Living Well January 23, 2008

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

By Teresa Griswold

Conquer fear by breaking the ice
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-One might think balancing on thin blades while gliding swiftly on a slippery, rock-hard surface would be more harmful than it would be healthful, but ice-skating is like a serving of health on the rocks, offering many benefits for both body and mind.
It’s a great way to strengthen muscles, get a cardiovascular workout and have fun. Ice-skating increases flexibility, endurance, balance, stamina and coordination. It also builds confidence and improves body control, mental concentration and self-esteem.
Doctors recommend children and adults to skate in order to enhance muscle development and sensory integration, to build lung capacity, and as therapy for toe walkers.

Two well-known figure skaters are testaments to the health benefits of skating. Olympic medalists Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi achieved what seemed like impossible dreams. Hamilton mysteriously stopped growing when he was 2, but when he took to the ice as a child, his spirit soared past the adversity and he began to grow again. Yamaguchi wore casts to correct her deformed feet when she was a little girl. As an adult, she proved to be a champion skater.

This winter, I wanted to learn something new and have some fun. So I enrolled in nine weeks of ice skating lessons with the Grand Teton Skating Academy. The first session was last Wednesday, and the hardest part for me was overcoming my fear of it. “It is so important in life not to let fear win,” Andria Monoukian, the academy’s administrator told me when I called to inquire. She was right. I enjoyed my time on the ice. It was invigorating to overcome my fear and glide confidently on ice skates.

My teacher is Adriana Grabowska, who last year represented her home country as one of the top three senior lady figure skaters on the Polish National Team. Her competitive career includes championship medals, and she now performs professionally across the globe.

She has been coaching for five years, and she is a focused, attentive, and motivational teacher. Grabowska told the beginning students about her first day on the ice more than 16 years ago. She fell and broke her glasses. Though she was disappointed and clearly not having fun, she did not give up. This story offered needed encouragement at the juncture when learning to ice skate was harder than the pleasure of it.

She started each of us with a sequence tailored to our level.  I first learned how to balance and march around on the ice, followed by swizzling, which is putting your feet together with the heels touching and the toes angled out like a “V” and slowly moving both feet forward, first outward, then inward. Next, I learned how to fall to avoid injury, keeping my head away from the ice and delicately bending with hands outstretched.
With eight more classes ahead of me, there is a lot more to learn and perhaps a few more fears to overcome - like that of skating backwards. The challenge of it is what brings the fulfillment.

The Grand Teton Skating Academy’s director is Akop Manoukian, a champion skater who performs professionally and co-coached Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes. He has over 20 years of coaching experience and will be teaching the adult sessions beginning February 10. Most recently, he was cast as the stunt double for Will Ferrell in the box office hit, Blades of Glory.

The Grand Teton Skating Academy is a sub-entity of Skate Jackson Hole, a non-profit entity dedicated to creating, promoting and maintaining a year round ice arena for amateur athletes of all ages in Teton County, Wyo. and instilling a solid foundation for participants in the sport of skating.

The adult classes are held Wednesdays from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. through mid-March at the Snow King Ice Arena. Cost is $135 for the nine session series plus a $20 membership fee and does not include the ice fee or skate rental. All levels are welcome. Mid-session registrations are accepted. Contact Andria Manoukian at 733-0066 or AKOPM@aol.com to register.
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Living Well January 23, 2008 | Planet JH News Article: Living Well

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