We have news! Good news. KaiFit has added a unique new class to its Fall line-up that will support and enhance your strength & fitness program and so much more. It will even make you taller! It’s called, The E.L.D.O.A. Method.
Intrigued? Wondering what exactly this strange acronym stands for? We’re right there with you. It’s new to us too. To learn more we called on our senior trainer, Mark Herbert, who has been teaching this method for over 2 years, to help demystify things and give us the what, how, and why of it.
Kaifit: So, Mark, the first thing I think we’re all wondering is: what exactly does E.L.D.O.A. stand for? Is it the name of a mountain range in Nepal? A river in Quebec? A boutique hotel in SOHO? What about a jumbo sized submarine from WWII?
Mark: Ha! Well, the first thing to know is that this method was developed by a French doctor, Guy Voyer, so the acronym is for the French name. It stands for: Elongation Longitudinaux Avec Decoaption Osteo Articulaire. In English that roughly translates to: Longitudinal Elongation with Osteopathic Articulation. E.L.D.O.A. is just one branch of a broader, complex system developed by, Dr. Voyer, called Soma Training.
Essentially, the name describes what the method does. An E.L.D.O.A. class consists of series therapeutic postures and stretches designed to progressively create space between the vertebral joints, strengthen the Extensor muscles along the spine, and improve the quality and fluidity of the Fascial System that runs throughout the entire body. This method targets the deepest set of core muscles that support every type of movement we do in our everyday lives: strength and fitness training, athletics, dance, squatting down to pick up your children…everything.
“You are your own best therapist.” –Dr. Guy Voyer
Kaifit: Interesting. Can you explain more about what it does for the Fascial System? I think most people are familiar with foam rollers, which are great for self-myofacscial release on those areas that most people seem to get tight: the IT band, hip flexors, hamstrings, etc. Does E.L.D.O.A. do the same thing?
Mark: Sort of. Things like foam rollers are great for freeing up specific “trigger points” throughout the body and people love them because they offer immediate relief, but their effects are superficial and localized to the specific area tightness. Foam rolling doesn’t address the causal level of the tightness and doesn’t have an impact on the Fascial System as a whole. They don’t strengthen or improve the quality of the fascia. As a result, the affects are often temporary at best.
With E.L.D.O.A. you are strengthening the entire Fascial System, so the benefits and effects are transformative and cumulative over time. The method actually improves the quality and tonality of the complete system, which provides some pretty fantastic and lasting benefits like: relief of chronic back pain, improved recovery time from sports and strength training, increased flexibility, a reduction in the degree of scoliosis, better posture, and a host of benefits for spinal discs.
Kaifit: Sounds great to me. Who doesn’t have those areas that are chronically tight and always seem to revert back the next day after rolling them out or even a yoga class? How often do people need to do E.L.D.O.A. before they experience the benefits and real changes in their body?
Mark: Most people report feeling more energy, less pain, less muscular tightness, and taller after their first class or session. In order to create real changes in the body and experience benefits that last, people need to be consistent.
I like to give my clients what I call “E.L.D.O.A. T.V.” which consists of a few different exercises that can be done in 5-10 minutes while watching television in the evenings. When a daily practice is combined with attending classes twice a week people see some incredible results.
Dr. Voyer is famous for telling his patients and students: “you are your own best therapist.” When a person is consistent with any type of healing or physical practice they will experience exponential benefits and improved long-term health. The great thing is that you’re always with yourself, which means you’re always with your own best therapist!
I can always tell when my clients have kept up with their home practice– they are the ones who really make progress in terms of: improved posture, decrease in tightness and/or chronic physical pain, a greater sense of ease when doing other physical practices and athletics, and a lot more.
Kaifit: Ok, Mark, my last (and arguably most important question) that is near and dear to my heart is this– does E.L.D.O.A. really make people taller?
Mark: Yes. With regular practice people begin to strengthen the muscles along the spine that are continually being pulled down by gravity and the discs between the vertebra do plump up–you have more space between them, which in effect does make people taller.
Kaifit: Sold!
Check out our selection of videos of the founder of The E.L.D.O.A. Method, Guy Voyer, demonstrating some of the postures that will be taught in our upcoming class series.
Recent Comments