First I do Yoga, Then I do Things.

I tried something new!  This week I attended a Barre class at my yoga studio before my usual Aerial Yoga class.  What a great work out! I did Barre from 5:30-6:30 and then Aerial from 6:45-7:45.  Best work out combination because you had the strength training and stretching from a Barre class and then the stretching, relaxing and fun from Aerial.  Perfect Monday night if you ask me!

I had never taken a Barre class before and did little research on it before attending, I just kind of went without really knowing what to expect.  There was only 1 other girl in the class with me, which was absolutely awesome! Our instructor Rose is great and she tailored the class to fit exactly what we wanted to do and work on.  Practicing in front of a mirror was wonderful.  I felt like I could really work on my positioning and technique.  You know those pictures that float around pinterest and youtube where they say "what I think I look like and what I actually look like", this was a little like that.  

For those of you who haven't taken a Barre class before it really isn't as intimidating as it sounds.  There is A LOT of leg work but you don't need to be flexible.  You build your flexibility slowly.  Barre is more about strengthening your legs and core in a way that feels graceful and controlled.  The nice part is while your taking the class you don't really feel how much of a workout your legs are getting...that hits you later and for me it was during Aerial.

I brought my friend Mindy with me to Aerial for her first time and she did AMAZING!  I really love when I invite new people to join and they really enjoy the class and want to come back.  Best Surprise ever! My best friend Sam showed up! I had no idea she was coming she was getting home from a trip earlier so that absolutely made my night.   Aerial is so much fun when you go with friends.  You can applaud each other on accomplishments, try new things and laugh at each other when you have an epic Aerial fail like I did that night.

After Barre I was already feeling warmed up and my muscles were loose so I thought great I can really get a deep stretch going tonight.  I didn't realize how bad my legs really hurt until we were practicing warrior 1 and warrior 2 in the silks.  With every squat and lean into the stretch my legs felt like they were on fire.  Thankfully at the end of class Rose commented that her legs were dying also and then I didn't feel so lame.  I really think I was walking funny even the next day my legs and inner thighs were hurting for sure.

So let me tell you about my epic Aerial Yoga fail moment.  This is what I get for trying to be cool and keeping up with the girl behind me who is Fantastic at Aerial!  I don't even know if I can explain what I was attempting to do.  You have to start in a hip hang and then wrap your leg around the fabric.  Then you pull yourself up in the silks and flip yourself over so that your upper body is wrapped in the silk.  I am not explaining it in a way that makes any sense.  I will master this eventually and then share a picture of what it is supposed to look like and maybe a video so we can see how close I was at explaining it! Anyway I got myself really stuck when I was trying to wrap my body around and ended up flipping towards the floor.  I was able to catch myself and ended up so tangled with the biggest wedgie imaginable!  I don't even remember how I was able to get myself untangled but it did take awhile.  Sam was super helpful by taking pictures and laughing at me haha.  Now we just have a really funny story to tell.