A good start set me up well for the rest of the day. I had decided that I should aim to start running soon after 9 am which means having breakfast before 8 am. I managed that today and was rewarded with a beautiful crisp sunny morning.
It was great to link up with my teacher and classmates again for this morning’s Yoga session. Wendy refers to it as a ‘strong’ class and as it is only one hour we spend only the very briefest time in relaxation at the end.
Our major project today was very much of the ‘Doing’ variety, tidying and then clearing the utility room to create a sense of order and to have clear space where we can deal with goods coming in to the house which could theoretically be carrying corona virus. This was genuinely useful activity but also I suspect on another level an attempt to deal with anxiety.
There were pleasant distractions during day, especially having video calls so we could listen to granddaughter’s music practice, but after dinner I felt that I had not really relaxed all day. With the lighter evenings I decided to try taking an after dinner stroll on a route which is a favourite with said granddaughters. This was very much a ‘just being’ stroll rather than serious walking exercise. Narrow footpaths lead over fields to the playground in the heart of the village.I made it into a round trip of a couple of Km and saw just one person, at a distance, walking a dog. As the dusk fell and I listened to the silence I could feel myself relaxing. It was well worth saving my once a day leaving the house until early evening.
Like many retired people my weeks usually include a number of classes involving exercise. Of course they all had to shut down when Social Distancing started but already they are up and running again as on-line classes. It is incredible how within a week many people have got their heads and fingers around the technology and found ways to continue to offer their various fitness classes. I am now booked up for live Yoga on Monday and Wednesday and Pilates on Friday. My Ballet classes are on-demand which suits rather well so I can fit them in on Tuesday and Thursday and I can progress through them a my own steady pace. John’s NHS ‘Healthier You’ programme, designed to prevent those identified as pre-diabetic progressing to become diabetic is being conducted using telephone conferencing. The diary is filling up again and each day will be different.
Getting used to the technology to make the most of classes is a challenge. I was pleased when I worked out I could have my phone behind me and face the TV where the phone screen was mirrored. Perfect for Barre work in Ballet, I had the large image on the TV to follow to the front then the small image on the phone when I’ve turned the other way to act as a reminder but encourage me to concentrate on remembering the sequence. But then a left logging on to Yoga until the last minute and couldn’t get to see anything on the TV at all. Still a long way to go before I am proficient with this stuff.
The classes tick lots of boxes. They provide a structure to my days, they keep me connected with friends, they provide strength and mobility exercise to complement my running and they exercise the brain.