friday fun day

hey hey!  hope everyone's friday is off to a killer start! 

i officially, for only a short while, have no classes on fridays.  they will be starting up again soon, but for now i'm sans plans.  i decided to take advantage of the time and i've spent my morning prepping playlists and sequuences for upcoming classes.  i start my turbokick class in a week and a half and i also added a butt 'n gut class, which is basically just a lower body blast.  i worked through what i want to do for that class and my legs were on fi-yah!

source

i'm really pumped about all these upcoming classes!  can't wait to make 'em suffer sweat!

today i wanted to also mention the topic of being reactive. 

are you a reactive type of person or do you keep your words and emotions in control until you fully gauge a situation?  i'm so reactive.  i have so much trouble keeping my emotions under wraps.  i grew up in a household where we pretty much always expressed how we felt and holding in emotions causes me to stress and i have to find ways to relieve the energy.  i'm just used to being an open book.  but that's not always the best thing.  meditating has helped me slow down the reaction process a bit, but i still struggle with it.  and sometimes being reactive about certain situations could upset someone and i'm always concerned about that.  i hate being in that situation where i think it over and realized i over reacted.  i need to practice being underwhelmed and i need to digest situations before jumping to -an emotional- conclusion. 

how do you face things that come your way? do you react before thinking or are you pretty good at taking it all in before doing anything? 

taking time to slow down

this weekend kicked off in a whirlwind of craziness starting with a jam packed friday that included lunch with one friend, dog park with another friend and rushing off to the airport to collect my husband as he returned from a business trip. i taught all morning on saturday and once night fell my jet-lagged hubby and i ventured into queens to celebrate the very happy engagement of two dear friends. by the time sunday rolled around we were beat from long and exhausting weeks and both decided to put the brakes on. we ordered in, settled in for a movie and refused to change out of pajamas once 5pm hit. sometimes you need that refresher. since i had missed a lot of my usual workouts during the previous week my anxious energy was practically vibrating my body and my mind was a mess of worrisome thoughts. i found it hard to stay focused and found myself with very little motivation. so i also took some time out on sunday to run to the bookstore and picked up some books on Buddhism that caught my eye. it's been money well spent because since taking them out of the bag i have absolutely devoured them. i finished one in a matter of hours and have already began the second. yoga has served as a crucial philosophical grounding for me and i think that Buddhism may serve as a spiritual grounding. i adore the focus on meditation and have decided that i am going to incorporate a daily meditation into my life (perhaps part of my morning ritual??). i think the increase in anxious energy is driving me to seek more serenity at this time in my life and rather than ignore the signs to slow down (as i usually tend to do) i'm sitting up (on a meditation cushion!) and taking note.

in case you're interested, here's the books i picked up:

1) the pocket idiot's guide to Buddhism
2) meditations from the mat: daily reflections on the path of yoga
3) the Buddha in the mirror