This is what I get for mentioning my strong ankles

My right ankle is not exactly painful, but still very stiff in the aftermath of yesterdays run. It's like if I could just find *turn* the *twist* right *flex* way *pout* to stretch the muscles just on the inside of my Achilles Tendon I'd be set. I still can't find my arnica so I suppose I should  probably slap an ice pack on it for a bit.

I must have stepped or turned on it wrong while I was freaked out about the creeper SUV yesterday since I was fine when I headed out and yet twingey when I finally got my focus back on my run. So perhaps it's good that I don't really have time to get out and run more this weekend.

Tomorrow I'll be walking around a local fair all day with my Mom for her birthday and Sunday I'll be hitting some Long Island wineries as a bachelorette party for my boyfriend's sister, so the entirety of my daylight hours (I assure you, early mornings don't count) are spoken for.

As if I didn't have enough problems being graceful.
Seriously, how come I never trip over things while holding WHITE wine?

September Blog Challenge Day 28 - Have you ever done a home workout video? If so, which ones are your favourite?

Home workout videos were my main form of exercise for a while so I have several go-to videos.

The most enduring one for me has been Yoga Shakti by Shiva Rea. The pacing is great, the setting is breathtaking and inspirational, and it is probably the most functionally flexible workout setup I've ever seen. The DVD is actually made up of an array of mini sections which can be mixed and matched at your whim, or played through on a number of preset paths. Many of the poses are also broken down into levels of intensity, so a single workout can still grow with you over time.

I do wish it was easier to figure out how long a constructed workout will take. There is a second DVD packaged with it which I also remember having some nifty stuff on it, especially in the Techniques section, which gave me information on attention and placement that I feel has subtly but permanently altered the way I approach yoga.

You can almost feel the heat of the sun while watching this video

Tribal Fusion Belly Dance Yoga Isolations and Drills: A Practice Companion with Rachel Brice

A pleasantly stripped down bellydance DVD aimed at drilling some of the core dance movements with a yoga-centric warm up and cool down routine. This DVD offers three workout options differentiated by length (15, 30, or 45 minutes) and a performance at the end.

I really like that it's made up of pure movement drills instead of the usual "learn this combo" setup and the dialogue and sound-scaping is somehow especially pleasant. I have her sequel videos but have not poked at them enough to really comment.

Bellydance for Beginners with Suhaila: Fitness Fusion (Buns, Jazz, Pilates, Yoga) - Honorable Mention

A four volume set that is I think is mislabeled as "beginners" but which still offers plenty to the newcomer. A little more "classic workout DVD" than the other two, but still offering up that bellydance flavor with one or more performances featured on each DVD.

Suhaila's workouts are VERY glute driven and her glutes are pretty famous all on their own. She feels that glutes are the core of belly dance and has developed her own style around that idea.

Seriously, it's like they're sentient

 

Clearly there is something to this glute idea as she is AMAZING.