Gyrotonic Expansion System (GXS®) is the creation of Juliu Horvarth. Horvarth was a gymnast and a swimmer before becoming a dancer. When an injury forced him to abandon his career, he retired and began developing his method, a kind of yoga, in order to heal his own body.
The Gyrotonic System is designed to stretch and strengthen the muscles, while simultaneously stimulating the connective tissue. The exercises are performed combining movement with specific breathing patterns, thus enhancing our aerobic and cardiovascular capacity. The circular, spiral and undulating movements that characterize this method help us improve the functional capacity of the spine, contribute to our awareness of the three-dimensional nature of the human movement and result in a better balance psychologically, mentally and physically.
As a great yoga teacher, Vanda Scaravelli, used to say: We should avoid the angular movements and adopt circular, spiral ones. The body instinctively avoids all harsh and aggressive motion dictated by pressure. Instead, it accepts the rounded movements born from the spine and therefore leading to a total action of the body. Such "spiral-circumpheric" gesture penetrates in depth and can bring about unexpected results.