When I am bored I try to deal with it in the best possible way. I indulge in my fantasy. Sometimes I flirt with words and try my hand at poetry. I also pause and pray. And once in a while, I allow my curiosity to run wild and take me on an exploratory ride. This helps me look beyond, discover buried interests and along the way, find new hobbies.
I wanted to tap further into the adventurous streak that Portland had stirred in me. This, coupled with boredom and my restless feet syndrome gave me an idea to do something. That something was to try some fitness related activities for a whole month. So, alongside my regular Zumba and Bollywood Cardio classes, I tried a whole bunch of fitness fads, and it was fun!
Now that my month – one month and ten days – is over, I am ready to talk about this new adventure.
SWIMMING
Being born and brought up in the Himalayas, I always felt uncomfortable around water. Sometimes my behavior wasn’t even normal, like I remember being grumpy in the beach and even drowning in my own bathtub! So when I hired a swimming coach for 8 classes, I was shit scared. But much to my surprise, it only took me a few minutes to start liking and enjoying the water. I got so serious about learning swimming that I practiced 4 to 5 times a week. Even dragging my husband in the weekend for a couple’s swim. I lost few pounds, tanned like crazy, and found a new love! I dare not call swimming a fad because this one is here to stay.
SPINNING
When I walked into the spinning class, a quote I read earlier started buzzing in my head. Like a bee trying to warn me about something. It read, “Sorry I can’t make it to work tomorrow because I broke my vagina in spin class.” Believe me, whoever wrote that thing wasn’t really kidding. The cycle seat was as hard as a rock, and I had to sit on it – behave well and paddle – for an hour! I also had to pretend like I was having fun since the instructor was right in front of me. Spinning isn’t for me; nevertheless it was a memorable first experience.
HOT YOGA
I read online that a hot yoga class is – hot, dark, crowded, and claustrophobic. And it was all true. However, once you start the yoga, you forget about everything, and then nothing really bothers you. The heat, the sweat, the energy flow, and all those complex postures making you push beyond your limits…I love every bit of it. I was so into it, or maybe I was in a trance that I didn’t even realize when an hour-long session was over. It was unarguably one of the best things I ever did in a 90 degree heated room!
SALT YOGA
I learnt about salt yoga from Groupon. More than anything, I was intrigued by the fact that I would go into an offline mode, sans cell phone and other worldly distractions. The room was staged to sell; it had low light, light music, soothing fragrance and millions of “invisible” salt particles in the air. This one was a relaxed yoga with many “lying down” poses, and rather felt like a naptime than a workout session. I heard that salt yoga sessions help clear the respiratory tract and heal skin ailments. Well…I really didn’t care about the medicinal aspect; I just wanted to experience yoga in a different setting.
CARDIO COMBAT
I liked the word “cardio” in Cardio Combat. With just that bit of knowledge, I went ahead for a Cardio Combat class. So there I was, like an excited karate kid on my first day of training. It turned out to be a high-energy workout involving aggressive kick boxing and various martial art forms put together in one. I liked this class; it really helped me understand and boost my muscle power, agility, and speed. Now with four classes under my belt, I understand jab, uppercut, front kick and other moves better. And maybe pack a better punch too.
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