Everything’s better on the weekends.  Even breakfast…..even though I overcooked my eggs a tiny bit.

I’m really into cranberry juice lately, especially the one from TJs that’s ONLY cranberries and not sweet at all.  It’s more of an acquired taste (aka, I almost spit it out the first time I tried it), but I’m still addicted.  i.e. food obsession of the week

Highlight of the weekend?  Rooftop yoga is back!!

It was sunny and fantastic.  56 people showed up– the most people ever to join (uh oh, the secret’s out!) and it was at least 70 degrees outside.  Felt so good.

So, you know what Monday is?  My half birthday!  Yes, I’m that much older.  It’s Monday Date Night anyways, so I’m making Jared celebrate with me.  When we were little, my mom would always get us cupcakes.  Ahemm…hint, Jared.

I thought today was a good day to revisit my “Bucket Year List” that I made on my birthday six months.  To recap, it was a list of 5 things I have always wanted to do…and insist on checking off this year.

But now that the year is half over…..how am I doing?   So-so is the honest answer.  but I still have 6 months left!

My goals were…..

1) See Fall foliage…..and I did that!  And yes, it was great.

2) Play tennis.   This one wasn’t planned until the spring anyways, so I haven’t started it yet.  My tennis partner has to recover form shoulder surgery first.

3)  Become a better skier.  Fail!  This one is not happening this year.  I didn’t ski once!  To my credit, there was no snow this year (like none, it’s really scary…I’m freaking out about global warming) and since Jared was recovering from surgery, we couldn’t go up at all.

So….I’m exchanging this one for something else on my long-term Bucket List…Enter the Pillsbury Bake-off!  I have a yummy recipe idea and I’ve always wanted to enter (who cares if I win, I just want to play!).  I think the entries open in April so will keep you posted.

4) Run more 5ks.  Sorta.  I’ve been running again in the mornings.  I haven’t done any official 5k races because the weekends have been so busy and I’m saving money…but this one can be considered on its way to sucess.  Must keep running the rest of the year.

5) Start a garden.  Well….our apartment looks like a forest somedays.  It is covered in plants, thanks to Jared.  I wouldn’t call it a garden per se, but I have managed to keep them alive and well.  Verdict’s still open on this one.  I should still buy some herbs or something special to grow myself, but this is certainly the most green I’ve had in an apartment than ever before.

And that’s it….I have a lot of “work” to do the next six months, but considering it’s been such a big six months and I threw wedding planning in there, I’m doing ok. So much has happened that my bday feels like forever ago!  I think the next six will be just as full and exciting.  Okay, now off to go find a cupcake to celebrate with.

Happy Monday!

– Do you celebrate/recognize your half birthday?
– What’s something on your “bucket list” that you’ve checked off this year (or want to check off)?
– What was the highlight of your weekend?

In the next segment of my Gym Class Challenge, I went to “BodyART” last night.

I was pretty excited after reading the description:

BodyART: “Ying meets Yang in this class that blends cardio, yoga, and dance based principles.  This workout is therapy for over-exercises and perfect for anyone looking to improve the functionality of the body from head to toe.  Use deep work training to release tension in the body and return it to the roots of what makes it one efficient and functional unit.” 

Dance, yoga, and make my body an efficient unit?  Yes, please!

So here we go: BodyART:

If you’ve ever tried discretely taking photos in a class, you know it’s not easy one bit!  I took two, but they’re terrible quality, so no judgements please

And what was it like?

The class was just what it said– a lot of yoga moves (lunges, downward dogs), a lot of ballet-style dance movements (plie, dance-like arm movements).

The first part of the class was more yoga inspired but with very flowing movements.  Cat & Cow, warrior positions, squats– all with a more dance-like quality to them.

We did 5 minutes of cardio in the middle.  Only 5 minutes?  Yep and it was great to push yourself because you knew it wouldn’t last long.  One of the fun cardio moves–  in plank position and then start running with your legs.  It was pretty cool, def gets your heart beating, and actually fun.

After every segment throughout the class, we came back to child’s pose, which was really nice and relaxing.

Child's Pose. Though looks like everyone in the mirror is doing something different- ha

We ended with stretches, some ab moves, and some dance-like moves.  I’m not a dancer so I have no idea what to call the moves.

Verdict:  It was different.  It felt good to stretch, I liked the music, and it’s fun to dance and get away from “normal” yoga.  My friend who I went with loved the class and plans to go regularly now.

Would I do it again?:  Probably not.  It was fun to try, but I got bored and felt like I could have stretched better on my own.  Also, I’m not into all the classes where they try to strengthen your thighs lately (aka, chair pose and squats) because let me tell you, my thighs are plenty large and muscular…..I want them thinner and those positions don’t seem to be a good fit for my body.

But once again, it was so fun to try something new.  Gym Class Challenge success for a Monday night!

Want to read about my other Challenge Classes?
Cardio Tai Box ,  Spinning ,  Aerial Yoga

Have you tried any new classes or workouts lately?

Ummm,  Anti-Gravity Yoga– what the heck does that mean?  With Wings?  No clue.

Whatever it is, sounded perfect for my “Gym Class Challenge.”

This class is immediately following my regular yoga class and I always see them bringing in these white hammocks.  I have been sooo curious what it’s all about, so I decided to try it this past weekend.

Of course, I looked it up before I went. 

Here’s the gym’s official description ”Anti-gravity yoga wings combines traditional yoga principles with elements from aerial acrobatics, dance, Pilates and calisthenics. …..using a flowing fabric hammock as a soft trapeze, you’ll learn simple suspension techniques to move into seemingly impossible inverted poses to relieve compressed joints and align the body from head to toe.”

I took some pics, but was trying to be sneaky and they didn’t come out amazing, so in case you’re having some trouble picturing what it looks like, here you go:

Cool, huh?!

I walked in and everyone was already ”expertly” hanging up their own hammocks and floating in them.

The room set-up was pretty neat.  The instructor (there were two of them– one to lead class and the other to walk around and help people.  The second one also went around with incense so the room smelled very zen).

Sneaky in-class photo while we were setting up the hammocks

The first half of class was more athletic.  We sat in the hammocks pushing our bodies in different ways, using the hammock as a guide.  We did lunges with one leg resting on the hammock.  We flipped into a “mission impossible” type pose low to the ground.

The second half was more restorative.  We swung on the hammock like a swing.  We did modified downward dogs.  We sat with our legs stretched out.

Another shot of the room

The flips were really fun and I felt a little like I was in cirque de soleil or in my childhood gymnastics class.

It was also really hard.  They say it takes a few times before you get the hang of it, but learning the postures and finding the right balance with the hammock was a challenge.   The hammock allows your body to work muscles (especially some stomach and arms ones) that you can’t reach in regular yoga.  I am sooo sore today!  It’s a good feeling though and so this is definitely a good workout.

Conclusion:

My verdict?  It’s very unique, a good workout, and if you are bored with yoga, it’s a great way to try something new.  The instructors were great and very helpful.  I’m so glad I tried it!  Was a really neat, new experience.

Will I do it again?  I’m not sure.  I like my normal yoga class.  This was different, but I don’t think I liked it enough to go every week.

I’m so happy that my gym offers this class– I’ve said a few times that I’m not a big fan of my gym, but way to go!   I’m def going to tell all my friends to try the class– everyone should do it once.

Do they offer Anti-Gravity Yoga at your gym?  I know it’s taking off in NY and LA, but not sure if classes are offered in other cities yet.  And regardless if they do or not– think you’d try it?

As a San Franciscan, I just had to write about this– The SF Airport just opened the VERY FIRST airport Yoga Room.

Yep, you read that right.  While you’re waiting for your flight, you can pop in for some downward dog and pigeon poses.  No more flipping through magazines while your flight is delayed.  Instead, you can stretch out those legs.

Yes, us San Franciscans are very zen.  So zen that we need a respite from the stress of travelling.

Airport designers recently decided that travelers should have a FREE place to relax and find balance in an otherwise stressful environment. And Voila!  We now have our very own yoga room.

The room is, “bathed in calming blue light, with a floating wall said to symbolize a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind. Lights in the room are low and warm — to counteract the bright concourse — and loaner mats are supplied.” source

Signs of a person in a lotus position are all over the airport directing people to the Yoga Room.

They even had an opening this week that featured granola and fresh fruit.  Instead of a ribbon cutting, they did a sun salutation.  How very un-airport like!

Random or Cool?

Here were my initial thoughts/questions—

• Um, I sometimes do travel in sweats, but not really yoga clothes.  Are there going to be people there in jeans and business suits?  Or is this place only for those in yoga-friendly clothes.
• Who has that much time in between flights?
• Because I most definitely will NOT be travelling with my yoga mat,  do you think their mats will stay clean?  I doubt it’s the first priority of the airport janitorial staff and travelling makes you extra dirty anyways….so that could be really, really gross.
• It’s really random.  I’m not sold yet and think the space might better be used with, say, a FREE MASSAGE ROOM, but the more I think about it, the more I think it could be a neat idea.

If you want more details, check out THIS article.  All photos courtesy of SFO.

QUESTION—–  SOOOO-  What do you think?  Cool and you’d use it?  Or wayyyyy too random?

Regardless of if I do any poses, I’m totally gonna pop my head in and check it out the next time I’m at the airport.