Ballet update

A couple of months ago I re-committed to my ballet classes, and I'm so glad that I did.

When I go to class I have an hour and a half of brain switch-off. Sometimes I even dream about work, so this time is invaluable in enabling me to relax and focus on something else.

When I go to class I become much more aware of how I hold my body and my posture improves.

When I go to class I smile and laugh. My instructor is hilarious, providing us with plenty of giggles between exercises, as well as thoughtful corrections.

When I go to class regularly then I'm much more able to work on my corrections. This way my dancing starts to improve.

And now that I'm attending class more regularly, people are being friendlier. I guess it makes sense to wait and see if a newbie keeps returning before you invest in conversation. Classes are starting to feel much more welcoming.


So, goals for the coming months?

Firstly, just to keep going to class at least once a week!

Also, to wear a leotard that I bought 18 months ago and haven't been brave enough to actually wear! It relies on my posture being amazingly good... (If you're interested, it's this one.)

Lastly, to smile during exercises - this was suggested by fellow ballet enthusiast DaveTriesBallet. It should add to the performance factor of each exercise and hopefully trick my brain into thinking it likes the more challenging moves. Simple and sweet.

Making a good start

Things to do at the beginning of 2014...

Book skiing lessons - the prospect of a skiing holiday has become almost irresistible so my plan is to get some lessons at one of the "real snow" slopes before booking anything.

The only time I've ever skiied. Definitely need some practise before hitting some real slopes!

Make more plans with friends - with most living quite a distance away and many now having one or two young children, these things need to be planned well in advance to make sure that they happen.

Regular exercise - sticking to a routine is not my area of expertise! Sporadic exercise is not really doing it for me though - all it took was a busy Christmas and a week suffering with a cold and all my fitness has disappeared into thin air! Right now walking up a couple of flights of stairs is tiring :( Consistency is surely the key. That way I will have the stamina and strength needed for random fun activities (like skiing, paddle boarding or roller skating).

Catch up on my blogging - no explanation needed here. I've been much too lazy about posting. Must do better!

Summer ambitions 2013

I totally forgot about this list that I wrote last year, until Janetha who writes the meals & moves blog posted about her 2013 list. Here is is:

I'm not half as artistic as Janetha, or as ambitious, but here's my new list:

The basic idea is hopefully to get out and enjoy summer (presuming that we get some nice weather) and relax a bit! I can't wait to have a whole day where the only think on my to do list is "sit in the sun" or "bake cookies". Sounds like heaven :)

What are you going to do this summer?

PS: If your answer is "go on a ballet summer intensive" then I am very jealous. Next year. Hopefully.

Summer ambitions

I've read some fantastic Summer Bucket Lists recently, including this amazingly long one from meals and moves. That is going to be one fantastic summer!

My list is somewhat less "wow", but I've tried my best to add in some ambition along the way!

1) To get surfing again. I don't mind if it's in the UK or during my summer holiday, but I've got to get back on the board and work on my skills! On the girlie surfing weekend last year, I just about stood up a couple of times and I desperately need to practise more to master this tricky skill. Note to self: do some upper-body workouts before surfing to limit muscle soreness afterwards!

2) Do 3 ballet classes in one week. I'm all set with a timetable of drop-in classes with teachers that have been recommended to me, so there's no reason not to up my number of lessons :)

3) Spend some quality time working on my Spanish. I'm not great with languages and often freeze up when abroad; hopefully a bit of revision and practise will up my confidence and make sure the words that I do know are close at hand in my brain :) Maybe...

4) See some live music. Erm... This one is totally unplanned so I've no idea how and when it might happen. I'll be in the vicinity of live bands in a few weeks when rigging a firework display, but that's hardly the same as being in the crowd.

Pic from last year's Marvelous Festival, expertly taken on my phone!

 5) Make sushi. I've just been gifted a great iPad video-book-guide-thing and have to try it out!

6) Make more pies. I had a bit of a flurry of pie making after Christmas (after receiving two great pie recipe books) and then haven't touched them again!

What are you going to do this summer?

A catch up on the activeness

In the last few weeks I've hardly posted anything about sport/fitness/etc, so I thought I might be due a catch up post :)

Ballet - still my sport of choice at the moment! I am loving my dance, so much so that I even tried going to class with a dreadful headache one week (and no, that didn't go very well!). My brand new leotard will had its first outing this week too! At the moment I'm trying to find a class for the summer because my teacher only runs classes in term time and I don't want to have a six week dancing break!




Running - hmmmm. Well, I have been running a bit - about once a week. But I really should try and fit in a bit more. I'm finding it much more tiring than previously, which I'm guessing is a combination of not training so often and of trying to mid-heel strike. My running coach (who I must make another appointment with) did say that I'd be exercising lots of different muscles so I shouldn't be surprised. I can't quite face my second coaching session until I've done a bit more practise! 

How to live well?

After allowing myself to get stressed over several things recently, a friend pointed me in the direction of Zen Habits.

The guy running it seems to have a clear, sensible philosophy:

"Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives. It’s about clearing the clutter so we can focus on what’s important, create something amazing, find happiness."

Taken from the Zen Habits blog

I'm feeling inspired!

I'm going to take one item from his "how to live well" list to focus on for a short while (maybe a week, maybe three) in an attempt to become a little more relaxed and generally happier!

First focus: You need very little to be happy. Finding the small joys in life - clean laundry, a pretty notebook, a text from a friend, etc. I will be looking for these things and appreciating them :)

I ran every step...

...albeit very slowly!

The strategy paid off - I set off slow, let people overtake me, kept going slowly and, well, just kept going!

More things to try

I've been getting all excited with making plans and adding to my must-try list:

Ballet
I desperately want to watch a professional ballet - I studied ballet until I went to university and am considering re-starting adult classes. I wasn't any good but I would love to see a real performance.

Jantastic - spring motivation

Yeah, yeah, I know it's only a couple of days into December, but I had to share this straight away!

For a bit of context, I've been an avid listener to Marathon Talk podcasts for ages now, since I originally started "training" for the Amsterdam marathon. And if listening to people talking about training for marathons equated to real training, then I would have been much better prepared!

This is the launch video for their spring motivation series...

Yup, I've signed up already. Even though I'm currently running 1-2 times a week and their minimum option is 3 times a week. I'll get there... :)