Climbing, Yoga, Concerts, & Weddings, Oh My!

Here are the new and interesting things I've been up to the past few months. In the works is a ginormous post on climbing in celebration of my big trip/Tweetup out at Joshua Tree next month with Katie (@adventuregrrl).

Dave Matthews Band Concert in Jerz. Went with my BB Emily and it felt like we were transported back to high school. We had seats waaaaayyy back in the lawn section, making it even more like high school... The band was awesome, of course, and played a great mix of Big Whiskey and our old fav's including Stay or Leave, Ants Marching, and Crash.

Me, at the Gunks, testing out my trad anchor. It holds!
Woo, it was a lil nerve wracking to sit back and trust the gear I had placed!

Gunks! Katie, Dan and I traveled up North to the Gunks, a range of cliffs where trad routes abound. We hired a guide, Jason, to teach us how to set up anchors, place trad gear, and generally prepare us for the indoor/outdoor climbing transition.

On top of the trad learning, we bouldered. This was quite the eye opening experience. What did Nina learn outside on the rock? Indoor climbing prowess does not translate to real rock...at least not until you learn to trust your feet.

I'll have plenty more time to work on my outdoor skills during the Joshua Tree Climbing Tweetup next month!!!!

Weddings! There have been two this month. My good high school friend, Amy Moran, married Don Lowe in Gloucester, Ma.

Cute story: they kept seeing each other on the commuter rail for months before Don introduced himself finally and asked Amy out. The rest is history!

One other wedding. My band mate Jory got hitched! The reception was at the Society Hill Dance Academy. He looked very dapper in his gray suit! His bride, Susan Gager, plays the keyboard in the band East Hundred.

Last month, my favorite yoga studio, Yoga Sutra, unexpectedly closed down (within a week of notice). In the wake of that sketchiness, I have been in search of a new studio. I like Vinyasa yoga best for a nice, deep, and relaxing stretch. I prefer Friday night yoga--excellent way to wind down your week and work on being in the Now. Here's a list of places I've tried.

Dyhyana Yoga Studio
http://www.dhyana-yoga.com/
40th & Chestnut
Most likely, this studio will replace Yoga Sutra. It's only blocks from work and the Penn gym, making it easily accessible. So far I've taken the Sunday Vinyasa Align and Flow class with Marisa. I really enjoyed this class. She helped me get into positions that I didn't think I could do and was helpful about explaining why we do this or that.

Class description: realize our vibrant true nature by aligning our poses and intentions to their fullest potential in the moment. By applying the Universal Principles of Alignment, we integrate physical action with inner awareness. Classes include an engaging flow of postures, demonstrations, individual adjustments and modifications.

Bikram College Of India

http://www.bikramphiladelphia.com/

1520 Sansom St Philadelphia, PA 19102-2810

(215) 977-9642

Bikram is a form of yoga noted for its extremely high room temp of 105 degrees and about 60% humidity. The room is kept at this temperature to keep the body from overheating (contrary to popular belief), protect muscles to allow for deeper stretching, detoxify the body (open pores to let toxins out), thin the blood to clear the circulatory system, increase heart rate for better cardiovascular workout, improve strength by putting muscle tissue in optimal state for reorganization, and reorganize lipids (fat) in the muscular structure.

I felt invigorated and well stretched out after this class.

Beginner special: $20 for first week: unlimited classes

Philly Power Yoga

http://www.phillypoweryoga.com/

2016 Walnut St Philadelphia, PA 19103

(215) 636-9642

Power yoga is a general term used in the West to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Most power yoga is closely modeled on the Ashtanga style of practice. The term "power yoga" came into common usage in the mid 1990s, when several yoga teachers were looking for a way to make Ashtanga yoga more accessible to western students. Unlike Ashtanga, power yoga does not follow a set series of poses. Therefore, any power yoga class can vary widely from the next. What they have in common is an emphasis on strength and flexibility. The advent of power yoga heralded yoga's current popularity, as people began to see yoga as a way to work out. Power yoga brought yoga into the gyms of America.

Beginner special: first class is free!

Go to Troy's classes. He is the best instructor!

I very rarely go to Power Yoga because it is more of a workout than a good stretch session. After teaching Body Pump 2-3 times a week, it's more beneficial to me to lay off more strenuous activity. That said, I think it's an excellent workout and a great way to work your core without having to do boring/traditional abs.

Lastly, where have I been eating? New and old places have made the list:

Village Whiskey. New whiskey bar at 20th & Samson. Amazing burgers! Really, I think the best in the city. AND that's coming from me. Trying the goat cheese one. UH, so good. Plus, the fries are cooked in DUCK FAT. Mmmm. Have already been here multiple times. Plan to put your name and cell down and then go do something else for 40 minutes. It's worth the wait! And they make it easy by calling you on your phone.

Tinto. 20th & Samson. It's become the magic corner! (Tinto, Village Whiskey AND Caprogiro gelatto). Tried this tapas place out with Em during restaurant week. Same owners as Amadas and it lives up to its rep!

Noble. On Samson between 20th and 19th I think. New french fusion restaurant. Excellent! Went with Katie--she was able to get a coupon online somewhere.

Audrey Clair. Always exceptional.

X0 Chitl (so-cheat). Tasty margaritas and upscale mexican food.

Taste of Philly. This was just last night and I'll prolly write a whole article on it. Very enjoyable in any case!

Post-climbing haunts: Grace, Standard Tap, 10 Stone, Doobies. Always dependable for a good microbrew and burger!

TONIGHT: Distrito. New(ish) restaurant in West Philly. Chef is Jose Garces who is finalist on the Next Iron Chef show.

Last thing to mention. TANGO lessons. Yes, that's right. Katie & I went to Society Hill Dance Academy and took group lessons. No partner necessary.

Soon To Be Gumby

Hi folks,

My goal for next week: write posts that are not spin profiles! "The Tasty Spoon" is supposed to be about all my hobbies, not just spinning, so I'm going to make more of an effort on that part.

Lots has been happening the past few weeks, including APPLYING TO MED SCHOOL, running, climbing, spinning, MOVING, yoga, Body Pump, movies, ALIAS, eating, and day dreaming about climbing trips out West or to Mexico...

My climbing obsession has peaked [again] in the last month--have been climbing at least three times a week and pushing myself to climb more challenging routes. I have broken into the 5.9's and have been consistently climbing 8's very well. Also, I have gotten back into Sunday lead climbing sessions with Howard and Chris. I will sit down and write about this over the weekend! Lead climbing is so different from top roping--it's more about keeping your cool than anything else. My partners and I have been trying to figure out outdoor climbing trips this summer (the Gunks, El Potrero Chico Mexico, Rumney, North Conway...). It's getting me very excited!

I moved a few weeks ago. This was a big deal as I'd been at my place at 11th & Pine for 2.5 years--longer than I'd been anywhere since high school. I moved in with two, very laid back dudes near 18th & Christian. So far it's been going well. I was worried about living with other people after having been by myself for so long, but there hasn't been any transitional difficulties thus far. One of my housemates, Adam, and I have been watching Alias together. By the way, I am a huge Alias fan and own all the seasons on DVD. Adam had never seen Alias, but thought he would like it (side note: I was very pleased to discover that he is also a Smallville fan!). So, little by little we have been making it through season 1: only have 2 episodes left! It's really nice to bond with someone in this way and share my obsession for the series with a housemate. FYI, he's totally obsessed now too!

NEWS FLASH: I have also taken up yoga. If you know me, you are probably familiar with my extremely inflexible hips. My hip flexors feel like rods, my IT Band (at the hip insertion point) cramps up, and I can't sit up straight (let alone lean forward) when in the sitting V position. It's thoroughly pitiful. Running and spinning do nothing to help this. Climbing does get me moving around, but the more challenging 5.9's have been forcing me to get into positions that make my hips cramp, burn, and shake. It's only my will and pure stubbornness that have gotten me through those moves! After one particularly stemmy 5.9 a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to fix this problem: it's only going to get more inflexible as time goes by. It's not going to magically get loose and limber. I've got to take action now! So the very next day I went to Philly Power Yoga Studio. It was awesome! So invigorating.

Since then, I've been trying to find the right style for me. I liked Power Yoga, but it was more of a workout than a therapeutic stretching session. I've tried Iyengar, Power Yoga, and Ashtanga. Tomorrow I'm going to a Vinyasa class. So far I have liked Iyengar the best because it went at a slow pace and focused on correct alignment and technique. I'm planning on writing a whole post on this soon...

I'm also planning on a huge baking session this weekend. It's been since Grant's Goodbye Dinner that I've baked anything (over a month). I haven't had much inspiration to bake, but I've been eying some recipes in my favorite dessert book, "The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle."

I will be making more of an effort to make this site a bit more well-rounded. If you judged my life by my posts, you'd think I just taught spinning all the time. On a given day, I'm prepared to do at least 4 different activities (running, climbing, spinning, yoga--my mat stays at the lab so I can go right to the studio when I get a chance).

Alright, more to come this weekend. Must get back to my PCRs, Western Blots, and cell culture here in the lab...

Ahh, the sweet jugs!

First, Happy New Year's!!! Have fun and be safe! I'm getting ready to leave work for the day, so I only have time for a short post. I'll continue with the Art of Eating tomorrow.

I was climbing today during lunch at Go Vertical with my trusty climbing buddy and current BB, Emily, when I remarked on how the 5.7's and 5.8's were feeling more like 5.10's and 5.11's. All the holds felt so small. Each move was a struggle. It was a battle against the wall and the wall definitely won. Seriously, I ripped off several of my calluses and accrued several cuts on my knuckles and bruises on my knees...Compare this to Monday night when all my moves were as smooth as buttah and I cruised through the 8's and 9's. The holds all felt good and I never questioned a move. The knowledge of how to send the route was intuitive and logical. It flowed through me.

One great thing about climbing is that there is always a different challenge to be had. Today, it was just about getting through one move at a time, patiently making my way to the top. Other days it's all about trying to perfect each move and fill them with decision and grace.

Challenges aside, I simply enjoy the feeling of how my body moves from one position to another. This last phenomenon is one of the coolest aspects of climbing: I find myself day dreaming about a particular move while I'm at the grocery store or some other mundane place and murmuring to myself, "Oh man, it would feel so good to do that move right now..."

We finished our session today with this nice 5.5 and man did the holds feel so great after struggling with the 5.8's crimpy holds. When I got down from it, I turned to Em and exlaimed, "Ahh the sweet jugs...they feel soooo good." We had a good chucke about it.

Alright, it's time to go pahdy hahdy as we say in Boston. Happy Holidays!