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Taking A Breath for A Better Day

Thank you, Spire for sponsoring this post. Discover calm and live a more mindful life by checking out the Spire Mindfulness + Activity Tracker, available in Apple Retail stores nationwide and online here.

Over the past few months, I’ve shared my struggles in balancing life with you guys. I found myself getting caught in the whirlwind and swirl of leading a “busy” life and not making time for the things that mattered most.  Last week, I wrote a raw, honest post sharing the steps I’ve taken to make space in my life so I can prioritize the things that matter.

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What I didn’t share in that post is that there are other steps I’ve taken over the past few months to bring more calm into my daily life. During late July, I started to notice that my shoulders and body were more tense than normal, I was having a hard time going to sleep at night, not sleeping well, and experiencing anxiety. There were a number of external factors within my personal and professional life causing this stress, but what I also realized was that I wasn’t doing anything to help minimize it.

It’s amazing what one app or stone can do to help you focus on certain aspects of your life.  

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When the team at Spire sent me their new wearable device, Spire Mindfulness + Activity Tracker, I used this as a catalyst to begin focusing on improving my mindfulness and daily stress levels. Even before I started making changes to my calendar and schedule, I started looking at the areas that were a bit easier to control.  Have you ever found yourself forgetting to breathe during a stressful meeting or clenching your jaw when you are stressed?

Being mindful isn’t always easy, especially when life gets busy but luckily it is something that we have full control over.

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The small device, which is about the size of my thumb, tracks and creates patterns from your breath.  Unlike other wearables, this can be worn on your bra or waist, making it invisible to others. When the Spire determines that you are stressed or tense, it reminds you to breathe with a simple vibration, signaling that you should take a minute to calm down through breathing exercises or a short meditation.  The device will also vibrate if you have been sedentary for too long, reminding you that even a quick walk around the office can help relax you.

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In addition to taking breathing and focus breaks, prompted by the Spire, here are three other things that I’ve incorporated into each of my days.

  • Reading – While we love shows like “Night Of” just as much as the next person, Bo and I have both found that we sleep better and go to sleep more relaxed if we spend 30 minutes reading before bed. By 10pm each night we switch off our television, put our iPhones and iPads away, and spend 30 minutes reading. This new habit has helped me led to me finishing seven books during August and September, more than I read the previous six months.
  • Meditation –  The Spire app features more than 15 different boosts or short audio sessions which guide you through meditation or breathing exercises. Some are as short as 30 seconds while others are up to 60 minutes. I begin my day with the guided meditation boost, relax during the day with the 30 second calm boost and clear my mind around 3pm with the energize 3 minute boost.  They include experts such as Dr. Deepak Chopra and meditation teacher Kim Nicol. These boosts have helped me realize that you don’t need much to bring space and calm into even the busiest of days.
  • Yoga – I have recommitted to practicing yoga at least once per week in a formal class and at least once per week at home. The yoga I practice at home is often a shorter, more restorative class, complete with my favorite candle and some calming music. This time on the mat allows me to set aside the stress of the day and focus on how my muscles and body are feeling.

As you guys know, these reviews are always honest and my own opinion. Therefore, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the areas where I think Spire can improve.

  • I wish it incorporated everything. In the future, I hope this wearable becomes one which tracks sleep, activity, breathing and more as I believe that combining all these items will truly help make this a best in class tracker. I know that they are working to make constant improvements and can only imagine what version 2.0 will be like!
  • Their customer service has some opportunities. During the test we sent a few questions to their customer service after receiving the form email following set up. Two weeks later, we still haven’t received a response. I did however receive a quick response when I asked something on a social media channel so maybe it’s more about ensuring that they are in touch with their consumers across every touch point they provide.
  • It is a little bulky. Both my husband and I felt that the wearable was a bit bulky. I found myself needing to remove it during yoga as it pressed into my chest bone during certain moves and we both found it  uncomfortable to wear inside non-elastic pants, i.e suit pants vs workout shorts. Hopefully the next version is slimmer.

Regardless of these few flaws, I believe this is a great tool to use if you are finding yourself stressed and anxious and I look forward to continuing to use it, especially during the work day.

Click here to learn more about the Spire?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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The Hardest Class I Took at the YMCA

Thanks to the YMCA of Greater New York for sponsoring this post.

Over the past two months, I have taken multiple classes at the YMCA including, but not limited to boot camp, yoga, spin, TRX, water aerobics and even a trampoline class. While each YMCA location had it’s own individual community vibe, I loved that every class format provided a safe environment for all abilities with teachers providing modifications throughout class.  The instructors took time before and after class to engage with students and it was clear that in most classes, I was the only new person. The YMCA members are loyal to their classes and instructors, and this was especially clear in my final class – Insanity.

After reading about the Insanity workouts on other health and wellness blogs, I was excited to discover that YMCA branches offer this workout to its members for no extra charge. Typically, the Insanity workout is only available when purchased through a Beachbody coach or their official website for 3 installments of $39.95.  This intense workout uses only your body weight and is a maximum interval style workout. This means that you push yourself, as hard as possible for 30 second to 1.5 minute increments and then have a very brief recovery between moves.

Chinatown YMCA

Offered Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Chinatown YMCA, there was a line waiting outside the studio when I arrived, ten minutes before class. I asked a few of the students if they were regulars and took the class often. Their responses quickly told me that this class was going to be intense and I should fill my water bottle up and grab a towel because I’d be a sweaty mess by the end.

This class is awesome. 

The workout is efficient and killer!

Wait, this is your first time? Good luck! Make sure to tell Marc. 

Spoiler alert – this 45-minute class was beyond hard. In fact, it was not only the hardest class I took at the YMCA but one of the hardest classes I’ve taken – ever!

Insanity after

This class, while open and available to all members, is not for all abilities. Even though the friendly and high energy instructor, Marc, asked students about injuries and provided some adjustments, it as non-stop plyometric work. Almost all the moves were high impact including lots of jumping, side to side movements, sprints, and bursts of power. I can’t remember all the moves but the ones that stuck out in my head were the tuck jumps, ski jumps, cross jacks, ski abs, and clap push-ups. It wasn’t necessarily any individual move that made this class tougher than most of the classes I take at Barry’s Bootcamp, Fhitting Room, or Brick but instead the constant intensity. There weren’t alternate exercises to use as a “rest” such as weights or erg pieces. Instead, you were constantly moving between these high impact movements.

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Now that I have experienced Insanity, I can understand the appeal. For people who want to take their fitness and health to the next level, this is a great option especially if you workout at home. If you do the routine the 6 days a week that founder Shawn T recommends, you will get into fighting shape. However you will also put your body at a very high risk of injury if you don’t already know the right form and have a strong fitness base. Instead of trying this at home initially, I would recommend seeing if your local gym or even ClassPass studio offers the class so you can try it in-person with an instructor. If that isn’t an option, try to partner with a friend who has done it before or is experienced in high intensity workouts so they can help you with your form.

If you’re a member of YMCA of NYC and looking for a challenge, Marc’s twice a week Insanity classes will leave you sweating and out of breath. His friendly smile and awesome playlist will make you forget that you have 44 minutes left of class after you’re already out of breath in the first minute of tuck jumps.

Your turn: Have you tried Insanity yet? If so, what were your thoughts? 

Live in NYC and want to see what your local branch offers? Check out the YMCA website.

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored partnership with the YMCA of Greater New York.

Other posts in this series:

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A Workout for All Abilities

Thanks to the YMCA of Greater New York for sponsoring this post.

When I was young, I spent a great deal of time at my grandparents house as my parents did their best to balance staring a family business and working full time. Most Summer mornings, my grandmother would don her favorite floral swimsuit and swim cap, force me into my swimsuit, lather me down in just a little too much sunscreen and drive us to the neighborhood pool. For the next hour I would dance on the pool’s ledge to the music as she and twenty of her friends took a water aerobics class. This class served as social hour for the women, providing them the chance to catch up on the local gossip, while also allowing them to get their heart rate up in a low impact environment.  Oh how I wish I had pictures from these morning workouts as the memories are wonderful.

Therefore, when the YMCA suggested that I try one of their aqua exercise classes, as part of my partnership, I was excited to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps and give her favorite workout a try. Even though it’d been more than nine months since I slide into my favorite TYR swimsuit and donned my aqua swim cap, I was excited to get in the pool last night after a long week.

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I arrived at the McBurney YMCA, commonly known to locals as the Union Square YMCA, at 6pm allowing myself plenty of time to explore the space and change before the 6:30pm class.  The building was bustling and packed with teenagers joining the weekly basketball game or the swim practice.  There are multiple floors and spaces including studios for group fitness, basketball courts, a large weight room, massage rooms, steam room, sauna and of course a pool.  I headed to the locker room where I was able to change into my swimsuit and rinse off before class.

 

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As soon as I exited the locker room the instructor, Val, kindly introduced herself and gave me a quick overview of the class.  She teaches aqua bootcamp multiple times per week at the YMCA and each class is a little different depending on the crowd. Last night’s class had twelve women of all shapes and sizes. For the past ten years she has loved teaching aqua boot camp as it allows her to bring fitness to people of all abilities as the workout is low impact but the water and foam weights provide resistance.

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I eased myself into the water, introducing myself to the other students. There were a few first timers, a mother in her third trimester and then some groupies who follow Val throughout the city for her classes.  Positioned in the deep end of the pool, I was ready to give this class a try.

The aqua boot camp class is broken into segments, which Val led both from the pool ledge and then in the water with us.

  • Warm-up
    • This portion was a blissful mix of deep stretching and yoga moves. 
  • Cardio
    • In order to get your heart rate up it’s suggested that you do this portion in the deep end, if possible. We spent 20 minutes doing different calesthic moves like running in place, jumping jacks, butt kicks, tuck jumps, lateral jumps, and cross country skiing.  This portion was harder than I expected and within five minutes I could feel my heart rate increasing and by the end of the twenty minutes I was short of breath. Now I know why people can use deep-water pool running while training! 
  • Strength
    • We used foam weights for the strength portion of the class, doing typical moves like lateral raises, bicep curls and hammer curls. The resistance of the water combined with the weight made the moves harder than normal. In order to keep our heart rate up we’d include cardio bursts after each move such as sprinting in place. 
  • Cool Down

For me, the class served as a great way to shake out my muscles after a long week and a few tough workouts while also enjoying the water’s relaxing effects.  I would highly recommend this class for anyone who is new to fitness, needs to keep things low resistance due to injury or is looking for a change.

Have you tried water aerobics or pool running before? 

Live in NYC and want to see what your local branch offers? Check out the YMCA website.

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored partnership with the YMCA of Greater New York.

Other posts in this series:

 

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