Egyptian Belly-Dancing

Video of me belly-dancing from before.

Classes will start again next year.

But already missing my lessons!

♥ Bambi

Feeling dark and wonderful.

My current mood in the past week:

I need to channel my inner Morticia into some killer workouts.

Already have the attitude and matching wardrobe.

Now I just need to find some rosebuds to snip.

♥ Bambi

Alright, who's up for some arm wrestling?!

With guns like these...

... I will surely strike fear into your heart.

♥ Bambi

Stretchy update.

Contortion progress has been slow, so I have not been blogging too much about it. Well, I hit another milestone this week. Can finally do a standing scorpion at ease! (Starting with both feet on the floor, and slowly lifting one leg up from behind till my foot is level with my head.)

I am still managing an hour-a-day of stretching. It is slower pace than my workouts earlier in the year, but I am still getting results. I am fine with that.

♥ Bambi

Kitty does what Kitty wants!

And, unfortunately, what Kitty wants is not always a good thing. I fell off the ball several times last week. I pawed and clawed to stay on, but alas... I did not land on my feet, but instead simply rolled over and slept off the sweet, yummy goodness. And it was a whole mess of sweet, yummy goodness too! I nom-nom-nomed this, I nom-nom-nomed that, I nom-nom-nomed here, I nom-nom-nomed there. I nom-nom-nomed almost every where to my Kitty heart's desire!

The feline culprit: 

And when it came to playtime... oh, it was all play all right! I ran, I stretched, I contorted, I snickered my whiskers...

My mind was not 100% into it. The change in weather also made me want to just leisurely lay around all day!

(I want this bed cushion, by the way. Will be pawing at Amazon / eBay for it.) 

Focus, can I pleaz has it?! 

Bad Kitty does not want to be bad ALL the time! (Only just most of it...)

♥ Bambi

It is Not all blood and fangs with me on Halloween.

I can be benign too. My salute to all you fine ladies and gentlemen out there:

It suits me well, I think.

...

...

...

Oh, who am I kidding! THIS is the real me:

Have a bloody All Hallow's Eve, everyone!

♥ Bambi

Soon, the ghosties will be roaming the streets.

I cannot wait.

Some food for thought. The people of the Masai customarily drink blood. A study on their diet finds that a pint of blood yields about 400 calories. Shall be interesting to see how you vampies fit that into your macros this weekend ;].

Happy treating, ghoulies. Watch out for rocks!

♥ Bambi

Side splits? No problem.

Middle splits? A bitch.

Had a terrific belly-dancing lesson this week, however. I will be updating more on that soon.

♥ Bambi

Here to make things awkward again.

It is just that time of month.

No pun with the kitty intended.

In other news, workouts are a little cleaner. So is my diet. I have never been one to keep a log of calories and such (numbers RUN my life enough as it is at work!), but... let just see how this turns out.

♥ Bambi

On stretching... and shoes! (Well, mostly on shoes)

Since my vacation, I have been playing around with my schedule almost daily, trying to just find that sweet spot in time for maximum efficiency in my workouts. On a good day, I am clocking in a little bit over an hour, and that is including warm-ups! So needless to say, progress is slow. This is essentially me and reaching benchmarks...

... for the time being. I have been putting a lot of focus on oversplits and am now doing lunges and these things called overlunges (?). Whatever it takes so I can grab my ankles in a back-bend! A must-have by Winter.

So... since there is not much to say on progress, I will share, instead, something that helps with my morale in these trying times: shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. Hooker heels. Bordellos. High platforms. They never fail to make me gush...

And complimentary video.

♥ Bambi

Contortion update: Ankle-grabbing... getting there... sorta!

So... we are officially entering Autumn tomorrow! With the changing of the seasons, my stretching practice times have shrunk considerably with school and work :/. I have not lost any of my newly acquired (ninja) skills over the Summer, but I have been doing just enough to maintain them and to progress at a snail's pace... which is still progress, but very frustrating!

I have been practicing doing oversplits and needle scales over and over and over, in addition to basic stretches. All of this just to gain more flexibility in my back. Like I said in a previous post, when it comes to flexibility, there just seems to be no end in sight! So now that I can get into a chest-stand, next up is being able to grab my legs while back-bending. Starting at the ankles, and then working my way up.

I will be going on vacation soon (will still be stretching every day, of course!), but hopefully I can twist and mangle my schedule enough to allow for those long serious stretching sessions of Summertime when I get back.

♥ Bambi

Apparently my pictures are tasteless...

Update: I just want to THANK each and every one of you who have sent me words of encouragement, whether it was from yesterday or from earlier in my training. It just reaffirms that this community is, in large part, full of good people willing to learn, willing to share, and just willing to be open-minded in our journey to better ourselves. We may share differing views on fitness, but we can all agree that this is no place to demean and pull people down. What makes this place so wonderful to me is that in seeing others actively push themselves towards their goals, it PUSHES me to do so as well. And for that reason, I am not going any where. You all inspire me, and will continue to do so!

Normally I would not give this stuff the time of day; but I have heard from many, both men and women, who have experienced similar things, so I will acknowledge it this one time.

A lot of creepy things derive from this site. Those of us who put ourselves out there risk having our pictures stolen and put up on websites and adverts that we have no association with whatsoever, being stalked on personal sites, and garnering attention from sociopaths who get off on demeaning others.

Lately, I have been getting threatening messages from an individual, or a few individuals. I would not know, since the coward does it anonymously. His latest gem:

To be honest, I am not really that offended, since these are run-of-the-mill nasty remarks. But I AM baffled by what this person could be getting out of doing all this. What thrill could a person get from being so hateful?

Okay, I admit... I am a tiny-bit offended. Not so much by the attacks on my character, but by the attack on my craft and creativity. I do not think my pictures are tasteless at all. So, cordially, a **** you to this individual.

♥ Bambi

Maintaining an hourglass.

As any woman on here learns, we cannot spot reduce where we want to lose fat. Once one place starts, the others follow. Face, arms, thighs, waist, buttocks. And...

... boobs. I have heard and read of many of my sisters' plight. It is always a constant recitation of alphabets reading backwards. We know our D-C-B-A's very well. But it is one lesson most of us would not mind forgetting!

I now stand at 34-25-35. So in trying to maintain an "hourglass" figure, I am now looking at more crunches (especially side crunches for the oblique muscles to keep the midsection fit), lunges, and some weights to balance out the upper and lower body.

It is, essentially, a fine balancing act. I will win some and I will lose some. But somewhere in that middle ground is a Bust & Buttocks utopia!

♥ Bambi

Another belly-dancing video...

Been taking a belly-dancing class since last month. Five sessions in so far. And yet within that time-frame, I have learned so much about arm and foot work, and working the torso more. I am in love with Egyptian belly-dancing!


At the last session, the instructor told me I could be a pro if I keep at it. That was definitely motivating.

♥ Bambi

Can do a Chest-Stand... at last! (Video)

Months of hard work and determination have finally paid off! My back flexibility has given way enough for a chest stand. Man lands on moon. Chest lands on floor! And I am just thrilled :D!

This basically opens up a whole branch of others things I could attempt and learn, once the chest stand becomes a common stretch in my repertoire. It will not be smooth sailing; but if I have learned anything from all of this, it is that if I keep putting in time and effort into something, it will eventually happen.

♥ Bambi

Leg over head stretching video.

From yesterday's afternoon workout. Although the chest stand is my main goal, I am also working on other forms, such as oversplits.

And there is nothing like a comfty book read right after a workout. (Pictured: Human knot pose)

♥ Bambi

Stretching only requires Time.

When it comes to stretching, you never abandon the basics. You build on them. There is no finish line that lets you know whether or not you have mastered something. There is always room for improvement. There is always that extra inch you can squeeze in (and boy do us us ladies know this)! So, essentially, the only main difference between a beginner and someone doing more advanced techniques is the *time* that has been put into stretching. If you would have asked me to do a back bend exactly a year ago, I would have just laid on the floor flat as a board. I have been training for ~9 months now, and I am still stretching all that has been accumulated since Day 1.

Such as the Cobra pose (pictured) to loosen up the back muscles. For me, this along with a few others I mentioned before is awesome for gaining flexibility in the lower back. It is a basic yoga pose, but an essential one, especially for those starting and those with back pain. There is not one session that I do without it. Basic stretches like the Cobra made something seemingly difficult like the back bend possible; and they are now helping in reaching my next goal: the chest stand.

My hamstrings stretching was not always this linear. It took *time* to get to where it is now. Flexibility does not happen overnight, so do not become discouraged if you find yourself incapable of pulling something you see in a picture or a video. Results can come in days, weeks and even months, depending on the pose and difficulty. And like I mentioned in the beginning, there is always room for growth for any pose.

The only true "hard" part is setting aside at least 15 minutes a day for stretching.

♥ Bambi

Cobra stretching for the lower back.

♥ Bambi

VAMP

♥ Bambi

When you do not have a training partner...

... you improvise.

By tumbling against walls.

By getting into awkward "eek!-back-spasm!-how-am-I-going-to-get-out-of-this?!" situations on a weekly basis. (Pictured: Yoga Scorpion pose)

But I would not have it any other way.

Yes, having someone around with similar interests to help motivate and push me would probably not be so bad. And yes, I have lost count of the amount of times I thought "screw-this-I'm-having-ice-cream-LOTS-N-LOTS-of-it" when I was not getting the results I wanted. BUT through the thick of it, I have learned some valuable personal perseverance and self-discipline, that go beyond these workouts and these pink walls. Standing on my own two feet (or having my feet in the air :D), and not having to rely on someone as a crutch is a wonderful thing.

♥ Bambi

IMAGINATION...

... is everything.

♥ Bambi

Chest-stand progress update II.

Inch by inch, I will get there.

♥ Bambi

What is Bambi up to now? Belly-dancing (video)!

So I took the day off today due to waking up with a swollen eyelid yesterday (lol :/ FML), which has not completely disappeared just yet. I went on a hiking trail in the mountains the day before, but I am not sure if that had anything to do with it. So here I am home and blogging. Originally I was not planning to share this other love of mine, but I figure why not.

I am self-taught in most of my hobbies. I seem to enjoy exploring things for myself, whether it be contortionism, yoga, belly dancing... the list goes on. I have taken aerobics and dancing classes before, but there is just something about learning things in solitude. I like the quiet and the personal space. I like learning and cherishing moments, silly and profound ones, at my own pace. This makes me more liable to mistakes... but I think that, in a morbid way, is part of the fun.

The dancing is far from perfect. And as with every thing else, I am working on it... and enjoying it at my own pace! Finally figured out how to record for longer periods too!

♥ Bambi

Spooky.

Stretch daily and you can be this spooky as well.

♥ Bambi

A little self-control is a good thing.

Even for a kitty.

♥ Bambi

Splits video & flexibility updates.

The past week was brutal. Not in the sense of having endured soul-sucking, back-breaking intense workout sessions, but in the sense of mental fatigue and feeling like an extra on "The Walking Dead". I did not get enough sleep on some nights, and on nights where I did, I still woke up feeling less than 100%. SO it may not have much to do with the amount of sleep, but the quality of sleep I have been getting... Will have to look into this.

This pretty much sums up last week for me, with all its awkwardness and confusion:

By the way, love this movie! And if you know what it is, I will love you too :p.

Chest-stand: I have been slowly inching my way down towards the floor mat. Since my last update, I have reduced the distance between my chest and the floor by 2"! Still have about 10" to go. Can it be done by the end of Summer (September) as I planned?!!! I flipping hope so!

Flexibility: I have not lost any flexibility, despite the zombie-week of poor stretching sessions. But I also did not gain any either LOL! In regards to a few stretching poses, I think I have gone as far as I could with them, such as the front split. It would be awesome to have my, uh, lowest region COMPLETELY flat with the ground, but that is not going to happen any time soon with these thighs lol. And after much extensive research (yes, googling), it would not be anatomically possible to do at a "healthy" weight.

♥ Bambi

Tum-tum.

Could use a little definition, yes?

♥ Bambi