes to her own physical condition. She also shares who can benefit from Gyrotonic movement and the demographics of individuals that she works with. 

 

If you would like to check out Gyrotonic Jupiter you can visit their website at www.gyrotonicjupiter.com and follow them on social media platforms at @gyrotonicjupiter

 

Intro:

Welcome to the Taylor method for pain free living. A podcast that features enlightening conversations with experts in the medical field that helps you improve the health and well being of those suffering from chronic pain due to injury. Learn from leading authorities the questions you should be asking to experience pain free living, hosted by father and son, Dr. Derek Taylor and Dr. Hudson Taylor, and joined by industry professionals in the health field, including doctors of integrative medicine and personal injury attorneys.

Dr. Derek:

Welcome to the Taylor method for pain free living podcast. This is Dr. Derek Taylor and I'm here with my guest Maureen Holdsworth the gleam yo. Gyrotonic instructor and owner of Gyrotonic Jupiter in Jupiter, Florida, co owner. And Maureen Welcome to the show. So Maureen, what is it that how did you get involved in gyro tonic in the first place? I mean, let's just talk a little bit about yourself. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

Well, I've always been into movement, I was born into a movement family, my mom was a dance teacher and a gymnastic coach. And we go for generations from movement. And so I was basically born into a dance studio. And so I've always been into movement. I was a competitive swimmer for about 10 years when I was a kid. But I always continued to do dance and gymnastics. So as life went on, I continued to coach rhythmic gymnastics at a national and international level. And I was on the USA national team, training staff for about 10 years and had a lot of success with rhythmic gymnastics, and USA Gymnastics. And through time moving forward, I became a massage therapist about 20 years ago. Anything that has to do with the body and movement is a passion of mine. And about might say around 2000 a day I was doing a Pilates class with a friend of mine, and she had a studio and I noticed that she had some new equipment. And I was really curious about it. And I asked her what is that? And she said, That's Gyrotonic. And I said how can I do this? I'd like to try it. And I tried it and my body felt so good. I felt so open. And I walked into the studio. And I loved how I felt I loved how it made my body feel. I just felt so open. I felt like I couldn't wait to get back. I became certified and I continued to take training sessions from master trainers.

Dr. Derek:

Well, it sounds like you're pretty passionate. But you know what's amazing, Maureen is that here you've been doing movement all your life. And then you had one session with gyro tonic and you're like, how do I get certified? You felt the difference? Didn't you and your but for some people, they have no idea what gyro tonic is is are you using floormats? Are you using a certain equipment? Is it a standalone omics? How does it what makes it different?

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

What Gyrotonic expansion system has five different sets of equipment. And there's one main tower with the bench. And there's cables and there's weights that are attached to the cables.

Dr. Derek:

So it's a combination of cables and weights together.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

And it's a pulley it's a pulley system. It's a fully system, but

Dr. Derek:

it's different from like just going in a weight room, right? Yes,

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

yes, yes, because there's also a bench. And the bench has two handles, and then they rotate and in a spiral fashion. So you're able to get into different parts of your body that you're not able to get into and different other modalities. We work on a spiral fashion, so everything is rotational

Dr. Derek:

spiral. Why is that

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

it helps to open up the spine and to create more range of motion. But you're also learning the technique how to stabilize your body and to engage it was breath and movement and so that you learn how to support your spine with engaging different core muscles within your body before you go into a rotation. So you're learning all this from the very beginning of a session, you learn how to bring them breath into your body to help engage the muscles so the breath and the movement work together to strengthen the muscles so that when you do go to move the body in a rotational fashion, you're not compressing the spine, you're elevating everything. And then you go into the movement with the breath.

Dr. Derek:

That's why you felt so good when you left there. And it sounds like what it what's unique about it is it just really helps people get in tune with how their body's functioning, right. It's not just a rolly just going in and doing okay, do tau reps of this, it's really helping the mind connect with a, how is this movement engaging here with what's going on with my spine and the rest of my muscles and joints? That sounds fascinating.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

It's a really, it's a mind body workout. So you really have to be conscious of what your body is doing, where it's going, why it's still in there. And, and the breath and the movement go together. So it also helps you to increase your awareness of your posture, moving through space, in your daily normal activities, you know, so that you become more aware of how you're standing, how you're holding yourself how you're sitting, how you're engaging yourself, when you've been down to pick something up, how you're turning your your head, when you're looking in the car to lay, make a turn,

Dr. Derek:

that's really important, because this is how people come into my office, they injured themselves by you know, they're not even aware of what their bodies doing what's right, they'll turn over the wrong way, they'll just bend the wrong way to brush your teeth and boom, they're back to set off. That's right was all their life, they've never really been taught how to pay attention to what's happening with the joints and the muscles and how things are moving. And it sounds like this is like a tutor to help people understand how their body works,

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

and how exactly and how to move. And I have so many people that after their first or second jarred tonic session, they'll come back and they'll say, you know, I thought myself the other day, that I was like slouching or I was like slumping, and then I, all of a sudden, I became aware of my posture, and I corrected it. And I said, Well, that's one of the beauties of what you learn and Gyrotonic, you learn about awareness, your body, your spatial awareness, you know, your your body, as you move through your day, in your daily activities, you know, so that you're not just compressing, and I have some, I'm not just older people, but people of all ages, just a simple thing, like driving in the car. You know, a lot of times people when they're driving in the car, they're all just kind of slouched and compressed. And then they try to rotate really fast to look for something really quick, you know, and suddenly catches their attention, and then they just pull something or they strain something. And so then through Gyrotonic, once they walk out the door, they're really aware of how they're sitting, you know, they're not compressing the spine, they're engaging the glutes, they're what we call floating above the sit bones, you know, is, is really basically just engaging the glutes, so that you're elevated and not compressed. So that way, when you're driving in the car, you're going to notice yourself, if you start to slop you know, and all of a sudden, people become very more self aware of what's going on in their daily life, when they're moving through space.

Dr. Derek:

That's fascinating. You know, for decades, we've been trying to help people, you know, pay attention to their posture and pay attention that they're slouching, and everybody knows this is this common knowledge here. Sounds like one of the few exercises that really helped people to get engaged with this whole process. And they're figuring it out for themselves once they've had a few sessions of char tonic, right?

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

They are they are and they're learning how to like, take what they learn and Gyrotonic and apply it to the rest of their day and the rest of their life. Because it just brings in the awareness of how they're moving through life and through space, just in everyday life, you know, so we give them the technique, they learn the technique, how to engage their body, and engage the muscle. And when they're doing the Gyrotonic, we add the breath. So it's a really conscious moving, it's not really unconscious, you know, because it's learning the technique that can you know, you can take anywhere,

Dr. Derek:

so you're connecting the breath to that as well.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

It's absolutely absolutely you how long you've been doing it now for gyro tonic since 2008. That's what 15 years.

Dr. Derek:

Yeah, and what has it done for your health and your well it's kept

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

me moving. It's kept me still been able to do massage and work as a massage therapist. And it's kept me being able to teach Gyrotonic It's kept me healthy and my spine healthy and just to be able to just continue continue to live in life the way that I like to live it and to be active and and to be able to do sports and move and play and yeah,

Dr. Derek:

yeah, I would like to see like a research study with like people that have been doing jarred tonic for decades, see what they're like when they're in their 70s and their 80s. And their 90s.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

We have some people that have been doing Gyrotonic. When Pam opened the studio over 20 years ago, she had, she had all these students that are still with her. And, and I am teaching some of them now too, and they are in their late 80s. Now, some of them are in the early 90s. And they've been doing Gyrotonic consistently for I think, at least 15, some of them for 20 years. So they started when they were in their 60s, and they continue Gyrotonic and they're still doing it. And these are vibrant people I have one of my clients, that was one of Pam's original Gyrotonic clients, and I've been working with her for probably about six or seven years, she just turned 91. And she does Gyrotonic three times a week. And she plays golf three times a week. And she doesn't so she can stay mobile and keep moving. And we have a man who's Ada, who does Gyrotonic three times, three times a week. Awesome. Yeah, and even when they're seasonal clients, and even when they go to their summer places, their summer homes, they continue to do Gyrotonic, they have Gyrotonic instructors back in their summer homes. And so, you know, we have a lot of people that are in their 70s 80s and a few in their 90s. It's really for all ages, it's for all levels. And

Dr. Derek:

depending on what the goals are and where they're at. Yes, yes, exactly. Does it take long to learn how to do the movements? It doesn't,

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

it doesn't, it's, um, you can come in for your first Gyrotonic session, and you're able to move your body, and you'll be taught the different basic techniques, and its progressions, you know, we you progress at your own level at your own pace, and we will tailor session for your specific needs.

Dr. Derek:

Yeah, that's great. So what are some of the success stories that you can you give us a success story of somebody who came in and they've never done Gyrotonic before? And then they got on the program with you and how is it transformed their health? Can you think of something like that?

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

I can, I can share that with? Yes, I have this one client, he is in his might say, mid to late 60s. And he was looking at back surgery. And he didn't really want to have back surgery. He had some issues with his lower spine. And so he decided to, you know, it was a last minute, like kind of a last resort. They wanted to try dryer tonic. And so he started doing gyro tonic, and he started getting more mobility, more strength. He was able to be pain free. And he became stronger. And he was able to not have back surgery because of doing Gyrotonic. And

Dr. Derek:

well, you know, you, you, you and I first met because you and I share a mutual client, wonderful, wonderful lady who has come into the office here recently. And she was having some issues with scar tissue and and we started a treatment course on her and she's responded so well. And I and I and I, we had spoken she said she told me that she was doing jarred tonic, and I that's when you and I met you came to the office, you and I work together to make sure that the she would be seen would be synergistically working together. That's right. That's right. Listen, this the scar tissue with the Taylor method and using the Gyrotonic has been an incredible winning combination, especially in light of the fact that this patient has had injuries in the past where if she had not been doing jarred, Tommy, she would not have nearly responded I don't think as well, because her spine would have been in good shape. But she wouldn't be in looking at a surgery herself. But I think the Gyrotonic has really been keeping her fit. And she's got a great mind. She's super alert and sharp. And so my my hypothesis is why then talk with you about this, but I think that if your body is moving like that your mind is going to be more engaged in is going to be more focused and I think it's going to help prevent the degeneration of the mind is we'll have the whole it's all connected, right? Like, absolutely, I'm sure you've seen that with some of your clients. They're they're more sharper mentally,

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

incredibly, so incredibly so because you know, if you're going to move your body and you're going to have to apply a technique and You're gonna have to incorporate your breath with the movement. That's a conscious choice. That's a focus a conscious, I don't know, what would be the right word for that. Like, where your your awareness,

Dr. Derek:

awareness, you're present. You're, you're engaged your mind and body. Exactly. Exactly. There's not a disconnect there.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

There's not a disconnect. There's, it all comes together. Yeah.

Dr. Derek:

Yeah, yeah. And so, when you came and you started doing these exercises, I'll often do that if somebody has a because, I mean, I encourage more patients, even though they're really bad pain to continue to do exercises, they just need to modify it a bit. I've dealt with different personal trainers and other people and we've talked about different exercises but you came to the office you showed me these moves that you're you're doing we tested the body with it and hurt she tested really strong. I was just so impressed with these moves and you didn't even have a your equipment with you. You are just doing this without any equipment. Can people do this kind of work? And and once they've been trained by you can they do this kind of without the pulleys and cables as well, I'm wondering there

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

is we have something called gyrokinesis. That is something that you can do at home on a stool or a chair. Yeah. And it's a series of movements that we do in Gyrotonic too. But it's all it's all a series of movements with again, with breath, and movement all together. And, and you can do it just sitting on a stool, you can do it sitting on a chair, you these are things that you can do at home where you can come to a gyrokinesis class, and do it in a class setting too. So there is so we have charts, the Gyrotonic expansion system is the actual equipment. It's the five pieces of equipment that Gyrotonic has. And then there's gyrokinesis, which is done on a stool or a chair.

Dr. Derek:

Fascinating. Well, this has been, I'm so glad I got to meet you and I here I've been, you know, helping people for the past three decades, and I've never heard of gyro tonic until recently until you and I met, right. So when I when I when I got a hold of this and I saw what this was doing for this patient and I saw the benefits. I said we got to let people know about this because I think it's a real powerful, powerful form of exercise that really is beneficial for people's health. So I thank you for being on the show. How can people get a hold of you? What was the best way they to reach you? Where's your studio located? What your website phone number, can you just give us some contact information?

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

Sure. Um, our address is 124 Bridge Road into Cuesta, Florida. And that's just right next to Jupiter, Florida. And you can call the studio at 561-744-7585. Or you can reach us on Facebook or Instagram at at Gyrotonic Jupiter on Facebook, or Instagram. And you can direct message just there too.

Dr. Derek:

Thank you so much for being on our show. I think if you are somebody out there who's looking to do a form of exercise that really engages the mind or the body helps you become aware of what's going on helps improve with your posture, and will help strengthen you overall, I think you should give Maureen a call.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

And also, you can give it's either Maureen or Jill Jill Hallahan is also the co founder of gyro tonic Jupiter. And we'd love to talk to you.

Dr. Derek:

Do you guys, how does that work out if they just call and then you guys,

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

they can call and leave a message and their phone number and we'll call you back and we can figure out how to get you in.

Dr. Derek:

Great. Well, thanks so much for being on the show. This has been very enlightening and enriching. Thank you. Appreciate your time.

Maureen Holdreith-Digulimio:

Thank you so much.

Outro:

Thank you for listening to the tailor method for pain free living podcast. For more information about the Taylor method and how you can find lasting pain relief. Visit www.dr Derek taylor.com That's www.dr Derek taylor.com