Back in the swing

[deborahjross]

Tummy crud came and went; Regency Dance at the Quaker meeting was splendid. Dave and I danced for almost 3 hours, very little of it with each other, as we felt it would be better to disperse experienced dancers among the throng. A good time was had by all, even if my joints have been protesting more or less ever since. Alas, sciatica is hovering on the edge of a return. I went in for my yoga class on Wed, saw that my regular teacher was absent, and turned around and walked out again (how brazen of me!) The substitute teacher is someone I do not feel safe with, and I wasn't about to risk my various joint aches and pains. So I am a bit under-stretched, although I have been walking regularly. I tried a new Stability (Swiss) Ball DVD and suspect that although it is a lot of fun, it may not be the best for me at the moment.

Our brief spate of spring was followed by another round of storms and power outages. Blue sky today offers hope for a respite.

Dave is packing for a business trip back East, and I am scheming to curl up and watch the entire LotR extended version trilogy in his absence. I have a tentative commitment from a neighbor to aid and abet this insanity.

Revision work on THE ALTON GIFT continues apace, now about Chapter 9, with many new details and coming-togethers emerging.

Comments

[nugirlontheblok.livejournal.com]

Have you tried T'ai Chi instead of yoga? Enjoy the LoTR trilogy- it's one of my favourites! :)

Deborah's exercise commentary

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Because of my crappy lipid panel, my goal is 60-90 minutes of exercise daily. I try to split it up between 1/2 hour before breakfast -- Pilates, weights, stability ball, to music or one of a collection of DVDs -- and an hour in midafternoon -- usually walking into town (3 mi RT) or DDR that my younger daughter has perverted me with. A couple of new DVDs have aerobic sections that could also substitute on rainy days. Yoga (1 1/2 hr) is my easy day because, while it's great for strength and flexibility, it's not particularly cardiovascular. I'd like to give jazzercise at the local park & rec another try (having discovered the joys of ear plugs) but need to be a little more recovered from the sciatica bout before I do.

I studied tai chi for 4 or 5 years before I got into kung fu, which I did from 1976 or so until 1999. What is that, 23 years? I've thought from time to time about going back to tai chi. Mostly, I still miss the incredible vigor and timing of sparring in kung fu (I studied the san soo style with Jimmy H. Woo, who brought it to this country). That's also the reason why, after the neck injury that forced me to stop taking falls, I couldn't bear to look at something like karate or tae kwan do, aikido being out because of the falls -- I wanted to do MY art. There are also space and distance issues -- there really isn't room in my living room to do the 108 forms properly, and I think the nearest school is 40 minutes away in Santa Cruz. That would mean an additional hour and a half out of my writing day, plus the class time, not something I could afford on a regular basis. Sigh. So I try to stay open to what's next...

At various times in the past I have been a maniacal dancer -- folk, ballet, modern -- been horse-crazy, hiked, worked out at a gym, done step classes, run, swum (although not well or recently), tried lots of other stuff. I have lousy hand-ball coordination, so have never been into team sports.

Yoga was a wonderful change from martial arts, and the flexibility has been most helpful to my joints (not something I could get from tai chi). I love one particular teacher and feel immensely nourished by her classes. And the school is in town, a 3 minute drive away. Same thing for the jazzercise.