I had a pretty good week. I discovered that one of my crystals seems to help me with not absorbing the energy at work, so I was a little less stressed about that. It kind of went downhill on saturday (Jon and I had the day off together and I fell to watching him eat crackers, lol), and I forgot to cleanse my crystal and it hasn't been helping the last couple days. Honestly, I feel kind of like I've failed. I had such high hopes that this was going to be a job I loved. I should have paid attention when I had to jump through so many hoops and try so hard to get a job there. To be truthful, it's not so much the job itself that sucks, but that I'm bored and I thought it would be better (probably doesn't help that most of the people I actually liked and could talk to in my department when I first started have left). Anyway, lesson learned I guess - now I just have to figure out what I actually want to do. In the mean time, I'm going to try not to let it stress me out, because the first thing that goes when I'm stressed is taking care of myself (makes me want to curl up on the couch, lose myself in a book and eat lots of chocolate).
Week 3
Waist - 39.75 inches
Exercise - Pole 2/2, Conditioning 1.5/2, cardio 3/3, Pole Exercises 3/4
Felt good about this up until saturday when I got lazy and didn't do my last set of pole exercises.
Food - Started this week off really well. Had a little bit of corn chips with my chili on tuesday and wednesday. Then I had red wine on friday, and ate crackers with Jon on saturday. Then I had some chocolate and buns and cosmic cookies. on sunday. I'll probably have more low glycemic stuff this week, but overall, I'd say this week was good.
Stretching - Still waiting for the DVD. Wondering when I'm going to fit 45 mins of stretching two or three times a week in. I already feel so busy. I guess once I've got the exercises down it won't be too hard to just sit on the floor and do it while Jon watches TV or plays fishing games.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Why I Pole Dance - Part One of the Story
I've been reading some blog posts lately about dancing, and pole, and it got me thinking about why I love pole dancing, and why I want to instruct.
I was first exposed to pole two years ago. A friend of a friend gave me a ride home, and we talked about how much we loved dance, she mentioned she was taking a pole dance class at Polejunkies studio, and that was that. I spent about two or three months watching pole on youtube and when my Irish dance classes ended for the summer, I signed up.
Given that I had been taking dance classes since I was 11, and was pretty good at moving my body, I figured it would be fun and easy to learn this new style of dance. I was half right - it was definitely fun. I was completely shocked to find out how hard that first spin was. And that was how my addiction was born - the challenge of getting something I knew I was good at. Or would be once I taught my body how to move in this new way and built some strength up.
But that's not what drew me to pole. What drew me was the image of a powerful, sexy, strong woman expressing her creativity, sensuality, and joy of movement through dance. The pole tricks, for me, are just a means to an end. They look impressive, and I get excited when I get a new move, but I don't feel I've actually gotten it until I can incorporate it in my dancing.
So I pole dance because I love the challenge, I pole dance because I love moving just for the joy of it, and I love pole dance for the potential to bring out my sensual side - which is not something I've put into practise a lot, but that I am working on. And in thinking about working on it, I thought 'wouldn't it be great if I could take a class on this?'. Unfortunately, there isn't one available at Polejunkies. They do a 'pole fluff' workshop (the sexy, sensual moves of pole dance?), which I plan to take next time it runs, but it's not really what I was thinking of. The name paints a picture of the sexy part being lighter - fun, but insubstantial, almost belittling it as being 'the easy stuff'. And I feel my sensual side to be anything but insubstantial, and it is definitely not easy for me to open up and put my sexuality on display through dance - after all, I've spent a lot of time in my life convincing other people that I'm a 'good girl' and good girls save their sensual side for behind closed doors with the proper person, right?
But I've put that part of myself aside and I'm learning, and I figure that if I want a class like this, maybe some of my fellow students would also be interested in one. And that's how I started thinking about becoming a pole instructor. But I'll save the why's of that for another post.
I was first exposed to pole two years ago. A friend of a friend gave me a ride home, and we talked about how much we loved dance, she mentioned she was taking a pole dance class at Polejunkies studio, and that was that. I spent about two or three months watching pole on youtube and when my Irish dance classes ended for the summer, I signed up.
Given that I had been taking dance classes since I was 11, and was pretty good at moving my body, I figured it would be fun and easy to learn this new style of dance. I was half right - it was definitely fun. I was completely shocked to find out how hard that first spin was. And that was how my addiction was born - the challenge of getting something I knew I was good at. Or would be once I taught my body how to move in this new way and built some strength up.
But that's not what drew me to pole. What drew me was the image of a powerful, sexy, strong woman expressing her creativity, sensuality, and joy of movement through dance. The pole tricks, for me, are just a means to an end. They look impressive, and I get excited when I get a new move, but I don't feel I've actually gotten it until I can incorporate it in my dancing.
So I pole dance because I love the challenge, I pole dance because I love moving just for the joy of it, and I love pole dance for the potential to bring out my sensual side - which is not something I've put into practise a lot, but that I am working on. And in thinking about working on it, I thought 'wouldn't it be great if I could take a class on this?'. Unfortunately, there isn't one available at Polejunkies. They do a 'pole fluff' workshop (the sexy, sensual moves of pole dance?), which I plan to take next time it runs, but it's not really what I was thinking of. The name paints a picture of the sexy part being lighter - fun, but insubstantial, almost belittling it as being 'the easy stuff'. And I feel my sensual side to be anything but insubstantial, and it is definitely not easy for me to open up and put my sexuality on display through dance - after all, I've spent a lot of time in my life convincing other people that I'm a 'good girl' and good girls save their sensual side for behind closed doors with the proper person, right?
But I've put that part of myself aside and I'm learning, and I figure that if I want a class like this, maybe some of my fellow students would also be interested in one. And that's how I started thinking about becoming a pole instructor. But I'll save the why's of that for another post.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Fitness Update
So, this week didn't go all that well. It started with Valentine's Day (I figure I'm allowed to have chocolate and sugar on valentine's, right?), and kind of went downhill from there. It's been super cold outside, so I didn't go for my cardio/walk, or do my conditioning on saturday. I'm taking this week as a write-off, and starting back at it tomorrow. On a brighter note, I'm all proud of myself for figuring out how to fix Jon's torrent issue on his computer :)
Anyway, here's my official tracker thingy.
Week 2
Waist - 40 inches (*edit* thought I should mention - my waist measurement here isn't the classical one - it's a measurement of the widest part of the waist, about two inches below the belly button)
Exercise - Pole 2/2, Conditioning 0/2, cardio 2/3, Pole Exercises 2/4
not bad starting out. Lost motivation towards the end of the week (eating crappy food makes me tired and not energetic - go figure *eye roll*).
Food - Started this week off with some chocolate. Did good for breakfasts, kind of went downhill from there every day. Possibly because I started off the week with chocolate, and managed to have leftover chocolate that needed eating. I will add more fruits/veggies/low glycemic meals this week.
Stretching - I'm expecting to get my special DVD stretching routine sometime in the next two or three weeks, and I'll post more about it then.
Anyway, here's my official tracker thingy.
Week 2
Waist - 40 inches (*edit* thought I should mention - my waist measurement here isn't the classical one - it's a measurement of the widest part of the waist, about two inches below the belly button)
Exercise - Pole 2/2, Conditioning 0/2, cardio 2/3, Pole Exercises 2/4
not bad starting out. Lost motivation towards the end of the week (eating crappy food makes me tired and not energetic - go figure *eye roll*).
Food - Started this week off with some chocolate. Did good for breakfasts, kind of went downhill from there every day. Possibly because I started off the week with chocolate, and managed to have leftover chocolate that needed eating. I will add more fruits/veggies/low glycemic meals this week.
Stretching - I'm expecting to get my special DVD stretching routine sometime in the next two or three weeks, and I'll post more about it then.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
My Pole Life...
So I recently started 'shadowing' classes at my dance studio. This is in preparation for assistant instructing! (insert happy grin here)
For a long time I've been thinking about learning to instruct pole. My reasons for this? Because I love pole dancing. And I love sharing it with other people. I know I'm going to love teaching already. I've only shadowed three classes (I have to do 12 before I can assist) and already I'm watching the students and thinking about what might be said to help them improve. Also, I absolutely love watching a student go from feeling ridiculous to feeling confident as they master a new move.
In my personal pole goals, I've been working on my strength lately, with a series of exercises I'm trying to do mostly daily (5 times per week). I plan to change these as I get better at certain things. Right now I'm doing straddle leg lifts, CKR sit ups, shoulder leg tucks, step-ups, bb grip tucks, split grip/lazy-one-up practice and a few warm up exercises.
For moves, I finally managed to do a scorpio in front of my instructor. I find with moves like this my brain's pain response gets in the way of doing it. I have to force my mind into a state where I know it's going to hurt, but I'm going to make myself do it anyway, otherwise my mind rebels at the pain and I can't seem to make my body stay in position.
I'm also working on tipover 'v' (the reason for my daily exercises), caterpillar push, and just started working on superman.
I'm also starting to work more on flexibility again. I was working on it for a while, but got distracted and stopped. I'll probably be doing a flexibility starting point post some time soon. I'm looking forward to having something new to add to my fitness posts.
For a long time I've been thinking about learning to instruct pole. My reasons for this? Because I love pole dancing. And I love sharing it with other people. I know I'm going to love teaching already. I've only shadowed three classes (I have to do 12 before I can assist) and already I'm watching the students and thinking about what might be said to help them improve. Also, I absolutely love watching a student go from feeling ridiculous to feeling confident as they master a new move.
In my personal pole goals, I've been working on my strength lately, with a series of exercises I'm trying to do mostly daily (5 times per week). I plan to change these as I get better at certain things. Right now I'm doing straddle leg lifts, CKR sit ups, shoulder leg tucks, step-ups, bb grip tucks, split grip/lazy-one-up practice and a few warm up exercises.
For moves, I finally managed to do a scorpio in front of my instructor. I find with moves like this my brain's pain response gets in the way of doing it. I have to force my mind into a state where I know it's going to hurt, but I'm going to make myself do it anyway, otherwise my mind rebels at the pain and I can't seem to make my body stay in position.
I'm also working on tipover 'v' (the reason for my daily exercises), caterpillar push, and just started working on superman.
I'm also starting to work more on flexibility again. I was working on it for a while, but got distracted and stopped. I'll probably be doing a flexibility starting point post some time soon. I'm looking forward to having something new to add to my fitness posts.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Given that I've posted about my new fitness routine, I thought I should perhaps include a bit on the rest of my 'getting fit' stuff.
I've got my exercise all planned out (with a little leeway for not being perfect of course). The other part is my eating habits. A little while ago I did a couple of the questionnaires from wild rose regarding candida and blood sugar issues. No surprise to me, I had a few of the blood sugar symptoms. So now I'm doing my best to eat mostly low glycemic foods. But, since taking things out is contrary to human nature (when you deny yourself something, it just makes you want it more), I'm trying something opposite. Instead of taking things out, I'm just adding in more whole foods, especially fruits and veggies.
I'm also keeping track by measurement, specifically waist measurement, as that is one of the main indications of blood sugar imbalances.
Week 1
Waist - 40 inches
Exercise - all, except sunday's conditioning (I fell asleep on the couch, so I think I needed sleep more than exercise)
Food - Mostly good, but I seem to have a habit of higher glycemic stuff in the evenings. Will work on this.
Also, just to note, the book I was reading about the low-glycemic stuff in thinks that a healthy waist for women is 34 inches or smaller, but I'm pretty sure that whoever came up with that number didn't take into consideration that some women (like me) are 6 feet tall. Last time I had a 34 inch waist, I was 13, and only 5'7"
I've got my exercise all planned out (with a little leeway for not being perfect of course). The other part is my eating habits. A little while ago I did a couple of the questionnaires from wild rose regarding candida and blood sugar issues. No surprise to me, I had a few of the blood sugar symptoms. So now I'm doing my best to eat mostly low glycemic foods. But, since taking things out is contrary to human nature (when you deny yourself something, it just makes you want it more), I'm trying something opposite. Instead of taking things out, I'm just adding in more whole foods, especially fruits and veggies.
I'm also keeping track by measurement, specifically waist measurement, as that is one of the main indications of blood sugar imbalances.
Week 1
Waist - 40 inches
Exercise - all, except sunday's conditioning (I fell asleep on the couch, so I think I needed sleep more than exercise)
Food - Mostly good, but I seem to have a habit of higher glycemic stuff in the evenings. Will work on this.
Also, just to note, the book I was reading about the low-glycemic stuff in thinks that a healthy waist for women is 34 inches or smaller, but I'm pretty sure that whoever came up with that number didn't take into consideration that some women (like me) are 6 feet tall. Last time I had a 34 inch waist, I was 13, and only 5'7"
Friday, February 11, 2011
Borrowing 'fitness friday'
I've been having some trouble deciding what to write about first, so I'm borrowing a thing from a blog I follow and making it 'fitness friday'.
In the past few weeks I've been working myself up to a new fitness routine that I devised just after new years. It's partly to help me get better at pole, and partly to get back in shape, since I've gained some inches around my middle since two years ago when I moved in with my boyfriend (now fiance), and picked up a few of his bad habits.
I've currently worked my way up to two pole practices (well, three this week), two 'conditioning' days (I'm using pilates for this one, although I may make it just stretching once my pole exercises are almost daily), three cardio days (biking, walking, skip rope, hula, etc.), and three days a week doing my 'pole exercises' (a list of things to practice specific to improving my pole skills, changing as needed - step ups, bb grip tucks, ckr situps, etc).
Once I've worked everything in, this will be my weekly exercise routine:
Pole Practise - 3 times a week
Conditioning (pilates/stretching) - 2 or 3 times a week
Cardio - 3 times a week
Pole Exercises - 5 times a week (I'm aiming for doing them first thing in the morning, but we'll see...I'm not the best morning person) It might seem like a lot, but I decided that each thing only needs to be 30 minutes (though the pole exercises only take about 20 mins currently). This makes it easy to do more than one thing in a day (eg. go for a 30 min walk, then doing pilates).
So far I've been feeling pretty good about it. I schedule it into my day according to when I have time. This week I added an actual pole class back in, on a day I hadn't had scheduled, so I'm counting it as one of my cardio and pole exercises - especially since I'm sore and my body feels like it needs a rest today.
The way I've got it set up, I should be up to my full routine three weeks from now.
I'll keep posting how I'm doing with it - I plan on making progress posts on my pole strength, my flexibility (once I start my stretching dvd), and my getting back into shape stuff.
In the past few weeks I've been working myself up to a new fitness routine that I devised just after new years. It's partly to help me get better at pole, and partly to get back in shape, since I've gained some inches around my middle since two years ago when I moved in with my boyfriend (now fiance), and picked up a few of his bad habits.
I've currently worked my way up to two pole practices (well, three this week), two 'conditioning' days (I'm using pilates for this one, although I may make it just stretching once my pole exercises are almost daily), three cardio days (biking, walking, skip rope, hula, etc.), and three days a week doing my 'pole exercises' (a list of things to practice specific to improving my pole skills, changing as needed - step ups, bb grip tucks, ckr situps, etc).
Once I've worked everything in, this will be my weekly exercise routine:
Pole Practise - 3 times a week
Conditioning (pilates/stretching) - 2 or 3 times a week
Cardio - 3 times a week
Pole Exercises - 5 times a week (I'm aiming for doing them first thing in the morning, but we'll see...I'm not the best morning person) It might seem like a lot, but I decided that each thing only needs to be 30 minutes (though the pole exercises only take about 20 mins currently). This makes it easy to do more than one thing in a day (eg. go for a 30 min walk, then doing pilates).
So far I've been feeling pretty good about it. I schedule it into my day according to when I have time. This week I added an actual pole class back in, on a day I hadn't had scheduled, so I'm counting it as one of my cardio and pole exercises - especially since I'm sore and my body feels like it needs a rest today.
The way I've got it set up, I should be up to my full routine three weeks from now.
I'll keep posting how I'm doing with it - I plan on making progress posts on my pole strength, my flexibility (once I start my stretching dvd), and my getting back into shape stuff.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Imbolc
Tonight is our Imbolc ritual. The first hint of spring. To our ancestors, the birth of the first lambs and knowing that they had made it safely through another winter.
For me, it's the time when I can feel the first hint of stirring in the earth, but only if I'm paying attention.
In fact, I've been avoiding paying attention these past few years - the city mutes everything and I tend to close in around myself and avoid sensing the energy of the land for fear of becoming complacent about being in this place I don't want to call home.
Now, I have resigned myself to being here for a time, and of making the best of it. Opening my senses once again and seeing what connection I can make with the land here despite the muted nature of the landscape in a city. I can't wait to have my license and be able to get out to the mountains again whenever I get the chance.
It is somewhat ironic too that there seems to be a wind and snow storm outside after the warmth of the last few days. Right when we celebrate what should be a hint of spring, there's a winter snowstorm. And yet, despite the snow, I can still feel a change within myself. A turning towards the light. A hint of a spark kindling in the earth beneath my feet, and while it will be a while yet before I sing the earth awake at the spring equinox, I will bless the seeds of spring now by connecting them to that hint of fire within the earth.
For me, it's the time when I can feel the first hint of stirring in the earth, but only if I'm paying attention.
In fact, I've been avoiding paying attention these past few years - the city mutes everything and I tend to close in around myself and avoid sensing the energy of the land for fear of becoming complacent about being in this place I don't want to call home.
Now, I have resigned myself to being here for a time, and of making the best of it. Opening my senses once again and seeing what connection I can make with the land here despite the muted nature of the landscape in a city. I can't wait to have my license and be able to get out to the mountains again whenever I get the chance.
It is somewhat ironic too that there seems to be a wind and snow storm outside after the warmth of the last few days. Right when we celebrate what should be a hint of spring, there's a winter snowstorm. And yet, despite the snow, I can still feel a change within myself. A turning towards the light. A hint of a spark kindling in the earth beneath my feet, and while it will be a while yet before I sing the earth awake at the spring equinox, I will bless the seeds of spring now by connecting them to that hint of fire within the earth.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Cleaning out my mind
This weekend, I am cleaning something out. Getting rid of something or things in metaphor to aid in changing or getting rid of whatever it is I'm holding on to that's stopping me from changing the things I don't like about my life. Mainly where it's gone work-wise. I'm really somewhat lost right now. There are or will be a lot of things changing in my life, and I'm not sure where they will take me. In fact, I'm also not sure where I want to go - at least about some things.
So I'll think about it, and hopefully figure it out.
There are a couple things I AM sure of.
I'm engaged, and getting married, and after that I'm having kids. No specific date set for any of this yet though - everything else feels uncertain, so it feels hard to be certain about this one too. Tentatively, we're trying for this autumn, or next spring, but nothing's certain.
I want to be a pole dancing instructor. I am especially interested in choreography and technique. Stuff about body lines, moving gracefully, creating emotion in the audience, etc. To start out with, I am currently working out which day would be best for instructor shadowing - I have to do 12 classes observing an instructor before I'm eligible to assist in a particular class.
I want to work with horses. Training, riding, trail rides, something. The setback for this one is my lack of experience, so I'd probably have to start out just mucking stalls etc., while I learn more. Also, it would be a lot easier to do this if I got my driver's license, as most places where I could learn this type of thing require a car to get to.
So I guess I do know where I want to go. It's just a matter of figuring out what the first step will be, especially money-wise, to make sure I can create enough to do everything I want to do.
So I'll think about it, and hopefully figure it out.
There are a couple things I AM sure of.
I'm engaged, and getting married, and after that I'm having kids. No specific date set for any of this yet though - everything else feels uncertain, so it feels hard to be certain about this one too. Tentatively, we're trying for this autumn, or next spring, but nothing's certain.
I want to be a pole dancing instructor. I am especially interested in choreography and technique. Stuff about body lines, moving gracefully, creating emotion in the audience, etc. To start out with, I am currently working out which day would be best for instructor shadowing - I have to do 12 classes observing an instructor before I'm eligible to assist in a particular class.
I want to work with horses. Training, riding, trail rides, something. The setback for this one is my lack of experience, so I'd probably have to start out just mucking stalls etc., while I learn more. Also, it would be a lot easier to do this if I got my driver's license, as most places where I could learn this type of thing require a car to get to.
So I guess I do know where I want to go. It's just a matter of figuring out what the first step will be, especially money-wise, to make sure I can create enough to do everything I want to do.
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