Barefoot & On the Mat: May 2022
 

:sun: “All things seem possible in May.” :sun:
~Edwin Way Teale~

If you are lurking, please pop in and say hello! We are fun, friendly, diverse group. We are especially fond of barefoot workouts….Pilates, yoga, barre, CS/Essentrics, Qi Gong, dance. Some of us even like to do our cardio and strength workouts sans shoes. There are no rules here, everyone is welcome! Roll out your mat, slip off your shoes, & join us! :)

Didn’t see a new thread so thought I’d start us off. :)

Today is a planned rest day as I did my marketing this morning, laundry and will do batch cooking for the week.

Pam, thank you for starting our month of May thread! :music:

Beth, what rotten luck for your DH's nephew to get covid 3 times! He probably had all 3 variants.

Cyana, I was always uncomfortable when bear were in our neighborhood (sometimes in our backyard!) when we lived in Alaska. We had moose in our yard all the time but they didn't frighten me like bear did.
Thank you for the wonderful YouTube music links--I enjoyed them!

Sandra, my DH loves being retired and I'm sure you will too. :)

Pam, thanks for starting us off! That's a nice quote. :sun:

Paine, luckily, I don't think he's been very sick any of those times. He probably has some good antibodies by now! ;)

Speaking of which, I got my 2nd covid booster yesterday morning. By the time we went to bed last night (surprisingly, I made it through all of Amadeus), I was feeling achy and chilled, and I had a restless night. I've taken it slow today but feel mostly recovered now.

Quick fly by....haven't worked out yet and the day is getting away from me - yikes! At least I got in my breath work, meditation and stretching routine this morning.

I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but YMAA sent me an email yesterday with a handful of tai chi/qi gong streaming videos for $1 (you could pick one) to celebrate World Tai Chi/Qi Gong Day, so I got Helen Liang's Tai Chi for Women. She has an interesting history - she was diagnosed with lymphoma some years ago and was advised to have a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. She decided against it and is still around and appears to be quite healthy.

Paine - I'm glad you enjoyed the video links. :cool:

Beth - Glad to hear you're feeling better today.

Must run and get some things ticked off the to do list. Waves to ALL!

Hi!

Yogapam: Thank you so much for starting us off this month! I like that quote too. :)

Today's Workout: The Upper Body routine from Jessica Smith's first Walk Strong set. Earlier today I walked outside for an hour.

Question -- does anyone here have any experience with Planet Fitness? I'm giving consideration to joining an inexpensive gym :eek: for some varied cardio and maybe a few of the strength machines.

Beth: When my niece and grandniece got Covid earlier this year (it was my niece's second time!) they both felt pretty sick for about one day, then much better after that.

Waving to all!

Todays workouts:
~Qi Gong 30 day challenge: day 1
~BellyFit Rising Creativity
~Strength circuit day 1
~Long stretch & yin poses

Sandra - I haven’t gone to a gym in decades so I have no opinion to offer.

Beth - Sounds like the booster wasn’t too bad. I hope to get mine next month.

Paine - I’d freak if a bear strolled through my yard! :eek: We do have the occasional bear or cougar sighting around here as we are semi rural, but I’ve never seen them myself. Cougars are the main reason I don’t walk in the trail system alone.

Cyana - Enjoy your new video!

Waves to all!

Good morning all!

Pam, thank you for starting us off. :)

Yesterday's workouts:
- Bellyfit DOTM #4 Passion and Flowers - nice
- HealthBarre 40 minute class with Adelaide :heart:
- Karin Embody - Anatomy Spiral Line

This morning, all around 15 minutes:
- Chiball Energise & Tone - Segment 3
- Ellen B Quick Core Fusion
- Kassandra for the Hips (Water Element). :love: I'm really liking these short classes.
- Karin Embody - Functional Anatomy Spiral Line

Sandra - Thank you for the link. :) I've found the series on Youtube and will see how it goes, so long as there are not a load of advertisements. I haven't belonged to a fitness club in years. When I was living in Seattle, I went daily after work and really enjoyed the classes as well as the social interaction. It may be worth checking out, especially if you're not committed to a long-term membership.

Pam - I was quite excited that Alice had released some new 20 minute workouts. Just glad I didn't rush in and buy them, as they're the workouts featured in her Daughters of the Moon workshops! Cougars :eek:, I can see why you wouldn't want to walk the trails on your own.

Paine - I'd be freaked out too if there were bears in my backyard!

Beth - Glad you recovered quickly from your second booster.

Cyana - Sounds like a great deal. Did you succumb? I did this really strange qigong class with Pete C last week. With his intention, he was pushing us in different directions while we were standing in mountain pose. The weird thing was that it worked! Kind of spooky!

Waves to Pat, Carolyn and all.

Good morning, Happy Moan Day! It was so hard to get up at 5:30 a.m. :( I swear, sleeping until you natural alarm goes off is so much healthier. Yesterday I accomplished:

~ Holding Qigong Challenge Day 1
~ My own PT
~ Walk at beach
~ 6,563 steps

The walk was beautiful, the incessant wind gave us a break and I was even able to sit and meditate.

I'll be back to catch up in a bit ....

Yin Yoga with Mimi Solaire (Leg and Hip Yin Yoga practice)
Jackie's Essentrics class

Pam, seeing a cougar on a trail would scare me to death! You are wise to avoid walking alone there. On the few occasions that I went for a walk outside in Alaska, I would take bear spray with me.

Good morning!

Margot - I wondered if Alice’s new series was from Daughters of the Moon. I’ve done two so far and really enjoyed them, fun & flowy.

Paine - Nobody has ever been attacked by a cougar here but there have been numerous sightings over the years we’ve lived here. Deer are plentiful so they won’t go hungry. The sightings are sporadic, a few close together and then none for long time. I suspect the cats move around a lot. We have a neighbourhood Facebook page where they get reported so people are sure to keep their pets safe.

Waves to all!

Pam, thank you for starting us. Did you post about the cougar in April? I'll have to go back and look. They're so beautiful but I don't want to meet very closely.

Paine - now bears - I don't think so!!! Did you see grizzlies or "just" black bears? We are getting a lot of black bear sightings in towns that are set back closer to the woods - they're after bird feeders apparently. The moose must have left some pretty big "presents."

Sandra, I'm a Planet Fitness girl. It all depends on your club. My old one was a smelly pit but the new one is big and beautiful, and I love working out there.

Margot, thanks for mentioning that the new Bellyfits are excerpts from a larger package. That makes them more appealing to me.

Waves to all!

Pat, I love how you never mince words (e.g., the old PF being a "smelly pit"). :p On my in-office days I get up at 6:20 a.m., and that's still way early for me.

Sandra, I had a friend who belonged to a local PF but decided to quit. I think she may have had some trouble getting her money back - it could be worth checking out their policies on that.

Pam, wow about the cougar sightings!

Margot & Pam, yes, my 2nd booster reaction was pretty similar to the first - i.e., one comfortable night, feeling flu-ish for the first part of the next day, and then fine.

cyana, I just went back to the old thread to find your links. Thanks for sharing - I love American Pie (the song and the album). You should have joined in the singing! :o

Speaking of the American Pie album, Don McClean's song "Vincent" was on the playlist for Van Gogh Yoga last week - in fact, that son probably first made me aware of Vincent Van Gogh! Also, I don't remember if we discussed this story when it happened:
https://people.com/music/taylor-swif...ever-no-1-hit/

Good morning! Yesterday featured:

~ LWR Feel Amazing Challenge W1D1
~ Lee Holden 30 Day Challenge - Day 2
~ Bellyfit TV Season 1 - Grounding
~ 8,831 steps

I might buy myself the new Bellyfit spring package for my birthday. It's a little pricey, even on sale for $40, but the clips look like a lot of fun and they're 20 minutes long.

Beth, 6:20 sounds like a luxury! :D I forgot about the song Vincent. Long time ago.

Good morning to all!

Pat, if you think you would use the set, $40 seems reasonable for a b-day gift to self. :)

Happy Tuesday! :sun:

Winsor Pilates The Back Workout

Pam, thank goodness that no one has been attacked by a cougar out your way.

Pat, yes buy that new Bellyfit for your birthday!
I saw both grizzlies and black bears in our neighborhood. Mostly there were moose in our yard. Egads, every spring after the snow melted my DH would pick up the moose turds in our yard and put them in a 5 gallon bucket (which would get filled up half way).

I'm waving to everyone! :sun:

Yesterday evening I did:
- ETV Gail's live class, minus the floor work
- Pete Caughey - Qigong for the Eyes :love:

Today's workouts:
- HealthBarre Recorded Zoom class from April 29. This was a real toughie for the legs and butt but I loved it and also love the results!
- Somatics
- Long walk on our local Common

Pat - The Bellyfit DOTM classes are fun. Alice has great sales every so often and I bet they'll be even better priced if you can wait a while. Still... it is your birthday and you deserve it. ;) I agree with Beth; you have a way with words. My favourite of yours is 'Pants-O-Meter'.:D

Beth - I enjoyed reading about Don McClean and Taylor Swift.

Paine - Moose turds - now that would make exotic compost for the garden! I don't think I would have ventured out the house with all those bears around!

Have a great day everyone.

Saturday was a rest day that included a trip to Trader Joe’s. On Sunday, National Ride a Bike Day, DH and I did a morning bike ride. We did a little over 8 miles. I had forgotten that I signed up for Bird’s May Yoga Challenge, so when we got back I did that short 5-minute routine for the first day, Yoga Full Body Stretch (DAY 1) 7 Day Morning Yoga Challenge.

Monday’s Workout was Jessica Smith’s Upper Body Strength from Walk Strong 1 dvd AND Yoga with Bird’s new 15-Minute Morning Yoga Stretch (DAY 2) 7 Day Morning Yoga Challenge.

Today’s Workout – Kelly Coffey Meyer’s Lower Body Tabata from Build & Burn dvd AND Yoga with Bird’s 10-Minute Morning Yoga to FEEL INCREDIBLE! (DAY 3) 7 Day Morning Yoga Challenge. About halfway through the Tabata workout when Kelly was doing a Split Stance Plyometric move, she said, "Who designed this workout?” :D

EEKS about finding bears or cougars out on a walk. My SIL had to avoid an elk last summer in Payson, so we’ll know to be careful about that this summer.

Pam: Thanks for starting us off and providing such an uplifting quote for May. :heart

Sandra: I have been a home gym gal, so I can’t help with Planet Fitness feedback.

Beth: I got my second booster in March near the end of my Spring Break so I’d have a day off work to recover. It seemed a bit easier than the other shots, but I was still pretty tired and low energy the day after. I’d forgotten about Don McClean's song "Vincent"; it is hauntingly beautiful. And thanks for the link to the Taylor Swift/ McClean story; that was so sweet of her!

Pat: The new Bellyfit package sounds like a great Birthday present! I thought I’d be buying Jessica Smith’s new dvds as a birthday present to her (I think her BD is in March), but it looks more like it will be an (early) birthday gift more me.

Paine: After hearing about mouse turds, I’m thankful all we’ve had to deal with is rabbit turds on our grass!

cyana: Thanks for the update on Leonid and Friends. I checked their tour schedule and they will be in California in the fall, but nothing in Arizona at this time. I also feel old learning that the American Pie song is 50 years old! Yes, DH and I rode our bikes on National Ride a Bike Day! Had to do it in the morning before the heat set in.

Hang in there everyone; tomorrow is Hump Day!

Today I taught yoga and did this lower body routine from Heather Robertson:
https://youtu.be/pcJsP4gogsI

Carolyn, cool that you got to ride for National Ride a Bike Day! I need to get the tires on bike replaced and need to figure out a time to do that. And LOL, I really like that KCM routine and that line (answer = "oh yeah" [points to self] :D ). In fact, I just realized recently that I hadn't done it in awhile and put it on my "to do" exercise list.

Margot, I hadn't heard of HealthBarre - is it a streaming service? From the little I saw online, it looks kind of like Callanetics.

Paine, I am sure you are glad to be back in CA!!!

Hope everyone is managing okay so far this week. :heart:

Yesterdays workouts:
~Strength circuit day 2
~Essentrics class prep for tomorrow
~Quick stretch after

Todays workouts:
~Taught Essentrics
~Acupressure and long hip, shoulder, QL, & shoulder focused stretch & supported yin poses.

Regarding cougars, a quote from the internet….”An estimated 600-800 live on Vancouver Island making it the highest concentration for this mountain lion in North America.“ Crazy! There is a lot of mountainous wilderness on the island, the majority on the north & west sides, & that’s where most are. We haven’t had a sighting around here in a while, but occasionally someone posts video from their security camera of one strolling through their yard. :eek:

Paine - We don’t have grizzlies on the island, just black bears. A grizzly would be terrifying!

Pat - Yes if you really want the new BF series, I say treat yourself for your birthday! And it’s in Canadian $, a further saving for you!

Waves to all!

Good morning!

Today's workouts:
- ETV Amanda's class from May 3 (standing only)
- Karin's Functional Anatomy for the Lateral Line

Beth - HealthBarre is Sandra Hanna's streaming service. You're right, it is Callanetics and she offers Somatic classes as well. The two combined bring great results. I've always been bottom-heavy (pear shape). I remember, when I was 16 years old, a french boy saying I had footballer legs!:( In the last year I've gone down a pant size and my legs are in the best shape since I was doing the Firm way back when. Thankfully, no more football legs!

Pam - I'm amazed you have such a high population of Cougars in your area. Such beautiful animals but better viewed from afar. Have you ever seen one, even at a distance?

Waves to all!

Happy Wednesday! My Tuesday featured:

~ A Kassandra morning yin
~ LWR Feel Amazing Challenge W1D2;
~ 6,387 steps

Pam - I forgot about the Canadian dollars! :)

Crazy day at the office coming up - wishing you all a wonderful day. :heart:

Muscle & Grace Upper Body workout plus calves
Bendy Body (Release the Lower Back practice)

Beth, I miss the house we had in Alaska and the greenery during summers there but overall I'm happy to be back in CA. I love being within driving distance to my kids, my sister and nephew. :love:

Today’s Workout was Jessica Smith’s Waistline Work from her 5 Mix & Match Miles dvd AND Yoga with Bird’s 5-Minute Morning Yoga Full Body Stretch (DAY 4) 7 Day Morning Yoga Journey. Interesting that Days 1 through 3 were "Morning Yoga Challenge," while today was "Morning Yoga Journey."

Having DOMS today in my thighs and glutes after Kelly’s lower body workout yesterday.

Margot I thought she looked familiar - congrats on your results with her! I'm a pear shape too, and I've heard that other pear shapes have had great results with Callanetics and similar. I've tried to do a few rotations but never have gotten those results.

Pam, wow, that's something about the cougars there! :eek: I saw some stupid movies about grizzles when I was younger that scared me; they said that the grizzly was 2 stories tall, so I thought one could get me in my second floor bedroom. :o

Pat, did you decide to purchase? :)

Paine, I know how much you enjoy being near your family! :heart:

Carolyn, my own mix & match today was from KCM. ;)

Todays workouts:
~Taught Essentrics
~Functional fitness, the start of spring cleaning, today was cupboards & drawers
~Long stretch, yin, & acupressure as usual

Margot - Thankfully I have not seen a cougar, lol. :D Those are great results from HealthBarre!

Beth - We do have a lot of wilderness on the island along with plenty of deer & also elk further up the island. So the cougars have a plentiful food source. And it’s not heavily populated, less than 1,000,000 people total, most in the southern half.

Waves to all!

Keep getting 500 error! Will try to post later.

Good morning everyone! Yesterday featured:

~ LWR Feel Amazing Challenge W1D3
~ Lee Holden 30 Day Challenge - Day 4
~ GYM for 15/45/10 of treadmill, weight machines and arc trainer
~ 7,690 steps

Going crazy here! I'll come back to chat later today.

Miranda's Back Pain Relief and Prevention DVD (full workout)
CS 421 (Back Pain Prevention episode)

My lower back is tweaky so did some of Miranda's back pain workouts. I feel thankful that I have most of Miranda's DVDs.

Sandra, that 500 error is so annoying! Sometimes if I break up my post into two shorter posts then I am able to post.

Hello all!

I took it easy today, after waking up at 2.30 am:
- Ellen B Serene Strength
- Local walk through a couple of villages and open countryside
- Pete Caughey Qigong for the Eyes

Sandra - I hate getting that 500 server error! Hope you have more success later.

Pam - Good for you getting a start on your spring cleaning. We have some painting and decorating to do next week and then after that I plan to get going on mine.

Beth - I subscribed to Callanetics a few times over the years for a month or two and didn't see any results either. It took me somewhere between 2 to 3 months, doing 2 short and 2 long classes 4 times a week before I saw a real slimming down in my stomach, hips and legs. There is some upper body work but I like to add on some extra work from other instructors. Your grisly bear story is so cute. :love: When I was little, I used to hide behind the sofa when the daleks appeared on Dr Who!

ETA Paine - Sorry you tweaked your back. Hope the CS workouts helped.

Waves to all!

Margot, interesting about what you needed to do in order to see results. Oh yeah, some of those 70s TVs shows were scary! ;)

Sorry to hear some of you are getting errors. :(

Today’s Workout was Jessica Smith’s Cardio Dance Sculpt from her Total Body Balance dvd
AND Yoga with Bird’s 5-Minute Beginner Friendly Morning Yoga to Start Your Day! (DAY 5) 7 Day Morning Yoga Challenge
AND Yoga with Kassandra’s 10-Minute Morning Yoga for Energy 🔥 FIRE Element.

I’ve done the main cardio and sculpt workouts on Jessica’s Total Body Balance, but never Cardio Dance Sculpt. At 20 minutes with a combo of dancy cardio, barre, and bodyweight strength work, it was just what I needed for today.

Sandra: I was having trouble with the 500 error for a few days near the end of April, and the only work-around was to follow Paine's suggestion of posting shorter posts.

Pam: Good luck with the cleaning!

Paine: Hope your back is doing better.

Beth: Next week is my last work week for the Spring semester! I am looking forward to time off. More time for yoga!

Today featured….
~Qi Gong 30 day challenge: day 3
~My friends Essentrics class
~Yin yoga class by the fire :heart:

Ugh, the dreaded 500 error. :( I copied my post before I submitted it just in case….

Waves to all!

Carolyn, I am jealous! Classes still run another week for us, and then finals don't end until the 20th. :mad: After that I have one week working in which I have to finish up all my report writing, pack to move, move, and try to do anything else that comes up! :eek:

I had a good Franken-workout today that included several segments of Jill Miller's Massage Rx on the floor, a 10 minute Caroline Girvan triceps workout, 25 minutes on the recumbent bike, and a 15 minute mobility routine from Yoga with Tim. :)

Good morning and TGIF! I won't mind swiping out tonight, that's for sure. Yesterday featured:

~ LWR Feel Amazing Challenge W1D4 & 5
~ Lee Holden 30 Day Challenge - Day 5
~ Early evening walk around neighborhood;
~ 9,215 steps

It was a glorious afternoon and I even got DH out of the house to walk with me. I might walk down to my osprey nest this evening to take some field notes for the Audubon. The osprey cams are revealing the moms incubating eggs right now. I just observed a male return to the nest with half a fish for mama, who took it with her and flew off for a little break.

Beth - frankenworkout - love it :D I haven't caved on the Bellyfit spring set yet. Alice put up a Mother's Day sale featuring the Achemista set now. Decisions!

Margot, qigong for the eyes sounds like something I could use - I'll have to surf for some on YT.

Paine, how are you feeling?

Good morning to Pam, Caroline and anyone who visits today!

Happy Birthday Sandra.:music::sun::music: Wishing you every happiness in the coming year.

Today's workouts:
- Jessica Smith Fusion Flow with weights
- Pete C Qigong for the Eyes
- Short neighbourhood walk

Carolyn - Sounds like a lovely Jessica combination today. I keep looking to see if Jessica's new workouts are up on the site. Any day now, hopefully!

Pat -That's exciting news to hear the Ospreys are incubating. I'm terrible at making decisions. Good luck in deciding which of Alice's workouts to go for. Out of the blue two days ago, I got a floater in my left eye. I've had it checked out and everything is ok but I decided to do Pete's eye program daily to see if it makes any difference.

Paine, hope your back is ok.

Waves to Beth, Pam, Cyana and all.

Happy birthday Sandra! :music:

Sandra, lucky you to have a Friday birthday - hope it's a great day!!!

Pat, I think Garrie first coined the Franken-workout term; most of my workouts are actually FWs these days! :o

TGIF to all - hope it's a good day.

Unplugged 1901, 1902, 1903 (all lower body exercises plus abs)
Yoga in the Garden of Serenity (Neck & Shoulder practice)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR SANDRA!!! :music::music:
Are you doing anything special today?

Pat and Margo, my lower back is better, thanks for asking!

Carolyn, will you have the whole summer off from working?

Paine, I need YITGOS Neck & Shoulder today! Maybe at lunchtime...