The inspiration for VivAsia came from the desire to develop a group fitness aerobic dance class that creates awareness and sparks exploration of cultures through dance, music and props. VivAsia is influenced by the traditional dance styles of Asia including the fan dance, ribbon dance, bollywood, bhangra, taekwondo dance, and many more.
VivAsia incorporates the concept of the Five Elements, Wu Xing (五行), which perceives the world as dynamic phases of constant changes. The Five Elements include:
WOOD (Chinese: 木, pinyin: mù) is the element of spring and is the force of growth and flexibility; hence, the color associated with Wood is green.
FIRE (Chinese: 火, pinyin: huǒ) is the element of heat and its motion is upward which is associated with dynamic, energetic, passionate, and enterprising energies. The color that represents fire is red.
EARTH (Chinese: 土, pinyin: tǔ) is the element of harvest time, abundance,
nourishment, fertility, and the mother to child relationship. This element is also regarded as central to balance and is the symbol of stability and being properly anchored. It is represented by the color yellow.
METAL (Chinese: 金, pinyin: jīn) is the force of gravity. Metal’s motion is determined, forceful, strong, and sophisticated. It is represented by the color white
WATER (Chinese: 水, pinyin: shuǐ) is the source of life on this planet. Water’s motion is downward, fluid, gentle, and creative. It is represented by the color black/ blue.
VivAsia Fitness creator, Ying, is passionate about all aspects of health and fitness. She has a Masters degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Physiology and is certified as a Group Fitness Health Instructor with ACSM, ACE, and YMCA.
She immigrated to the United States from Taiwan when she was a toddler that which resulted her being unfamiliar with the Chinese culture and traditions. Her desire to learn about her cultural heritage was sparked by a college trip to her birth country. It was while working in the high-tech industry that she discovered and developed her passion for teaching all kinds of group fitness classes. As a fitness devotee, she found dance as the perfect medium for teaching people to become and/or stay fit while exploring different cultures.
Ying is a committed believer in maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle and staying active. Her fascination with human movement and her desire to facilitate cultural awareness and exploration of all cultures inspired her to create and choreograph an unique and innovative group fitness aerobic dance program, VivAsia (viv is a root word meaning alive and life). Ying hopes that, through VivAsia, she can promote cultural awareness, exploration and understanding, and promote health and fitness as a universal goal with a universal theme.