Work hard, get fit…and suffer from chronic pain? We exercise to stay healthy so why do so many of us hurt ourselves in the process?
Miranda Esmonde-White, a former ballerina and creator of Essentrics, wants to put a stop to this. So far she’s doing a stellar job.
So good, in fact, that their strength and conditioning coach has implemented it as mandatory stretch practice for the Montreal Canadiens hockey team. And that’s not to mention all of the Olympic athletes, Hollywood stars and regular folks who’ve been getting stronger, leaner and best of all, curing chronic pain with this super fun exercise program.
Full disclosure: we love Essentrics. We spoke with Miranda’s daughter and business partner, Sahra Esmonde-White, about how their exercise program came into existence and why it’s so amazing.
So what inspired Miranda to develop this technique?
She was a ballerina with the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto and then had a dance centre on the South Shore of Montreal. It was during the aerobics movement and everybody was getting knee pain and shoulder pain and joint pain, basically, bulking their muscles and not feeling so good. She knew what her body felt like dancing, and this was creating the opposite feeling. She was also taking tai chi at the time, so she kind of created her own exercise program to return her body to the body she had as a dancer.
What exactly is Essentrics?
How we describe it is that it doesn’t look like ballet, it doesn’t look like tai chi, but it’s influenced by those techniques. We have the lengthening principles of dance, creating length and strength. And then you have the health benefits of all the rotational movement that comes from tai chi.
Do you have a target market?
We have a double clientele, which makes sense for a technique like ours because it’s so healing for all ages. We’re body toning and we’re also dynamic. Athletes need this dynamic movement: they need flexibility, but not passive stretching. Essentrics benefits all age groups, and athletes, so in a class you’ll have everyone from age 20 to age 70. In our retreats we have lots of people in their 70’s and 80’s. I love that – it’s so wonderful to see all of these young, vibrant, fully active 80-year-olds.
How many places have you spread to?
Fifteen years ago, when we saw the benefits of the technique, we thought, we need to share this with other people. We thought we needed to make a DVD, and long story short, we ended up with a PBS TV show. So we’re very well known in the US. We have teachers all over the States and Canada, in Holland, in France, in New Zealand and we also have DVDs and online streaming.
How do you find classes?
Part of our website is devoted to offering a live class and we’re adding a section where you can enter your postal code and find the classes closest to you. You can also stream online. We have three TV series, so that’s 90 episodes with Miranda that cover everything: feet, calves, hips, body toning, posture. You sign up for a monthly membership and they’re all there. And we also have them all on DVD.
I hear you have a book. What’s that about?
Yes! Our first book launched in November. It’s called Aging Backwards. In it, Miranda talks about cells and aging. The cells are what keep us energized. They’re what burn our calories, what keeps us mobile. Every decade you start losing cells at a faster rate. And if you don’t use them, they’ll flatten up and disappear. You want those cells – they’re what keep you young, keep you mobile, keep you energetic, keep you burning calories. This book describes what we know about aging and how to prevent it by keeping everything stimulated. That’s what aging backwards is all about.
Sounds amazing.
It is! When people get knowledge and really understand how the body works it’s so much more motivating. We know we should exercise, but when you understand what you’re actually doing, it makes such a difference.
Feel motivated? Find a class near you on their website, or check out their DVDs or online streaming.
Lauren Jane Heller from Montreal, Quebec
Adventurer, artist, writer and mom, Lauren Jane Heller strives to live sustainably and show her girls that there's more to life than princesses and ponies. Passionate about travel, great food, yoga and breaking the mould, you can follow her writing and adventures on Travel Food FamilyTravel Food Family.
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