A Gentle Road to Health : Kinder workouts tone and relax not only the body, but also the mind.

Alice Tykac used to run several miles a day. But after years of pounding the pavement, the Northridge resident ended up with injured knees, aching hips and joints and a touch of arthritis.

Searching for a less jarring way to stay in shape, Tykac signed up for a yoga class. To her surprise, the rhythmic stretches left her body strong and flexible. Her hips no longer hurt. She feels more energetic than ever before.

Even more important, yoga helped Tykac cope with the stresses and pressures in her life. “It’s almost like therapy,” she says. “I was going through a difficult divorce, but after I started doing yoga, I felt much calmer and things sorted out.” She even credits yoga with helping her kick a 20-year smoking habit.

In the ‘80s, working out meant going for the burn, carbo-loading and hopping till you dropped. But many former gym rats who used to subscribe to the “no pain, no gain” theory ended up injured, bored--or simply in search of a less strenuous, more spiritual routine.

Like Tykac, they are turning to kinder, gentler movements that tone and relax not only the body, but also the mind. As a result, the ancient mind-body arts of yoga and tai chi, as well as a 70-year-old conditioning method called Pilates, are gaining increased popularity.

“These old techniques really provide something that people are hungry for,” says Carl Totton, a tai chi instructor at the Taoist Institute in North Hollywood. “They give us a way to age gracefully while increasing our inner strength.”

YOGA Purusha Hickson, a yoga instructor at the Westlake Sporthouse, can vouch for the change in people’s attitudes toward this discipline. Several years ago, when he offered to teach yoga at trendy gyms, he was laughed out the door. Then one by one, the facilities called him back. Today he teaches several yoga classes, each with 25 to 30 students.

“Our society is so fast-paced and crazy that people get frazzled and dazzled,” he said. “We are looking for something more peaceful.”

A yoga routine usually begins with several minutes of quiet, concentrated breathing and progresses to a series of stretching postures.

“Yoga is about moving the spine,” Hickson says. “Yogis say, ‘Your age is measured by the health of your spine.’ When your spine becomes elastic, you regain the symptoms of youth, such as balance, flexibility and strength.”

Focused breathing is an integral part of each posture, according to Marsha Accomazzo, who teaches yoga out of her Northridge studio as well as through the Mind/Body Stress Reduction Program at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

“With each movement, as you open your body, you inhale; as you close your body, you exhale,” she says. “The breathing and the movements are flowing and meditative. They produce feelings of tranquillity and serenity. Yoga releases and relaxes us and brings us back to ourselves.”

TAI CHI

Developed in China thousands of years ago as a martial art, tai chi incorporates deep breathing, oh-so-slow dance-like movements and elaborate visualizations. But don’t let the snail’s pace fool you. When done correctly, tai chi works every limb and muscle while increasing flexibility, balance and endurance.

“Tai chi is graceful, gentle and staggeringly beautiful--but it’s not easy,” Totton says. “It takes strength and control to move against the force of gravity in such a deliberate way.”

Ann Hyden, a tai chi student at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, said she initially found the routine to be a trifle boring. “I had done aerobics for years,” the Sylmar resident said, “so tai chi seemed strange.”

But entranced by the beauty of the fluid movements, which reminded her of the ocean’s ebb and flow, she stuck with the program. After a year, she had dropped 15 pounds.

“It’s a real complete workout,” she says. “At the end of a couple of sets, I am perspiring.”

Hyden also finds that tai chi leaves her feeling serene. “By meditating on each movement, it’s almost as though I am emptying my head and letting my stress out. I can feel all haggard and troubled, but after a little tai chi, all those feelings go away. It is a real joy.”

PILATES

The Pilates method, developed in the early 1920s by physical trainer Joseph Pilates, combines yoga-like stretches, focused breathing and body-mind awareness with a western emphasis on strength and endurance. The goal of Pilates, according to Encino trainer Michael Levy, is to produce a lean, lithe body--not bulk.

“The main difference between Pilates and a typical gym workout is that we don’t isolate muscle groups,” Levy says. “You don’t just do your biceps, for example. You use all your muscles, and you have to zero in on what your body is doing.”

Most Pilates exercises are done on specially designed machines equipped with assorted springs, bars, stirrups and pulleys that create resistance. A person lies, kneels, sits or stands on the machines and pushes or pulls against the tension in a sometimes complicated sequence of movements.

“You definitely need to concentrate to do Pilates,” says Shari Weiner, one of Levy’s students. “I still do aerobics and run, and I use a treadmill for a cardiovascular workout. But Pilates has added a new dimension to my routine. It helps me relax and gives me energy.”

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WHERE AND WHEN

What: Lessons in yoga, tai chi and Pilates.

Location: Offered through health clubs, adult extension classes, sports medicine clinics, park and recreation programs and YMCAs.

Call: The Pilates Studio, (800) 474-5283; International Assn. of Yoga Therapists, (310) 306-8845; Taoist Institute, (818) 760-4219.