I write to you with freshly toned arms and quivering thighs. For the past 40ish minutes, I’ve been in my basement with Tracy Anderson. Before a friend lent me her copy of Tracy’s Perfect Design Series, homegirl really intimidated me. Mainly because she trained the woman with whom I am obsessed and desperately in love.
(Source)
Before experiencing her workouts for myself, I assumed that Tracy would have me in pain, gasping for air, and pretending that I can endure her DVD on a regular basis. Much to my relief and delight, Tracy’s workouts are far from physically exhausting. Rather, she focuses on engaging our muscles in very specific, strategic ways that tire, yet energize our bodies. Like yoga.
She stresses the importance of connecting with our bodies in every sequence by relying on counter-forces. For example, if she has us on all fours (dirty) and asks us to kick our left leg behind us at a diagonal, she’ll then have us come up on our knees and push our right arm out to the side. These counter-forces not only help us use all of the tiny muscles in our bodies that other workout routines overlook, but they remind us of just how connected we are to our bodies.
Plus, her standing abs and arms segments completely excite me because they are fun and unique. Her moves seemed awkward at first because she just looks like she’s dancing. But as I followed her, my arm muscles in particular burned.
Throughout her entire DVD, Tracy emphasized the importance of making sure everything is “awake and active and participating,” a very yogic philosophy.
College Kid Yoga 