Great weekend... Yoga and Swimming

Continuing on my journey of fitness, and trying to ensure that I can justify basically paying for two gym memberships at once, I went with a friend to a wonderful Yoga class on Saturday afternoon (that is not me in the photo, but I did do that pose), at my swish gym that is large and has lots of facilities and is quite new and funky.  The class is called Vinyasa Flow and went for an hour and a quarter.  The instructor was very authentic and had a lovely Chilean accent.  Afterwards I felt very fresh, like I'd just woken up from a long nap.  Now I have a new mantra to use when appropriate. And I am probably spelling it incorrectly but it is a silent mantra to go with your  breathing.  On the way in you say 'So' and on the exhale 'Hum'. Very handy to know.  Actually I've just checked and and I have spelt it correctly and you can find out more about it here: www.swamij.com/sohum-mantra-108.htm

And on Sunday I met the same friend, went back to the same gym and swam. I found myself totally out of my comfort zone, dependant as I have become on my swimming aids (flippers and finger paddles), and in my dash out the door I had forgotten them and my goggles.  If I had gone on my own I would probably have decided to do some other kind of exercise, but it is amazing what a little peer pressure can do for your daring.  So I searched out a pair of goggles in the lost and found (probably not very hygienic) and swam like a 'normal' person.  The surprise being that I can swim quite well without the extras, somewhat slower but still with a nice stroke and without drowning or getting too out of breath.  Of course there is nothing wrong with swimming with all the gear, it actually just provides extra resistance into the exercise, but if more cardio if what you are after than less is probably more.  So I will be going at least sans aids at least some of the time in future.

The good times continued through my Monday - woo hoo.  I did a photo shoot for the GF I spent so much time with over the weekend for her to use in her PR for her company.  Gorgeous black and white portraits taken by a local lake.  And later in the day when I met up with my PT Paul, I find out that I am his 'Client of the Week'.