Mind/Body Fitness Cruise
Shape and Men’s Fitness magazines have once again joined with Carnival Cruise Lines to present the third annual Mind/Body cruise. The one-week cruise aboard the Carnival Glory sails from Port Canaveral, Florida on December 2nd and will visit Key West, Cozumel and Belize. Fares for the cruise begin at $679 per person, double occupancy. For additional information and reservations, call 1-866-721-3232 or visit:
www.carnival.com/promo/shape.
To provide instruction on various aspects of mind/body fitness, the faculty of experts from the two magazines will include:
-Jeffrey Scott, a Reebok University global master trainer and an international fitness presenter who has starred in more than 20 fitness videos and has made numerous television appearances including Wake Up New York and NBC’s Today morning show.
-Teri Hanson, a personal trainer and group fitness instructor for more than 20 years, including 10 years as a cruise ship fitness director, Hanson is Fitness Editor at Shape.
-Maria and Kent Burden, authors of the award-winning book, Yin Yang Fitness: The Whole Package of Health, and creators of a series of mind and body DVDs, the Burdens have appeared on television in both the U.S. and U.K., including Access Hollywood, BBC’s Life and Times and Spa Finder TV.
Workouts will include the Caribbean Cardio Jam, Reggae Yoga, Shape’s Long and Strong Yoga DVD taught live and The Power of Chi. Personal training will also be offered.
Interested parties should contact Carnival at 1.888. 721.3232, go online, or contact their travel agent. Customers must use the code CSSH when booking the Mind/Body Cruise.
What would make 60 people on a relaxing cruise to the Mexican Riviera get up to stand in darkness on the pool deck of the Carnival Pride at 6:30 in the morning? Answer: a sunrise tai chi session with Kent Burden who, with his wife Maria, authored the award-winning book, Yin Yang Fitness: The Whole Package of Health, and appeared on television in both the U.S. and the U.K., including Access Hollywood and the BBC’s Life and Times . Burden established the mind/body program at the Oaks at Ojai.
As the skies begin to lighten, participants perform a chi exercise in which they release peals of laughter at the top of their pose, so contagious that early morning coffee seekers stop in their tracks. They can’t join in the activities of the group however, which is involved in the second annual Shape/Men’s Fitness Mind/Body cruise.
The 160 people who attended the October 23 fitness cruise found tremendous variety of experience from guided mediations to highly intense sessions with Reebok Global Master Jeffrey Scott, who has starred in more than 20 fitness videos and made numerous television appearances including Wake Up New York and NBC’s Today morning show. During Scott’s high-energy one-hour "Beach Body Workout" class, which took place in the ship’s disco, hard bodies (and a few less buff) sweated to the pounding music, bobbing and weaving, stretching, squatting, jabbing left and right, jumping, marching clapping and generally burning a lot of calories.
Attendees worked with Pilates classes which straddled the line between conventional Pilates, aerobics and strength training with Maria Burden and Teri Hanson, assistant editor of fitness for Shape. They exercised with Tracy York, a 15-year fitness professional, master trainer and personal trainer who has appeared in more than 30 exercise videos, has served as a fitness expert and spokesperson for Kellogg’s and 24 Hour Fitness, and co-hosted The ESPN Fitness Pros .
They had motivational seminars with nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, the author of several books, including The Origin Diet , Food and Mood and Nutrition for Women , a contributing editor to Shape and a consultant for NBC’s Today .
Somer’s seminars were well attended, whether she was offering a Not Cooking demonstration or a Real Simple Diet lecture. Somer spoke with authority and humor about the basics of good diet and the issue of vitamins. She offered attention-grabbing statistics like this: "Ninety percent of people think they eat pretty well. Ninety-nine percent are mistaken." When her talks wound down, hands went up, and attendees peppered her with questions about nutrition, eating choices, supplements and diet.
The participants in the program were every bit as varied as the offerings. There were men and women, overweight and lean, black, white and Asian, with more than 40 years age range. At an information session early in the cruise, guests responded to questions about health and limitations, many with joint problems, recent surgery or old injuries. The instructors masterfully catered to all levels of fitness, demonstrating different levels and making suggestions to compensate for problems. Generally one member of the faculty led each class, while others moved quietly through participants, not correcting but supporting and suggesting alternative ways to use the techniques, reassuring, and offering them water. The warmth and respectfulness of the instructors generated a very free, comfortable attitude among the guests, who flowed from yoga to Pilates-based workouts, cardio sculpture and power walking to journaling with comfort and ease.
Participants all received amenity bags including yoga mats and shoulder bags, towels and anti-cellulite products.
Carnival Pride spends three days of its seven-day cruise at sea, and those days had several morning and afternoon sessions. The schedule was sparer on days in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, although many guests opted for very active shore excursions.
Most of the Shape/Men’s Health group made liberal use of the Pride’s extensive gym and spa, and some worked in the spinning, kick boxing, stretching, yoga and Pilates classes offered to all the ship’s passengers.
The very diverse dining options helped, too, with excellent and ample raw fruit and vegetable choices, fish and Chinese, Japanese and Asian specialties available along with low carb and sugar free choices.
There was virtually 100% attendance at the final official session of the cruise, which resembled the last day of camp. There were raffles, with prizes awarded. There were valedictory speeches and hugs and picture-taking, promises to stay in touch and even a few tears. Shouts of, See you next year! were heard, along with suggestions for new destinations. (See sidebar).
0 Comments