break your arm, you go to a doctor. If you have some issues on how to mentally process something, you go to a therapist or psychiatrist. If you’ re looking to have your energy body realigned, then you’ d come to The Zen Room. All three need to work in harmony and be considered equally,” she explained.
If you’ ve ever spent time around a difficult person, walked into a room after an argument, or been in a stressful environment, you know that energy is real and can be influenced. It helps to think of our energy as a stream. When it flows freely, we are at our best. But when life’ s messiness clogs the stream— the grind from work, traumatic events, injustices— the energy stagnates. Over time, this stagnation wears us down and can even manifest as physical ailments.“ I see a lot of people come in with a lack of self-worth. Somewhere along the way they traded their joy for frustration and they don’ t know how and they’ re not sure what to do about it,” Culp said.
Using group and individual meditation practices, sound therapy, hypnotherapy, breath work, energy work, and more, Culp and her team of practitioners help get the energy flowing again so that people can heal and find their way. They also teach classes so that people can perform these techniques on their own, instead of relying solely on The Zen Room.
Culp understands that energy work attracts its fair share of skeptics, and she welcomes and celebrates them.“ I am here for the people interested, knowing that others will be more open to this work down the road,” she said.
For people new to The Zen Room, Culp recommends starting with their $ 20 group meditation sessions because it’ s a nice, minimal cost way to get a feel for what The Zen Room is all about. Individual hour-long sessions are currently $ 95, and you can choose to focus on whatever you want. Both sessions can be booked at www. thezenroom. love.
IM = X Pilates Originally created to help hospital patients strengthen their bodies without needing to stand up, Pilates is now a way people of all ages and body types can get strong. IM = X Pilates uses spring-based resistance machines, called reformers, that consist of a box-like frame, sliding platform, springs, straps or ropes, and pulleys that help target different muscle groups. While incorporating a special breathing technique, people exercise their whole body through stretching and constant core and leg work. Each 45 minute session is led by an instructor and is done completely on your back.“ You take all of that pressure off the body, so you’ re kind of in a neutral space, for the most part,” Vikki O’ Hara, Gilroy’ s IM = X Pilates owner and instructor, said.
O’ Hara has seen tremendous body transformations through Pilates, starting with her own. After she injured her shoulder in a car accident, she joined an IM = X studio to help recover some range of motion and she was immediately hooked. She eventually needed to receive surgery on the shoulder, but afterwards she didn’ t need physical therapy.“ I saw a physical therapist once and she said,‘ Whatever you’ re doing, keep doing it.’” O’ Hara said. Since then, she now has full range of motion in her shoulder.
O’ Hara has loved seeing others have similar success stories. Many people who have come to the studio with back or knee pain report not having pain anymore. People with mobility and flexibility issues now happily report being able to tie their shoes or get up out of the reformer by themselves, and some with plantar fasciitis have said it’ s the only thing that helps them.
These amazing results can usually be felt and seen after two weeks of regularly attending classes, and O’ Hara welcomes everyone to come give it a try, especially men. Like yoga, Pilates is often dismissed as a“ girl’ s” exercise, but she has seen professional athletes try it and be amazed by how intense it can be.“ It’ s great for athletes and gymnasts. It provides extra core work and flexibility,” O’ Hara said.
And there are plenty of people opening up to it. Skeptical husbands often come in after months of hearing their wives talk about how great they feel. Doctors and therapists refer their patients to The Zen Room, citing that whatever Culp is doing works, even if they can’ t explain it.
On a broader scale, more health organizations have been incorporating energy work into their protocols, like Stanford, which allows insurance coverage for Healing Touch Therapy for their patients receiving chemotherapy.“ If Ivy League hospitals are offering energy work, and it’ s starting to get recognized by the mainstream, I can only imagine where we’ ll be ten years from now,” Culp said.
No matter what your age or skill level, O’ Hara’ s IM = X studio fosters a fun, drama-free environment where everyone is welcome. Her amazing instructors and clients are always happy to help new people out, and the studio often plays music and lets people chat while they exercise.“ There’ s a lot of laughter. It’ s everyone’ s happy place,” she said.
IM = X Pilates is open seven days a week and offers 40 classes, so it’ s easy to find a time to fit your schedule. But if you’ re new, O’ Hara recommends sticking to the beginner classes to learn the basics and get a feel for it. First sessions are always free, and she can provide private classes for people who are nervous or don’ t want to be in front of a group. Everything can be booked at www. imxpilates. com.
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