It’s a small world after all

Dang it! I wish I would have packed my runners this morning 🙁

A week ago that thought probably wouldn’t have entered my head. I had a barefoot-loving pilates session scheduled for this evening, why would I need my runners? But this week, a week that has spawned new goals, I’m now thinking why the heck didn’t I pack my runners? My pilates wasn’t until 7:30 and I had all my running gear packed other than my shoes. I could have banged out a 5k and eaten dinner with my parents before I would have had to leave for the studio no problem. Dammit!

Lonely shoes

For several years now, long before I made this commitment to the pilates world, I’ve been driving past the studio on the way to my parent’s house and my eyes for some strange reason have always stopped short on the house. I thought it had to do with my being intrigued with the pilates mastery. But nope, it wasn’t that at all. Following my first pilates session, my moms solved the mystery: “Don’t you remember?” she asked.You used to play there as a kid – that was Anique’s old house.” Ahh, and suddenly the lightbulb shone ever so brightly.

Shortly after we moved to the farm more than 23 years ago, Anique – a purebred farm girl – befriended me. Our friendship didn’t last long as she moved westward a year and a half later, but in that short time that we were friends, many hours were spent playing hide-and-seek on both farms, playing Barbies inside her massive dollhouse and, uhm, arguing over whether or not we’d watch Little Shop of Horrors a second time in one evening. (I didn’t want to; even back then I couldn’t stand watching a movie for longer than an hour and a half.)

According to my moms, I used to love hiding under the stairs.

So naturally, when I went back to the studio I was trying to place where things used to be and figure out how it’s all changed. Melissa, my pilates instructor, told me the studio portion of the house is where the living room used to be, where that mansion of a dollhouse used to be. But try as I might, I just couldn’t picture it. All I could see was Anique’s mom smiling warmly at me – a scrawny, gap-toothed, nine-year-old – as I came bounding into the kitchen with her daughter quick on my heels. Memories 😀

TONIGHT’S PILATES:

  • 7:15 p.m. BG before: 6.5 (1 hard candy)
  • Temp basal -50 per cent
  • 1 hour pilates
  • 8:30 p.m. BG after: 6.0 (Perfect!)

Tonight, in addition to the torture rack, we did some foot correcting exercises as well as “curl up” exercises (and despite the fact that they looked an awful lot like sit ups, Melissa assured me that we do not do sit ups in pilates, we do curl ups, which appeased me just fine – I hate sit ups!) and while we didn’t do that many, I’m figuring I’m probably going to be feeling what we did do tomorrow – I’ve got no base for core strength whatsoever! But that’s what I’m going to pilates for right? To build up a base.

She also introduced the “hundred” tonight and wants me to practice inhaling sharply for five counts and then exhaling sharply for five counts so that I can get to the point where I’m not thinking about the breathing process. However, I’ve never been all that good with the whole breathing thing, and this exercise feels like I’m snorting eucalyptus! But on the way home, I figured I’d give it a chance, so I breathed in 1-2-3-4-5, breathed out 1-2-3-4-5, breathed in 1-2-3-looked in the mirror-and OHMYGAWD! the scene looking back at me nearly gave me a heart attack. My eyes, I kid you not, were bulging out just like Roger Rabbit’s did every time his voluptious wife Jessica Rabbit walked into a room! I think I need more practice.

When exercising, does breathing come easy for you or are you like me and unintentionally hold your breath?

4 thoughts on “It’s a small world after all”

  1. we all hold our breath after awhile you will breath properly without thinking about it and its great for your entire body!!

  2. I haven’t done pilates in a while (although I want to get back into it) but when I practice yoga, I do often have to keep reminding myself to keep my breathing in sync with my movement. I guess time will make it become more second nature.

Leave a Reply