Day 46

Today I think I am able to give out a more objective opinion about Flexibility than last week. Last week I was super tired and the class didn't go very well. Today I wasn't able to do the class in the morning like I usually do, but I was able to fit in Hardcore so it wouldn't be as tiring later in the day to do both of them together.
Doing Hardcore on its own first thing in the morning turned out to be a breeze. Not that I have a hard time doing it after a class; but I am tired and those leg lifts and forearm planks can be intense. Today I hardly broke a sweat and by the time it was over I was surprised it went by so quickly. Remember that I am used to doing hour long, no break advanced Pilates classes, so that's why this felt easy on its own.
I went ahead and did some things I had planned during the morning and met my husband for lunch at the cute organic place. I had a chilled cream carrot, pumpkin and orange soup and ricotta mezzaluna with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.

I did some errands afterwards and was able to get on the mat at 5:00 pm. Not as late as last time and I wasn't very tired. So here's what I think:
I still am not a fan of this class and I am pretty sure it's my least favorite and here's why.
First of all, I think I was expecting more of a weekly class flow similiar to the first part of the program, so when I saw that Yin was being replaced with Flexibility I had another idea in my head as to what this class would be. Even though I saw the video before doing the class for the first time, it's not the same as when you are on the mat actually doing it. It is easy to watch and form an opinion; but it's a whole other thing to get down and dirty DOING the class.
That being said, I think after such strong classes like Balance and Strength, the body is a bit overworked -at least mine is- so to follow up with another pretty intese flow class, is really straining the body. For the first part of the program we had Yin to break those three first crazy days, so I thought we would have that here too.
Second of all, I think that the warm up series is just too long. I feel pretty warmed up halfway through, and there's still more coming. By the time we get down on the mat to stretch I am just exhausted and want it to be over. The flow is pretty nice actually, if it were a class of its own. That yogi squat half bound pose? KILLER. KILLER I said. And the chest on thighs while squatting and then standing on tip toes? Sweet mother of Jesus the Savior. It's just pure torture! Damn thighs are super toned, but c'mon! It burns, man.
Third, the stretches done in this class are so not my cup of tea. As much as I love all the ones we do in Yin, here I'm just struggling with my bent knee and the uncomfortable position it's in the whole time. The only stretch I actually enjoy is Double Seated Pigeon. So much for that, huh?
And finally, this is one of the longest classes in the whole UY program. It runs for more than an hour, so yippie kay yay! ...not.
So there ya have it. I will keep doing this class, no doubt; but I am real happy to see it go for the third and last part of the program. Flexibility will not be missed under this roof, that's for sure.
Ok folks. Moving along, I had a fruit salad for dinner because it's so hot and humid today that fruit salad was the only thing that sounded appetizing tonite. I chopped bananas, peaches, apples, figs and manila mangoes. Thank God for manila mangoes.

Tomorrow's Gentle. Again, thank God for Gentle. My body sure needs a break and besides my mother is coming all the way from Mexico City to visit for several days, so Lord knows I need some calm before the storm. My blog is sure to become quite interesting these following days. It won't be very yogic, but it will be fun. For you, at least. Hehe...
Stay tuned!