Yoga Stretch and The Weight Room

On Tuesday morning I got to sub a yoga stretch class at Longfellow Fitness. I had a great group of women who really enjoyed themselves and we all had a great stretch together. I talked a lot about abs and how these women being older had trouble doing crunches etc. to get to their abs, so I suggested that they "bring their anus to their belly button" throughout the work out and in that they would be using their deep abdominal muscles without crunching. They loved the idea! 

Thank you for a great time, ladies!

After yoga, I hit the weight room again. Rob, honey, this is for you...

1. SQUAT: bar +20lbs. 15 reps; +40lbs 12 reps; +60 10 reps

2. LUNGES: holding 15's 40 across the room

3. EXTENSIONS (back to back with curls) 55lbs 12 reps; 70lbs. 10 reps; 85 8 reps

4. CURLS: 40lbs 12 reps; 50lbs. 10 reps; 60lbs. 8 reps

5. BENCH : +20lbs. 15 reps; +40 lbs. 8 reps; +45lbs. 6 reps

6. INCLINE BENCH: +10lbs. 15 reps; +20lbs. 10 reps; +30lbs. 7 reps

7. BUTTERFLY: 50lbs. 12 reps; 60lbs. 8 reps; 70lbs. 6 reps

8. LAT PULL DOWNS: 70lbs. 12 reps; 82.5lbs. 8 reps; 90lbs. 6 reps

9. UNDER-GRIP LAT PULL DOWNS: 75 lbs. 10 reps; 80lbs. 8 reps; 82.5lbs. 6 reps.

10. ROWS 60lbs. 12 reps; 75lbs. 8 reps; 90 lbs. 6 reps

11. SHOULDER PRESS (with bar) 30lbs. 15 reps; 40lbs. 12 reps; 50lbs. 10reps

That took about an hour and fifteen minutes. No real pain this week, though, but I feel good! Sticking strong to my new life-style diet. No fat and lots of salad! And sprouted wheat breads.

Little Bodies, Big Souls

You are invited to submit a chapter for inclusion in the book, "Little Bodies, Big Souls."  This book is looking for a full range of stories that include the theme of how your yoga and/or meditation practice has had an effect with a relationship with a child or how your participation in children's yoga has had a tangible effect.  We are interested in how you've been able to take your yoga practice off the mat and apply the yogic principles to everyday life and relationships.  We are looking for funny, serious, life lessons, and/or heart-warming stories.  The story can be either adult or child focused.  Think of this book along the line of Chicken Soup is Good for Soul® type of story.  Please click on LittleBodiesBigSouls.com for submission guidelines and information or email us at info@LittleBodiesBigSouls.com

If you have a studio/store and would be willing to place a flier you can download it here. http://www.littlebodiesbigsouls.com/bigsouls/Downloads.aspx

All chosen authors will have their biographical information printed and it is a great way to promote your studio/business or interests as well.

Little Bodies Big Souls – stories from yoga and children that will heal your life. 

The Heat Is On!

Today, at my 9AM yoga class at Longfellow Fitness in Natick, MA, I brought the flow on. The room was heated to a delicious 85 degrees and I had a great group of yoginis joining me. I was greatly inspired last week by my "Align Your Flow" class with Natasha Rizopolous and using this inspiration as I led my flow class that had attention to alignment and focused on the breath and each and every person's edge. It was satisfying to explain the nuances in the feet positions, alignment of the shoulders, the lift in the upper back by dropping the rhomboids to the hips and lifting at the seratus...

In honor of Valentine's Day, I started today's class with a cross heart kriya from the Kundalini practice of yoga. This meditation allows you to work both sides of the brain and also to rid yourself of old baggage and open new pathways for success in your life.

I am seeking the yoga teacher I will become. She is in here and she is emerging.

Another great thing about teaching yoga at Longfellow is I have use of their weight room. I have not lifted for years (about 15) but the feeling is coming right back to me. I used to bench 135 pounds at The Gold's in Boston. I love the feeling you get from lifting; I had forgotten how much I love it. With my tunes blasting in my ears (Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, EPMD, yes I had a Rap and hip-hop sound track today), I couldn't help  but get a pump going on!

For the love of my life, Rob, I post my workout, because he is going to have to listen to my moans and groans when everything hurts tomorrow. I have to admit, I am still stumbling for the right weights to lift.The form is there, but I am unsure where I want to take this...

1. SQUAT: bar (too light) too many reps; +20lbs. 15 reps; +40lbs 10 reps
2. LUNGES: holding 12.5's about 20 on both sides
3. EXTENSIONS (back to back with curls) 40lbs 12 reps; 55lbs 10 reps; 70lbs. 8 reps
4. CURLS: 20lbs (too light) 15 or more reps; 30lbs. 15 reps; 40lbs. ?
5. BENCH (backed with incline bench): +10lbs. 15 reps; +20 lbs. 12 reps; +30lbs. 8 reps
6. INCLINE BENCH: +10lbs. 10 reps; +15lbs. 10 reps; +20lbs. 7 reps
7. BUTTERFLY: 45lbs. 12 reps; 60lbs. 7 reps; 65lbs. 7 reps
8. LAT PULL DOWNS: 60lbs. 12 reps; 75lbs. 8 reps; 90lbs. 6 reps
9. UNDER-GRIP LAT PULL DOWNS:45 lbs. 15 reps; 60lbs. 10 reps; 75lbs. 7 reps.
I did not get to do Rows, ran out of time. I had to head to Runkle School in Brookline to deliver 3-20 minute Yoga-Snacks! I love teaching yoga. I love yoga. Life is great!

Flamenco at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield CT

Family Art Adventures: Capturing Movement in Portrait Form!                                  Learn how to combine dance and drawing at a unique workshop

Yesterday, my close friend, associate and artist Elizabeth Taylor and I traveled to the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield CT to bring flamenco and drawing to their on-going series of Family Art Adventures. We had a wonderful group of about 35 adults and children who leaned about the spine and movement through yoga, dance and drawing. We explored different ways to make sounds in flamenco (i.e. stamping, clapping, snapping, saying "ole"); I demonstrated the Sevillanas (while playing my castanets); we talked about the form while both standing and while engaged in movement; we explored shapes of a fan (a line to a triangle to a half circle); we danced rumbas all together (the kids had costumes and props to use supplied by the museum) and we drew!

What a wonderful and refreshing day. The art room was full of joy, light and inspiration. A big shout out to Audrey and Clara for dancing and expressing themselves so beautifully ¡OLE!

The Aldrich is a fabulous gem of a museum. There were numerous current shows that I throroughly enjoyed: James Esber: Your Name HEre; Hope Gangloff: Love Letters; KAWS: Caompanion Passing Through; Robert Taplin: Selections From The Punch Series 2005-2010 and Timothy White: Portraits. Also, one permanent installation is a pinhole camera that you can enter inside. It is very cool! I reccomend paying a visit. The town of Ridgefield is very quaint. We ate at Fifty Coins Restaurant- a great place for the whole family!

Thank you to Tori Reimann, Head of Youth & Family Programs, for the fabulous opportunity! And thank you to my dear husband Rob and our son, Anthony, for driving us and being such great, supportive people!

Miller & Ben Tap Shoes...TOP RATED COMPANY FOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT!

Miller and Ben Tap Shoes are supreme tap shoes. They are perfectly weighted, have incredible percussive sound quality and come in so many smashing colors and styles a girl can hardly decide which ones to buy!

I own two delicious pairs of these gems:

Jazz-Tap Master in Burgundy Ray Pattern and Black to Burgundy

and La Coquette in Burgundy and Gold

 I use La Coquette's when I create my blend of flamenco-tap and I love the pitch, the tone and how slammin' they look with both skirts and pants! The other day, just before I was going on stage to perform in Patrice Monahan's Shufflin' Time gig at Amazing Things, I slipped on my Coquette's and suddenly...rrriiippp! The leather on the side just gave out and they split open. Crest fallen, I wore my Jazz-Masters, excellent shoes but not what I was looking for in sound and style for the day. I immediately emailed Liliana Kualapai, owner of Downtown Dancewear in Lowell, MA, where I had purchased the shoes. She immediately got in touch with Ofer Ben who responded quickly to figure out what he could do to fix my shoes. When he saw the damage, without hesitation, he offered me a brand new, replacement pair of shoes.

Miller and Ben are honest business men who stand by their product 100%. Buy their shoes, even without taps, you won't be disappointed! Buy them from Downtown Dancewear (ps...tell her I sent you!)

A Mid-winter Night’s Concert

   A Mid-winter Night’s Concert 
                             with  Little Rose 
         and the Boston Allstars                    Special guests Tap Dancer Demi Remick        
         Tango Afficionados Lisa Simon and Benjamin Bridgman  When: Tuesday, February 8th; 8pm
Where : Johnny D’s, Davis Square, Somerville
Why : it’s gonna be fun!
Who :Little Rose, vocals and
tap, Lenny Bradford on bass,
Theo Powers rhythm guitar
Sir Cecil Rednellac drums
Steve Heck keyboards
ROBERTO CASSAN
ACCORDIONISTA, Reginald
GALOR GRANT SAX (ORIGINAL
MELVIN AND THE
BLUENOTES MEMBER) TO
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR
SPECIAL GUEST DANCERS GO
TO http://www.facebook.com/littleroseboston