Archive for the ‘Mind Body’ Category

Long Time No Blog

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Forgive me Lord, for it has been 10 months since my last blog entry.

A lot has happened since August 2009 – I got certified to teach Zumba, and have subbed a few classes in the burbs and I got my AFAA Group Exercise certification.  Some of my friends joke about how many certifications it will take for me to actually teach something (I was also certified in Budokon back in the day).  Getting those certifications, then actually putting together classes and teaching gave me a new perspective on how difficult it is to be up there in front of a room full of people who are cranky because you’re not their favorite teacher (karmic retribution anyone?)  And because my teacher (Marc McDonald at Om Warrior) is going to be running Pure Yoga teacher training at Equinox starting this fall, odds are I’m going to be getting my certification to teach real yoga (instead of a hybrid).  If you’re interested in a yoga teacher training, you can get more information here.

In terms of new fun classes I’ve tried, here’s a cheatsheet:

My New Favorite Thing – Aerial Arts

This is one of the most amazing workouts I’ve ever done – climbing silks and ropes and trapezes and doing fun tricks in mid-air.  It takes a ton of core and leg strength, and after 5 sessions, I can feel my upper body strength increasing (it’s much easier to climb now and hold myself up).  Aircraft Aerial Arts in Boston is located in the new Crossfit in the Fenway (on Boylston across from Basho, in the old Goodyear building that they share with Marshall’s Farm Stand).  There are a max of 5 people per class, and classes are mostly sold in packages ($25/class).  You can also arrange with Jill to have a private ($60/hour) or duet ($30/each per hour), or set up a special 75-minute class with 3-5 people for $25 per person.

Yoga Teachers and Classes

If you’re looking for a great yoga class, you won’t be sorry if you attend any of the following teachers’ classes:

Kate Greer’s “Rock Your Asana” class at Back Bay Yoga on Sunday at 4pm – Kate is one of the best teachers in Boston, she has a very zen way about her and has a gift for actually TEACHING how to get into the more advanced postures.  Unfortunately, rumor has it that she is moving to Florida soon, so that will be the end of that.  If you are someone who enjoys a physically challenging class while still reaping the spiritual benefits of yoga, you NEED to go take Kate’s class before she leaves.  She also teaches “Rock Your Asana” at BBY on Wednesday at 5:50pm and is on the schedule at Equinox (both Franklin Street and Back Bay).

Lynne Beiger’s “Hip Hop Yoga” class at Back Bay Yoga on Friday at 10am.  Lynne is the owner of BBY, and this class is a challenging, sweaty flow to really fun and funky music.  Nothing like being upside down to the strains of Tupac Shakur, Will Smith or other old school/new school hiphop artists.  Guaranteed to get your toes tapping in standing poses, and you’ll want to sing along as you get your yoga groove on.  She also teaches Hip Hop Yoga on Saturday at noon.  Drop-in rate at BBY is $15, or new students can get 2 weeks of yoga for $25 (an excellent deal).

Sarah Sturges at Exhale Spa.  I’ve known Sarah for a LONG time, but had never had the chance to take her yoga class until a recent holiday Monday.  Not surprisingly, her class was amazing.  Sarah just has a very peaceful way about her, and a couple of years ago, went to India and immersed herself in yoga for a few months.  She is also an amazing Core Fusion teacher.  What I really loved about her yoga class was that it was challenging while still being peaceful, which is a really hard thing to achieve.   Her regular yoga class times are Monday and Friday at 9:30am.  Sarah also teaches at both Equinox locations in Boston.

Adena Muncey’s “Max Power” at Sports Club/LA on Tuesday at 10am.   I have seriously been trying to take Adena’s class for two years (we have a mutual friend in Renee Leblanc, who runs Yoga Power in Waltham and is an amazing teacher herself), but unfortunately for me, the only time she teaches at SCLA is mid-morning on Tuesday.  On an off-day, I moseyed over there excitedly and was NOT disappointed.  She teaches an intense class filled with advanced postures that MOVES – by the time you get to the floor at the end of the 75 minute class, probably 60+ minutes into class, you are DYING (in a good way).  Hands down, the best yoga class at SCLA – it’s a shame she doesn’t have the opportunity to teach a prime-time advanced class so more members would get the chance to experience her.  Adena also teaches at Equinox and the aforementioned Yoga Power in Waltham (at much more user friendly class times).

It’s interesting, since Marc left SCLA, I don’t do much yoga there anymore – they used to have a really diverse schedule, but now the same people teach all the classes.  And while their teachers are good, I feel like they should be bringing in the Kate Greer’s and Sarah Sturges’ of the world (both of whom are elite enough teachers to work at Exhale and Equinox) to mix things up and add a little variety.

Best “New” Class – Helixing at Revolution Fitness

What is a Helix, you ask?  It’s a cardio machine that moves laterally (and gives your hips, glutes and legs an amazing workout) instead of back and forth.  Rev Fit, one of the more underrated gyms in the city, is the only gym in the area (that I’m aware of) that has classes on the machine (the Helixes live in their spinning room).  They feature 30-minute classes on Monday at 6:30pm, Wednesday at 6:15am and 6:00 pm, and Thursday at noon.  You can check out the Helix website here to see a video and get more info on the machine.  There is seriously nothing else out there like this (photo below from SNEWS)

Abduction (it also does adduction)

Abduction (it also does adduction)

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m really going to try to be better at keeping up the blog.  I feel like I attend SO many classes both here and in other cities that I should be writing more.  I may also sprinkle the blog with fun personal anecdotes and nutrition/food bytes just so I don’t lapse into not having anything to write about.  Peace out for now!  :)

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Random Musings

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Interesting week this past week, as my favorite teacher was away for most of it. I actually had to (gasp!) branch out and take classes from new instructors. I find that most of the teachers at SCLA are very good – and I can appreciate that it has to be really hard to step in for an extremely popular teacher – but I don’t get why some of them feel the need to force energy in a class.

I went to a class I sometimes attend that had a sub this week – very nice girl – but I should’ve known when she announced at least three times before class that she was “not Teacher X and we should all feel free to leave if that’s what we were expecting – she wouldn’t be offended” that it probably wasn’t going to be the best experience. I don’t mind teachers that try to talk/engage with the class – I usually am pretty vocal back because I feel bad when nobody answers and I can’t imagine being up in front of 30 people and feeling ignored. However, this girl would not shut up. I’m not kidding. Whether it was asking “is everybody ready” before a drill, not being satisfied with the 3-4 people who answered, and asking again (this happened at least 3 different times in the class) – or assigning “row captains” to cheer and motivate (???!!!) other riders – I almost felt like I was back in kindergarten. The thing is – the class was actually a really good workout – but she was so annoying that for the last 10 minutes I tuned her out and did my own thing (a friend of mine thought the same thing and left early).

What I also found weird was that 45 minutes into class, she said “just want to let everyone know, it’s 6:30 – so feel free to leave if there are other classes you want to go to”. Who does that?!!! I have to think this is a self confidence issue – which hopefully she gets over because she has the potential to be a solid teacher if she would just stop trying to force her brand of energy/interaction onto people. And no, I’m not naming names. My philosophy has always been that if I don’t like a class, I don’t need to complain to anyone – nobody’s forcing me to go to it and there are plenty of other classes I can take.

In other news – took an AMAZING spin class on Wednesday at lunch at SCLA with Kelly C – who IMO is one of the best spinning instructors in the city – and whose class I wish I could go to more often. She also teaches at Equinox. Great music, great energy and a workout so intense that I had to wring out my top halfway through the class because I was sweating so much.

I also went to Life in Synergy on Friday night for “Bollywood Dance Party” – again, LiS delivers a fabulously fun event on a Friday night (they did this a few weeks ago with “Thriller”). We learned the dance to Jai-Ho this Friday – which actually has much simpler choreography than Thriller (a lot of the Jai-Ho stuff repeats itself). I think they’re planning more of these Friday night dance party type events – definitely worth attending (with or without pre-gaming at Vinny T’s downstairs) if you’re looking for a fun class. LiS has no memberships – strictly pay per class ($15 for 1, or you can buy a 10-pack for $120) – and an amazing schedule.  Their two Zumba teachers (Lauren and Katie, both of whom led Friday’s event) are really good.  Eventually I am going to make it to that Cheer Fit class that I’ve been dying to try (taught by a former Patriots cheerleader)!

(Broken record alert!)  My primary yoga teacher, Marc McDonald, opened up his new studio Om Warrior this week.  SUCH an amazing space.  Marc is one of the best teachers in the city – if you’ve never taken his class you should head over to 133 Pearl Street sooner rather than later – the space has a very zen and comfortable feel to it.  I took 6 classes there this week and haven’t had that much fun doing yoga in a long time.

This week will involve squeezing classes in when I can with the Sox back at home (going Tuesday and Wednesday nights – so gotta rearrange the gym sched).  At the end of next week, I’ll be visiting the Reebok HQ to be a guinea pig for a new class they’re developing – which I likely won’t be able to talk about (assuming I’ll have to sign an NDA).  I live for doing stuff like that though – always fun to give honest feedback about fitness.

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As they would say on Jeopardy, “Potpourri” (Mind/Body style!). . .plus, my favorite yoga class!

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

It’s been a busy week for me, as I had a lot to squeeze in before an 8-day trip away from Boston.

When I travel, I always get to know the layout of the land gym-wise of where I’m going.  I’ll be in Palm Springs for a work conference through Wednesday (hotel has a gym and yoga studio that I can use and I know it’s acceptable since we had our conference at the same place last year – so I’m good for yoga/core fusion).  Wednesday, I fly to Texas for some quality time with family there.  I’m pretty familiar with the gym scene in San Antonio, as I am down there 1-2x per year.  Per usual, I printed out some class schedules at local gyms and I’m excited to try Zumba, Texas style!

I find that yoga is always such a crapshoot on the road – I’m usually better off doing my own practice (you know you’re going to be on your own when you call the hotel to ask what styles of yoga their instructors teach, and they say, “oh, its just regular yoga” – thanks for clarifying that, guys!)

I had a great week yoga-wise this week – getting to 5 classes, plus one private yoga class with my primary (and favorite) teacher, Marc McDonald.  I’ve been practicing yoga for 7+ years, and have been taking class with Marc for almost the last 4 (though only working one-on-one with him once a week for about the last year).  His class at the Sports Club/LA on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm, a Level 2/3 ashtanga-based vinyasa class, is my favorite yoga class in the city (and I think one of the most challenging classes I’ve taken on a regular basis anywhere) – it’s the 3rd of my “can’t miss” classes (his “Advance Your Asana”, a workshop-style yoga class on Tuesday nights at SCLA, is rapidly approaching this same “can’t miss” status).

He’s had such a positive effect on not just my yoga practice, but my outlook on life.  There are some people in this world who are just inspiring in how they live their lives – Marc is one of those people.  I feel truly privileged to have been able to learn from him these past 4 years.  Posturally, working with him has helped me have that “a-ha” moment about some of the more challenging postures – single legged crow, handstand, *really* floating my feet forward and floating back into low pushup, bound half moon, transitioning from crow to 8-crooked limbs. . .the list goes on and on.  He teaches a challenging vinyasa class that allows students to work on the postures that NOBODY else teaches.  He’s helped keep yoga interesting and fun for me over the years (his class has been a respite during those times when I’ve been frustrated by monotony in yoga since it has become so mainstream).  His sequencing is original, and really stresses that the transitions from asana to asana are actually asanas themselves.  I feel much stronger and have so much more control of my movement since I’ve been working with him. 

He preaches non-attachment to outcome, humility, practicing in the moment and not taking yourself too seriously (as evidenced by his jokes during class).  I think it also says something that everyone I’ve ever brought to his yoga class (from yoga beginners to experienced practitioners to people who don’t generally enjoy yoga) has loved it, and have commented not just on what a great workout his class is, but on the positive energy he exudes. 

As one of his biggest fans (and there are quite a few of us who take his classes all over the city) – he’s at Sports Club/LA teaching yoga on Mondays at noon, Tuesdays at 6pm, Wednesdays at 6:30 and Thursdays at 12:30; Equinox Back Bay on Monday at 7:30pm and Friday at 12:30pm and Yoga Power Studio (www.yogapowerstudio.com, on Pearl Street in the Financial District) on Thursdays at 5:30pm and Friday at 5:30pm (Yoga Power is heated – not bikram style heated, but warmer than a class you would take in the gym).  If you like yoga (or even if you haven’t had great experiences with it), you would be doing yourself a favor by hitting up one of his classes (or workshops) at some point.

People who are reading this who know me also know that Marc is a good friend of mine – someone I respect and admire immensely.  One of the reasons I held off on writing this was because I wanted to be able to present my opinions without coming off as biased (while at the same time not downplaying how phenomenal of a teacher and person he is).  I hope I succeeded in doing justice to one of my favorite people and (in my humble, objective opinion) the best yoga teacher in Boston (which was my opinion before we were friends).

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Fitness Masochism

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

So this week, I came to the realization that I am a fitness masochist. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure this out – the more (good) pain a class causes me, the happier I am. I’ve been working out at a high intensity level for just about 7 years now, so these days it takes a lot for me to really feel a workout the day after. Generally, my body recovers pretty quickly

This realization ties in quite nicely to the 2nd of my “can’t miss” classes. It’s always nice to find like-minded individuals in this crazy world. And every Saturday at 11:30 AM, a large group of fitness masochists show up at Exhale for the Advanced Core Fusion® class with Denise Crowe.

There are hard classes, and then there is this class. We all joke around that Denise tries her best to kill us during our hour, but it’s kind of not a joke. For that reason, this is the class I look forward to the most all week (and I know a lot of my classmates feel the same way). It is so nice, in a society (both inside and outside the fitness world) where coddling is the norm (at least in my humble opinion), to be pushed up to and past perceived limitations. It’s also nice that this class is limited to students who have taken at least ten (10) Core Fusion® classes – since Core Fusion® (CF) is a class that flows best when everyone knows what they’re doing.

Every week I stroll in to take this class with my community of friends at Exhale (the real place in Boston where everybody knows your name) – most of us know each other, which is fun because we’re all comfortable enough to be expressive through the pain (a fly on the wall would hear a lot of groaning, begging, and the occasional outburst of what I affectionately refer to as, “CF Tourettes”). And when I say pain, I mean agonistic pain that can be brought on from the brutal arm work (the alleged “warm up”), seemingly endless thigh work, advanced glute variations and more vigorous curl variations than one would be subjected to in an Open CF class.

The funny thing is, when I talk to people who take the Open CF classes, they always wonder, “it’s already hard, how the heck do they make it harder?!!” I think that question can really only be answered by experiencing the Advanced CF class for oneself. All I can say is that if I’m still sore on Tuesday from a class I took Saturday (which routinely happens), they definitely find a way to make it harder

I’d also be remiss not to go into more detail about what an amazing teacher Denise is. One of the most thorough and knowledgeable teachers I’ve ever had the privilege to learn from, she is all business about kicking the snot out of us but really nice (and funny) at the same time (she says she’s never killed anyone during a class, but some of us have our doubts!) ;) She also NEVER loses count of the reps, which is great in a class like CF. We are extremely lucky at Exhale Boston to have someone of her experience and stature running the show. She is just so good at not just helping people understand the various positions in CF, but helping them get the most out of each position that they possibly can.

So I’m in Chicago for work for the next few days (the one place on earth with worse weather than Boston right now). . .I’ll be hitting up Exhale Chicago for sure (CF creator Elisabeth Halfpapp is teaching there tonight), and barring any horrific weather will be in my spot for CF on Saturday at 11:30 at Exhale Boston! :)

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Busy Week. . .

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Still getting the hang of this “blogging” thing. . .its been a crazy week and half for me (work is nuts, which is good – except when it comes to me blogging).  No matter how busy work is, I always make time for myself at the gym.  I was lucky enough to do a 3 hour twisting workshop with one of Boston’s best teachers, Barbara Benagh last Sunday.  My first experience with Barbara’s class was a 3 hour hip opening workshop at Exhale in December.  After the 3 hours, I felt like I had new hips.  Since then, I’ve made it out to her studio in Brookline (www.theyogastudio.org) twice – once for the 3/4 class on Tuesday afternoon (the week between Christmas and New Years, probably the one Tuesday a year I could do a yoga class at 2pm) and once for this twisting workshop.  I have to say, in 7 years of yoga, I have never worked with a teacher who is as intuitive about alignment and people’s indvidual bodies as Barbara is.  The way she teaches allows students to see postures they’ve been doing for years in a new and different way.  I feel like I’ve learned so much from her in just 3 classes, and I’m going to be making her Sunday 2/3 class a part of my regular schedule.  And you know a class is good if I’m schlepping out to Brookline when I have as many options locally as I do!  :)

This weekend, I’m going to be attending the Wine Expo on Saturday (after the gym, of course!), and then detoxing on Sunday at my friend Kim’s “Restorative Yoga Detox” class on Sunday at Exhale (from 1-3).  Kim (www.kimberlywelby.com) is one of my favorite Core Fusion teachers at Exhale, and she teaches this Restorative workshop monthly (in addition to her 2 restorative classes on the schedule, Monday at 4:15pm and Saturday at 11:30am – neither of which I’m able to attend).  This workshop is the most relaxing 2 hours of my life.  I’m not kidding.  At the end of 2 hours, I don’t really want to leave (unfortunately, my half-joking suggestion of extending it to 4 hours was kiboshed).  It’s pretty much an extended restorative yin yoga class.  There are lots of props, and she guides us into different postures which we hold for 5-7 minutes on each side.  Because of the props, everything is supported – so you’re able to relax while getting an amazing stretch.  If you are a fan of working out hard, you NEED this class.  It’s a great way to nourish your body (and joints) after pushing them to the max.  If you don’t work out as much, you should still come to this class – everybody needs more relaxation in their life.

Enjoy your weekend everyone, and stay tuned for more!  :)

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