Swim Lesson #2

I went to my second swim lesson last night. I had hoped to get the pool at the gym with my friend before Wednesday, but schedules did not align. It'll be two weeks before I go back and now I have my own gym membership, so I'll be getting some practice time in before my next lesson.

We worked on breathing with my face in the water again. I felt a little closer, but definitely not there. In addition to breathing work, I got some pointers on technique for my arms that definitely helped me glide. I also got to use fins, which were great until they made my feet cramp up.

I felt like I did worse this week than my first attempt with the backstroke.

There's so much coordination involved. As soon as I focus on breathing, my arms don't pull right, my body doesn't twist. There's just so much going on. I'm really looking forward to a lot of practice next week.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 8

Ashtanga this week didn't add anything new, but we did run through everything. This ran us over about 15 minutes. My standing poses felt all over the place. Some of them felt really improved, while others felt worse than ever before.

My shoulder stand definitely felt improved. I was able to get my feet way over my head.

It is interesting that I have always thought of yoga in terms of stretching out, but Ashtanga is so much more about flow that I get a completely different benefit. If I'm sore from Aerial the day before, Ashtanga doesn't help it.

I think that next week is the last week on the schedule... but it was supposed to be a ten week series. Hopefully there is one more week after this.

I also officially joined the gym today, so I will be there as soon as I get back from vacation.

Monday night Aerial class

I keep getting so behind on my posts!

I went to an aerial class Monday night. The girl who does lyra was there, along with several newer people. There were two new people who paired up on one set of silks. Then there was a group of three who paired up using both the corde lisse and a set of silks. One of the group of three is a very young girl, probably around 7 or 8. Usually I am very annoyed my children in the aerial studio (I know, I'm horrible) but this one is okay. One of the other people in the group is her sister, so it's very cute to see them learning together. Aerial does seem to attract really lovely people.

A few weeks ago, while working on the Butterfly and Star Drops, we all got a little bit of silk burn. One girl got it so bad that it looked more like a cut than a burn. So we decided we should try leotards. I bought one off of Amazon and it fit kind of okay. Anything that's a one piece is very hard for me because I am exceptionally tall but not very wide and have almost no chest. This means that I get a large for length, then deal with bunching at the back or sides where there is too much fabric. My outfit ended up consisting of a sports bra, leotard, capri yoga pants, and a t-shirt. I was dying from the heat by the end of the class. I suppose that I could do without the t-shirt (there's another girl who does this) but it seems a little weird. The leotard also gave me a wedgie the whole time.

The good thing about having so many newer people is that I had one set of silks all to myself. Since I had the leotard, I practiced the Butterfly Drop, but avoided the Star Drop. I have been taking iron supplements almost everyday so that I won't bruise as badly, but I am still dreading it. I know that I need to practice it to get better, but I really don't want to be black and blue, especially for swim lessons.

I also tried Scorpio again and mostly ended up tangled. I was going too slow, so instead of ending up in my knees, the silks ended up across my calves. I also worked on hip keys, since it's a basic thing that I still struggle with. I did much better with these than expected.

I'm heading to New Orleans for a short vacation and was hoping to find an aerial studio there. Shockingly, there were none listed on Yelp. My interest was piqued by Aerial Yoga, but there are no classes during the time that I'm there.

Aerial Flow - February Routine

I finally made it to the Aerial Flow class for the February routine! I missed the first two weeks, so even though I had a headache, I made sure I got to class on Thursday. 

The other two girls in class where nursing shoulder injuries, so we were all a little disabled for the evening. Since they had both been to the first week and learned the first part of the routine, we started with the second part.

It was a stylized Russian climb into an Iron T. Then we got into two foot locks and went into a split. From the split, we did three barrel rolls. This was perfect, because they are all moves that I can do with relative ease, so I was able to focus on how to flow into them and between them. I was also grateful that there was no inverting because of my headache. I am also taking special care to point my toes and work on my splits. 

Sadly, I will not be able to make it to the final February flow class next Thursday. The next best thing I can do is to look forward the new routine in March, when I should be able to make it to every class.

First Outdoor Run of 2013

Yesterday was actually pretty nice out compared to our recent weather. There was sun, no wind, and minimal wetness outside. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and go for an outdoor run. (We have an elliptical in our basement that I use for cardio in the winter months, but it's really not the same at all.)

I have a nice little 2 mile route that I enjoy through my neighborhood, so I decided that it would be a perfect warm up for the season. I felt okay with breathing (although I tried to keep my mouth closed as much as possible since the air was so dry) and with endurance. I definitely could have kept going, although my ankles felt a little sore towards the end.

The bad part was my pace. So. Slow. (I do start my timer in the house before I actually leave since I use an app on the phone, which is on an armband. So there's maybe about an extra 30 seconds on there.)

Today my ankle soreness is definitely still there and I might have some very minor shin splints. I decided to allow myself to take the day off to rest my legs. I'll have to get used to the impact of the concrete all over again, but I feel good about getting back into a breathing and distance routine. Distance will also be a new kind of goal for me, as I have never been much of a distance runner, but I think it's something that I will be working on as I triathlon train.

Ashtanga Yoga - Week 7

Tuesday was week 7 of Ashtanga class. We added in sitting postures this week, after our sun salutations and standing postures. This comes at the perfect time: shortly after the standing poses that require balancing on one leg.

Many of these sitting postures felt much like the kind of stretching that I do after running.

Source

We did also do some additional work going back to chaturanga, into the Warrior poses, and back to sitting as well, but I didn't see those positions shown in any easily accessible diagrams.

I enjoyed moving through these poses. The more we learn of the primary series, the more I see how comprehensive it really is.

We also worked on the shoulder stand again this week. I got into it much easier this time. (I have practiced a few times at home throughout the week.)

I'm heading to New Orleans next weekend and have been looking around for either an aerial or yoga studio near my hotel. So far, no aerial studios at all (although there is a burlesque troupe that does aerial in their performances, so they must be learning somewhere....) and a few yoga options, but none so far that I have seen that are specifically offering Ashtanga classes. Still looking, though.

Swimming Lesson #1

I started another new thing Wednesday night: swimming lessons. Since I am planning on doing at least two triathlons this summer, I need to brush up on my swimming. I took swimming lessons as a kid (see: more than 20 years ago) and have been in pools and the ocean, but I usually just float around, typically with an adult beverage, and have no reason to ever actually swim.

When I was in Puerto Rico last Fall, I did try to do real swimming in the ocean. I felt like it took me forever to get anywhere and the waves made it difficult. I had planned to try again in the pool in Florida for a family vacation with the in-laws after Christmas, but due to a blizzard, I never made it.

The gym that I plan to join next week has an indoor pool as well, but while they do have personal trainers, it seems that none of them are swim-specific. So I contacted a health center that is connected with the hospital behind my house for lessons only. I bought a package of 5 lessons, so I can practice at the gym throughout the week and meet with a swim coach once a week or so for improvement tips.

My lesson was scheduled to be a half hour in length. I was a bit late, so we went a bit over, which I appreciated. The instructor has been a swim coach for years, mostly teaching little kids. She is middle-aged and not intimidating, which I appreciate. We practiced swimming with my face in the water (I always want to hold it up) and finding a breathing pattern that works for my timing. She said that my strokes were pretty good, I just need to get my arms up higher sometimes.

We also worked on the backstroke, which she said is good to know in case of fatigue or injury, or anything else that might go on during a triathlon. This was much easier since there's no concern about breathing as your face is entirely out of the water all the time. My form was worse here and I really need to lift my arms more (like all the time) and I seem to go diagonal a lot.

I'm hoping to get into the pool at the gym before Wednesday to practice, but it might not work out. Anyway, looking forward to more practice and I already feel more confident that I can be a good swimmer by the end of June.

A Very Full Aerial Practice

Aerial tonight had a full eight people in it. It had been a complete seven days since I had been to class and two weeks since I bruised myself so badly with the Angel Drop. I did get iron supplements and have been taking them for a week. Hopefully it will help prevent new bruises in the future.

The other students were two women that I see frequently, one that I have seen before, three newbies, and a child. The only other time there were children in my class, I was really uncomfortable about it. However, since we were so full and I was grouped with the others who come regularly, it was fine. (I probably sound like a giant jerk saying that, but I just feel weird about it.)

I did do one Angel Drop. One was enough. It hurt so bad. I'm probably tensing up and making it worse, but I still feel like there's no sense in doing a trick that is painful and not fun. I will continue to try it here and there but if it doesn't get better (lots of things in aerial weirdly do just stop hurting) I think I can just do without the drop in my life. No exterior signs of bruising on the thigh yet, but it feels like it's there.

I briefly worked on the Layback on the lyra and did some warm up chin ups on it. I almost felt like I could let go of my hands... but didn't.

We also worked on a stylized Russian Climb with a Sit, which was fun and relevant to my wish to get better at Flow. The fancy climb switched off with an invert to a knee hook to a split by wrapping the silk around the waist and the opposite foot. I liked this one, too. And my split definitely needs all the help it can get.

Other things I worked on briefly were the Georgia Twist and the foot lock to arabesque to middle invert/split/j-pose/sit/lotus hang that I love from January's flow choreography. One of the newer students told me that I was graceful and made the middle split invert look effortless. I almost died of disbelief.

At the end of class I remembered several other things that I wanted to work on. I'm listing them here in hopes that I will remember: Crochet Climb, Superman, Scorpion.

Another Sunday Spin Class

I went to a spinning class again with the same friend this morning. I'm a definitely a big fan of an early morning workout on a weekend because it makes me get up and be productive. (But I will also admit that I have taken an afternoon nap during Spin days.)

I'm not sure if it's because I knew what to expect or just the different routine, but this class was definitely easier than the first one I attended. I was able to keep a much more consistent, fast pace through the class instead of constantly adding and decreasing resistance. We also didn't do the "jumps" (moving through each of the 3 positions for 5 seconds intervals for 4 minutes), which I had really liked. We were in position three frequently, though, which is the standing position that almost feels like running. This is my favorite because I can feel my abs working.

I also noticed a difference in my breathing. I think not getting winded is what enabled me to stay consistent.

Yesterday I did an at-home work out, mostly focusing on arms after a warm up on our elliptical. I've been trying to get better about doing a chin up or pull up every time I walk by our doorway bar, so I did a few reps there. I also did butterfly presses with weights, push ups, and lat pulls on this ancient machine that we have.

Ashtanga - Week 6

We didn't add much to our practice this week. We moved through five of each Sun Salutation, using Chaturanga and Up Dog, which made the room intensely warm. Luckily, only about half of the class was in attendance. I don't even want to imagine how it would have felt it all 30 people had been there.

I was a little grouchy going into class because I had been feeling bloated for days and had just had a sad conversation with a friend. One of the student teachers adjusted my hips on our very first Downward Facing Dog and I was very unhappy about it. She left me alone for about an hour afterward. Then strangely enough, the student teacher that usually drives me nuts was very helpful without being overbearing this week. I'm still working on trying to not be defensive about instruction. I feel like it's pretty stupid to get angry about yoga. My annoyance comes from insecurity. I'm trying to learn and do my best, but once I get anything more than a quick adjustment, I feel like I'm being watched, which puts me on edge and makes me question every move that I make. That said, I felt less bothered by it this week.

After our Sun Salutations, we went through all of the standing poses, which feel much more comfortable now. The new poses that we did were sitting positions, which often felt like the best stretches. 

We finished by trying to do the shoulder stand as we did last week, but this time without starting against a wall. It's essentially the same as one of the warm ups I've done for aerial silks, but I just couldn't seem to get any momentum to move upwards from the position that we were in. (In the warm up move, hands were above the head. In yoga, they were flat from shoulder to elbow along the floor.) Both student teachers were trying to give me direction and I just go overwhelmed and decided to try again later. But they did have me laughing through it, which was appreciated. They really are very sweet. 

An Evening of Aerial Arts

We had a packed aerial class tonight with a total of 7 students. Four of the women were new, so they worked solely on silks, switching off between two of the silks in the room. The other three of us rotated between using the silks, lyra, and corde lisse. While I am pretty sure that I will always prefer the silks, I don't mind the other apparatuses as much these days.

My thighs and hips are still all black and blue from the Star Drop last week, so I opted out of trying the Double Star Drop that our instructor went over this week. (I did get some iron supplements this weekend, so hopefully soon I just won't be getting bruised so much.) I practiced the Georgia Twist some more and tried to keep my legs straight in a cross-back straddle. It was a rare opportunity to be the person that can help others learn a new move. ;)

This video is pretty good for showing how the Georgia Twist works. I prefer the last way that he does it, where you move into and out of a sit.

(It's really difficult to find silks videos since so many of the moves are called by multiples names and most videos contain multiple tricks. I feel lucky that I'm finding almost everything that I'm looking for this time!)

We also worked on the Bicycle Climb on the corde lisse, which isn't bad at all. It's almost easier because the silks don't get tangled around the feet. (Video link is obviously on the silks.)

I spent the rest of the class working on the Layback on the lyra and the Crochet Climb on the silks. I found a good Crochet Climb tutorial. I still need to work on getting my unwrapped leg straight and stretched on the Crochet Climb. I keep bending and not getting enough height.

Thursday is the first time I'll get to try to the February choreography at Flow. I hope I'm not too far behind already!

Aerial Silks - Wiped Out!

I went to the silks class at 8pm tonight since I will be missing my usual Thursday night class tomorrow. This was my fourth day in a class spending at least an hour working out, three of which were very hard workouts. (I am a big fan of classes, because when left to my own devices, I often settle for a half an hour of work when I can do more.)

My shoulders are still quite sore today from Monday's aerial class, although not as painful as yesterday. I mentioned this to the instructor tonight so we could avoid any shoulder-twisting moves. As a result, we worked on the Star Drop, which has resulted in giant bruises all over my thighs. The good thing is, I was able to do it correctly! The bad thing is I not feel like my entire body has been beaten to a pulp.

We worked on the Scorpion move that we had started a little bit on Monday. I had a few false starts and also got epically tangled in the silks and required a lot of assistance to get out. But I got it down around the 3rd try. It's a really good back stretch and it was a relief to do something that wasn't painful after the Star Drop. The other girl who was also working on it is very flexible and was able to actually put her feet on top of her head!

The last thing I worked on was the Georgia Twist. This is a fancier way to get into the Cross-Back Straddle than the usual yanking-the-silks-into-an-X-behind-the-back method. This is almost more of a Coordination move than a Difficulty move. Coordination is not by strong suit. But I got into it! It took a few tries, of course, but once I figured it out, I was able to repeat it at least 3 more times.

We freestyled at the end of class (we did on Monday as well) and I am eager to see the video. Neither are on YouTube yet, but I did spend at least a half hour watching videos from the studio's Winter Showcase a few weekends ago that I missed. Makes me look forward to the next one in April.....

I was telling my husband about how class went when we got home and I realized that this might be the first time I've ever pulled off every single thing I tried to do during the hour that I'm there. Feels good.

Ashtanga - Week 5

My yoga series is half over. I kind of can't believe it. We do run through things so much more quickly now. The standing series, which took us about 45 minutes the first time, now takes about 15 minutes. It's great to get the opportunity to do more and progress.

Today was gentle compared to the 9 billion Chaturangas that we did last week. The additions this week were a few sitting and bridge-like poses. We also started a pose that will eventually lead to a shoulder stand. We start on our backs and roll feet onto the wall. (This is a pose in and of itself.) From there, we lower our feet to about knee height and push them off away from the wall while lifting the hips. This moves the weight into the shoulders, which should be kept flat. It felt fine while I was in it, but as soon as I released, my shoulders were angry.

From all of the arabesques that I did in Aerial Arts yesterday, my shoulder blades have hurt since around noon. I tried to use the flamenco grip with my right arm and it did not work and did not do my shoulder and back any favors. This made yoga a bit more difficult, but the stretching probably helped. Except for that modified shoulder stand attempt.

The instructor assistant that has previously gotten on my nerves was in our class again tonight. The instructor also opened class by talking about receiving adjustments from the instructors. He said it was okay to ask not to be touched and no one would take it personally. The assistant of earlier annoyance did approach me a few times. First, she disrupted what I was doing to provide a somewhat lengthy suggestion. I tried to take it in stride. What she told me to do differently was indeed helpful. But I was irritated that she had made me stop my flow to hear her. Then during one of the standing poses, she approached me again and began to adjust an arm that was over my head. I did immediately tell her not to pull on my arm because my shoulders hurt a lot today. She listened and only offered minimal critique after that. It was pointed out that an adjustment doesn't mean you're doing an asana wrong. It's supposed to line you up better. I must also remember ahimsa. =)

Aerial Arts - Practice

Aerial arts practice tonight went really well. There were two newbies and one other person besides me who has been coming for months. It made for a nice separation. I really like having new folks in class because it reminds me of just how far I've come. (I was still worse than almost everyone when I first started!)

Since the newer folks take up a little more of the instructor's time, tonight was essentially a free-for-all to work on whatever I wanted. (I'm glad that not every night is like this, but today it was welcome.) I worked on the same sequence of arabesque, middle invert, j-pose, sit, lotus hang that I really liked from the January flow routine even though we've moved on. Of course, I am just now getting to feel confident that I can do it consistently and occasionally even gracefully. I get the invert (the hard part!)

I also worked on the butterfly drop, which I am also feeling consistent and confident about. I ran through a few others that I haven't done in a while, like the cross-back straddle (which was my nemesis for months), the flamingo, knee inverts with a leg stretch, some other kind of shoulder harness thing that I forget the name of... And lots of stuff with ankle wraps. I have a really hard time doing ankle wraps for the angel drop since the silk is already so wrapped around my legs that I can't move as much and the silks are closer together so that they are harder to separate.

We did work on one new thing called the Scorpio or Scorpion? I've heard a specific leg pose (from any other kind of pose) called the scorpio, but this was a wrapped up kind of flip. I didn't do it successfully yet. It starts from ankle wraps in the air. Then you lean down to pick up the tails while keeping your legs completely straight. It was hard to reach! So then you lean forward while holding the tails out wide and let your feet go on the outside of the fabric. Then you're essentially hanging from your knees and grabbing the tails, which looks like a pretty back bend.

I am sad that I will have to miss the first class of Aerial Flow this month, which means that I miss the full introduction of the new routine. However, I'm going to Arts again on Wednesday. Maybe I'll get this new thing down then. I also want to do more with the flamingo. It's a pose that we learned earlier on and I always forget about it.

Sunday Morning Spinning

I've been wanting to try spinning for months (years?) now. One of my besties goes to spinning classes pretty consistently at her gym, so I have been intending to go with her on a guest pass; however, due to our schedules rarely syncing up, it's taken a long time. But today was the day! We went to a 9:15am class. 

We arrived a little early to get through the guest pass process and to make sure I'd have time to figure out how to adjust the bike. The instructor was probably in her mid-forties and very helpful. She helped me figure out how to set my seat to the proper height and gave me a quick run-down of all the spinning terms. 

I learned that there are three positions. Position One is with your butt in the seat with your hands in the center of the handle bar. Position Two has your hands on the corners of the handle bar and standing up. Position Three is also standing, but with hands at the top of the handle bars and leaning over them. Weight stays on the legs at all times. I could really feel my abs working during Position Three. 

During the class, the instructor would have us count cadence (the downbeat of one foot for a set amount of time) to make sure we were all keeping a fast pace. We also did "jumps", which were the sequence of five seconds of Position One, five seconds of Position Two, and five seconds of Position Three, repeated for four minutes. 

Load In and Load Out were also new terms for me. Load In refers to increasing the resistance. A Load was a set amount of time to stay in one position. Load Out was decreasing resistance. Load Out was only called at the end of class, but I decreased my resistance a few times throughout class when I started to feel like I was very off from the set pace. 

It was hard! I was gasping for air after about 20 minutes. (This is always my issue with cardio. I run of breath way before my body wants to quit. Another reason to focus on breathing in yoga!) After class, my friend told me it was the hardest spinning class she'd ever done. This made me feel pretty good, since I found it challenging but I never felt like I was going to die. I have a friend in Chicago who teaches spinning and she has people do push ups off the handlebars. We didn't do any kind of upper body, but I definitely feel like my lower half did a lot of work. 

I'm thinking of joining the gym for the months of March and April. The gym we went to had an indoor track, spinning, weight machines, fitness classes, an indoor pool, and tons of other cardio equipment. I can join her account for about $25 per month, so I feel like it's a great deal. I really want to stay motivated through these months because I have committed to doing one or two triathlons (which will be a first for me) and Pelotonia. This gym would allow me to practice every skill needed for these events while it's still cold outside.

Ashtanga - Week 4

Beginner Ashtanga was no cake walk this week. (I can't believe I've waited four days to recap!) Mostly due to the introduction of Chaturanga.

Photo Source

We added Chaturanga and Up Dog into both of the sun salutations. I almost felt like Suryanamaskara A needed a little challenge in there, so I was happy to add Chaturanga. Added to Suyanamaskara B, however, the series of poses starts to feel a little packed. This was a much appreciated addition. After five of each sun salutation, I already felt a little flushed. 

Photo Source

The movement from Chaturanga into Up Dog and then into Down Dog is lovely. It feels like a full-body stretch. This is more the feeling that I expected to get from taking a yoga series of classes. I can definitely see how these movements are core-strengthening. (Up Dog did hurt my feet though since I currently have a really deep bruise on the side and top of my right foot from so many foot locks in aerial silks lately!)

This week we also heard a little more about philosophy, such as ahimsa, which is the practicing of non-violence (verbal and physical). We continued to talk about mula bandha, the root lock, which is found on the pelvic floor. I am thankful that our instructor is kind of silly and can talk about stopping the flow of urine and anal sphincters and finding the place in between in a way that takes the idea seriously but keeps it accessible. (He also dropped an F-bomb in class. I'm a fan.)

While I took this yoga class hoping to gain a better understanding of breathing, flow, flexibility, and strength, I love the philosophy side as well. I've been slowly reading Mindfulness: In Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana in between other reading, and while it's not specific to yoga or Ashtanga, it's very relatable. 

This morning I went through the sun salutations (with Chaturanga and Up Dog) and the standing poses.  I think I'll be making this my pre-breakfast morning routine. 

I borrowed a book from the library to assist with at-home practice. It's called Ashtanga Yoga: The Complete Mind and Body Workout by Juliet Pegrum. (The studio I've been going to recommends this practice manual, which I will probably purchase eventually, but it wasn't at the library.) I referenced it for all of the standing poses this morning. 

Aerial Flow - Week 3

Tonight was the last night of the silks routine for the month. I'm relieved to move on to something else, but also disappointed that I never got through the whole thing successfully. I did every piece of it, just not all sequentially and not timed correctly to the music, and definitely not looking graceful or performance-ready. My focus for the month was getting the moves down and I never moved on to polishing them. 

I really did like most of the choreography for January. There was a great sequence where went from an arabesque, to a inverted middle split, to a J pose, knee sit, and lotus hang. That inverted middle split was so hard, but when I did nail it, it was so fun to go through the rest of the set.

We got a short preview of the February routine, which is more dance oriented. A month ago I would not have been excited to hear this, but after a month of seeing how difficult it is to make a hard fitness move look pretty, I am up for a little more floor work. Being in the air and moving for five minutes is actually quite exhausting. We won't even get into the air until about a minute and a half. Because this is going to be a sexier routine, it has a whole new set of challenges, but hopefully it'll be a good chance to really focus on the flow part.