Day 3:- Wednesday 10th June2020
What an awesome night’s sleep I had! As soon as my head touched the pillow I was out for the count and stayed asleep all night. Recently I have been waking up at 3am and staying awake for a couple of hours and then going back but not today.
I felt as though I leapt out of bed rather than the usual shuffle…… I still can’t believe the amount of movement/flexibility I have got going through my ankles. It is great. It is amazing that my knees are hurting less. I wonder if I don’t hurt as much because I am not stressed and there is less tension going through my body, or is it the weight-loss or is it because of the Yoga and Pilates? Who knows? Do I even care? Not really as my body feels great. Mind you I do want to bottle this feeling as I am sure there will be tough and challenging times ahead.
I arrive at the club way too early again, so I head out to the tennis court to hit a few balls. It’s great for me that there are so many empty courts and I can just go out and have a hit all by myself. Remember your ‘trophy pose’ for the serve…….Oh wow, my side bend feels great….. is it due to the ‘banana’ stretch yesterday? I hope I will carry on with Pilates and Yoga rather than going back to 120mph activities… OK that is one hell of an imagination I have got as if I got even run at 20mph going down hill let alone 120! Maybe I could just roll down a hill fast but run….. no chance!
I quickly head to the Spa Retreat Garden for Yoga……A different instructor for today’s session…. Ciara. She is really nice as well and so encouraging. There are only 2 other people in my class. The beauty of having small numbers in the class the instructor can tell you how to position yourself correctly. I so need to remember my right from my left! I am in the back row and I thought I would copy the lady in front but unfortunately she seems to have the same difficulties as me. It amazes me that if you change your position just a fraction it can make such a difference to your balance. My posture is appalling but I am hoping that through Yoga and Pilates this will gradually improve. I feel as though my head is starting to lift more. Ciara gives so many tips as to how we can improve our poses, focusing and drawing in breath or a slight push out on the outer edge of your foot, squeeze your ankles towards each other. My tree continues to sway in a force 9 gale today but once I focus on a point this improves. Today’s lesson followed soooo much quicker than yesterday’s session.
Oh gawd…… I am still in downward-dog and everyone else has stepped through…. and are heading towards the next pose. Tilt your pelvis, draw your belly-button towards your spine, keep your spine and pelvis neutral…. there is so much to remember. I can’t believe how hard I concentrate in the session….. and wobble!!
The session is done in the rain but you don’t really realise it is raining as you are so much in the moment you just seem to forget about what is going on around you. It is only when the instructor asks do you want to go down onto the mats… did I realise it was raining. Obviously I knew it was at the start of the class but totally forgot during the session. It is really refreshing….. However, I am thinking wearing a white t-shirt isn’t probably the best idea for sessions in the rain but it’s not that heavy.
Although, I am not always in the correct position and I am instructed to move part of my body a certain way to be in the pose…. I am loving it and slowly feel as though I am improving. I know my body is feeling the benefits and also my mind.
Wahooo Pilates
I absolutely love Pilates. I loved it before when I started Pilates after my knee operation. So I am hoping that by writing about my Summer Camp experience, I will have this reminder to carry on with it.
Why do I love it? It is gentle but challenging at the same time. Hardly any swelling of my knees. I can still feel my old knee crunching and shaking but it is pain-free. My co-ordination appears to have gone out of the window….. This tends to happen when I over-think things. Wahooo…. I got it but oh no….. direction change… I am like a rabbit in the headlights…. trying to work out which way my arms now need to go. Oh great….. I am now reaching for the sky on tip-toes….. Engage the core…. I actually am engaging it but at the moment there is a few extra layers of my own warmth that is preventing anyone from seeing that it is being engaged!
Oh no….. it’s too late…. I have started to giggle….. The class is so quiet and here I am giggling…. The instructor only said that it was a test for your co-ordination but she looked straight at me….. Pressure is on.. Come on Gregory compose yourself as you so know if you lose it with the giggling you have no chance to do anything…..Deep breath in…. maintain a focus…. Nope still not got…. thank goodness there is a pillar right by me as I kind of bounce of it!
It’s amazing how much difference there is between my left and right side of my body…. Why I am amazed by this I do not know as it is obvious there would be from years of playing squash! I am having to be a waiter with pizza trays…. I am so thinking yummy… does it come with ‘Doughballs’…. Oh no, I have drifted again…. I don’t tend to drift as much in Yoga… Not sure why.
Yeah I am now becoming a ‘human compass’ with lunges!! Lunge forward and back, 4, 3, 2, 1. Now to the East, centre, West centre. Lunge backwards and forward. OOPSS. a few wobble and a quick grab of the pillar….
Moving into Ballet moves….. now don’t think I am gracious during these movements… Swan Lake it is not……. But I totally admire all those dancers that train and have such amazing dedication, co-ordination and balance!
Rolling down in a box square for push-ups….. core strong…. with a tray of cocktails on your back… Opps think I have just dropped mine! Then stepping back to stand up and back down again……
Backdown on all fours and then right arm out, left leg back and change… All these movements are flowing..keep the core engaged.
OH NO….. we are moving towards working the butt…. I can feel the burn already and we haven’t started it yet. Staying on hands and knees, lifting the leg up, show me 8…. good and now leave it here and pulse. Remember to keep your core strong, squeeze your glutes. There were a variety of different exercises for your glutes. Hurrah…. those words I was waiting to hear….. Child’s pose. You are not in this position for long as the other side needs working to.
Back and Shoulders were worked and stomach muscles…. The core has been worked throughout all of the previous exercises but now we are targeting the deep and internal muscles…. We are waking them up….. I think mine have been asleep for years if not in a coma… but they are certainly awake now!
I can’t remember what else I did but I felt as though I have grown taller during the class. I have also learnt that my hips are narrower that what I thought they were….. this is because I was supposed to have my legs in line with my hips and my legs were out wider…. Every cloud and all that……
Oh we had a block and were allowed to use it like a pillow…. and rest our hand on the side… Don’t be fooled Gregory you have no chance of relaxing (even though the class is relaxing but you know what I mean…) Pretend you have a piece of chalk and draw around you…. and in the opposite direction. Oh and I was an oyster… lift, little squeeze and down.
We are also given a band so that we can stretch the hamstrings!
The instructor is Victoria…… She is very clear with her instructions and gives gently reminders about how to breathe into the stretch/movement. I so need these reminders otherwise I think I will be turning blue during the session. Her voice is very calming and encouraging.
The What’sApp message you love to get:- Tennis
I got a What’sApp message from Mel saying that the person she was playing has cried off and did I fancy playing earlier? ‘On my way now’ was typed so quickly!!
Before I know it I am back at the club…. Mel is already out on the court. It is such a lovely evening although there is a little sprinkle of rain. I feel as though I am moving so much better around the court. I know I still have a long-way to go but I am looking at how far I have already gone! I am getting more confident to move and lunge to hit the ball, however, I think I am supposed to take little steps to the ball.
My serve started off really strong but throughout the game it got worst and worst! But hey hoe that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I lost 3-0 but I won the beer match…. shame the bar is closed! I can’t believe how quickly the time went. We played for 2.5 hours. We had not realised that we had been on court for that length of time, it only became evident to us when we were heading back into the club and the lights went off in the bar! The patio door was locked…. OPPS… We thought we were locked out and started walking to check if we could get out… I couldn’t stop giggling…. no surprises there. We should have realised it was late as the couple that were playing on the court next to us had left! The last time, I looked at my watch was 7:35pm and it is now 8:11pm. Just as we were googling the phone number for the club whilst Mel was looking up her tennis coach’s number, David the Gym Manager appeared and he let us out via the side gate!!
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