FUNKY FITNESS
Step and spinning classes don’t appeal to everyone who’s determined to get into shape. There’s a hot alternative for people craving a high-intensity cardio workout combined with the irresistible rhythms of salsa, merengue, and mamba—and the infectious energy of a passionate instructor. Vancouver’s Gustavo Ferman developed Latin Funk Dance, a movement-based fitness program that incorporates the forms he learned growing up in El Salvador as well as elements of hip-hop, African dance, and jazz. He stresses on his Web site (www.latinfunkdance.com) that the classes focus on proper technique, but you don’t need any dance experience to take part, nor do you need to bring a partner. Ferman—who also heads his own troupe, the Corazón Dancers—teaches at a variety of locations, including the Kitsilano Community Centre (2495 West 12th Avenue), the Roundhouse Community Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews), and Kitsilano Workout (1923 West 4th Avenue). Drop-ins are welcome, but Ferman recommends registering in advance. ¡Olé! > GAIL JOHNSON

DEEJAYING YOGA
In 2000, Mary-Jo Fetterly founded the Nelson, B.C.–based Trinity Yoga. Four years later, she broke her back while skiing and was left paralyzed. Three months after her accident, Fetterly was teaching from her wheelchair. She says she has gained a deeper understanding of the true essence of yoga.

Fetterly is now introducing a new practice to aspiring yogis all across the country. The Vancouver-based instructor describes Siddhi Sadhana as a “ritualistic experience of yoga, tantra, movement, and music”. In Sanskrit, siddhi means “psychic or supernatural powers” and sadhana means “a meditation practice or spiritual exertion toward an intended goal”.

Slated to begin in Vancouver on February 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Memelab Studio (202–1814 Pandora Street), the monthly event ($12) aims to energize and enlighten. Third Eye Tribe and other local DJs will fuel the evening—and the movement. More details are available at mj@trinityyoga.net. > TRISHA WILSON

RHYTHMIC HEALING
So you’re interested in trying some kind of movement class, but you find yoga sessions too structured and you despise aerobics. One style to try might be 5Rhythms, a form of “ecstatic dance” that aims to free the body, open the heart, and empty the mind. Developed by New York recording artist Gabrielle Roth, the “formless form” is based on your own body’s interpretation of five rhythms: flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness. It can be described as a workout for body and soul or a moving meditation. Bettina Rothe teaches 5Rhythms in Vancouver in her Dancing Into Ecstasy classes, every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. and the first and third Sunday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon at La Salle (1839 Commercial Drive; more details on classes, $15, are at www.soulfulsteps.com and free passes for first-timers are at www.dancemovesvancouver.com ). Participants might go through all of the rhythms or focus on just one; they might move solo or partnered. Rothe DJs, using a range of world music, recorded chanting, pop, and electronica. “People crave a space where they can just be, follow their own energy, move how they feel like, and even rest if they want to,” Rothe explains. “The 5Rhythms is a healing practice, and the healing just happens when you begin to move from within.” > KIM GOODLIFFE