Water aerobics instructor Gerry Montgomery, top center, leads a class last week at the Grande Ronde Fitness Club. CHRIS BAXTER/The Observer

by TRISH YERGES /Observer correspondent

LA GRANDE At the Grande Ronde Fitness Club, instructors Gerry Montgomery and Stephanie Boudreau are helping people of all ages benefit from a full body workout during water aerobics classes.

Water aerobics is a type of resistance training, using traditional aerobic exercises, motions and calisthenics while submerged in chest-deep water. The instructor tailors the exercises to fit the clients physiological needs and limitations.

The benefits of water aerobics is that its fun and comfortable in the water, yet youre still working out hard and burning calories, said Boudreau, evening aerobics instructor at the club.

According to the Center for Health and Sciences, a person weighing 180 pounds can burn 327 calories an hour performing water aerobics. But weight loss is only one of the many benefits of this kind of workout.

The benefits of water aerobics is that it gives you better balance, muscle strength and cardiovascular health, said Montgomery, who has taught water aerobics for about 30 years and teaches the morning class at the club. Its a good way to get your day started.

Water aerobics classes commonly involve a warm-up routine of stretching and deep breathing. Then the class is led through a 25-minute routine of cardiovascular exercises. After that clients do some walking in the water followed by a routine of muscle building leg exercises like flutter kicks, leg lifts and karate kicks.

Water aerobics is for everyone, young and old, but because of its therapeutic and rehabilitative benefits, it often attracts seniors who want to maintain mobility and cardiovascular health. People who are recovering from surgery often exercise in water to regain their strength and balance.

If a client is new, I ask them what problems they have, said Montgomery. Some have arthritis, as I do, and this is very good for that. Some have a shoulder, ankle or knee problem, so then I change their routine to help them.

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Water aerobics: A fun way to get fit

"The kids who are opting out are getting teased and bullied ... We have one little girl whose classmates told her her parents are stupid because she opted out. Thats not supposed to happen in our schools," argues attorney Dean Broyleswhile explaining why yoga should be kept out of public schools.Broyles is representing the parents of two children who have slapped theEncinitas Unified School District (just outside of San Diego) with a lawsuit because the district began incorporating yoga classes in Septemberthe parents argue yoga is an Eastern religion, and therefore mixes church and state.

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The collective groans you may be hearing are from the several yoga practitioners at Equinox who aren't om-ing because they are too busy worrying about how flat their abs are getting. Some of those people are like the human hate crush known as Adam Levine, who freely admits doing yoga for the vanity aspects. "Yoga takes what you have and molds and sculpts it, which is a much more natural way to look and feel ...I don't like how people bullshit about how yoga is not about vanity," Levine told Details magazine in December of 2011.And look no further than the absence of religion Equinox's own yoga advertisements:

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Obviously they're not teaching those kids that kind of sexy times yoga. But the basic imagery here, is, this is anexercisethat will make you strong and hot. The baseline takeaway the school wants to make is that this (again, in the less sexy way more basic form) is a good workout for kids.

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"As a First Amendment lawyer, I wouldnt go after an exercise program. I dont go after people for stretching,"said Broyles to Reuters.Broyles is either being very dismissive or has never been to an actual yoga class, or a combination of the two. "But Ashtanga yoga is a religious-based yoga, and if we are separating church and state, we cant pick and choose religious favorites.

The children are allowed to opt out of the program which, according to The Telegraph, has even changed the names of the poses, some of which are already English versions of their sanskrit names likeUtkatasana, into even more simple ones like "airplane" and "pancake" as to avoid controversy. The program does not, apparently, feature any chanting, prayer positions, or cultural references either.

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Parents Stand Up Against Yoga Bullies in School