A Tale of Two Beauties: Gisele and Miriam

Miriam Barbosa, Gyrotonic Master Trainer (Photo by Lumos Studio / Styling by Molly Shuster)

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What do super model Gisele Bündchen and Master Trainer Miriam Barbosa have in common?  Aside from beauty? They are both Brazilian and they both love the GYROTONIC® method!

The striking photo above, of Gyrotonic® Master Trainer Miriam Barbosa, was recently featured in an article in Boston Magazine.  The same article also mentions that Gisele Bundchen can sometimes be seen practicing Gyrotonic: 

"Stop by Charles River Gyrotonic, in Allston, and you might glimpse Gisele Bündchen among the participants performing circular movements on a Pulley Tower machine, which looks a bit like a medieval torture device."

In spite of the reference to the "rack', the article explains that in addition to producing long, lean bodies, Gyrotonic may reduce the need for surgery.

"Not only does this low-impact regimen strengthen spines, tone cores, and improve flexibility, but owner Veronique Breen says the repeated rotation helped fix her knee. “I had an MRI, and they realized that [the knee] had improved” with the exercises, she says.

It makes sense, then, that Gyrotonic machines are being used as part of physical-therapy programs at rehab centers around town. And in a recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that physical therapy is just as effective for a torn meniscus as surgery.

Martha Mason, a partner at Cambridge’s Upward Spiral Studio, says she often sees clients who have disk injuries, scoliosis, hip issues, and other ailments—many of whom use [the method] as a way to avoid going under the knife. “You can get a workout while you are seated,” Mason says. “It’s like physical therapy on steroids, and you feel incredible afterward.”

Written by Melissa Malamut, the article was published June 2013.   Click here to see the article on Boston Magazine's website.