Aerial Flow - Week 2

This was actually week 3 of the class, but since I wasn't able to make last week, I'm still counting it as week 2. Luckily, the instructor spoke the truth when she told me at Monday's Aerial Arts class that the rest of the people in Flow didn't get much further into the choreography during the class that I missed.

We moved on from the first section that everyone already had down (single foot lock, cocoon, sail, hip lean, flamenco grip). This had us starting at the middle invert, which is the hardest part in the routine for me so far. I had worked on it a little on Monday and I think that definitely helped. During Aerial Flow, we have two instructors, and I was able to get some great advice from them. I was able to get into a split from the invert for 2 of about 10 tries. However, once in the inverted splits, I was able to move into the J-pose, a sit and a lotus hang (although, admittedly, my lotus hang was mostly on the ground since I hadn't climbed high enough from the start).

Later on in the choreography is the crochet climb. I'd never actually attempted this, so once I finally decided to stop torturing my right foot by keeping it in a single foot lock all through class, I gave it a try. (The downside to the flamenco grip is that I can only do it on one side, so it's impossible to switch feet throughout practice.) I can do the motions of the crochet climb, but I struggled to actually move higher with each climb. It's definitely do-able, though.

The last bit of the routine is the angel drop, which I had been working on in Aerial Arts class the last few weeks. I appreciate our instructor's foresight with that. =) I still need to get more consistent with my ankle wraps from this position, but I feel confident that I will be there soon.

None of the girls who were doing the beginner version were around tonight, which was kind of a bummer. As a spectator, I find it more interesting to watch multiple things happening are opposed to the same thing happening in unison. At least we have a person working on the lyra!

One of the other aerialists asked if I had considered performing. I know that I would like to in the future, but don't feel like I'm ready to train for anything specific yet. It was a great boost of confidence to know someone else even felt like I should consider performing. Maybe in the summer or fall.... She mentioned a specific performance, but it's during a weekend that I'm out of town. I have already been planning to perform during the student showcase in April, which feels like an appropriate first shot.

I'm really looking forward to having all of the moves down to the point where I am confident that I can pull them off every time. Then the real challenge will begin of making it look pretty (and presumably hiding my struggling panic).

(When I got home, I went through some of the Ashtanga poses that I've been learning and my pup was sweet enough to join in!)

Ashtanga - Week 3

This week we went through each of the sun salutations (Suyanamaskara A and B) five times. The first three of each were guided by the instructor and the last two were more on our own.

During both sets, one of the teachers-in-training (one who had not previously been in any of our classes) approached me to make recommendations. However, her explanations were so lengthy that I had to stop my practice entirely to hear her. The second time that she did this I was seriously annoyed and really didn't focus on anything she said.

We went over some of the same asanas as last week and added more postures that are shown in the standing sequence photo below.

Source

The standing-on-one-leg poses are super hard! I couldn't lift my legs very high and the standing leg was shaky. The there are three positions that involve squeezing the big toe or standing on the hands. I'm still not used to this.... It's not unpleasant, but it's not enjoyable either.

Throughout the practice, our instructor and a few teachers-in-training physically adjusted parts of my body (an arm here, shoulders there). I was completely fine with this, because it wasn't disruptive and did feel much more comfortable and effective. The head instructor would even come by and make suggestions about standing wider or adjusting feet position, but in a way that was quick and helpful.

The same teacher-in-training from earlier came over to give me a giant spiel again during the asanas and I was again very irritated and unable to focus. She mentioned that my back was always hunched. All of her attention really made me feel self conscious and frustrated that I wasn't getting it as well as I thought I was. Assuming that she will be there again next week and going forward, I'm debating on whether I need to adjust my mentality or find a way to politely ask her to leave me alone. Although she did give me a shoulder adjustment during the relaxation closing and it was wonderful. It felt like a massage.

Aerial Arts - Drops and Flamenco

Last week was pretty busy for me. I had a social activity scheduled on Monday night, a night that is typically a silks night for me. (Yoga on Tuesday, work day-trip on Wednesday.) Then on Thursday, my other preferred night for silks, I was so behind at work from having to travel the day before that I stayed late at the office and I had a friend's art show opening that I really didn't want to miss... so I ended up not getting in any aerial time at all last week. It was kind of depressing.

I was particularly concerned about getting behind in the choreography in the Thursday night Aerial Flow class. (Today I had the opportunity to ask how much further everyone was able to get. Apparently not far, which is good news for me and my need to catch up.)

Tonight was traditional aerial arts. I feel like I had more success than goofs today, which is usually not the case. I was able to do the angel drop consistently (although I did cheat on ankle wraps a few times). I also successfully did a butterfly drop without ruining it with my hesitation to completely let go of my hands at the end.

I had really wanted to work on the flamenco grip since it was where I got stuck during the Flow routine. I feel much more confident now. I was able to consistently use the grip to invert and move into a J pose. Only on my right side, though. My left shoulder is just not going to move that way.

Next things to work on: moving to a sit from the J pose and non-cheating ankle wraps.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 2

The second class in the Beginning Ashtanga series was last night. I'm already regretting not taking the time to reflect on it last night when I got home from class.

I was trying to find some visuals to aid in my explanations. I did find some good ones, which I've linked below.

We repeated Suryanamaskara A and B (the sun salutations from last week) several times (each one 5x is the standard) and then learned the Fundamental Asanas shown in the screenshot below. I felt pretty comfortable doings all of these. 

Source + Full Chart

A few other good charts that seem pretty reflective of what we've been doing are here and here. 

We went over a lot of anatomy and physiology type information, but I don't recall learning any of these names. (So either we didn't learn these or my memory is mush.) Nor do I recall them being referred to as Fundamental Asanas. I'm just taking that terminology from the chart.

Then we also approached the last 3 poses of the finishing sequence.

This screenshot is also from Ashtanga Yoga Victoria.

I also felt comfortable with the closing postures. However, looking ahead at these charts, I think things will not be so easy from now on.

In every class, we have 3-4 teachers-in-training to assist. Throughout the class, I was approached by one or another of them a couple of times for pointers. Of course, I understand that they are to help and the little things will make a big difference in how effective each move is, but it was a little startling because they are unintentionally sneaky. I'm going to have to remember to be mindful of them so that I'm not surprised when I feel a touch even though the voice I'm listening to sounds like it's on the other side of the room.

Sunday Morning Aerial Arts

I usually don't like to make weekend morning commitments, especially when they involve something requiring a lot of energy like working out, but I am always glad when I do and actually follow through. Due to sickness and holidays, I rearranged my usual aerial schedule and ended up attending a Sunday morning class. I almost didn't make it out of bed since it was raining and the humidifier in our bedroom makes everything so comfortable. However, since Thursday, I've really been looking forward to my next chance to get back in the studio and work on some tricks that are included in the flow routine.

It was a little bit of an unusual class because of the four other women there, I only recognized one, and she had only been coming for the last few weeks. So by default, I was the most advanced person there. =) Quite a rarity for me! It is kind of fun to be the one that can do tricks that impress the newer people.

I worked on the bicycle climb and hip keys on both the silks and the corde lisse. I stuck with the just the silks for the angel drop (which I failed at since I haven't done one in forever and forgot all the steps!) and the butterfly drop. I did also get to take some time to work on my middle split from an arabesque for our flow routine, but I'm still off on something. My inflexibility is also really hurting me here so I can't keep both legs straight in a split.

Working on the arabesque with a twisted grip put some strain on my shoulder, so I iced it this afternoon and rubbed some icy hot cream on it a little bit ago. I definitely should have stretched it out a lot more beforehand.

I'm really hoping that my yoga practice will help with flexibility and coordination, which I really need more of for my aerial practice!

I've keep doing Google image searches hoping to find photos of the tricks I'm talking about, but no such luck, and videos either include several tricks or use different names that I've learned. I'll have to start having photos taken during class...

January Bike Ride

It's in the low-sixties here today, so I took advantage of the nice weather and got out my trusty single-speed. There's a bike trail about a mile from my house that goes through the woods and along the Olentangy river. I pumped up my tires and headed out to hit the trail. It was such a gorgeous day and it felt good to ride for the first time since November.

About five miles into my ride, I realized that my back tire had gone flat. I pulled to the side of the trail and into the mud. I do have a frame pump, so I pumped up my tire as much as I could and hoped that would be enough to get me home. (The frame pump is obviously less powerful than the floor pump, so I wasn't able to get it as full as when I left.) Unfortunately, it went flat again after just a few meters, indicating an hole in the tube.

Due to the muddiness of the trail from all the recently melted snow, I opted not to try to change my tube along the trail. I gave my husband a call and walked to the nearest road for a rescue. He was kind enough not to complain about me putting my muddy bike in his brand new SUV. Also kind were the two bicycling gentlemen who offered to stop and help me and the runner who asked if I was injured. The trail folk were quite considerate.

I'll have to change the tube tomorrow. A friend taught me how last summer, but I've never had to do it alone. Since my bike is a single-speed, changing the tire tube includes lots of realigning. However, I'm grateful for the chance to ride today and I'm even glad for the forced-motivation to practice replacing my tubes. (I just signed up for Pelotonia 2013, in addition to planning to compete in a couple of triathlons, so I really want to be able to do it quickly and efficiently.) I am especially grateful that I get to learn in my garage instead of on the muddy trail. 

Maybe I'll even get to ride again tomorrow.

Aerial Flow

I've been learning the art of aerial silks for a year now. The studio (Infinity Aerial - love them!) introduced a new aerial class this week: Aerial Flow. I've been learning techniques and tricks (and building strength) for all of 2012 and this new class is about putting the moves we've learned together with choreography. This is perfect timing, as I was starting to want to attempt sequencing and was kind of at a loss of how to use my arsenal of tricks in conjunction with one another. 

We started working on our first Flow routine tonight. 

We only got through the first four moves tonight and while I can do the first three with ease individually, pulling them all together and adding the fourth move, which is difficult, challenging. Everything we worked on today was from a single foot lock, and even though I switched sides with each run-through, both of my feet are feeling pretty tender. 

I'm hoping that reviewing the routine list and visualizing it in my head throughout the week will help for the next class. I also think that the scheduling of Flow will work out well. I usually attend 6 classes per month, so I can take a combination of Arts (learning new moves) and Flow classes and get better as an aerialist all around.

Learning to be graceful looks to be just as hard as learning to be strong....

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 1

I've been telling myself for a few years that I should learn yoga. Like, really learn it from a qualified teacher and not just a DVD. I've always felt like I wasn't quite balanced right or breathing correctly when practicing on my own. I decided that it made the most sense to tackle learning real yoga in the winter, when it's too cold and dark to bike or run outside.

I'd been to Yoga on High a few times for classes by donation and free classes. I really liked the atmosphere there and they have a great reputation around the city, so I decided to stick with them and take a series of beginner classes. There are different variations of beginner classes, but it's essentially Hatha or Ashtanga. I'd taken Hatha there before and it was always very relaxing and seemed to be mostly about posing and stretching. I wanted to sign up for the hardest thing available at the total newbie level, so I went with the other option: Ashtanga. If you've heard of vinyasa yoga, this is more like that. More movement and flow. I've heard that you get sweatier in Ashtanga, which I associate with a more physical challenge.

Yesterday was the first session. We went through some basic guidelines and then went through the sun salutations: Suryanamaskara A and Suryanamaskara B. In Ashtanga, practitioners go through five of each of these series. All of the poses felt familiar enough so it was nice to focus more on breathing and transitioning. I really like the idea of learning a practice that is more of a ritual. I survive on trying to plan through chaos, so something more rigid is welcome.

Our class is packed. We have nearly thirty people, one of whom I used to work with at my last job. (Always nice to see an unexpected friendly face.) I'm really looking forward to the next nine Tuesday nights. I feel like this is the right environment to really expand and fine-tune while getting a real understanding of what yoga is all about without being too pop-culture or too metaphysical. (Balance, that pertains to yoga, right?)