Almost daily diary!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Did I mention that I was going to Pilates?!

Did I mention that I was going to a Pilates (prattes!!) class? It was an interesting experience.

It involved lots of deep breathing, lots of stretching and an exceeding amount of coordination. All in all it was harder than it looks! It was the coordination thing that really did me in! Remembering to breath in when you move that leg and breath out when you wave that arm and breath in again, keeping your tummy taut. It was all too much! I was sucking in when I should have been panting out and moving the left instead of the right. I fell over once too, well wobbled over really! Coordination was never my strong point!

And then there was the timing. A lunchtime class. When should I eat? If I went to the class hungry then my tummy would rumble embarrassingly during a quiet contemplative moment. Eat before I go and there may be, given a little exertion, the chance of accidental farting!! A difficult decision as you can appreciate!

Anyway there was one point when, as I was lying on my back staring at the ceiling, listening to lots of heavy breathing, I had to resist a very strong urge to laugh out loud! I just could see us all, from the observers point of view, panting and lurching about on the floor and it was very hard to take it all seriously. Concentrate, I kept thinking, you really must concentrate.

So I did try to concentrate because everyone else was very serious, and actually It felt very good. I'm sure it helped my back too and I'm definitely going again. One thing was disappointing though. No one was very friendly (and no I didn't accidentally fart!). At the end everyone just wandered out to their separate worlds. I guess I'll just have to rely on bloggyland for chatty folk!


18 comments:

BS5 Blogger said...

Hi Sub, Pilates of the Caribbean and all that!

What a shame no one took to being warm or friendly after. Was it a whole new class or were you joining an already established crew?

I am glad you back feels better for it.

Have a fine Thursday night.
Whilst on the subject of wind, running solo of a morning means this is never something one has to worry about! And at an all bloke class of circuit training it doesn't matter either as blokes would probably try to make it a loud one!

Maggie May said...

Pity they were so unfriendly. Had to laugh at the decision you had to make between your tummy rumblings or farting!
Pilates is supposed to be very good for bad backs.

Barbara said...

I used to go to pilates, it really helped by back, so I hope it will help yours. Shame the others were not very friendly.

Susan said...

Maybe they were afraid to be friendly so that they didn't get stuck inside talking and they left quickly because they were holding their farts inside and needed to go outside to let them go. You never know! I got kicked out of yogo for laughing ~way tooo much!

Leslie: said...

I wish I could do pilates, but my back is SO bad, it's impossible. I'll check it out after I'm all back to normal after my back surgery - WHENEVER that's going to be! *sigh*

XXYXX said...

And to think, I just thought Pilates was exercise for people too lazy to sweat. Shows what I know!

Shame they weren't friendly. I suspect you'll wear them down to a smile eventually.

Anonymous said...

Well there you go, accidental fanny farts are obviously the way in to pilates social discourse.

I didn't find them very friendly either, just annoyingly bendy and show-offy lol.

It's good for your bod, though. I bet other people were trying not to laugh too.

And ask yourself this, do I really want to be friendly with these street corner no-hopers lol lol?

Dori said...

Long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I followed video aerobics--my buns never turned to steel, by-the-way--I always found myself yelling at the perky instructor every time she said, "Now, don't forget to breathe!" Oh, that's why I kept passing out! I was forgetting to breathe! Thanks, Video Lady! Whew.

And, well done you on keeping in the gas! :D That's an accomplishment in itself with that sort of exertion!

Lindsay said...

I tried pilates at the local spa where I swim. I gave it up pretty swiftly for two reasons. The sensible reason was I could not hold my wonky knees in the right positions - the other reason, like you I wanted to laugh. The teacher, whilst we were relaxing at the end lying on the floor with arms outstretched, asked us to imagine some pleasant. All that came to my mind was that I must look like a spatchcock chicken!!!

Lindsay said...

Forgot to add - there is a little something over at my place!

Akelamalu said...

I do Pilates. In fact I have a Pilates performer, (google it to see what I mean if you haven't seen one). I have never been to a class but I would imagine it is a solitary exercise even in a class.

Jon M said...

Yoga's the one for friendly folk, it's easier to spell too!

cheshire wife said...

Stick with it. The Pilates will be good for your back and I expect that it will take a few weeks to get to know people.

Rose said...

Can you hear me laughing all the way over the ocean?:) I would have been falling over, too, and worrying about how I looked or what strange sounds might come out:)

I'm glad your back felt better afterwards, though; I hope you stick with it, even if the group is unfriendly.

One of these days I'll have to do a post on my Tai Chi class. It's not as hard physically as pilates, but it's so good at stretching out all your muscles. After a year, I'm still not very good at it--you have to remember the foot positions, then the arm movements, and then on top of that remember when to breathe! I can understand why it's good for preventing Alzheimer's:) The great thing about the class is that everyone is so friendly; we all went out for lunch together at the end of the last session. Maybe your group will warm up, too.

Hadriana's Treasures said...

I was going to try Pilates soon...hmm maybe I won't have that curry the night before!!

Mean Mom said...

I have a couple of friends who go to pilates, but I'm not sure that it's for me! I tried yoga, a few years ago, but I didn't find the class at all friendly. I gave it up, because I found it really boring and had difficulty staying awake during the relaxation period at the end. I've also tried aerobics, in the past, but couldn't keep up! I ended up stretched out on the floor, with the teacher asking me if I was OK!

I hope you don't mind me asking, but I've seen that you also follow jules at Just Because. I can't get on to her site, today. I just get the message that I haven't been invited. Do you know what's going on?

Mean Mom said...

Thanks for your reply at my place!

Kitty said...

I used to go to a yoga class and it started out unfriendly too. After a while, people 'thaw' a little though. Keep at it! x