Original Yin Qi Gong Gym

I think this place is a hoot. It’s not for everyone but it appeals to me in many ways. It’s the most hilarious gym concept I’ve ever seen. If it were marketed differently, New Yorkers and LA celebs would probably dub it the next big thing.
I be back as soon as I have the time. The owner, Albert exudes youth and looks 10 years younger than his age and the way he moves and carry himself, even younger. The equipment is expensive– the ROM machine itself retails at 15k + in the US. I haven’t tried the human gyroscope yet (my core s not strong enough) but it looks like so much fun.
Now why do I find ths gym makes me laugh? With the exception of the gyroscope, the «exercises» look deceptively simple. To passerbys, it looks like the gym is full of slackers. Now I laugh but on a more serious note, I think the concept is awesome. I notice a lot of hardcore gym rats have imbalances in their body– one side is much stonger, a loss of flexibility, and some have a rigid, somewhat stuck shoulder and neck posture. There is a place for tough workouts but this gym helps to restore what was perhaps over exerted in a previous workout. My goal is to move more graciously and improve my posture… AND try to restore my body and look younger like Albert.
It’s a small space but in this case, I don’t mind at all. It’s quirky and cool.

Four years ago my physical rehabilitation needs and my capacity for exercise were very different than they are currently. I was recovering from a major surgical procedure and needed to find my way back to physical well-​being in a way that wouldn’t tax me more than I was already.
My initial experience with Original Yin was of a very comfortable and small rehab centre. At first, I only frequented the centre once a week, spending an hour or so working slowly with one of the first machines or receiving a treatment from Albert Chang, the originator of the Original Yin methods (hands-​on treatments are no longer a focus of the centre) to help address specific physical needs. My progress took its time but with each visit I could feel something fundamental was changing and my overall sense of well-​being was growing more evident.
When after a year of once-​weekly visits, I was ready and able to accelerate my rehab and shift to a more training oriented program, my physical strength took another step forward and I was able to feel energized and physically stronger with each passing week.
I have spent extended periods of my life training in various physical activities; nine years of intense ballet training and 6 years of yoga, along with assorted dance classes and ongoing gym memberships throughout. I’ve enjoyed being physical for most of my life and enjoy a good connection to my body. What I didn’t expect to discover when I started with OY was an even deeper connection to my body, one which continues today.
I also didn’t expect to see so much real change in my physical appearance and feeling of contentment. Having accepted that I would now start to reflect my slowly advancing age, I have been surprised by changes of a more youthful and healthy appearance. The attributes of youth like shiny hair, good skin, vibrant eyes, have all been part of the evidence of the changes that I’m making from the inside out. As has feeling more at ease in my own skin, which has contributed to better interpersonal interactions and more contentment with my life.
I’ve had to adapt. The use of machines is extensive in the training. My dance and yoga regimes didn’t use machines and I was initially reluctant to commit to fitness reliant upon them. That reluctance has changed completely. The depth of the stretch or gradual pace of specific exercises has revealed the value of using the leverage, patience and nonhuman strength of machines. These are also high quality machines; two of them having been designed and engineered by health professionals for use by professional athletes and astronauts in their training and not publicly accessible anywhere else in Canada. The usage of each machine is unique and offers different ways to develop and grow.
I’ve also had and continue to learn how to rest. My previous professional and self-​taught exercises had neglected to incorporate quality recuperation. At Original Yin Gym, there’s a fundamental focus on resting even while in the machines and when training and again afterwards when the real physical consolidation of the training takes place in your body. Learning to observe when my training needs to take a backseat to a more recuperative program has been a learning curve for me but I would attribute it to being a fundamental sea-​change in my understanding of balance in exercise and also at the core of my ability to progress in fitness and well-​being.
My fitness régime at Original Yin Gym has become an integral part of my life. Suggested ways to use the machines continue with measurable results from each change in the program. I haven’t yet experienced the fatigue or boredom of fitness program familiarity and my progress continues as far as I allow it. It’s a mentally stimulating, physically challenging and most importantly, effective program that allows me to make lasting physical changes through my commitment to my health.
It’s also kind of an interesting place with a strong focus on creativity and beauty and with a core group of committed trainees who are pretty welcoming and helpful to new people.

It was in 2008 that I began coming to Original Yin and training with Albert. The initial reason was that I have been losing hair at an accelerating rate since 2001. During this time I have tried several popular products such as Propecia and Rogaine. These products have halted my hair loss and even helped grow some of it back for the first three to four years. However overtime they have gradually loss their potency and my hair loss have again accelerated. It was then that I turned to Original Yin for help. Since I didn’t live in Vancouver I would stay with Albert for a month at a time. Initially I did not think improvement was likely since I thought my hair loss is mainly hereditary as my father has been pretty much bald when he was my age.
However during my stay with Albert my hair has grown thicker and darker and there were even signs of tiny new hairs growing out of my scalp. In addition to my hair my overall health has improved as well. I have gained lean muscle and lost fat around the waist area and the water retention on my face has also reduced. My overall posture and appearance have also changed as I was able to stand straighter and look more energetic and youthful.
Since I do not live in Vancouver once I was back home and back with my daily routines the progress that I’ve gained during my stay in Original Yin would slowly dissipate. And once I went back to train in Original Yin again I would again see improvements. This back and forth made me realized that my hair loss is not totally hereditary as I believed it was but is also part of the aging process just like other signs of aging such as losing muscle mass, gaining fat and water retention, hunching over and losing youthful appearance and energy. Furthermore I have also realized that with a continuous comprehensive training and diet program, such as the one I went through in Original Yin, this process can be dramatically slowed down or even reversed to some degree. The key is to have the right training program and then the will power to follow through for an extended period of time.
My training at Original Yin consists of specific diet, supplements, deep and light tissue massages, deep and light stretches, meditations as well as various specifically designed exercises on various machines and exercise equipments with the help of infra red heat lamps. All these types of trainings are designed to work cohesively to fight hair loss and other signs of wear and tear that comes from aging.
Among these trainings perhaps the most interesting aspect to a person walking by Original Yin would be the exercises with the fancy machines. It is difficult to describe to someone how each works on paper as they are done uniquely on various innovative machines and exercise equipments. However the principles behind these exercises are tried and proved as they come from the ancient art of Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Yoga.