My trip to NYC was so inspiring, filled with excitement, new
pathways of living out loud and moving.
Did I ever move!! If
I wasn’t running from one studio to another I was dancing my way through the
hotel lounge.
What were the days like?
As soon as I got settled into my hotel, which was by far one
of the coolest places I’ve stayed, The Gramercy Park Hotel on the park. Yep and they have a key to the park. I put my yoga clothes on and got at it! Went to OM Factory in Union Square for
Breakti yoga class. That is break dance
and yoga mixed together. Super cool ways
to move and transition around the mat in circular mandala movements. Arm balances are on 3 points instead of two,
which means on your head at times. This
sequencing got me out of my head and into my funky body. I was able to access springing up onto hands
effortlessly just by changing the weight of my legs. Who knew!
I was already inspired to get out of my routine.
This is the reason why I went to NYC. Be a part of the creative, pulsating, vibrant
city that’s started most everything. As
the saying goes, “if you make it there, you’ll make it anywhere”.
The design of my schedule was very thorough and calculated. I have been researching studios for years to
watch what the latest trends are from LA to NYC. I had my list of 10 and only 3 full days to
cover. You can say I was very ambitious.
Especially when I love to dance and be a part of the vibrant nightlife. Calendar set with 3 classes a day! Well let’s say I got to 2.
The 1st full day I honestly slept in. I arrived in NYC tired and sore from my long
days in Tampa trying to push all my clients together, workouts with clients,
classes, etc. So the rest was needed. However, so excited to get to one, I headed
to Crunch Fitness for K Motion Koncepts, a dance cardio class. Disappointed when I signed in that the schedule
was different. Hey, go with the flow
since I teach “flow”. I found myself in
an aerial stretch class bored and certainly not sweating to the music. If I remember right, Belinda Carlisle was
playing. Wtf?!
I gently tiptoed to my bag after 20 min and looked at my
calendar. There was another class about
to start a mile away. Yep, I ran to the
next class. Not sure how many city
blocks but it was a great warm up. Signed
in to Body by Simone
http://www.bodybysimone.com/
for the best dance cardio class I’ve ever taken. When I walked into the room of about 25
people, I saw 3 women from Tampa! One of
them happened to be my very first neighborhood girlfriend at 13 years old! They were doing the same thing I was, getting
inspired and bringing it back to Tampa.
There is no such thing as coincidence.
Synchronicity!!! We were all so
excited. Then the dancing began. BOOM!
Endorphins kicked in, drenched in sweat, now its time to go
out on the town. Luckily the best spot
was at my hotel lounge/bar. The best DJ
house music mixed with a little disco set my body moving right back to the
beat. A few more hours of movement won’t
hurt? 4inch heels, no problem. Until the next day…the feet were a little
tender. But you got to take advantage of
the energy from the city and the dynamics of the place.
Strangely the
private session was in a studio set within a day care center. I am thinking, this is NYC and space is
priceless so here we go. We started with
a fast warm up to super loud music and we were sweating within 5 min. Then the routine began, and continued for a
good 30 minutes of new movements, sequences, and all memorization. I began to feel frustrated and totally out of
my element. As much as I love to dance,
remembering the steps has always been challenging for me. And at this moment I was overwhelmed. I wanted to stop, slow it down, and honestly,
simplify the whole thing. Thought to myself,
“how can most people follow this type of routine, especially in a large
class? Am I that uncoordinated?”
Then the
funny part happens. A woman from the day
care center walks in and says there is a schedule conflict and we have 30
children waiting outside for a music lesson to happen in the same room. We had to leave. The daycare center scrambled and after 15 minutes
of wandering around we ended up in a small office/children’s playroom to finish
the 2nd half of the routine.
The music had gone from a booming surround sound system, to a one-speaker
tiny iPod dock with no base.
Hilarious. Now this is going with
the flow. And I felt terrible for my
instructor because she had never had this happen and was so embarrassed. I assured her stuff like this has happened to
me and we will do our best to keep moving.
But I really wanted to stop.
Similar to being in a pose that’s uncomfortable so you just give
up.
We practiced
the entire sequence from the top and I had totally forgotten the “top”, in fact
didn’t even remember the bottom. My legs
and feet were cooked and all I could do was ask for core or child’s pose. The lesson was over. Ha-ha.
It takes time
for me to integrate the new movements and imprint it into my body. This experience gave me such insight to how
many people feel in a new yoga class, instructor, or new sequences in class. It was awesome to feel confused and irritated. All it is is a feeling, just an experience
that is not permanent or life threatening.
This is how yoga affects the mind off the mat.
Ready to blow
off some of frustration, a little retail therapy always excites me. The very first Sweaty Betty retail shop in
the US was next door! OMG some of the
best yoga clothing I’ve ever seen. And
down stairs was an adorable studio offering classes with Body by Simone! Synchronicity again. Especially when the sales woman was from
Tampa! Ha-ha
To put my
real dancing skills to the test, I had a “mad” concert to go to that night with
some new friends. “Zed is Dead” Fest
with Paper Diamond. The concert was held
in a terminal building with multiple stories.
Basically it was like the rave’s I used to attend when I was in
college. Almost 20 years later and I
still have the energy and love for the scene, music, and dancing. My new young and fabulous girlfriend got us
all access VIP tickets to roam the fest including backstage and hang with the
DJ’s. I was in heaven you could
say. Especially since I just saw Paper
Diamond at Bonoroo!
Play hard,
work hard, I was up for the next day of exploring the NY fitness scene. It was my last day to play so I sat down and
studied my schedule and the list of sites online. My heart wanted to go back to Body by Simone
simply because the experience there was so great. And I really wanted to try the bands hanging
from the wall! Took another jog over
from Gramercy to upper Chelsea for a strength and sculpt class. Perfect selection since my legs and feet were
absolutely exhausted from all the dancing the last 3 days. Loved the bands on wall, very similar to
Tracy Anderson Method. Just another
creative way to move and sculpt the body getting out of the box of weights and
machines.
After this
class I finally felt satisfied with my efforts of learning on this trip. Of course I didn’t get enough yoga in, but
one just can’t do it all. And Lord knows
I try.
The lessons
and overall experience:
To be a
student again and again challenges me in mentally, emotionally, and
physically. There is never a time when I
stop learning and experiencing. I love
to dive into change for it fosters growth and expansion. This is what I teach and live. Where there is contraction like the movements
between poses. When you draw your core
in to protect the whole body in movement.
When you contract to protect your self from pain emotionally or
physically. Then the expansion of the
full expression of a pose when all the pathways of movement/prana are
flowing. The expansion of yourself when
you are involved in creativity, learning, and growth. The expansion of vulnerability. Expansion of falling in love. These are all
part of living fully and authentically.
Can you be with both the contraction and expansion without judging,
analyzing, or putting it into a box? Yes
I can. And I can support others on their
own journey and process of the same thing.
For know one else’s journey or experience is my business. We are all here as vibrant beings having a
human experience. So get out of your
comfort zone, routine, box, whatever you call it and LIVE out LOUD. MOVE your body, mind, and lead from your
spirit, where the truth of you desires to MOVE.
