Raq The World

xibalbadance: syzzlyn: Cats and yoga Cat’s just along for the...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:50:41 -0400

syzzlyn:

Cats and yoga

Cat’s just along for the ride.

7.19

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:57:03 -0400

Dance related stuff today. I gotta get my shit together!!

Warm up:A quick warm up, consisting of a couple forward folds, holding downward facing dog for a few breaths, and then doing a little flow between downward facing dog and plank a few times.

Drills:
-75 Chest Lifts- next time, I think I’ll come up with a challenge to add to these, as they are soo important to continue drilling, but quite easy
-73 Chest Drops- I HATE doing these..I originally only meant to do 50, but wasn’t paying attention and tried to go to 75..I crapped out at 73..lol
-Over 100 Chest Slides- Again, I originally only meant to do so many(50 each side), but I got lost in the music, and the joy I find in doing this particular drill
-60 Chest Circles(30 each direction)- varying speeds and arm positions, as well as with walking
-20ish Rib Cage Figure 8’s- I lost count..I’d venture to say a little over 20..hehe
-20 Undulations (up to down)- I am SO crazy-insecure about these..guess I’ll have to just keep working at them!
-40 Pelvic Locks- LOVE doing these. Traveled, poured myself a glass of water, drank water, traveled back to main practice area..haha :)
-20 Pelvic Drops- also an easy one for me, but I don’t practice them that often.
-30 Hip Lifts (15 per side)- I didn’t spend too much time on these, as I do them ALL the time in my daily life, out of habit..lol
-50 Hip Locks (25 per side)
-60 Umi (30 each direction)- my clockwise umi need some work >.<
- 60 Maya/Taxim (30 each)- varied speeds a lot, focusing extra hard on slower movement
-20 Undulations (down to up)- I hate these, and have a LOT of improving to do!
-50 Hip Locks (on the down)- Only did 25 on each side, because I never use this in my choreography, but would like to stay practiced
-Basic Shimmy- held this without falter for about 30 seconds. poo.
-Shoulder Shimmy- held this without falter for about 15 seconds. more poo.

Cool Down: My cool down consisted of more yoga. This was more extensive than the warm up, including poses that stretched my shoulders, spine, back muscles, hips, sides and legs. Very relaxing. :)

7.17 continued

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:29:54 -0400

Here’s what I did in more detail..lol

Upper Body:
-20 modified push ups
-Shoulder Sequence from Rachel Brice’s Arms and Posture DVD

Core:
-Tummy Punches for one minute
-Belly rolls U2D** for one minute
-Belly rolls D2U^^ for one minute

Lower Body:
-5 squats each in four different positions(listed in a previous lower body work out)

Flexibility:
-Do I really need to explain every stretch I did? Well….if you’re wondering, I focused mainly on the legs, hips, and spine.

Kind of a pansy work out, but a couple days later my pecs are sore and that’s good! See you soon!

7.17

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:21:48 -0400

Did something today! (Finally, right?) I did upper body, core, lower body, and flexibility. Don’t feel like typing it all out though, as I’m posting from my phone. To.be continued!!!

New affirmation board to remind myself how great I am :)

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:49:00 -0400

New affirmation board to remind myself how great I am :)

The Wandering Mind: My Struggle

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:57:50 -0400

The Wandering Mind: My Struggle:

wanderingmind37:

My morning starts with me lying in bed wallowing in self pity for at least an hour. Everyday lacking the luster for life. What’s the point? Should I face my demons today? Can’t I just stay in bed and pretend they don’t exist?

Everyday is challenge. A new obstacle we must rise to and overcome.

A…

wanderingmind37: my lovely pin up dream

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 11:56:04 -0400

wanderingmind37:

my lovely pin up dream

Photo

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:56:39 -0400

wanderingmind37: queennubian: dawwwwwwwwwww 0.0 so cute

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:49:57 -0400

wanderingmind37:

queennubian:

dawwwwwwwwwww

0.0 so cute

7.7.12

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:55:17 -0400

Today, lower body. Blech. Everything is blech lately!! I guess I just have to find my passion again :/

One minute of each:

Traditional squats
Mod. Squats- feet together, on toes
Mod. Squats- staggered feet (both sides)
Basic Side Lying Leg Lifts
Side Lying Internal Leg Lifts(for the inner thigh)
Glute Squeezes!

Muhh…i hated it, but I did it. Only 10 minutes. No excuse. Boom.

artforadults: ex & dreams by Ivan Tao

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:53:48 -0400

dreams

artforadults:

ex & dreams

by Ivan Tao

Muh.

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:31:21 -0400

So this morning I got up on four hours of sleep to go to a very pointless meeting at work. Only to come out to the parking lot and discover that one of my tires decided to go flat. Welp. There goes the car repair I was gonna get this week. I went home to sleep it off, woke up four hours later feeling more tired, and also managed to acquire a headache and a stiff neck. I know I’m bitching, and probably a little excessively. But at this point I just do not care.

6.29.12

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 11:57:31 -0400

Today was core. Honestly, I didn’t write down the exact numbers and I’m too damn lazy to try to figure it all out…so in a nutshell, this is what I did:

1 minute of each:

Tummy Punches- sucking in the tummy as far and as hard as you can

Belly Rolls- both directions

Basic Crunches

Crunches to the right and left

Plank- modified, unfortunately. I’ll get there!

A Wink and A Smile (2008)

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 11:55:03 -0400

A Wink and A Smile (2008):

“An intoxicating mix of private yearnings and public spectacle, A WINK AND A SMILE exposes more than the human body by putting gender, power and sexuality under the spotlight, as it follows the lives of ten “ordinary” women who do something extraordinary - learn the art of burlesque dancing and striptease. Through their adventures, we see how a homemaker, a reporter, a doctor, an opera singer, a taxidermist and a college student join the American cultural revival of burlesque, as it moves from fringe fascination to mainstream obsession, engaging a world where performance art and showgirl spectacle, music, theater and sensuality crash into over-the-top glamour - a world where many want to go, but very few dare.”

I just started watching this today and only got through a little bit before I had to run some errands, but I am so excited to see what the rest has in store! Burlesque is so intriguing to me..I may just add it to my list of extracurriculars!

Photo

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 04:17:16 -0400

treasuredkeepsakes: castlekeys on we heart it / visual bookmark...

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 04:04:14 -0400

treasuredkeepsakes:

castlekeys on we heart it / visual bookmark #30562663 @weheartit.com

xibalbadance: modmad: nooby-banana: becauseimdavefuckinstrider...

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 04:02:00 -0400

xibalbadance:

modmad:

nooby-banana:

becauseimdavefuckinstrider:

jim fucking carrey

JIM MOTHER FUCKIN’ CARREY, GUYS… I LOVE THIS MAN!!

6.27.12

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:57:59 -0400

Today’s Quickie Work Out- Upper Body

WOW. My arms and pecs are like jelly. I’m not surprised, since I haven’t done a damn thing all summer, and my upper body has always been pretty underdeveloped..but all the same, I’m still pleasantly surprised that after only ten minutes, I got a full upper body work out and and already feeling the soreness set in. Yippee!!!!

This is what we did today:

-Two minutes of modified push ups (some of you may call them girl push ups..blech!)- I could only do 20 in two minutes, but considering I NEVER do upper body, I’m satisfied with that.

-Two minutes of dips (works mainly the triceps)- I did these on the arm of my couch, with my feet resting on the floor, so I was not lifting my whole weight, but I’m not sure I could anyway…haha! I completed 20 dips in two minutes, which was VERY challenging for me, but I wanted to at least match my push up number. Maybe it would have been easier to do the dips if I had started with them, but then again that’s how every exercise is..the last few exercises are always the hardest.

Two minutes of chest lifts- I will ALWAYS incorporate my belly dance into my workouts…I just can’t help it! I gotta keep up on my fundamentals! These, of course, were not difficult for me at all. I just over 100..I think 102..even though these were not a big challenge for me, it’s always good to maintain the building blocks of your practice. So maybe after a couple weeks I’ll cut them from my upper body work out. But not just yet. :)

Shoulder Sequence- this shoulder sequence is another belly dance exercise. I use a sequence of different shoulder movements, found in Rachel Brice’s DVD Bellydance Arms and Posture. Each shoulder movement was performed for 30 seconds. I started each one a a steady, moderate pace, and fifteen seconds in, doubled the pace.

MAN am I sore! And it’s only been a half an hour since my work out! I am satisfied with my work out! Tomorrow, if my resolve has not changed to do a nice long work out, the quickie work out will be core.

Wish me luck! <3

A New Idea Sort of

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 11:58:23 -0400

I saw a belly dace DVD recently with 5 different 10-minute work outs. I wish I remember what it’s called(comment if you know!), but it gave me a new strategy to try as I’m currently stuck in a ridiculous rut. I very much liked the idea of have several different 10-minute routines laid out, so that regardless of how I’m feeling that day, I have no excuse to not do anything. It’s only ten minutes. So, as I try each of the seven work outs I devised for myself, I’ll let you know how I’m feeling about it!

Wish me luck! <3

My Goals. Again. I Know, I know..

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:53:05 -0400

I know I do this like, every five minutes or so. But that’s obviously because something isn’t working. So here’s yet another system I’m trying. THis is what I mapped out for myself today while enjoying a delicious bagel. If you’ve got any input, please, let me have it!!

General goals
-increase movement repertoire
-increase all-over muscle strength
-increase dance endurance
-create 2 new choreographies

Specific targets
-Laybacks
-Layering
-Shimmies

Ideas to help achieve goals
-Self-imposed incentives
-Sticker calendar
-Weekly progress checks and mini goals
-Maintain variety

*Incentives will include things from a fun, carefree night out to a new dance DVD or hip scarf. The incentives may only be used when mini goals are met by their respective deadlines.

*Weekly progress checks will ideally be made Monday nights, after I teach my class. I’ll discuss progress, any goals that have been met, and new goals I’d like to set.

*An idea I had to help maintain vairety while still training skills I need from the DVDs I have is to work on them in small groups. I have somewhere between ten and fifteen DVDs. I’ll first split them up into groups of 3. Then, I choose a first set, and set goals and deadlines for accomplishing the content on these DVDs. Once these are mastered, or I’m stuck on just one, I’ll move on to the next set(adding the one leftover to the next set, if necessary).

I’m not sure how I feel about this system yet. You like?