New Year's Resolve

I ‘ve become undisciplined from blog posts once a week to every other week to barely once a month. I’m chalking it up to the hectic pre-Christmas month.

Pre-Christmas December included:

4 round trips China, ME to White River Junction, VT

4 batches of Almond Bark

9 batches of home made Chex mix

23 snap bag coin purses

4 pies

9 December birthdays to celebrate

10 out of town/out of country packages of Chex mix/almond park sent

150 Christmas cards set

The Hobbitt in 2D

Lincoln in the theater with Judd

1 secret Santa project (tie-dyed silk underwear)

TNTC* presents/ wrappings/on line purchases

*Too Numerous To Count

Post-Christmas December included:

Driving to Quechee on Christmas afternoon with Malindi right behind me

2-day snowstorm visit from Malindi  (Les Miserable sold out so we did movies

   in-house)

Judd visits for a snowy weekend, both of us with varying degrees of cold/laryngitis

Quechee Covered Bridge reopening ceremony

Paddleboard yoga**

**As I get closer to thinking I’ll be a Vermont resident soon, I decided to go on line to look for gym memberships, exercise classes with new resolve for the new year. I found the nearby Upper Valley Acquatic Center with pool, group classes and land fitness. I’m pretty picky about how I like to exercise or sweat in public and I have a pretty tight schedule – I’m not available Mon-Fri 7 to 4:30  and IF I’m around on a weekend it’s late afternoon Sunday. I discovered a FREE trial: paddleboard yoga.  Here’s the webpage below.  Now, perhaps I was confused by the picture. People stepping up on boards--It didn’t look like yoga. I thought that a  paddleboard was this thing 

sportsfansworld.com 

I used to have  (at least it was when I used to play racquetball and paddleball.) I couldn’t imagine using it for yoga. But it was New Year’s Eve Eve and if I was going to be resolute about exercise maybe it would be something new and daring.  It was most providential that there was an added 5pm Sunday free trial (and I was looking this up at 4pm on Sunday.) I knew I was meant to go.

            So I dug out my one sports bra, one-t-shirt-in-Vermont (having moved all my work clothes but very few play clothes) and my one pair of leggings and off I went to the gym (after putting on all the other warm layers because it was 19 degrees out.) When I arrived and asked for directions, some staff were confused because they said the 4:00 class just got over and they were not aware of a 5pm class. The lady behind the desk directed me to the women’s locker room and then out through the pool door over to the far side of the pools.  I trled going out that way but kept getting my socks wet stepping in puddles where little kids and parents were dripping back from swim lessons. I thought this cannot be right.  Yoga is supposed to be all warm and fuzzy and calm me down so I shouldn’t arrive irritated by wet, cold feet. I finally went back through the front of the locker room to the lobby and bumped into the instructor, Adam. Adam was a calm, slow-talker in baggy pants and a long sleeve T-shirt. He was wearing an earth-toned cotton turban and I saw grayish hair peaking out. I started to feel less intimidated. I asked where the yoga room was. He said the extra 5pm session was in the pool. I said, “huh?” a couple times and looked less than intelligent and explained that I had misunderstood---I hadn’t come with pool attire.  I was trying to be spontaneous and I would have to come back to a land class some Thursday evening. He asked if I had a change of clothes. I said yeah. “So? “he said. I got a flash view of me in a cartoon-like bubble over my head, in my leggings and a t-shirt in a pool , drying off with my skirt afterwards and wearing only one layer of clothes home under my coat. It didn’t look too ridiculous in my brain so I said okay. I asked Adam if I was going to be the oldest person in the class and he said it’s not about that.  “Oh yeah, “I mumbled, “that’s right, I’m freeing myself of these kind of encumberances.”

            I found 2 other people (both older-looking , overweight men, but no judging) by the pool with Adam and so I began paddleboard yoga. They call a paddleboard what I call a surfboard, which, if you’re all balanced and relaxed and smooth, you can apparently do all the yoga poses (even headstands) on without getting wet.  How is it that it’s almost the year 2013 and I have never heard of this? If they’d said surfboard yoga I would have gotten it (and not gone.) Adam told me a couple times how brave I was to come out and try. I began to have doubts. He held a board so I could get on and pointed out the center of gravity on the board so I could balance. He failed to mention where my center of gravity might be. I could kneel on the board—I could paddle around. But the first challenge was to anchor the fin of the board over one of the lane markers so it didn’t float all over the pool while attempting poses.  You can try to do this by moving so far forward on the board that the back of the board tilts up and then try to go in reverse until the fin is over. One man fell in. (He was wearing his swim suit.) Since he was in the water, he helped the other man get the fin of his board over the float.  I paddled down to the edge of the pool, got out of the water, and lifted my fin over the marker and got back on the board. This must have been some kind of cheat, but I was okay with it because I was still dry and had my dignity intact.

            Instructor Adam got us settled and started us breathing and he exuded calmness and serenity but then his board was not in the water. He faced we brave three from the dryness of poolside.  About two breaths into it while I'm trying to quiet my mind, I recalled that I had left my beeper and cell phone in my sweatshirt in the locker room. I worried the rest of the hour that it would go off and someone would take it to the front desk and the hospital wouldn’t be able to reach me and I wouldn’t be able to retrieve the beeper and did this child’s pose make my butt look big, and then I couldn’t find my left ankle with my right hand. But Adam re-focused everyone and even I could clear some of the worries and my racing thoughts.  I did not fall off the board.  I breathed and stretched and re-focused (several times.) Afterwards, I found my beeper and phone right where I left them. And if I choose to sign up for the 4 week session, I still get a 10% discount.  It might happen.  I’d have to commit to leaving Maine by noon on Sundays.  I’m deciding if the stress/calm ratio makes it worth it.  To get to the Thursday evening 4:30 land class the only stressor is either leaving work 10 min early or being 10 min late to class.  I’m going to think about it for a day or two. It isn’t even New Years yet so no need to rush into an exercise regimen.  

Here is their brochure page:

FITNESS

• FREE PERSONAL TRAINING SESSION FOR ALL NEW MEMBERS

• Free personal training session for all new
 members

• Nationally certified trainers

• Most affordable personal training in Upper Valley

• Economical small group training programs

• Fully equipped strength and cardio room

• Kinesis training--check out what a Kinesis wall is here: Technogym Kinesis Wall

CHECK OUT THE NEW CLASSES!

NEW YEAR'S DAY SPINNING
8:30am

FREE PADDLEBOARD YOGA CLASS
Sunday, Dec. 30 @ 4pm.
Registration for free class starts 12/19 only six boards available, so sign up early!
Due to high demand a second class has been added at 5pm!

PADDLEBOARD YOGA
Sundays @ 4pm 1/6-1/27
4-week session. Get 10% off when you register by 12/30. Space is limited.

So, I'm about here:

yogapeach.com -

fingerlakespaddleboard.com 

Not quite to headstands or bikinis yet, but catch me in March.....

funfitandfabulouswithlauren.blogspot.com