Pilates with a Disability

I went back to Pilates for the first time after spraining my ankle. It was kind of harder than i thought but still a success, I believe. Since most of it is done on a mat, I could still do quite a bit. I had to forego any of the exercises/poses on "all fours" position. The rest were doable. however, I realize that the cam-walker weighs about 5 pounds and that added quite a bit of weight to exercises where I had to lift my right leg and foot. My upper body was craving the stretching after using crutches for a few weeks. My left hip is also sore and feels a bit better now. I think because the cam-walker is like 2-3 inches high and if I wear a tennie runner on the other foot, my feet are different lengths and that throws off my walking. I wore a low heeled boot today on my left foot and that seems to be helping a bit.The only down side is that I am exhausted now. I think I will be going to bed soon!

A Small World Encounter...

I had to blog tonight about my pilates class after putting the girls to bed. My mom was nice enough to watch the girls and I dropped them off and went to the 6:30 p.m. class instead of my usual. The class was great but pretty hard tonight. I really sweated! However, after class, one of the other students comes over to me and says, "Are you Lisa?" I was looking at her and said, "yes," but frankly, I had no recognition of this person at all. She was beautiful and fit, but I had no idea who she was. Anyway, she proceeds to tell me she is my old friend Cathy from elementary school. I had not seen her since high school I think, but a number of years ago, we somehow got back in touch via email and have been trading Christmas cards over the past 10 years I think, while never actually being in the same place to meet. Anyway, she currently lives in the San Fernando Valley but has been attending this pilates class for about 4 years. Somehow, in all that time, we never took a class at the same time. I guess I should be amazed that she recognized me as I would never have recognized her! I am looking forward to getting to know her again.

TGIF but I am still Grumpy!

I really wanted to post about something positive but I don't think I have it in me at the moment. My husband just called to let me know his flight has been cancelled due to ice and he can not fly out of New York until tomorrow, meaning he won't be home until 11 p.m. tomorrow. Ugh, I was so looking forward to a little help after a long tiring week. But I refuse to whine in this blog today! So let's think of a few positive thoughts...

Well, I can say they finally fixed my lights this morning so I am no longer in the dark at work! (Although I must admit my office is very very very bright! Thank you flourescent lighting.)

Another positive thought is that it is almost the weekend and Superbowl weekend at that with a superbowl party to look forward to.

I have completed 4 full weeks of Pilates with no absences and this week did manage to walk about 6 miles. So I can say my exercise plan is progressing nicely.

Theonly other positive thing I can think of at the moment is that my headache appears to be responding to Motrin and soon will be only a memory.

Pilates, Peace, and Me

I went to my Pilates class last night and I have to say I love, love, love it! I started over a year ago but then quit for a while when I decided to go to a bootcamp to jump-start my fitness plan. I just could not afford to pay for the pilates class when bootcamp was costing me an arm and a leg. I did the boot camp for about 8 months. http://www.805bootcamp.com There were parts of the bootcamp I really liked. I enjoyed getting a full workout completed by 6:30 a.m. each morning. I liked being able to work out before my family was even awake to avoid cutting into my time with my family in the evening. I liked how powerful it made me feel. Alas, running outside on concrete and asphault was starting to mess up my knees. And although the staff, especially Randy and Sarita the owners, are the sweetest people ever, I just never did agree with some of their polarized views on diet and exercise. I am not an all-or-nothing person and strive towards flexibility and moderation. And it was hard to get there when my husband was going out of town two weeks out of the month.

Anyway, I began to think about Pilates and realized it was the only exercise I ever did that i truly enjoyed. I have to admit I have never done a formal pilates program with the machines and all, just a group class with our local parks and rec. But the instructor is fabulous, both encouraging and supportive, full of modifications for all medical or physical limitations. It truly is a mind-body experience with lowered lights and soothing music, yet it really makes me work hard. I would do it every day if I could and this is amazing when you consider my exercise track record. Alas, Debbie only teaches the class two evenings a week, but every tuesday and thursday after work you will find me there. Now, i just have to work on re-introducing some other workout on the days pilates is not offered!