Barefoot & On the Mat 3/29 to 4/4: The best way to relax your jaw is...

Paine · 03-29-20, 09:27 AM

...with a smile!

Greetings and welcome to the weekly Barefoot & On The Mat check-in thread! This is a long-running VF check-in. We're a cozy, friendly group who enjoy a wide variety of workouts, but we have a special fondness for those traditionally done without shoes. If you enjoy yoga, pilates, barre, qi gong, Classical Stretch/Essentrics, Ellen Barrett, etc. (or even if you simply prefer doing traditional workouts without shoes!) you'll feel right at home.

Please feel free to join in. We love hearing from new, returning and guest Mat Mavens. Our welcome mat is always out!

Back later with my workout....

Paine · 03-29-20, 10:43 AM

2 mile walk in my neighborhood
Beth's Supported Face-Down Twist with a Bolster

This morning I went for a 2 mile walk in the sunshine. It's a pretty day outside. Beth's supported face-down twist felt relaxing afterwards--thank you Beth!

JustSandra · 03-29-20, 11:17 AM

Hi all!

Paine, thanks for starting us off this week!

I'm going out soon for at least a SPW (Short Pointless Walk) before more rain moves in this afternoon. I'm excited that after today we have a week of forecasted clear skies and highs in the 70s where I live.

If any of you are interested in seeing my niece's online offerings please PM me. I'll send you her name and you can "friend" her on Facebook (I've already told her about this). This will allow you to see what she has filmed so far. She did a yin yoga practice (focusing on legs, because she feels a lot of people are walking more right now) on Friday evening. She had to wait until her daughter (my grandniece) was asleep before rushing over here to prepare. We set up a corner of my workout room with one of my round yoga mats, some candles, and a buddha I borrowed from my patio.

My niece filmed it with her smartphone, and had her laptop in front of her so she could see how she looked and also see viewers' real time comments. I stayed out of the way in the living room, but watched on my tablet. She kept the door open, so naturally my boy Karma made a cameo appearance LOL!

The result isn't exactly a polished production, but I think my niece did well and of course it was a learning experience. For example, we played background music from an Amazon Prime station -- until my niece was sent an online message from Facebook stating she wasn't licensed to do this and to turn it off! I never thought of that. She also got helpful comments from her friends on things that can be improved for next time (better lighting, for example).

Besides the Friday yin class, my niece also presented a flow class the following day (filming from a friend's martial arts studio). She's also helping her friend present some online classes since of course the studio is closed.

Waving to all -- be back later with today's workout!

cyana · 03-29-20, 01:16 PM

Hope everyone is doing well. I spent all yesterday afternoon working in my yard, trying to rip out some of the weeds on steroids and do a little pruning (most assuredly not a one day job). As a result, my arms are a bit sunburned, so I think my outdoor travels will be limited to a SPW. I'm also going to do some yoga and qi gong.

I heard a loud squawking outside my office window this morning and when I got to the window, could see a crow in the house finch nest on my front porch. I ran to the door to chase it off, but suspect the crow ate the finch eggs. I never see crows close to my house.....I can only guess the crow was watching mom and dad and figured out they were taking care of a nest. Mother Nature can be a cruel girl sometimes.

I'll miss the happy little finch songs.

Anny - A belated happy birthday to you with best wishes for many more years of happiness and good health.

Sandra - Thanks for the LPW/SPW acronyms. Hooray that your niece got up and running with her yoga classes, and I love that Karma made a guest appearance.

Unfortunately I'm not on FB, so I can't check it out.

Beth - I hear you about feeling tired. I'm mentally drained with all the coronavirus news and being short-staffed at work. Thanks for posting the yoga practices.

I hadn't seen those bracelets before - those are cute.

Garrie - I'm not on FB, but thumbs up to you for posting a work-out.

Hope everyone in your family is staying well.

Carolyn - I'm so jealous that you got to see Leonid & Friends! I'm thinking some Kundalini yoga would feel good right now.

Paine - I'm so happy to hear that your daughter and family arrived safely this week.

I loved the story about going on a walk with your grandson - I imagine that cactus was definitely a curious looking thing! Speaking of worrying about moose and bears - did you see the clip of the NBC reporter who was doing the live shot from Yellowstone and the bison started walking toward him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNSkmTQwC9E I thought about you and the moose!!

I hope all is well with Gayle and her DH as well as Linda and Meow.

Time to scrub out the litter box while the beast is taking a nap.

toaster · 03-29-20, 03:06 PM

Paine, how nice that you started us off today--that makes me glad b/c it seems like you are getting settled in there!

And so glad you liked my practice as well. I think I'm going to try to get into a routine of how I film the practices: I'm thinking about doing the meditations 2-3x/week (likely MWF), the longer focused yoga on Tuesdays, and the restorative yoga on Thursdays. I'll have to try that out this week.

Sandra, we are getting rain moving in too; I hear it thundering now (ETA: add it just started pouring)! DH & I got in a nice MPW (moderate or medium) a little bit ago, and it was so sunny and nice. I would be interested in seeing your nieces videos; it would be nice to compare notes with someone--plus I love yin. I sent you a message on FB.

cyana, I saw a meme that said "it's like Mother Nature has sent us to our rooms to think about what we've done."

I thought that was fitting!!! My extra tiredness seems to have passed; it could have been related to TTOM. We saw geese squawking on the roof of a neighboring house the other day; I've never seen them on the roof before!

My exercise week was fairly consistent but mostly yoga; I meditated most days too.

Monday work-from-home Day 1
KB2 - Warm-up + Kickbox combos 1 & 2
Ekhart Yoga (YT) - Finding Resilience Together (live class at noon EST)

Tuesday
30MTF Build & Burn - Legs & KB/KB premix (about 20 minutes)
Jennifer Kreatsoulus (YT) - Standing Practice to Uplift Your Energy
YogaVibe585 (YT, local studio) - Wall Stretching with Jesse

Wednesday
Renee Allen Yoga (VFer on Vimeo!) - Restore & Relax at HOme

Thursday
Tracy Campoli (YT) - Love Your Arms
Lucy WR (YT) - Arms Workout at Home without Weights
Jennifer Kreatsoulus (YT) - A Practice for Being Present
Ekhart Yoga (YT) - Finding Resilience Together (live class at noon EST)

Friday
Lee Holden (online emergency kit) - Qi Gong for Anxiety
Charisma Yoga Bar (YT, local studio) - 20-Minute Seated Yoga with Carol (my friend!)
Ekhart Yoga (YT) - Finding Resilience Together (live class at noon EST)

Saturday
recumbent bike, 5 minutes (as warm-up)
Garrie on Facebook - Upper & Lower Circuit (1st 2 rounds, about 15 minutes)
Yoga International (FB) - A 25-Minute Practice to Calm the Nervous System

Sunday
YogaVibe585 (YT) - Virtual LIVE yoga class with Jesse
Fabulous 50s (YT) - 5 minute Toned Arm Workout for Mature Women

I highly recommend the weekday live practices from Esther Ekhart; they are such a nice combo of gentle movement and meditation. I also highly recommend the gentle practices from Jennifer Kreatsoulus. They are designed for eating disorder clients but are great gentle routines for anyone at about 20 minutes each.

Waving to all--take care!!!

luvcritters · 03-29-20, 05:01 PM

Hi! I hope everyone is well. My wrists are less painful after two cortisone injections in each one and wearing braces as often as possible. They'll never get better, only worse, but as long as I don't hold the tablet the pain is manageable. I can finally do something besides squats and lunges. I'm still seeing the man once or twice a month as his schedule allows. It's been 5 months and is getting serious. I hope he stays healthy. I did a Leslie video a week ago. I thought she might not hurt my hips like she used to but she did.

cyana - Meow Meow is fine but she's having a bad day. Two neighbors are mowing and she hates mowers.

Today I did Older Wiser Wonderful Easy Does It. It was cardio with a little strength training and stretching. Sue used to get on my nerves but she grew on me and I like her.

toaster · 03-29-20, 05:46 PM

Linda, sounds like you are hanging in there! Good to hear from you, and happy to hear that the relationship is still going strong!

luvcritters · 03-29-20, 07:09 PM

Hi Beth, I watched a few your practices on YouTube. Thanks for doing that for everyone. I'm slowly starting to use my wrists more. I'm afraid to do anything with my hands supporting some of my body weight. I don't want to do a face plant. LOL If the man stays healthy, he's a corrections officer in a state prison, he'll spend a few days with me next week. He was here for a day last week. He can only be here once or twice a month but we spend hours on the phone most days.

My man friend brought a big multi-station strength training thing to me. He uses 70 or 80 pounds on it and I play with 10 or 20. Weakling!

Paine · 03-29-20, 07:12 PM

Cyana, ah I hope the crow didn't eat the finch eggs. Yes, Mother Nature can be cruel. I chuckled at the newscaster and bison story!
I too hope that Gayle and her DH are doing good.

Sandra, your niece's yoga classes on Facebook sound great. How cute that Karma made a cameo appearance in a video!

Beth, I'm slowly getting into a routine here which is good (although I'm frustrated with the limitations on my being able to go out of the house and shop at the stores I want to go to

).

Linda, it's good to hear from you. How nice that things are going well with your man!
I hadn't heard of Older Wiser Wonderful Easy Does It--I'm off to google it...

luvcritters · 03-29-20, 07:32 PM

Paine - OWW Easy Does It is slower than the usual Older Wiser Wonderful workouts and has less strength training. It was a good one to use to come back to video workouts.

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03-29-20, 09:27 AM
Paine VF Supporter Join Date: Sep 2010	Barefoot & On the Mat 3/29 to 4/4: The best way to relax your jaw is... ...with a smile! Greetings and welcome to the weekly Barefoot & On The Mat check-in thread! This is a long-running VF check-in. We're a cozy, friendly group who enjoy a wide variety of workouts, but we have a special fondness for those traditionally done without shoes. If you enjoy yoga, pilates, barre, qi gong, Classical Stretch/Essentrics, Ellen Barrett, etc. (or even if you simply prefer doing traditional workouts without shoes!) you'll feel right at home. Please feel free to join in. We love hearing from new, returning and guest Mat Mavens. Our welcome mat is always out! Back later with my workout....

03-29-20, 10:43 AM
Paine VF Supporter Join Date: Sep 2010	2 mile walk in my neighborhood Beth's Supported Face-Down Twist with a Bolster This morning I went for a 2 mile walk in the sunshine. It's a pretty day outside. Beth's supported face-down twist felt relaxing afterwards--thank you Beth!

03-29-20, 11:17 AM
JustSandra Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Sacramento, CA	Hi all! Paine, thanks for starting us off this week! I'm going out soon for at least a SPW (Short Pointless Walk) before more rain moves in this afternoon. I'm excited that after today we have a week of forecasted clear skies and highs in the 70s where I live. If any of you are interested in seeing my niece's online offerings please PM me. I'll send you her name and you can "friend" her on Facebook (I've already told her about this). This will allow you to see what she has filmed so far. She did a yin yoga practice (focusing on legs, because she feels a lot of people are walking more right now) on Friday evening. She had to wait until her daughter (my grandniece) was asleep before rushing over here to prepare. We set up a corner of my workout room with one of my round yoga mats, some candles, and a buddha I borrowed from my patio. My niece filmed it with her smartphone, and had her laptop in front of her so she could see how she looked and also see viewers' real time comments. I stayed out of the way in the living room, but watched on my tablet. She kept the door open, so naturally my boy Karma made a cameo appearance LOL! The result isn't exactly a polished production, but I think my niece did well and of course it was a learning experience. For example, we played background music from an Amazon Prime station -- until my niece was sent an online message from Facebook stating she wasn't licensed to do this and to turn it off! I never thought of that. She also got helpful comments from her friends on things that can be improved for next time (better lighting, for example). Besides the Friday yin class, my niece also presented a flow class the following day (filming from a friend's martial arts studio). She's also helping her friend present some online classes since of course the studio is closed. Waving to all -- be back later with today's workout! __________________ Sandra "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson

03-29-20, 01:16 PM
cyana Join Date: Dec 2001	Hope everyone is doing well. I spent all yesterday afternoon working in my yard, trying to rip out some of the weeds on steroids and do a little pruning (most assuredly not a one day job). As a result, my arms are a bit sunburned, so I think my outdoor travels will be limited to a SPW. I'm also going to do some yoga and qi gong. I heard a loud squawking outside my office window this morning and when I got to the window, could see a crow in the house finch nest on my front porch. I ran to the door to chase it off, but suspect the crow ate the finch eggs. I never see crows close to my house.....I can only guess the crow was watching mom and dad and figured out they were taking care of a nest. Mother Nature can be a cruel girl sometimes. I'll miss the happy little finch songs. Anny - A belated happy birthday to you with best wishes for many more years of happiness and good health. Sandra - Thanks for the LPW/SPW acronyms. Hooray that your niece got up and running with her yoga classes, and I love that Karma made a guest appearance. Unfortunately I'm not on FB, so I can't check it out. Beth - I hear you about feeling tired. I'm mentally drained with all the coronavirus news and being short-staffed at work. Thanks for posting the yoga practices. I hadn't seen those bracelets before - those are cute. Garrie - I'm not on FB, but thumbs up to you for posting a work-out. Hope everyone in your family is staying well. Carolyn - I'm so jealous that you got to see Leonid & Friends! I'm thinking some Kundalini yoga would feel good right now. Paine - I'm so happy to hear that your daughter and family arrived safely this week. I loved the story about going on a walk with your grandson - I imagine that cactus was definitely a curious looking thing! Speaking of worrying about moose and bears - did you see the clip of the NBC reporter who was doing the live shot from Yellowstone and the bison started walking toward him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNSkmTQwC9E I thought about you and the moose!! I hope all is well with Gayle and her DH as well as Linda and Meow. Time to scrub out the litter box while the beast is taking a nap. __________________ "People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway." — Mother Teresa "I've decided to grow old disgracefully." - Twigs

03-29-20, 03:06 PM
toaster Exchange Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Western NY	Paine, how nice that you started us off today--that makes me glad b/c it seems like you are getting settled in there! And so glad you liked my practice as well. I think I'm going to try to get into a routine of how I film the practices: I'm thinking about doing the meditations 2-3x/week (likely MWF), the longer focused yoga on Tuesdays, and the restorative yoga on Thursdays. I'll have to try that out this week. Sandra, we are getting rain moving in too; I hear it thundering now (ETA: add it just started pouring)! DH & I got in a nice MPW (moderate or medium) a little bit ago, and it was so sunny and nice. I would be interested in seeing your nieces videos; it would be nice to compare notes with someone--plus I love yin. I sent you a message on FB. cyana, I saw a meme that said "it's like Mother Nature has sent us to our rooms to think about what we've done." I thought that was fitting!!! My extra tiredness seems to have passed; it could have been related to TTOM. We saw geese squawking on the roof of a neighboring house the other day; I've never seen them on the roof before! My exercise week was fairly consistent but mostly yoga; I meditated most days too. Monday work-from-home Day 1 KB2 - Warm-up + Kickbox combos 1 & 2 Ekhart Yoga (YT) - Finding Resilience Together (live class at noon EST) Tuesday 30MTF Build & Burn - Legs & KB/KB premix (about 20 minutes) Jennifer Kreatsoulus (YT) - Standing Practice to Uplift Your Energy YogaVibe585 (YT, local studio) - Wall Stretching with Jesse Wednesday Renee Allen Yoga (VFer on Vimeo!) - Restore & Relax at HOme Thursday Tracy Campoli (YT) - Love Your Arms Lucy WR (YT) - Arms Workout at Home without Weights Jennifer Kreatsoulus (YT) - A Practice for Being Present Ekhart Yoga (YT) - Finding Resilience Together (live class at noon EST) Friday Lee Holden (online emergency kit) - Qi Gong for Anxiety Charisma Yoga Bar (YT, local studio) - 20-Minute Seated Yoga with Carol (my friend!) Ekhart Yoga (YT) - Finding Resilience Together (live class at noon EST) Saturday recumbent bike, 5 minutes (as warm-up) Garrie on Facebook - Upper & Lower Circuit (1st 2 rounds, about 15 minutes) Yoga International (FB) - A 25-Minute Practice to Calm the Nervous System Sunday YogaVibe585 (YT) - Virtual LIVE yoga class with Jesse Fabulous 50s (YT) - 5 minute Toned Arm Workout for Mature Women I highly recommend the weekday live practices from Esther Ekhart; they are such a nice combo of gentle movement and meditation. I also highly recommend the gentle practices from Jennifer Kreatsoulus. They are designed for eating disorder clients but are great gentle routines for anyone at about 20 minutes each. Waving to all--take care!!! __________________ Beth aka Toaster (she/her) *Follow me @YogiBethC* YouTube\|Instagram\|Facebook And yes, I am Reviewer Dr. Beth on Amazon.

03-29-20, 05:01 PM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Hi! I hope everyone is well. My wrists are less painful after two cortisone injections in each one and wearing braces as often as possible. They'll never get better, only worse, but as long as I don't hold the tablet the pain is manageable. I can finally do something besides squats and lunges. I'm still seeing the man once or twice a month as his schedule allows. It's been 5 months and is getting serious. I hope he stays healthy. I did a Leslie video a week ago. I thought she might not hurt my hips like she used to but she did. cyana - Meow Meow is fine but she's having a bad day. Two neighbors are mowing and she hates mowers. Today I did Older Wiser Wonderful Easy Does It. It was cardio with a little strength training and stretching. Sue used to get on my nerves but she grew on me and I like her. __________________ Linda Trust no one. - X-Files, and me. Comfort food only provides comfort while it's in your mouth. - Me

03-29-20, 05:46 PM
toaster Exchange Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Western NY	Linda, sounds like you are hanging in there! Good to hear from you, and happy to hear that the relationship is still going strong! __________________ Beth aka Toaster (she/her) *Follow me @YogiBethC* YouTube\|Instagram\|Facebook And yes, I am Reviewer Dr. Beth on Amazon.

03-29-20, 07:09 PM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Hi Beth, I watched a few your practices on YouTube. Thanks for doing that for everyone. I'm slowly starting to use my wrists more. I'm afraid to do anything with my hands supporting some of my body weight. I don't want to do a face plant. LOL If the man stays healthy, he's a corrections officer in a state prison, he'll spend a few days with me next week. He was here for a day last week. He can only be here once or twice a month but we spend hours on the phone most days. My man friend brought a big multi-station strength training thing to me. He uses 70 or 80 pounds on it and I play with 10 or 20. Weakling! __________________ Linda Trust no one. - X-Files, and me. Comfort food only provides comfort while it's in your mouth. - Me

03-29-20, 07:12 PM
Paine VF Supporter Join Date: Sep 2010	Cyana, ah I hope the crow didn't eat the finch eggs. Yes, Mother Nature can be cruel. I chuckled at the newscaster and bison story! I too hope that Gayle and her DH are doing good. Sandra, your niece's yoga classes on Facebook sound great. How cute that Karma made a cameo appearance in a video! Beth, I'm slowly getting into a routine here which is good (although I'm frustrated with the limitations on my being able to go out of the house and shop at the stores I want to go to). Linda, it's good to hear from you. How nice that things are going well with your man! I hadn't heard of Older Wiser Wonderful Easy Does It--I'm off to google it...

03-29-20, 07:32 PM
luvcritters VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Paine - OWW Easy Does It is slower than the usual Older Wiser Wonderful workouts and has less strength training. It was a good one to use to come back to video workouts. __________________ Linda Trust no one. - X-Files, and me. Comfort food only provides comfort while it's in your mouth. - Me