Barefoot & On the Mat 3/15-21: Spring Equinox Edition!

[JustSandra]

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 in a moment....

[JustSandra]

According to my calendar, the spring equinox (or fall equinox for our Anny) is Thursday 3/19.

I hope all my Barefoot Buddies are hanging in there during this challenging time.

As I mentioned last week, the public library where I work is still open, but given that other major library systems in California are closing I am pretty sure we will follow suit this coming week. Luckily I am well-prepared for an extended stay at home. I've been making a "to do" of activities in case we close, and ramping back up to "real" workouts is at the top of the list! Actually, I need to move on to "real" workouts even if I stay on the job.

Am also keeping an eye on the local superior court since I am on call for jury duty next week (3/23). I see that San Francisco has postponed all civil cases for 90 days, and that Los Angeles has discontinued new trials altogether. We'll see what Sacramento does.

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

[JustSandra]

Paine, glad to see you are continuing your walks!

[Paine]

This morning I walked in the neighborhood for 2 miles. Yesterday and today I'm really sore from Jari.

Sandra, Oops! I'm still out of sync with the days of the week since our move and completely forgot we needed to start a new week today. Thank you for starting us!
For now my workout room will be in our master bedroom (again!). I need to buy 2 more sets of dumbbells and a bigger stability ball but mostly I have what I need for my workouts here.

Beth, I do have some anxiety about getting the coronavirus but the situation is out of my hands so I might as well mentally prepare to get it.
I think your sister will be OK.

[Anny]

Paine your walks sound just right! Is it mostly a residential area or are there parks and trails to walk on?

Sandra new jury trials here are in abeyance. I love your term ‘real workouts’!

Today I am planning on a walking DVD for some extra steps - either Leslie or Jessica, my go to for walking workouts.

Hope everyone else is well!

[Paine]

Anny, we live in a residential area and that's where I do my walks but there is a Trader Joe's nearby that I can walk to. We have a small park down the street from us and we have a medium sized park within walking distance from our home. I can't wait to take my 4 year old grandson to the parks! Our daughter and her family will move here on the 27th.

[toaster]

So...it's been a weird week, to say the least.

Glad that others are checking in!

Sandra, it actually has been feeling like spring here...more so than usual for this area! That has been a bit of a bright spot. I am guessing that you might not have your jury duty; what a way to get out of it!

Paine, I think we are all at least a bit uneasy. It's hard to find the line between being prepared and overreacting, but you sound like you are doing okay with that. Hope your post-move settle-in continues to go okay!

Anny, your posts about how Australia is doing give me hope that we can pull it together as well; things have felt pretty grim at times in the past few days.

So, my week was filled with mostly yoga and off days...not much to post but I'll give it a shot anyway.

Monday
Ekhart Yoga (free online) - Calming Yoga

Tuesday
Melissa West Yoga (YT) - Yoga for Chronic Fatigue

Wednesday
Melissa West Yoga (YT) - Restorative Yoga without Effort

Thursday
no workout...
TAUGHT yoga at college and at studio

Friday
no workout...

Saturday
KB2 - warm-up + 1 kickbox combo
Melissa West Yoga (YT) - Find Your Center
Meditation with Lizzo (from IG) plus ballwork on my own

Sunday
Gentle Yoga Class w/Kyle

I went to class this morning at a local studio I sometimes go to that has 2 separate studio rooms. We were in the "smaller" one, but it's still large (about the size of the studio where I teach, and there were only 4 of us there total--me, my friend Sarah, one other student, and the teacher...and then I just got an email that the studio is closing for the next week.

The studio where I teach is staying open...for now. I told owner Ana that I planned to teach Thursday but that I might feel differently should the situation change further between now and then. All of the local K-12 schools are closed, so things are pretty shut down here.

Hope everyone stays healthy and safe!!!

[Garrie A.]

Sandra, thanks for starting us off! I'm ready for Spring. At the college I work at, (as of now) in-person classes are cancelled next week but the campus remains open, including the bookstore. On Friday, the campus will be closed completely for a deep cleaning. At the rec center I teach at, they are closed next week "at a minimum." So far, there have been no cases here in Southwest VA. Most of the coronavirus cases in VA are in the northern and eastern parts of the state.

Paine: I'm not worried if I get the coronavirus, but I'm worried if my Mom gets it, since she has COPD. Your walks sound nice!

I'm not going to post last week, since I was battling a bug. Towards the end of the week I got in a good metabolic workout and ride on the spin bike.

This week I'm working through Cathe's Slow & Heavy workouts (for the first time). Today was Chest & Back. I loved it! Such a refreshing change from the faster paced total body/metabolic workouts I've been doing the past few weeks. The "Heavy" in S&H is a bit of a misnomer since the slow tempo (6 counts up/2 counts down) really gets you. My muscles are still burning hours later.

Waves to all!

[toaster]

Garrie, glad you just had a bug! Most of the virus cases here are downstate too (NYC area)--we have had only 2 in the county where I live and none in the county where I work. I think all of the seemingly drastic measures are to keep in contained and to keep the mortality rate limited.

[JustSandra]

Hi yet again!

Back with

Today's Workout: I started with the 20-minute routine from Leslie Sansone's Walk Off Fat Fast. This one features an 80-year-old cast member -- I find her so inspirational! I then did episode 2001 from Margaret Richard's Unplugged Season 20, and finished with the 15-minute Total Stretch from Jessica Smith's Walk Strong 3 set.

This is the most "complete" workout I've done in quite some time! But after several months of keeping things gentle (for various reasons), I feel ready to start building back up.

Beth: Have to agree this past week has been weird! Unless/until my library closes, the weirdness will continue. Have to say the idea of hunkering down at home for several days, or even a couple of weeks, doesn't distress me at all.

Garrie: So glad you are feeling better!

Paine: How wonderful you have a Trader Joe's within walking distance! My TJ's is four miles away. I do have a Ross, a Home Depot and a Walmart grocery store just a short walk from my home, and Safeway and a CVS not much further (but in the opposite direction). None are exactly exciting, but certainly convenient.

Waving to all -- take care of yourselves!