Ava Kyte: Remodeling Local Fitness
From a young age, Ava Kyte has always made fitness a part of her life. Being an athlete at a private school in Hungary gave her a competitive edge, and after a few years, she began weight training and fell in love. Since then, fitness has remained a major part of her daily routine. She has recently turned her passion into a business, by personal training and inventing creative work out classes for Hudson County locals.
For her first new class, Kyte has created Elevate Full Body Workout, based around the fact that many of her clients (and people in general) spend much of their days sitting in chairs in offices. To compensate for that, this workout works with posture, and moves the muscles slowly, which not only keeps them from harming their bodies, but gives people a chance to relax as well. By de-stressing and getting rid of tension, people can be active and lose weight, but in a mindful way. There is also a mental focus on the class, which helps clients relate to their bodies and make positive changes without being rushed or competitive. Kyte explained that many workout classes are intense and intimidating to people, so she wanted to create something that put her clients in a safe and comfortable environment.
“We’re built on intensity,” said Kyte. “We over-stress our bodies, and we end up with injuries, sick, or burned out. Some of us have no problem with going and pushing, but we have a hard time with stopping or resting and relaxing. We’re tense, and we don’t even realize we hold onto so much tension. Emotional and mental tension brings tension to our bodies. But the other way around is true, too. When we release physical tension, the emotional and mental tension eases up.”
“Most of my clients are very hard-working professionals and have demanding lives, dealing with lots of stress, muscle tightness, and not enough sleep. Life is very demanding today.” That is where her Kundalini Yoga and Meditation class comes in. Kundalini is a thousand year old mediation practice also called the yoga of awareness. The Kundalini class works by stimulating organs and nervous systems to achieve inner balance in the mind, body, and soul. The class uses movements, mantras, and breathing techniques to achieve inner peace. It was first taken public by Yogi Bhajan in 1969, but previous to that, Kundalini was only for the very privileged. Kyte explained that although Yogi Bhajan is no longer with us, the practices are still used exactly the same way when taught today.
Everyday life for most of us is very crazy. Kyte explained that besides adding fitness into our lives, and relaxing, self care is just as, if not most, important. “Our society is really demanding, and we are all ‘fighting’ to survive. We only start taking care of our health when we get sick. We work out to look better, not necessarily to feel better. A balanced life starts with a healthy mindset. When we start valuing our lives, when we look at our body with gratitude, we’ll shift our perceptions and the way we make decisions. The balance has to start with our mindset and instead of waiting to live tomorrow, start living today.”
She also mentioned that we have to take responsibility for our own well-being. “Learning about self-care is really important, and eating a healthy diet or exercising is only a part of creating a balanced life.” Kyte explained that the other parts of self-care are sleeping, lowering stress, caring about our mental health, and having hobbies and having different experiences and fulfillment with friends and families.
If you want to learn more about Ava’s training or attend one of her classes, you can find information on her website, and her summer schedule is as follows:
Elevate Full Body Workout with Relaxation (Hugs and Bugs Club- 533 Willow Ave, Hoboken)
- Tuesdays 8 p.m.
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation (Hugs and Bugs Club)
- Tuesdays 6:30 p.m.
Wannabe Carrie Bradshaw and lover of all things that involve ice cream, cats, naps, hippies, and sarcasm.
