Sealing the Back Foot

At the beginning of class, Gloria read an Irish blessing. What I remember: may your path be clear... Then Gloria said it's always good to get blessings and hugs. True. She also told us about a community garden that she contributes to and that the main gardener pointed out four-leaf clovers that come back every year. Most people don't see the four-leaves but they're there if you look for them, the gardeners concluded...

Gloria prompted us to prepare for practice by encouraging us to be present on our mats and in our lives and the latter really resonated.

When Gloria said to breathe like wind through an instrument, it helped me to breathe much better. 

We woke up our toes, ankles and feet with chair pose. In fact, we woke up a lot of body parts. It was good to be reminded to seal my back foot in Warrior I since it's a pose that I often struggle with.

As we stretched the hips, Gloria talked about connective tissue and how, if you hold the stretch, the body will have an Aha! Moment.

Right before savasana, Gloria invited us to trust the process of letting go and I let the concept roll around in my mind then latched onto it.

After savasana, Gloria said a mantra that she often says. Here's what popped out for me: you are cherished...you are loved...may you live in a strong body...

300 Hours

Arrived In The Nick of Time

 Effortless effort popped into my mind before I headed to the pool and I must have internalized the message because I felt in sync from the very first 25 yards and I felt like I was working with the water.

Once I hit lap 20, I decided to go for a mile. I swam in my new suit that arrived a day before I was scheduled to leave for vacation. I went with the TYR square neck again -- a navy blue one instead of cabernet this time. I'm pleased with the way it fits as the old one has completely lost its shape.

This suit is supposed to be good for 300 + hours in the pool and I'm looking forward to every hour.

Air-Baked But...

While planning to travel, I often wonder whether it's worth it or not. I think about the people and activities that I will miss and the drama of packing but when I reach my destination, I know that traveling is worth it -- especially when you're taking up residence in a  leisure city where everyone's incredibly relaxed,  friendly and generous.

As I looked for attractions to see and activities to do, I had to remind myself that it's impossible to do everything during one trip. I didn't get to walk across a certain bridge and I didn't get to walk in a certain park but I did plenty of other things including sit on the balcony for a spell and just relax.

Initially, I looked for kettlebell classes and could only find them at CrossFit boxes but I didn't want to infiltrate a CrossFit for such a short period of time. In addition, Marisa kicked my butt so thoroughly before I left town that it wasn't such a bad idea to take a break from the 'bells.

For exercise, I mostly walked and my favorite vacation walk of all was trudging through the sand. I didn't do too bad with food but I definitely indulged.

Aquatic Oasis -- I Want One of These in My Hometown

Hoop Dreams After Pool Time

More Than One Way to Roll

The Fries Were Air-Baked But...

Everybody Says Hello

The last time that I took Madonna's class she emphasized the importance of having a home yoga practice so instead of going to a studio yesterday, I opened the Simply Yoga ap on my iPod and practiced for twenty minutes. I'm sure the carpet was far from pristine but I'll live and I felt pretty good after twenty minutes of practice that included Child's Pose, Warrior I and Upward Facing Dog.

Next time that I travel I will put my yoga strap on my packing list since my IT Band is giving me feedback...

Tried Tai Chi for about five minutes during an energy workshop that I attended and decided to try an entire class today. OMG, everyone introduces themselves in Florida...

During the first part of class, my arms felt the burn as we repeated various exercises 21 times. Oh, Tai Chi looks gentle but don't let the smooth taste fool you.

One of the exercises that I really liked was "knee rubbing." You put both hands on a  knee in a particular stance then you rub your knee in one direction then the other. Next, you rub the knee with your fingertips then cup the kneecap and move almost in a lunge-like matter.

About halfway through the class, the teacher took us rookies to the back to show basic moves then rejoined the more experienced bunch. The experienced rookies showed us beginners the moves again so that we could familiarize ourselves.

I don't think that I'll do Tai Chi on a regular basis but I'm glad that I tried it. The room that we practiced Tai Chi in had a wonderful view.

The Room

Hand Across The Lane

Love at First Sight

Found an indoor aquatic center and never dreamed that it would look the way it did.

I felt like Alice in Wonderland when I rounded the corner. The center is beautiful inside and out with lanes as far as my eyes could see.

This woman, Patty, introduced herself since my face was new then reached across the lane to shake my hand. She also told me about "the long course" that's set up on certain days.

Later on in the locker room, yet another woman told me about other classes, including Zumba Aqua, that the center offers...

During lunch, as I tried to cut into my veggie burger, my knife flew off the table and into the grass. Before I knew it, this man handed me an extra set of silverware that was on his table.

Is it just me or are people nicer when you're on vacation?

Outside of Aquatic Center

The Right Choice

Sculpture at Community Center

Between attending a workshop last weekend and preparing for traveling, there has been virtually no exercising going on in my neck of the woods except for walking through the airport.

I woke up around 5:45 a.m. STL time and I very seldom wake up that early and, if I do, I'm able to hunker down for a second session of sleep. Not today. Since I was up and alert, I did a self chakra connection hoping that would settle me down. Later on,  headed out for a 9 a.m. yoga class which definitely settled me down.

When I got to the community center, this woman was in the process of renewing her class card. The clerk asked if she could help me. I want to attend the yoga class, I tell her. You made the right choice, the class card woman said. The clerk told me that my new BFF would lead the way to the studio and she did. She also pointed out the yoga teacher and opened the closet that held mats, stability balls and resistance bands then flashed a really warm smile. I felt totally at home in a class 35 strong.

Fingernail Grooves in the Ceiling

Had ambivalence about a class being offered but signed up for it anyway. Attending class meant that I would miss Zumba, swimming and yoga and, you know, parts of the Slug Festival. Saturday's 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. session left me completely drained and whiny. I contemplated quitting and not showing up for the second part on Sunday but I don't like to give up. Plus, if the instructors-in-training could be present (on the sidelines) for observation purposes, who was I to throw in the towel?

The first item on today's agenda was self-care -- one hour and 15 beautiful minutes of it. We connected our chakras, did Tai Chi and yoga. I kind of groaned with longing at the mention of yoga.

As we stretched our sides, the teacher said that her yoga instructor likes to say Energetically, you're creating fingernail grooves in the ceiling.

Regarding chakras, I now see why we do so many spinal twists in yoga and why Sara Calabro thinks that Downward Facing Dog is so important.

During class, we had to break off into pairs a lot. At one point, I got paired with the sole massage therapist in class. Guess who got a totally awesome hand massage?