Day 11: PIlates Anytime

What I did: Pilates Anytime workout #257
Intention: To do a mat workout
Result: Joy

Pilates Anytime  is a godsend for an instructor on one of those days when you want someone else to tell you what to do, but you don't have the desire to leave the house or can't find a class. I just chose this workout at random.The instructor, Amy Havens, provides a great clarity in her instruction. She is no nonsense, relaxed, and good at getting you to be precise. I like what they call the pace of this workout: deliberate. It is exactly that. You go at a speed that allows you to really tune into what you are doing and yet, you only did 4-8 repetitions in most of the exercises. She reminds my of my first instructors, who were very good at putting you in the moment and making the movements so purposeful that you could be done with them after a few reps and not feel like you cheated. Highlights of this particular workout include:

• a cruel broken up 100: 50, then single leg and double leg stretch, then the other 50
• a sweet little pelvic placement exercise prior to open leg rocker
• an interesting take on side legs, I was also comforted that she almost forgot part of her series aon the second side. I would do that more often than I would like to admit when I used to teach mat classes regularly
• an interesting thoracic rotation exercise

I also love that she gave mention of her influences. This is a "Pat Guyton" thing she would say when referring to a couple of movements.

Like Comcast onDemand Yoga, Pilates Anytime is not for everyone, but it's a gift for some.

It has physically been a good week.

I am really looking forward to my next GYRO. session tomorrow with Fernando.

Day 10: Going Deep

Day 10: Going Deep
What I did: Pelvic Clock, shoulder clock, and passive rotation
Intention: Listen to my body
Result: It was a fair to middling experience.

More?
I almost skipped my task today, but after talking to several people today about how setting this intention has kept me moving and accountable, I couldn't give up. Initially, I was going to do a mat workout. Last night,  I woke up in the middle of the night, and I was sick to my stomach this morning, so much so that I thought about calling in sick today. I still feel a little woozy and out of it, but mat work seemed like a way to pass the time. I lied down on the mat and felt askew. So I worked through some pevic tilts and thought to myself, how often do I spend time exploring my movements deeply these days. In theatre school, we would spend an entire hour doing Feldenkrais pelvic clocks. So, I went there. Pelvic clock for 20 minutes, 10 minutes on each shoulder, and holding a passive spine rotation stretch for a few minutes each. All in all it felt good, but I still feel wonky.

It did make me remember sometime how much  I like mindful, simple movements, as well as how wobbly even the tiniest movement can feel if it isn't executed frequently.

Day 9: Swimming Lesson

What I did: Swimming Lesson
Intention: To be able to swim well enough to use lap swimming as part of my exercise routine..and to still the voices in my head.
Result: 2nd intention acheived, 1st intention, I'm getting closer.
What else can I say about it?
 I have a running joke with my instructor. If I have an easy day at work, I am a disaster in the pool. If I have a stressful day at work, I am excellent in the pool. Today I had stress: it was my first day teaching the stroller workout, meetings to talk about issues that are frustrating, a list of phone calls to make. And I was briliant in the pool. I only stopped in the middle twice. I was sort of able to take the cues that Ericca gave me. However, what I truly belived influenced my lesson the most, was the invincible feeling that I got from the day before. Self confidence is sometimes as elusive as motivation. I find motivation to be like a heavy boulder. It's a challenge to get it rolling, but once you set it in motion it is easy to keep it going. I hope that my self confidence operates the same way.

90 Days of Movement: Day 8: Jog/Run

What I did: Set forth to jog/run from home around Clark Square Park and back home without stopping
Intention: To stop being a stop and walk sissy when I go out, and to honor my friend Cathy Hunter Adolph and her crew, who are AMAZING.
Results: Intention achieved mother-truckers

Is there anything else?
You betcha. There is a great deal of psychological business to explore when it comes to this particular jog. First, I'll admit it: I am not quite a "runner"....yet. After today, I would honestly say, give me time and I will whole heartedly call myself a runner very soon. I snarkily call what I do "trotting and panting." When I was doing a running boot camp to prepare for the Chase Corporate Challenge, I gave in easily. I pushed myself sometimes, but it was hard as h-e-double hockey sticks. Regardless, I didn't let all the little voices that judge me stop me. My inner critic had a lot of things to say. My inner critic told me that  the Director of Pilates and GYRO. should be able to run a few laps without wanting to stop or barf. Two of my instructors were in running camp with me, and they were in-fricking-credible. They would take off, moving with grace lie exquisite gazelles and clearing a lap iless than an minute and a half, and I kept sucking up my pokey 13 minute miles, knowing that even if I was slow, if I quit, I would never be as fast as them, and I like seeing them go so fast and having something to catch up to. It just reinforces something that one of my professors told me in undergrad. If I am surrounded by people who excel, I will do work that chases after them and exceeds them. When I am around people that are at my same level,  I do just enough, but don't test my limits. So, I've found that I grow the best when I step into the realm with people who are exceed the limits that I live at comfortably. I think the same is true for most people, but somewhere in my adult life, I learned the habit of seeking out people who excel. I get bored and restless if I'm the best person in the room.

How does Cathy play into this? I only knew Cathy for about a month before she decided to follow her bliss to Idaho, but in the brief time I knew her, she proved to be a powerhouse of positivity. Last weekend, she, her husband and 4 other friends ran in the Ragnar Relay. An adventure in total insanity: 24 hours, from Madison to Chicago, 6 runners on an ultra team take turns running around 200 miles. Each person eventually runs the distance of a marathon or more over the course of the day and night. A mighty feat that seemed unfathomable when I first heard of it, there is a tiny bit of me that wants to try it some day.  Cathy's last leg of the run was 13.1 miles from Evanston to Montrose Harbor. Having just recently done my first 5k and having to stop and walk 3 times, I sat in awe when I imagined running even the last leg of Cathy's  race. I blamed the heat in my race, but that's a poor excuse. It was blazing hot when Cathy and her crew were doing their race. In imagining what it might be like to do something like that, I decided that the next time I went out, I would do the distance I normally do on my own, about 2 miles, without stopping, which I have never done. And I did. Truthfully, it didn't seem like such a big deal once I was done. It just goes to show that the mind is a powerful tool. Since I was doing it as a tribute, it didn't really seem that hard at all. Because I was inspired, I was able to exceed my expectations. My distance is miniature compared to her acheivements, but what I did today was better than I've done since I was 22 years old.

So thanks the Cathy, for pushing herself so hard, so that I can use her as a reason to push myself. Look out, girl. I'll be clipping at your heels in no time.

Day 7: Extended Dog Walk

What I Did: After work tonight, I took the dog for a 30 minute walk, rather than the 10 minute around the block version
Intention: to keep my project rolling
Result: It's enough.
Is there anything else?
My inner critic keeps accusing me of copping out. 20 extra minutes of dog walking isn't much. Sometimes, something is better than nothing.

Bones, my run walk buddy

Day 6: Living room Yoga

Day 6: Living Room Yoga
What I did: A 41 minute Intermediate-Advanced Yoga Practice that was available on my Xfinity Demand
Intention: To fulfill my 90 day plan requirements without having to leave the house or think for myself.
Results: Intention Acheived

Is there anything else?
Of course there is. Last night my goal for today was to go for another run. IN fact, my promise to myself was to honor my friend Cathy Hunter Adolph who, like a warrior, ran on an ultra team in the Ragnar Relay yesterday. My plan was to go out for my ususal 3 mile path and not stop, no matter what, which would have been easy for Cathy, but super hard for me.  The race she did yesterday is total insanity: 24 hours, from Madison to Chicago, 6 runners on an ultra team take turns. It can also be completed with 12 runners. That almost seems fathomable to me....maybe next year. Although, no sleep for 24 hours combined with running seems like a formula for injury.

 This morning, however, the idea of running didn't seem right. It's really hot out. I woke up at 6:30 and just laid there, completely relaxed. I'm sure most of you know how rare it is to have complete stillness. As a woman who manages a staff of almost 20 instructors, has a goofy high energy boyfriend, and plans to have chidren sometime in the next few years...I have to embrace stillness and silence when the gift of it is in my presence. The boyfriend is out of town. The dog already is sluggish and lazy from the heat. So I chose this morning to embrace waking up pain free, relaxed, and happy from 6:30 to about 9am as a two and a half hour freeform savasana, drifting in and out of consciousness So the idea of loud music and driving through the heat with my legs seemed inappropriately brutal to my mental and physical state.

I also sometimes need an entire day where I don't deal with people. So I scrolled through the on demand options and decided on this workout.  I didn't expect it to be very challenging because when I had looked through the options a few years ago, they were what you would expect., innocuously safe. This is for good reason You don't want the average person trying to do handstands and headstands without someone to call the hospital nearby if something goes awry. I was pleased to find that this practice included both handstands and headstands, which are way too challenging for me at this point, since I haven't dones yoga in almost 3 years. I know. When I did the math I was surprised, too. That, however, serves the purpose of setting this challenge for myself. I am discovering so much just by setting the intention to move for at least 30 minutes every day.

Back to the topic of having onDemand fitness, there's something I hear from time to time out of instructors mouths, and it really rubs me the wrong way. I hear them say things like, "Doing a video is pointless, you're never going to do it right." I think that undermines your ultimate goal as a mind-body instructor. Sure, it's good for your financial bottom line to convince your clients that they could never do these things without you, but ultimately it's a dysfunctional codependant relationship that you are setting them up for. I believe that we should be arming people to eventually not need us. On that same note,  I overheard another instructor poo-pooing online trainings for Pilates Instruction. I think I understand what they are getting at, but I think that they oversimplify. Of course, private session is better than doing a class which is better than doing a video at home. The same thing for teacher training. I would probably never hire someone who had done their entire certification online, but once you have a strong background, I think that online materials and self study are successful tools for most instructors to use. So, as such, I believe in anything that will get a person moving. If having an on demand workout to follow along with is the thing that gets anyone further off the sofa and into the world. Good for them.

As far as the actual yoga practice, I forgot how challenging yoga can be. As I'm holding a pose, shaking, and working to still my breath, I realized that yoga is a way to clean out your mental closet. At first, I was thinking, "This shouldn't be so hard." But as I was able to relase and find the stillness, I realized how much mental clutter was leaving my universe. I can think of a few people right now that I think should do a little more yoga, smoke a few less smokey treats, eat fewer buritos, and drink fewer beers. It would do them a world of good. Although these are the same friends that probably look at my tweet/ facebook page and think, "There goes Lisa again being all serious about what she does."

Well, that's about all I've got for now. Now back to my regularly scheduled day of doing whatever I feel like. XOXO.

Day 5: GYROTONIC® Method session

What I did: A GYROTONIC Session at CNS Kinetics with Fernando
Intention: To experience the work of GYROTONICS® away from work, without interruption.
Result: Another good session, I'm learning to let go.

Is there more to say? You bet. I have had a very similar conversation with many Pilates instructors who have ventured into GYRO. A large component of Pilates is precision. While GYRO is specific, your body doesn't truly understand the movements until you let go of control. So much of Pilates IS control. As such, the disciplined Pilates brain sometimes wants more of a checklist to work through. I was late for my session. The studio is so close to home that wait until the last minute, and then if there is anything, like oh say...a firetruck, I end uplate. I find that, just as I do in my swim lesson, I use comedy when I'm working through unfamiliar sensations. I actually verbalized to Fernando today, that I know I have a tendency to distract myself with humor and that I really needed to focus in, to which he was very respectful towards my attempts to stifle my "bits" to make light of when I messed up. It's okay to have a sense of humor....but sometimes mine gets in the way of the real work.  All in all, I really like the way I feel after a session I find myself imagining dance choreopgraphy in the car when I drive, lately. I have to wonder if it's connected. The GYROTONIC® Method was initially called Yoga for Dancers, after all. . Learning Pilates and then becoming an instructor gave me a sense of power and control which lead to a solid self confidence that I had always craved. Prior to that stage in my life, I hadn't mastered the art of control in a constructive way. I'm interested to see what practicing GYRO. brings out in me