Day 2 at Miraval

Day 2 was a complete success - I managed to fit in all my scheduled activities and also scored a personal training session with the resident swim coach and a dip in the hot tub!  My day was jam-packed with activities starting with breakfast at 6:30 and I didn't really take a break from working out, showering, eating or spa-ing until I got back to my room at 8pm!  The rain held off for the entire day so I was able to get from place to place without getting soaked.

Here's what my day looked like - I started early with coffee by the fireplace and then headed outside to catch the last of the sunrise: 

Next I set out to find the gym, or Body Mindfulness Center, for my first class.  Miraval has lots of signs to make sure you don't get too lost:

Then went to morning stretch class in a beautiful room with windows overlooking the mountains and the lap pool:

At 7am the air was still pretty brisk and the pool was giving off some serious steam!  Morning stretch class was great - just right to get me in the mood for a day of workouts - gentle stretching and some work with straps and foam rollers.  Then I headed off for a group walk in the desert, which was really fun.

One of the women I met on my first night here was also on the walk and we chatted about careers & life.  She gave me some great advice about starting up a business.  (Ruth, if you're reading this, thanks for the advice & hope you had a great time watching the trio play last night!)

A quick note about the people here (guests and staff alike) - everyone is incredibly friendly, open and generous of spirit!  I'm not sure if the clean mountain air has something to do with it, or if Miraval tends to attract people with these qualities, but I have met so many wonderful women here with so many great stories.

Anyway, back to the travelogue.  At 9am I headed off to spin class, which took place in the same room as morning stretch.  Spin bikes magically appeared:

 

During the class the instructor talked about her triathlon training experience and I mentioned the SheRox in August, explaining that I was most nervous about the swim.  She offered to give me a swim clinic later in the day!  I jumped on that opportunity immediately and set up the appointment before heading off to get a smoothie.  

The smoothie bar was really nice - there was a board advertising the day's choices, complete with calories and fat!  I chose the Don Juan which was HEAVENLY (even more so because I don't normally like bananas) and later went back for the Ageless Skin Juice (which was not so yummy - note to self, lettuce is not good in a smoothie).

At this point the sun was finally shining so I took a quick walk around the grounds and took some pictures:

 

Have I mentioned that I love this place?

I took an outdoor shower, with this view:

All cleaned up with fresh clothes I headed off to a yoga class.  The yoga center is beautiful, with spectacular views.  There's nothing quite like using a distant mountaintop as your drishti!  After yoga, it was off to lunch with the resident exercise physiologist.  We loaded up our plates with delicious healthy options (all labeled with calories and fat) and peppered Andy with questions for an hour.  Note - I completely forgot to take pictures of the food but I promise to take some today!  Andy was very knowledgable and answered everyone's questions with ease.  After lunch I hurried off to my swim lesson, where Susan evaluated my stroke, took me through some drills, and gave me some valuable training and race day tips.  The pool was so warm and it felt great to swim outside for a change!  At the end of the hour I took yet another shower then headed back to my room to ditch my swimsuit and pack my bag for the rest of the day.

At 3pm I attended a lecture called 'Making Weight Loss a Reality'.  At first Andy (the same Andy from lunch!) talked about calorie deficit and how much it takes to lose a pound.  I was a bit disappointed as this is old hat to me, but after a few minutes he started talking more about metabolism and how to up your calorie burn.  The main point of his talk was to explain the meaning of VO2 max and how to increase it via cardio.  I ended up getting a LOT of out this lecture and rather than go into the details of what he talked about in this post I'm going to do some research and do a separate post dedicated to the topic.

After the lecture I sped down to the spa to take a dip in the hot tub before my massage:

I had hoped to take a dip in the spa pool, but the clouds were rolling in and the temperature was starting to drop so I skipped it.

 

My massage was scheduled for 5pm, and Tracy showed up right on time to take me to the outdoor treatment rooms:

Spa camp!  These rooms were so nice - each one was fenced in with bamboo, a private patio and lovely landscaping.  Inside the tents there was a heater to keep everything nice and toasty, and one side of the room was glass so you could see a little bit of nature during your treatment.  Heaven!

After my massage I headed up to the restaurant for dinner, which was lovely, and then came back to my room and crawled into bed.  A busy but very satisfying day!

Today's schedule looks something like this:

7am, Morning stretch

8am, breakfast

9am, yoga

10am, breath work

11:30, cooking demonstration

3pm, Metabolism and Prevention lecture

At some point during the day I'm going to try out the equipment at the gym:

OK - I better run or I won't have time for coffee before my first class - thanks for reading - I'll post Day 3 soon!!

DVD Review And Some Cool Things I Found On The Internet

Yesterday I tried this DVD on for size (no pun intended): Yoga: Just My Size with Megan Garcia - a yoga workout designed with overweight people in mind.  Here are my thoughts:

This is definitely a good workout for larger people who are new to yoga - the poses were simple, gentle, slowly paced, and well explained.  In between standing and seated poses, instruction was given to help the student rise and descend gracefully and with purpose - not always an easy task when you have a lot of weight to move around.  To assure that the student gets the most out of the workout, alternatives were suggested for moves where body parts (for example tummy or breasts) might get in the way, or for moves where more strength is required to hold the pose (such as warrior).  Megan Garcia, who is also a professional plus size model, was a great subject for the video - her posture was beautiful and she flowed from pose to pose with grace.  The entire workout is about 25 minutes long from initial centering to the end of savasana.

Overall, this was a good beginner workout although there were a few things that irked me.  For example, I think it would have been good to add in some more difficult poses with modifications/levels so the user could improve with time and continue to use the same DVD.  As it is, I think that that most people will outgrow it rather quickly and need to find something more challenging.  The session was also a bit too short for my tastes.

Megan does not actually narrate the entire DVD - she gives a short introduction and then another voice takes over as she demonstrates the moves.  Her style of speaking during the intro is a little 'Stepford Wifey' and really freaked me out - so when the other voice came on at the start of the actual workout I breathed a little sigh of relief.  Interestingly, she gives an interview at the end of the DVD and sounds completely natural then - so I'm not sure why she was so uptight and weird in the beginning. 

At this point in my yoga practice I definitely need more of a challenge than this workout can provide.  However, I was intrigued that a workout targeted towards the overweight community even existed, so I did some research on the internet to see what else was out there.  I came across with a few more DVDs that I want to try:

• ShapelyGirl  - the creator of the Shapely Girl workouts, Debra Mazda, is right here in Philly and even has a fitness studio!  I'll definitely be checking out her classes at some point.
• Look Great, Feel Great: Plus-Size Pilates
• Ya Don't Gotta Be A Size 2 To Do Pilates
• Heavyweight Yoga (unfortunately this title is not available on Netflix or at my local library - but I did find a cheap copy on Ebay)
• Megan Garcia also has a book called MegaYoga, which received good reviews on Amazon.com.

I also ran across this article about a yoga studio in NYC: Buddha Body Yoga.  BBY is a studio where the classes are only for people who are overweight.  What?!?!?!  I am dying to take a class there to see what it's all about but unfortunately it looks like right now they are only held on Thursday nights and you have to buy a series of 4 classes.   Since it takes me a couple hours to get into NYC from Philly I'll have to wait until they offer something on the weekend.  But I'd love to hear from anyone else out there that either has tried this place, or lives close enough to try it!

Kripalu Yoga

Tonight I tried Kripalu yoga at Twisters, a class advertised as gentle yoga.  The room itself was very nice - plain walls, shiny hardwoord floors like you'd find in an old gymnasium, and modern track lighting.  Unfortunately the sound system wasn't functioning properly so we did the session without music.

The instructor, Teri, was a substitute and so this class may not have been representative of the usual one.  Regardless, it was a good class with a mixture of flowing movements and static poses.  The session definitely lived up to its name - the poses were simple and not strenuous on any joints, and Teri showed us ways to make them more or less challenging depending on our abilities.  There were many familiar poses as well as a few that were new to me.  The class ended with Savasana, during which Teri actually massaged everyone's feet.  This was truly an unexpected treat (and from what I understand, not what the regular instructor does).  Although the class was less challenging than my Wednesday sessions with Rena, I did leave feeling relaxed and centered - mission accomplished.  

Afterwards I did a bit of research on this style of yoga.  To my untrained eye, the only differences I noticed were the absence of sun salutations (which I really missed) and the simplicity and ease of the poses.  Turns out that in addition to the gentler poses, this style of yoga emphasizes meditation, physical healing and spiritual transformation.  Kripalu also tends to appeal to seniors (in fact, a couple women in the class jokingly referred to it as 'old lady yoga') as well as the overweight. 

So there you have it, my report on my first Kripalu yoga class.  I will most likely give it another try when the regular instructor returns - just to see what, if anything, she does differently.  Honestly, the class was very nice but I think in general I enjoy a slightly more strenuous practice.