Saturday, January 27, 2007

Updates: cleanse, poles, and the like

I'm on Day 5 of my 21 day cleanse. I am measuring success by temptation since my resolve to finish is firm. I am more or less unmoved by breads, muffins, etc. Coffee doesn't have my number, nor alcohol. However, I miss soy milk tea lattes and every time I open the refrigerator, the Trader Joes dark chocolate caramels are staring at me. My roommate, who lasted all of 30 seconds on this effort, has been enjoying the caramels in front of me and drinking soy milk lattes daily. I'm considering food poisoning or other nefarious tactics to beat her into acquiescence. Actually, I jest -- there is a certain delight in knowing that, despite external hurdles, I am resolute. The physical rewards of just four completed days keep my cleansing fire stoked. Namely, the wrinkle that appears above my brow when I have excesses of sugar or stress in my body has lessened, the whites of my eyes are brightening and as a bonus, I can feel my muscles again.

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This week's stripper class was more physically challenging than of weeks past. But it's also the first time w/ the instructor I signed up for. She put us through abs for an *entire* song. No breaks - that's gotta be like 4 minutes. Points that we're doing abs to Interpol, btw.

You'll be happy to know that the languaging of the stripper classes is closer to trashy romance novel than salacious phone call. Or perhaps it depends on the instructor? I don't know -- either way the class is rad, in spite of the over-the-top prose. I try to imagine what the SFactor's teacher training program is like. Do they give instructors a thesaurus for different ways to describe moving your hand across the floor? Drip, languidly move, caress, explore... ahem, it goes on. What I am sorta shocked by is that you see these instructors before class and they're demure and sweet. Minutes later you get them in a room with some dimmed lights and a few poles and, well, the prim receptionist turns Catwoman with the flip of a switch. Clark Kent's got nothing on these girls. (I should not be mixing Marvel and DC Comics metaphors, I know...)

At last week's YJ Conference I was talking w/ a friend about the class and how I want to teach a yoga/pole (w/out the pole) workshop. He questioned what yoga and stripping could possibly have in common. Fair question. The answer? They're both ways of getting in your body. There is nothing inherently different about the intention of the movement itself. I haven't experimented with it long enough to know if they share similar spiritual effects, though I doubt it, else Patanjali would have thrown in at least one sutra to address it. But, it's good clean fun, and that's reason enough to go on exploring.

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It occurred to me that the difference between perfectionism and perfection is forgiveness, and that's what I'm thinking about in my life right now.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've randomly stumbled upon your blog. Being a yoga girl myself.
I am still new to it all. A little over a year of practice. Anyway, I love your blog. It helped me giggle sitting here at work taking a break!
So Hi!