Mindy Claunch says she never does anything the normal way.
At 58, she recently became a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. It’s the latest chapter in a lifelong relationship with movement.
Claunch competed as a gymnast when she was younger, but yoga eventually became an important part of her life for a much more serious reason.
Sixteen years ago, she was involved in a car accident that left her struggling with a severe digestive problem. She lost about 60 pounds within months and became extremely weak.
Around that time, a friend introduced her to yoga. Week by week, Claunch noticed something changing.
“I could feel myself getting stronger, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally,” she said.
Eventually, when her son announced that Claunch was going to become a grandmother, she decided to become a certified yoga instructor.
“I’m gonna get my yoga certification so I can be a cool grandma,” she remembers thinking.
Ten years later, yoga has led naturally into personal training and Claunch’s desire to help others remain active. She works with everyone from older adults dealing with balance and mobility concerns to her own teenage sons.
Now, in the next phase of her journey, Claunch teaches Prime & Unwind at the Clyde Recreation Center, which is a 45-minute class built around foam rolling, mobility, breathing and learning how to better care for your body, which she describes as a massage you give yourself.
“You don’t have to pay a massage therapist to work out your sore muscles or to prime your muscles for a workout,” Claunch said. “It puts the recovery or the participation directly in the participant’s hands.”
Prime & Unwind teaches participants how to use foam rollers—firm cylinders that look a little like oversized pool noodles—to apply pressure to different muscles. The Clyde Recreation Center has several varieties, but Claunch recommends beginners start with smooth rollers that provide moderate pressure. After all, the point isn’t to see how much discomfort you can endure.
Claunch encourages participants to move slowly and deliberately, pairing the rolling with breathing exercises intended to help the body settle into a relaxed state.
A typical class can work its way through nearly the entire body in about 30 to 35 minutes, with Claunch incorporating mobility work from her background as a yoga instructor. Sessions begin and end with breathing, giving participants a chance to slow down and pay attention to how their bodies feel.
Safety is also a priority. New participants receive information about health conditions and areas of the body that may make foam rolling problematic. Claunch then adjusts the session depending on who is in the room and what they need.
The class can stand on its own, but it is also designed to complement other workouts. Prime & Unwind is scheduled before instructor Alec Noll’s 7 a.m. class, giving participants an opportunity to prepare their bodies before tackling a more strenuous workout. Claunch said many people think of foam rolling strictly as something to do afterward, but it can also be useful beforehand.
“Most people don’t know you foam roll before you work out,” she said.
That emphasis on preparation and injury prevention is particularly important to Claunch. Her philosophy isn’t necessarily about pushing harder. Sometimes it’s about understanding what your body needs so you can keep moving. That makes Prime & Unwind something of an unusual fitness class. Participants shouldn’t expect to leave drenched in sweat or exhausted from an hour of burpees.
Instead, Claunch tells newcomers to wear comfortable clothing and come prepared to spend time on the floor—although accommodations can be made for people who have difficulty getting up and down. Mostly, she said, they should “come prepared to relax and release.”
Claunch says participants often notice relief within a single 45-minute session. When returning to the idea of the self-massage, she says that the key difference is that you are the one deciding where to apply pressure, how much to use and when to stop. That idea fits perfectly with what Claunch hopes people take away from Prime & Unwind.
“You get to control it,” she said. “It puts all the power in your hands.”
