Fitness and Weight Training Services in New York City
Improve your health and get in shape with my personalized fitness and weight training services in New York City. As a certified ACE personal trainer, I have the skills to work with any client. I can also teach you martial arts. Contact me to schedule training sessions.
Getting You Physically Fit
I know how hard it can be to start exercising. Adding a new routine to your daily schedule may take some time to get used to. As your trainer, I will help you create a workout regimen that you can easily fit into your schedule. Depending on your needs, your fitness plan will include different types of weight training and cardio exercises.
If you are interested in running, I will work with you to reach your goals. I have finished 19 New York City Marathons, so I am the right choice to help you prepare for competitions.
Martial Arts Training
Martial arts are a blend of cardio activity with proper concentrated technique. With my assistance, you will be able to learn the fundamentals of martial arts. I trained with a former Marine advanced instructor at the Harlem Y.
Affordable Pricing
I charge $100 per hour for personal training, the same price as my massage services. I will work with you at an inside or outside location of your choice.
Engage Your Body and Soul Through Eurythmy
E (Ā) Vowel
The second sound of the major vowel series is E or Ā. It is the gift of Mars, the red planet in the sky, embodying masculinity and strength. With the experience of Ā, we create and experience self-awareness.
If a child were to remain vulnerable in the openness of the Ah, if the first human being only blissfully walked in peace on the earth, and if lovers only gazed with open wonder upon each other forever, they would live in a continuous condition of paradisiacal bliss. Babies would still be merged with the mothers, humans would walk naked in the Garden of Eden for eternity, and lovers would lose themselves in one another’s eyes and never grow as individuals or deal with the practical affairs of life.
Thus, the experience of separation must come after the openness of the Ah. We need to identify the boundaries where the self and the world meet. In the Ā, we learn the difference between the self and not-self.
Start Exploring the Ā
Begin your exploration of the Ā by visualizing yourself as a baby and imagining the moment you saw your mother’s face. You suddenly knew she was different from you. That gave you pain but also the first feeling of your own self. Now, create the eurythmy movement for Ā, crossing one arm against the other, building a wall between yourself and the mother figure. Next, imagine yourself standing in front of your imagined best friend or lover. Sometimes you have disagreements. You don’t need to fight with them, but you need to appreciate both their otherness and friendship. Again, create the eurythmy movement for Ā, crossing one arm against the other to clearly feel where you end and the other begins.
Now, think of the mythological story of Adam and Eva in the garden. Imagine the moment when the snake tempted them to eat the apple. They gave in to temptation, which caused the gates of paradise to close behind them. Create the eurythmy movement for Ā again, crossing one arm against the other as if gates are closing against the world.
Creating Your Practice
Practice now how to create each Ā with a real etheric gesture. Begin with the Ah. Imagine yourself going right through your hands and touching the stars through your fingertips. Now, beginning beyond your physical fingertips, begin to cross the lines that extend from your arms. Gradually these will come together until the crossing point of the Ā is right in front of you. Keep going until you physically cross your arms. Finally, press one arm against the other. Pay attention to the firm contact you create and feel yourself right there at the crossing point. Let the Ā make you feel very present, focused, and real. Through it, you feel the strong separation and clarity of self and not-self or the world.
This separation enables you to develop your knowledge and understanding of both yourself and the world. Focus on your imagined mother’s face, your lover, nature, and the snake. Practice making Ā in different places—above, below, behind, and all around. Try doing it with your legs, crossing one leg in front of the other. This can help you focus and be very good practice for people who don’t feel grounded.
Different Responses
You can equally feel pain and joy with the Ā, depending on your constitution and disposition. Some people love the security of boundaries, while others feel the pain of waking up to the feeling of separation. Go through your own journey to see how this Ā lives in you. Accept all its different variations. Discover words that have a strong Ā in them, such as awake, pain, or anger, and try expressing them through movement.The color composition of the Ā begins with you visualizing yourself clothed in the tranquility of green. The movement of your arms is light and yellow, while the moment of contact evokes the feeling of red power and clarity.
Ā with a Pentagram
To practice moving the Ā, continue with the star. Imagine a crystal at each point of the star that you want to focus on more clearly. Move through the five directions of the star (always facing forward), building an Ā as you walk to each point. Just like with the Ah, work with time and flow with your arms and legs, so they reach the point of the star at the same time.Similar to the Ah, visualize something like flowers at the feet of the star, trees at the arms, and a star at the top. As you transition from each point, create Ā at different heights and at the different points of the star.
Ah and Ā Together on a Pentagram
Now, you can also combine the Ah with the Ā by practicing moving a beautiful, full open-hearted Ah, followed by a strong, firm Ā. Do this at different heights. Merge this combination of sound with your practice of the five-pointed star. Walk each line of the star with an Ah, then close vigorously with Ā.Let your feminine and your masculine energy have an exciting conversation as you explore how uniquely beautiful and powerful these two are, even though they seem diametrically opposed.
Next, allow the feeling of the Ā to rest within you while you stand quietly. Imagine it ringing in the space all around you, and feel it making you stand straight and tall. You may feel the power of having rightful boundaries that protect you from being overwhelmed by outside influences. You may also sense you have strength, focus, and well-being. The pure sound of Ā creates this feeling of focus and wellness.
Explore the Variations
If you are learning eurythmy specifically for a personal practice to gain strength and focus, you can remain with the archetypal sound and gesture. However, as a next step, you may begin to also explore all the variations there are in the English language for the sound “Ā,” including the “e” in wren or the “a” in cat. The artistic eurythmist must hear all these fine differentiations and understand how they live in the movement range somewhere between Ah and Ā. Play with these all you like and perceive and create fine differences in sound and movement.