Working It All Out
If the truth is told, I've really never connected on a work out regime that stuck. Similar to a lot of things in my life, I am sampler of styles and situations. But, that being said, over the past few months, a couple of workouts have stood out to me as the kinds of things I'd not only like to do more of but recommend to others.
Hip Hop Yoga - When it comes to first impressions, I don't give off the yoga vibe. But, when it comes to flexibility, I somehow wound up with the genetic lottery. Even at 6' 3" I can place my palms all the way on the floor while standing. I've tried a lot of different yoga classes in the past thinking that I could really imagine getting into it as a way to slow my mind down and focus, but most previous classes were so slow my A.D.D. mind raced ahead past getting to the pose to what was waiting for me after class.
But then I went to Chloe Mackenzie's Hip Hop Yoga class with friends on a weekend in Montauk. She is a teacher and Y7 in the city and they were doing a pop-up weekend at Gurney's Resort out there with the team from Wellthily. When I looked at the schedule and saw that one of the three weekend classes was going to be themed after Jay-Z and Beyonce I was all in.
Not only did my mind lock in on the poses and flows Chloe took us through, my body responded in ways I didn't expect it to. For me, this class was far less about the perfection of the pose and far more about occupying the space my mind fills if left to its own attempts at calm. After the first class, I was so throttled, I had to step away from my friends for a bit and catch my mental breath.
Dance Dance Revolution - If you follow me on ANY social media (especially Twitter and Instagram) you've seen my love affair with Daybreaker evolve from "a thing I sometimes do" to a "I'd never miss it calendar appointment." When my friends started Daybreaker a year ago, they started something that combines my favorite things: mornings, dancing, and Good People. It is as insane as it sounds and it attracts people crazy enough to think, "yeah, 6am is a great time to walk up sober and go dance my ass off before work."
The genuine spirit of Daybreaker might be the best part. I've long said my favorite place to dance is at weddings because "it doesn't count." Everyone is just there to have a good time, no one is spitting game or ordering bottle service or claiming VIP. The only challenge with weddings being your favorite dance party is you have to wait for someone to get married. Then along comes Daybreaker every other week in NYC and the same kind of just for fun and no one is taking themselves too seriously dance party happens.
Everyone who would hate on Daybreaker or take themselves too seriously isn't willing to wake up that early just to go be the party-pooper, and even if they did, they might just end up being sucked into the vortex of happy. If you're at Daybreaker, you're crazy, but the right kind of crazy. If you're at Daybreaker, you're mind kind of crazy.
Surf's Up Dude - Through this wild summer, a lot of amazing wild people have been brought into my life. And, without any true connection to each other, almost all of them surf. When you grow up in Texas, surfing is what you do on the internet. Lord knows Galveston is not the kind of place you want to spend much time in the water. So I had some learning to do and have been out a couple times this summer. Not much success, but a total understanding of why my wild friends are willing to wake up at 4am to catch a subway out to Rockaway Beach, surf for a couple hours, subway back to NYC, and hit the office with a glow.
I took a lesson from Locals Surf School at Rockaway Beach this past weekend and it was fantastic. While I fell harder than Trump's approval ratings, I continued to build the muscle memory it takes to get out on the water and do more than just sit and watch the waves come in (though that is pretty awesome too.) The owner, Michael Reinhardt, and his team are building something special out there and I am not the only person that has noticed.
As you can probably see, much of my physical fitness has a social element to it. I am always grateful when friends are willing to share what they've found to be good in their life in the hopes that you might find it to be the kind of good you were looking for as well. And, if a year from now, my physical regime is a little less buffet style and a little more concentrated on dancing, surfing, and stretching to Hova - I'm game.