Day 156- Bellydance and Fitness

Sorry if this post is a bit misleading, It's more about Bellydance and my life, which frequently involves fitness.

Feel free to stop reading any time... Kidding.

But in all seriousness I cannot get over how much I am in love with my Tuesday Bellydance class. I'm am literally overfilled with knowledge and then some! It's way better than any DVD purchase because I am able to get that instant feedback and know what I'm doing right and what I need to work on.
Which leads on to my next thingy- I have developed a bit of a bad habit... I pull in my elbows too much and need to elongate my arms.

Wouldn't have known that from a DVD... Well Rachel Brice's Posture DVD might have. But that's not the point.

Point is: I love my class and it's awesome. Done.

But not quite...
Life has been pretty awesome lately. College is pretty okay so far... I'm doing killer in my classes (though there's always room for improvement)
I'm making friends here and there. The Honors Club people are pretty cool (I'll get to them later).
Met this guy who was super cute (but he smokes -_-) and I developed a bit of a crush, which was immediately squashed once I realized he had a girlfriend.
I'm don't wanna come between that, he's devoted, you know? Anyway we're getting to be friends and helping each other out in class.

But back to the Honors Club. And the "Fitness" part of my blog.
I was sitting in the Honors Lounge (we awesome smart kids get our own lounge... cool brag :P)
Anyway I was sitting at the computer and looking up videos of the Tough Mudders event, which is a 10 mile obstacle course in mud (hence the name), that I'm going to do. People got super into it (and the electroshock therapy obstacle) and a lot of them said they'd totally do something like this. I suggested the Mud Run since it's shorter and further away (timing wise) and got some pretty positive reviews on it!
I love events like these because they support being healthy in a new and fun way while benefiting those who really need it.
Tough Mudders' charity is the Wounded Warrior while the Mud Run benefits those who have Multiple Sclerosis

Now all I have to do is make a plan and a budget!

Needless to say I'm excited about this new project that's underway!

Day 149- Review of the College Class; Passion vs. Technicality

REVIEW OF THE COLLEGE CLASS!

So this is a little stick on for the free BD college class I tried! Overall I thought it was pretty good for what it was worth (free; hour and a half of one's time). The girl's were pretty experienced (nothing like Amy though) and were excited to teach.
I really wish they had a better curriculum, better organization, and better teamwork. No student wants their teachers to be discussing how to break down a move, it makes the teacher look amateurish... Which they were clearly not.
A couple of the moves they did were for probably more advanced students and not for beginners. Something that bothered me more and more as the class progressed. I did however like how they came to each person and asked if they needed help and to show them the moves to make sure they were doing it properly.

Another thing I found to my distaste was how every girl seemed to idolize Shakira. I asked a girl near me who her favorite bellydancer was and she was like "Shakira! Who else? What about you?" I told her, "Rachel Brice, Sharon Kihara are among my favorite tribal dancers. Fifi Abdou, Aziza, Ansuya, (etc.)
are more of the Cabaret Style that I like."

She looked at me like I had 5 heads.

Don't get me wrong I love Shakira. She's cool and modern and uses bellydancing in her act.... But she's not a bellydancer. I also wasn't a fan of the teachers promoting it either: "You all are gonna dance like Shakira!"
They did however win me back over when I looked at their facebook page and they did have videos of cabaret dancers (legit) and tribal dancers.
Maybe that whole review was just my bellydance diva coming out?? : /

I also made a friend, who I'm currently spamming her Youtube videos of my favorite dancers in hopes that she finds a style and dancer that she likes!

Which leads me to my next point. I was looking at Bellydance Forums and came across the Inspiration thread. Someone said that Sadie inspired them (no surprise there). I also sent a video to my friend also with 3 others and she immediately loved Sadie as well because of her technical ability.

I admit I was the same way when I first fell in love with Bellydance, but as I watched more videos, I was less and less inspired by Sadie's videos. Her videos, honestly, were a downer because I was so convinced that I'd never be that good and could never perform.
I also noticed that while her body was full of expression, her face lacked a lot, as a Forum user said (Aw I love Sadie - But she's so expressionless in the face :/)

 A face, I realized, can make or break a dance.

Example:

Zoe Jakes dance at Tribal Fest 8. You can skip to 1:13 if you don't want to see the "Animal Trouble" part... though it is quite funny. She lifts her eyes at 1:47 (ish) and that's her move and I got chills. She's so focused and has this energy about her, but she's such a comedian. I never got that from Sadie, I don't know what she's like: She's neither playful nor serious.

I also look note from the forum user and checked out her current inspiration, Alla Kushnir, and might I say she is INSPIRATIONAL! 

While she may not be as technically great as Sadie, her passion far outweighs that and makes me want to emulate her.

She inspires me to move!

 

Enjoy this beautiful choreography from a passionate dancer!

-Kestrel

Day 149- Practice Makes Improvements!

I'm am head over heels in love with this new Bellydance class! I have no bad remarks at all (except I wish it could last longer!)
It's amazing to me why my teacher doesn't get more recognition, something I hope to rectify with my connections in my community. I've already gushed to my friends to join me at the next class.
So far in the class (beginner's), it's only me and another woman, who has had extensive BD training before. Since both of us have had training before we move at a faster pace, sort of like an in-between between Beginner's and intermediates.
I love it because it's challenging and when I manage to flub or get hip tied (bd version of tongue tied... you get the point... bad pun) she gently corrects me and shows how it's done with an explanation of which muscles should be working.

With a constant reminder to "keep elbows out!" (for the costume and framing sake) I continue to make improvements :D

-Kestrel

Day 141 Bellydance Classes from Hell

So today marks my first OFFICIAL Bellydance class!!! Yay! (does hip shimmy)
It was a TON of fun and I absolutely adore my teacher Amy, who is hilarious and a sweet woman. She completely erased my bad experience of a previous intructor.

Enter: The Bellydance horror story from HELL.

Here in my city we have around 4-5 places where you can receive classes. I went to one of the places because I google searched it and saw that classes were 10 dollars. I was like "okay" and went to the next class. There the lady proceeded to tell me that classes were not 10 but in fact 15 if you were new, but if you paid 30 you can get 3 classes. I went "okay" and forked over 30 dollars. The phone rang, and she ignored me for around 10 minutes chatting on the phone and whips out a cigarette and start smoking while I awkwardly piddled around the small "studio" (it was originally a house).

She finally got off the phone and said class was about to start and that she was the teacher and that it was "highly recommended" (it seemed like she hinted at required) for me to get a hips scarf for the next class and to order with her since anywhere else's delivery would probably take too long (or heaven forbid, it being cheap). I asked how much, and she said $50. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I only had the $30 with me so I couldn't buy anything else.

Then there was the class. She poked and prodded at me and kept telling me I didn't have the "shape" to be a bellydancer and kept criticizing everything without really giving any instruction.
Class finished and I felt very defeated. Bellydance was supposed to be liberating, right?

Months go by, I started working with DVDs and forgetting I actually had a class. I still didn't go back to try to reclaim any money, I didn't see it as worth it.

Then today I went to Amy and we worked together in a beginner's class. It was only me and another student. We drilled simple moves, going at all speeds and... I was actually having fun! I was learning moves the right way and actually loving it!

It was crazy!

After class, as I was taking notes about moves and such, I hesitantly asked about her knowledge of the previous instructor. She politely replied that she had a "reputation" and I promptly told her the gist of my experience. She was super classy about it also, she didn't slander her name only that they had issues.

Another thing that I absolutely enjoyed was that she named each and every instructor and gave an unbiased opinion of their teaching styles, (which was immensely helpful) and recommended (unlike the other instructor) that I try to get a couple different teachers because that's how one learns.

I look forward to the next class and already found a free class for tomorrow :) Hopefully that'll be great!
Wish me luck!
-Kestrel

Day 77- Start start of Hairspray and other excitin' News

It's Friday (Friday... gotta get down on Friday)
Which means it's almost the weekend, and then come Monday, I have rehearsals for the Musical Hairspray, in which I am a Motormouth gal.
Needless to say I'm excited. I love dance and I get to dance pretty much every time I get on stage :D

I also got connected to the woman who is going to be giving me private BD lessons and brought me to the reality that where I live isn't the ideal place to start a career in Middle Eastern dance. Something I already knew but glad she reminded me none the less.
Right now I just want to learn as much as I can in the 4 or so years I'm in my hometown going to college.
She also said that another person might want to get BD lessons as well so it wouldn't be an entirely private lesson which is okay by me because we'll get to split the cost. I'm also trying to persuade my friends  to at least take a class or two with me :P

...We'll see how that goes.
And now for an Inspiration video :D It's Ansuya and she does a bit of floor work in the beginning. I normally don't like floor work, because it can look so trashy, but she does well!

Day 73- Realization that I actually WANT to be a Belly Dancer

It's summertime, nbd.
I graduated, which was a bigger deal than I thought it would be... I mean I was all for getting my diploma and taking off and saying "forget it" to the huge mondo ceremony, but my family coerced me to do otherwise... And I can't say I'm not glad I did it. It was actually... fun.

AND then we got to do this Project Graduation thing, where we get locked in a gym for fun activities and such (to keep away from drugs and alcohol on grad night).
My favorite part was Zumba with an instructor named Tracy, later after the class she asked if I danced and I said I was a beginning bellydancer (etc.) and she gave me her card and said I was awesome and it showed (It was a longer conversation but you get the gist of it)

I was just so excited that I (ME) was recognized as a dancer. I used to have 2 left feet, but a couple classes and more recently BD DVDs and classes, morphed me... I never really realized how much, that I would actually get recognized.... even just at a school event.

I don't know :) But it just makes me hungry to keep going with this journey that I'm on.
I never quite had this much certainty to do something with my life (other than acting... but that's a whole nother can of worms).
And it totally reminded me of something that I asked one my former chorus teacher.

I asked him, "was there ever a moment that you wanted to quit, to stop teaching?"
And he got this look in his eyes, filled with honesty and absolute truth, "No... There was not one moment where I wanted to quit. I knew from the moment I started teaching I didn't want to stop"

And the way he said that, with absolute surety, struck me. It wasn't a loud boisterous decleration, but a calm confession. And I realized in that moment how it applied to me. I had found something that I was (and am) absolutely sure that I wasn't going to quit on.
So I will keep going on this journey, and learning and growing.

You'll hear from me soon :) 

Day 63- New Projects. oh boy... P.S HELP!

So I probably should not be starting a new project when I haven't finished the last, let alone have much time for one (but it IS summer sooo.)
And btw.... this post took me 3 days to write out, which should tell you something!
:P

I'm doing a Pharoh-ic costume (I have no idea how to spell it.)
Lots of blues, reds, yellow/golds

I'm mostly doing this because I'm completely STUCK on my current one. I have the bra base, but am a little stuck on what to do for the design. I have started however

I know... shiny.

But I just recently finished the other side and am at an impasse. I need Ideas.... desperately

Day 60- Bellydance Costumes and Inspirations

I have once again picked up my bellydance bra and have started working on it again.
I have it all sewned up. I just have to get some heavy interfacing and line the straps.
THEN I go crazy with the decorating... I am well and truly excited for this and already have plans for the next one. But first I want to get the belt done.

oh yeah... pictures!
Enjoy

ugh! It's too much of a pain to resize and fit to this... so be satisfied my perfectionist mindset!

Day 59- Closing a Door and Opening a New One

So last Friday was the last day of my high school career (aside from Graduation and all that jazz)
Also yesterday was the last day of my first job.
I got fired.

Yup. Seems the Fates wanted to wrap up everything all into one. SO I am now jobless and school-less.
Look on the bright side, I have a lot more free time on my hands.

I'm not trying to downplay me getting fired. Yes it was wrong but I think I was more a victim on the system rather than negligence.
Start from the beginning? Ok.
So we have this policy that if you want to give away a shift that you (and the person you're giving that shift away to) have to sign a paper and give it to one of the managers. No big deal right?
BUT this must all be done the day before and handed to the managers in their hand.
It's all very last minute and not really put together.
The person who I was giving my shift to actually maxed out her hours already for working part time (35 hours) I also gave her the sheet to give the manager, so I thought I was covered.

I wasn't.

Long story short, I was fired because it's policy for a "No-call No show"
I don't blame anyone but the stupid system.
So now I just have to find another job. Preferably a waitressing job at a restaurant.
Wish me Luck!

Day 50- Bitter Disappointments

I feel like I'm wasting my time.
Not in the bellydance sense or anything... or the yoga sense.... I'm going great in those fields. I don't even know what I'm talking about

Maybe I should start over. or as "over" as I can since I took a vow not to delete or change anything on my blog (except for spell check so one could understand me)

I'm not going to NYC for college (too expensive), but instead going to a shit little community college... fun fun.
I can't quit my job because it supposed to be financially on the rise. I as going to get a new one I swear.

My precious project of henna-ing for Relay for Life was cancelled due to inclimate weather and we had a 20 minute notice to vacate the facilities.

All this bitching needs a good side though right?
There is!
I found another major in college that I really like, Exercise fitness, and with it I can be a personal trainer among other things.  I plan on getting my Zumba license ASAP. AND Relay for Life is being held again in my town this Friday.... unfortunately it's on the day of my Drama Banquet... But I might not go because of lack of motivation.

My life is actually pretty good right now, things finally seems to be lining up perfectly. I actually am getting a handle on high school life, finding the right friends, making good choices.
Only bad thing is that there's 5 days left.

Is that how the rest of my life is going to be like? Finally figuring things out a second before the end?
Man I hope not.

Maybe I should stop trying to "figure things out" and try to figure myself out. If that makes any sense at all...

My friend got a tattoo today and that got me thinking about my future ink. I've been wanting it for a while now, but was always afraid if it would affect my job, or the future.... like what if I won't like it anymore etc.
But I think it's a keeper, still... I think I'll let it marinate for a while longer.

In yet other news. Finally like a guy and he's going out of state for college. Oh joy.

But let's end on a good note. A Bellydancer who is all tatted up but won't let that stop her:

Rachel Brice!



Day 32- Fighting Forward

So I'm trying to find something news worthy to report...
Nothing really. I found a new Bellydance place and a new class starts up May 3rd so I'm going to check it out and see if I should go or just stick to DVDs... I really hope it's the former so I can get some real live attention to my technique, the perfectionist in me is talking... More like yelling.

There's also a tribal fusion class that's nearby, but I would rather just stick to the "classical/ cabaret" for now and decide what style I want to be later.

In real world news, my dad LOVES Beats Antique.

Oh. PS. I totally missed them in concert in my city.... so pissed when I found out.

No progress towards my costume yet and still learning how to sew.

BUT  I found a VERY inspiring bellydancer. Aziza, you may have heard of her ;)
She is absolutely FAB and I discovered her via the intensive she's doing with Sharon Kihara.... And was promptly dismayed that you have to have at least 3 years experience before being able to go.
It sounded fun...
But alas maybe next time!
Check out her shimmies and her travelling step... ooooer...

Day 24- Putting Together Moves

Okay, so I'm at that point where I have about 20 moves that I know very well....
And I mean VERY! I drill to the point of exhaustion, because I'm a perfectionist like that. I do them on my toes, while I'm walking, doing chores and such things like that.

It is time (Lion King... omg!)

So I'm starting to put together little combo moves to try out and drill together and I want to try to find a song to create a combo for... Maybe a couple. And if I like them well enough, MAYBE (just maybe...) perform them for Relay for life in May.

Now that I have something to work towards, I'm going to be working even harder. I relish the challenge.
ALSO, I found this really cute emerald fabric that I'll use for a bra, dunno about a belt, might not have enough fabric... but who knows.
I'm going to try sewing by hand and see how that goes.
I also ordered Asharah's DVD on Tribal Bellydance and I'm getting a book on sewing beads and sequins on fabric

AHHHHHHH I'm so excited!
More later, as I'm at school,
-Kestrel

Day 19- Respect

Okay, so today there was an "incident" where a person I knew, who is more acquaintance than friend (she's nice but I don't know her that well), found out that another girl (her friend actually) cheated with her boyfriend...

Not explaining this well am I? Person A (my friend) is dating person B... Person B hooks up with person C, person A's friend. Yeah. All three are friends of mine, or at least people I consider friends and hang out with.  Person C's excuse? "oh... she's not my good friend"

REALLY?!?!?

Wow. Even I would do that to my worst enemy. I may hate a person's actions, but I still have respect enough for them as a person. I wouldn't debase myself so much as to become "The Other Woman"

How this all relates to bellydance?

It's all about respecting yourself and others. A bellydancer in good standing wouldn't undercut another by gossiping about other's "poor" skills nor would they try to steal anothers' job or business deal by offering a cheaper price.
If they're new in town then would see where they stand in the Bellydance community rather than barging in and taking over.
Good bellydancers give constructive criticism, not hateful trash talk.
One should also respect oneself and present oneself in a light that encourages good publicity (there IS bad publicity you know).
EXAMPLE Sadie and her scandals that have surfaced: the Taxi Cab Confessions (I shudder when I remember that and promptly feel nauseous) and that Kama Sutra show that got her banned from a BD affair.

I dunno... but it seems I just needed to say this. I shouldn't have to but it needs to be said, unfortunately.

"Love thy Neighbor and thyself"
And this way of life should extend to all aspects of your day.

Okay. Getting off my soapbox now.

Day 11- End of the "Year" Contemplations and Frustrations

Ever been supermega stressed?
I'm feeling that way right now: Doing last minute apps for my backup school, scheduling a chat with he admin coordinator at NYCDA, bellydance, yoga (it helps), papers, school work, tests, homework, a job (soon to be two), making costumes, and Relay for Life.

It all seems to be piling up and seems like my life will be a train wreck pretty soon. I pay taxes now so adults can't complain that to me either. PLUS I have prom to think about.

I complain a lot right now, don't I. But there is a silver lining. I have an awesome family support group (took me like 18 years to find out that they weren't purposefully sabatoging my life...).
That and I have a badass planner, I think I'm going to name him Jesse. Jesse is my hot pink snakeskin print (as in like a digital design print) planner that I've had ALL year. It was one of the first things I've kept and used consistantly, my first good habit.

That good habit is followed by other good ones too, like my consistant yoga and BD workouts and though my reptoire is still limited it's slowing growing.

Now it's time to focus! (again...again)
I promised phoos of my costume and me learning to dye right?
If not, well, here's some awesome photos. I just pinned a bellydance bra with my mom (yay bonding!)

Obviously I still need to sew it on, cut the straps off and replace them. I'm not sure if I want itstrapless (I'm not chesty so I'll be fine) or like a halter? But I already picked out some decorations to make it purdy! Needless to say I'm excited!

wow this photo quality is poor! But I really like how the fabric paint has taken to this, you can definitely see the pattern more clearly now and it still moves and doesn't "crunch"

I'm buying some dye and want to  try different colors and maybe sell some bras later on.

Practicing my water coloring skillz: they're okay.... I bought a book to help me out a bit. The blending is really good (I used two paints) but some areas look "messy sloppy watery" rather than "really beautiful art on fabric watercolor." Thankfully this is on a cheap white bandana that was $1.50 

I will be buying a lot more of that.

but bottom line is that I'm still growing and I love that. I love discovering new things and looking forward to keep writing in here.

oh dear, I've gone all sentiMental.

okay, good night!

-Kestrel

Day 11- Stay Focused and Listen to your parents

Hey,
So I haven't been blogging in a while. I got a little sidetracked with school, college apps and scholarships.
 I want to go to NYCDA and that's a buttload of $$$ so working and applying to stuff is all I can really do.

ANYWAY. With my Bellydancing life, I'm pretty good and I found my upper stomach muscles last night. I can move them (without the lower stomach muscles) everyone and a while. But I'm REALLY excited! It's a huge breakthrough for me.

That beautiful fabric I picked out was to heavy for a skirt or anything useful other than a bra covering and belt and perhaps some arm gaurds which is kind of disappointing because I bought 5 FREAKIN YARDS OF IT!
oh well live and learn. My mom got me some pretty black/white/green fabric for the skirt and helped me pin my first bra! YAY! I'm learning! :P

But I think I know what I'm going to do with the left over fabric. I'm going to make and then sell BD belts and panels. The fabric takes to fabric paint very well (it keeps moving). So I'm going to henna some of it tonight!

I'll post some pictures later since I'm at school right now.
PS sorry for spelling errors!
-Kestrel!

Day 5- Warms ups and looking at videos

Hi!
So I just finished all my homework, took a nap and finished my BD training.
I'm still working on my Diamonds, Shoulder Rolls, Snake Arms and Undulations.
My new move for this week is the chest lift. I started by first sitting down and trying to isolate the muscles in my upper ribs and upper back... I'm going to be so sore in the morning!

So my inspiration for today is Sadie. She is a great technical dancer but I often feel that she is a bit lacking in emotion. I also heard that she made a couple of faux pas of being in a rap video that was really demeaning to Bellydancers and women alike. She also was banned from Rakkasah also with her performance troup for some less than family friendly routines.
And then there was the Taxi Cab Confessions incident.

Hopefully she will get back on track on being an inspirational person and woman to look up to. Right now I just like her dance :P
-Kestrel

Day 5- At School. Starving

Okay, so this is the first real day of my balancing school, yoga, bellydance and everything else I decide to throw in.
This is also the first project day for my Bellydance costume. I've been looking at videos and tutorials for the things I need, and I think I'm ready to get started. So I have to just grit my teeth, finish my homework and then get started on this!
I have some (bad) sketches of what I want to design. I want to have a vintage BD feel without it looking too dated.

Wow there's a lot of "I"s in this.

Anyway, so I have a ton of things to do from now to the end of the school day (hopefully I can pass this test in Government!) and I will post my sketches and an inspirational video later today!

So there's this one kid editing me and my bad english/spelling skills.
Sorry, spelling is my Kryptonite

Day 4- Buying Fabrics and inspiration

Okay... So Let me recap Day 3 aka YESTERDAY!
So sorry I didn't post buy ah well...
...What did happen yesterday? I actually don't remember. It's Spring Break so the days kind of run together.
But today I just did some yoga and took a break from Bellydance practice. I can barely scrape my heels onto the floors in down dog and can now get into a successful (and safe) backbend.
YAY!
I also discovered a Hot Yoga class in my area, so I'm going to go with a friend... Mucho Excited for that.

ALSO before I forget, I bought some fabric today for my first BD costume! It's this really gorgeous woven fabric that's an ivory color with a VERY ligh gold fan type pattern on it.

I'm a newbie when it comes to sewing so my mom is going to be helping (I hope)... Some pics below, sorry for the bad quality!

I'm also getting some indigo and more henna to make some designs so I can start selling Harem pants and such. I'm taking pics EVERYWHERE (literally) so I can get inspiration!

Speaking of "inspire" I watched this fabulous video today for the first time and I love the sensuality of it and that it's not raunchy, unlike some of today's "bellydance" performances. ENJOY!

Still Day 2- Learn to let things go.

Okay, so I put off the second half of my BD lesson today to go see a movie with my dad.

I came back and started doing what I dreaded the most. Undulations and bellyrolls.
2 things you have to learn:

1- NEVER go into a lesson thinking you will be all badass and perfect. Because you will make mistakes... it's all a part of learning. On the other side of the spectrum
2- NEVER go in with a defeatist attitude. you will be proven right by this.

I went in with the latter. And got super frustrated. I need to be more positive. Better luck tomorrow! : )

ON THE FLIP SIDE. Suckerpunch was awesome. It was a great movie and it was awesome bonding with my dad eating junk and sipping sodas.
I don't want to ruin anything for you but you should totally see it; it's like a 2 hour video game and music video with morals and a freedom undertone as well.
My advice though: Don't go in thinking it'll be your typical action movie though and you'll be fine.
I wish it were longer so that the audience could truly flesh out the characters and get to know them better but it was still a Fab Film!

Day 2- When in Doubt... USE THE COMPUTER!

Technology is amazing, but it also majorly sucks when it malfunctions right?
Enter my DVD player. I'm using the bellydance DVD "Tribal Fusion Bellydance with Sharon Kihara" Pictured below

It's amazing BTW. But when I went to put it into the player my remote wouldn't work and there is no "enter" button on the actual DVD box so it won't play. :(

So I used my computer instead! Who said I wasn't creative?!?!?
Aside from that minor set back, I continued on with  my lessons. My walking undulations are getting better now that I know the movement should be powered by my lower back.
And I had a personal epiphany in yoga today doing the Swan Sequence :)

Here's my inspiration for today! Sharon Kihara!

(Really short but I have to finish my workout!)
More later I promise
-Kestrel

Day 1- New Beginnings and Lessons Well Learned

Okay. So I know when I decided I wanted to take up Bellydance I got the "look" from my mother and that scoff. Same thing with my friends too. I got that "look" and that sense of incredulity, like I was going out of my mind or something.
But they should have seen it coming you know?

I mean I was obsessed (and still am) with Henna and Harquus, which both originated in North Africa and India. I loooove the clothingand the culture there and am currently learning Sanskrit and practicing Yoga.

So all and all it shouldn't have been that much of a shock.

So back to my blog. Hopefully I can keep this up *crosses fingers*
I'll just post stuff BD related and Yoga related and all my funny mishaps on here!
My acting stuff and other junk will be on my other blog.

This is first and formost for me so I can track how I'm doing and progressing but you, if any read this, are welcome to take a peek inside my life!

Let's get started!

So today I did a Yoga warm up the "FireBird" sequence on the FitTV channel (I know) and actually got a pretty good stretch. I can now put all fingers flush agaist the floor after a couple of breaths so I'm really excited.
For my BD moves I reviewed the Shoulder push, slower than the Shoulder Shimmy. The problem I have is endurance but I'm working on that. I also did Shoulder shimmies and worked on keeping my arms loose. Then I worked on shoulder Diamond at 1/2 speed. full speed is still a disaster... but that's learning right? :)

New Moves today included the Glute shimmy and Hip Pistons, and the Walking Bellyroll... Walking was not an option today.

BTW I'm not a brand spanking new BDer, I've been off and on since december and these moves are review/new.
I also try to watch a new Belly dance video a day for inspiration! And I'll share with you!
Here is Asharah. I love the intensity of her moves and just her aura! Some people say scary and now what Bellydance is, but her moves are strongly Cabaret based! How's that for my first video posting? Truly Amazing artist!


This posting has been incredibly boring with the exception of Asharah of course!
But I did pick out a Bellydance name (I know you don't have to but I wanted to :P)
-Kestrel