The Body in Motion

Have you ever woken up from a dead sleep and been totally unaware of your location and circumstances?  That's what happened to me this morning.  I don't know why, but I was awake from 2:30 a.m. until just before the alarm clock went off.  Then I fell into a heavy sleep, and didn't hear anything until the music had been blaring for an hour.  


Usually I wake up just before the alarm goes off, listen to the news and weather, orient myself as to what needs to be done for the day and then wait for my husband to finish his morning routine before starting my own.  Of course, Murphy's Law was in full force and today was the the first day of Pilates classes, so I had to be out of the house almost immediately.  Why do I always hide my gym equipment someplace inaccessible when fitness classes end?  Probably because I always hated physical activity and on some level I'm still making excuses for why I can't go to class (sorry, teacher, the cats ate my yoga mat and hid my runners).  After many years of creative avoidance, I have finally found a combination of classes that are physically challenging, and that I enjoy taking.  


I take weight lifting classes twice a week.  Registration is limited so there is always an instructor to be sure I'm using the correct techniques.  Its easy to forget exactly where the equipment should be positioned or what the correct form is, and I'm never sure whether the guy with no neck who tells me I'm doing it wrong knows what he's talking about.  You know, the gym rats who come in every day and have amazingly developed upper chests and arms and like to think they know everything about everything.  You get their opinion about your technique whether you ask for it or not but are they blow-hards or are they experts?   Classes started yesterday, and it felt great to get back into a routine.  I prefer to use lighter weights and focus on proper form and more repetitions because that way my muscles don't get too sore.

The Pilates class is very challenging.   We start with at least 20 minutes of aerobic warm up so that our joints and muscles are loose before we start the stretching and core work.  We finish with a good 10 minute stretch, to relax our muscles again.  We have a fabulous instructor who always provides several progressions for each exercise so that we can work at our own level.  I have been attending these classes for a year now, and cannot believe how much stronger and more flexible I am.   My clothes fit much better, and my waistline is firmer than it has been in years.  Pilates is based on the give-a-mouse-a-cookie school of thought.  By that, I mean that all of the exercises start out fairly simply.  Then, gradually, everything becomes more complicated.  Furthermore, you can't predict how difficult (or painful) an exercise will be from how it looks.  I'm sure some of the people who go past the window while we're in class can't understand why all these women are red in the face and gasping for air.  After all, it doesn't really look like we're doing ... anything difficult.

Today I've switched reading gears again.  I'm reading 'Mind over Mussels" by Hilary MacLeod.  She is a Canadian author, and the book is a comic mystery set in the maritimes.   So far it is a very funny book and I'm going to finish it before I return to "The Next Ex".  I enjoy reading several different books at the same time.  If one of them starts to become draggy, or if I lose sympathy with the protagonist, its nice to have something completely different to switch to.