skysenshi.com

This is actually my first official event as a blogger. While I had been online as “skysenshi” since 1997 and been going to events hosted by publishing houses, I would usually attend as either a member of an online community (still introducing myself as “skysenshi”) or as a representative of the academe (when I have no choice but to use my real name, hehe). This is the first time that I went as an honest-to-goodness blogger. Wee!

It all began when my friend Rowena, followed by my sister Alex, urged me to join the Barre3 Bloggers Night at The Spa in Bonifacio High Street.  Ro said that it might be an excellent way to escape my stressful combo of work and PhD studies. I had been whining incessantly about this being the toughest semester in my student life, which coincided with the toughest months of my work life. Both Ro and my sis concluded that my body needed nearly the same amount of workout that I subject my poor (and now incoherent) brain to.

Barre3 seemed like the perfect balance.  Ro described it as a “life-changing workout which combines the grace of ballet, the wisdom of yoga, and the strength of pilates”.  I was intimidated at first. My brain sort of stopped at the word “grace”, knowing that I have none.  Fortunately, there were male bloggers. I was happy to find that I wasn’t the only one whose knees would be shaking. Hehe. Tanya Tan, the woman who brought Barre3 to the Philippines, also shared a few inspiring stories about the unique workout.

I had fun.  Many of the stretches and positions were difficult, but not impossible. All I need is a little practice.  It takes a lot of discipline, yes, but international Barre3 master trainer, Darcy Harding, would encourage you to rest if you feel that your body may not be able to keep up.  I was feeling a little embarrassed because both my sis and I are mesomorphs (ecto-mesos, to be exact). While our bodies might fool anyone into thinking we regularly hit the gym — a little bit of stretching would already delineate our triceps — our pathetic stamina made it obvious that we led sedentary lives. I was panting like crazy and we weren’t even doing heavy duty stuff.  Kakahiya! All in good fun, though.  Ms. Harding kept me motivated; I can still remember her asking us to listen to our bodies.  After all the sighing and heaving, getting to the end of the session felt pretty good.  I felt strangely calm and empowered…even though I had an overwhelming desire to sleep.

Food was served after the session and I got to converse with some of the other bloggers.  Jennie and Jeff of Marriage and Beyond are a lovely couple that run numerous family-centered websites.  I like Jennie; she was nice, sweet, creative and thought I was in my 20s. Hohoho!  Met Jonel Uy of Letsgosago.net, who, like most bloggers, seemed shy in real life.  I also saw Good Housekeeping editor-in-chief Jing Lejano, recognizing her from her pictures in the magazine. (Hey, I may be single but I do live on my own. GH and Marie Claire were the bibles that got me started on the road to independence when I was 27.  So yeah…I’m allowed to get star-struck.)

All in all, a great night. I slept earlier than usual, but what shocked me the most was that I woke up without feeling the aches and pains that my sister is feeling now. I would usually be groaning the morning after a wall-climbing session, which I do once a year, but today I’m pretty perky.

Barre3 Philippines has two branches, one in The Fort and another in Alabang.  For more information about Barre3, visit: http://www.barre3.com/

EDIT: It was only the afternoon of the following day that I realized that my chest and shoulder areas, as well as my lower abdomen, hurt.

Photos:
Top Right: Trainer Darcy Harding with Rowena at the back
Top Left: The boys, with my sister taking the photo (you see her and my reflections on the mirror)
Bottom Right: My sister (in a blue shirt)
Bottom Left: Me (dead tired but blissful)