this has been a question that Caelan (7) has been asking me a lot lately.
at first i thought possibly a few of his classmates were expecting brothers or sisters soon, but Caelan says not.
then i thought maybe because they'd been doing a topic on 'welcoming a new baby'
but no.
it transpires his reason for asking this is a little more selfish.
at present all the boys have chores to do, they clean their own rooms and en-suite and assist in keeping the family living areas tidy, the older 2 do their own washing and take turns in emptying and stacking the dishwasher. Duncan also has a paper round.
so out it came the other day in the car as to exactly why it is Caelan is after having a baby brother or sister...
he's clicked onto the fact that within the next handful of years both boys will be moving out...
"and when the boys move out i'll have to do ALL the chores ALL BY MYSELF!" he says is exhasperation, throwing his arms in the air "AND i'll have to get a paper round! and that's just not fair!"
"we wont make you do both the boys chores, that wouldn't be fair.... and you don't HAVE to get a paper round, darling" i tell him
"yes I do" he replies " because i'll need to save up for a house and a car"
well... that'd be some paper round if he thinks he's gonna be able to save for a house and car from it, but at least it means he appreciates that you gotta work to get what you want, that stuff doesn't just drop in your lap.
i don't think he'll be getting his wish for a baby sibling... not any time soon anyway!
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Friday, 15 July 2011
why I love Zumba Fitness!
as I write this I am onto my 3rd glass of wine, and to say I'm a cheap date is a huge understatement.... so i may well look back at this in the morning and go "oh dear god" - either at the content or at the spelling lol
OK so why I love Zumba
first and foremost I've met some absolutely fanstastic people through Zumba, both as a participant and as an instructor, there are some truely inspirational people out there and i now have to pleasure to say I know them, some I am even able to call my friends.
it gives you a real all natural buzz!
if I'm feeling totally rubbish either physically or emtionally, I know if I can summon up the enegry to get my arse to a Zumba class then those feelings quickly become a distant memory :) i'm not saying if you really are physically exhausted or if you're ill you should push through, you gotta listen to your body and rest when you need to - but if you're just generally feeling 'blah' or a bit 'meh' and are tempted to reach for that chocolate bar then get your backside to a Zumba class and those feelings of 'blah' and 'meh' totally go away :)
Zumba has got me through some hard times this past year, it's been my escape from all my stresses and worries, it's been my hour of the day where nothing has been a concern but following a mad pair of feet on a stage in front of me.
generally speaking Zumba instructors are nuts (and yes i include myself in that!), so you will have a giggle if nothing else :P
you lose inches!
notice I say inches and not weight, although more than likely you will lose weight too - I've been doing Zumba for a year and a half now and I've actually only lost about 6lb but I have dropped 3 dress sizes!! In Zumba you both burn fat and build muscle - but remember, muscle weighs more than fat so it is quite possible to actually gain weight and still lose the inches! go by your measuring tape and how your clothes fit, NOT by what your scales say!
when I started Zumba around my hips/bum I was a whopping 49" at the widest and 46" at narrowest - i am now, at the last i measured, 41" at the widest and 37" at the narrowest :) I went into my old work last week, I've not been there in 2 years, and the first thing one of my old colleagues said when she saw me was "you've lost half your arse!!" - nope, not lost it, left it at Zumba!
i am battling against a couple of hormone imbalance conditions which make it really hard for me to lose weight, even slogging it out at Zumba 4 times a week my loss has been slow, but boy has it been fun!! i have loved every single sweaty moment of it!
you get a confidence boost!
In Zumba it doesn't matter if you've danced all your life or of you've never danced a day in your life, on the Zumba dance floor everyone is equal, as long as you are moving and you are having fun that is all that matters. Zumba routines are specially choreographed so that ANYONE can follow them. everyone can Zumba because however you move is PERFECT :) and PLEASE believe me when I say that no-one is watching or judging you, everyone is far too busy following the instructor to care what anyone else is doing!
Zumba opens up exercise to everyone!
whether you're a fitness nut or completely new to any form of exercise there is a Zumba Fitness class for you! from chair Gold classes for those with very limited mobility through to the body sculpting Zumba Toning, there is a class for everyone to get their grove on to the rhythms we have come to know and love :) I have recently taken some classes for people with learning disabilities and the classes were just fab!
you do NOT need to know how to dance to know how to Zumba!! just follow your instructor and let the music move you! honestly the best advice i can give to any Zumba newbies is to just relax and let the music guide you, a lot of the steps and rhythms are very natural once you let go :) i tend to find i am more likely to trip over my own feet if i am trying too hard, just relax and let the music move you!
you'll find classes will vary from instructor to instructor- uniqueness is celebrated and encouraged both with students and instructors, but i 100% believe that there is a class and instructor out there for everyone!
it opens you up to a whole new world of music and dance!
i had never even heard of Reggaeton, Cumbia or Axe before I started going to Zumba classes, let alone knowing how to move to these rhythms! my music pallet is now so much wider... even if I don't understand what's being said in the music (be assured that Zumba music is clean both in language and in topic no matter what language it's being sung in!)
all in all, I love Zumba! I have loved Zumba from the first class I went to well over a year ago, I love the change it has made to my life, it has boosted my confidence, I've dropped 3 dress sizes, I've made new friends, not to mention the fact I am now fitter than I probably have ever been in my life :)
ZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBA!!!!
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Fun Club charity class
OK so I did the charity class yesterday for the Fun Club - not as many people turned up as we'd have liked but i was quite happy with the class size for the size of the hall. it meant they all had a good amount of room to move and also meant i could work on the floor and not on the stage (the notion of being up on a stage still rather freaks me out!)
when i initially got there there was no-one around, had a wee wander about in my neon get-up, attracted a few odd looks.... but nope - no doors open, nothing... odd considering it was 2:15 and we were meant to have the hall from 2pm was beginning to think I'd got the address wrong!
so sat about for a while until I saw Paula, phew! relief! was at least at the right place!
she'd been there since 2 and had gone in search of someone to open the doors. eventually at about 2:25 someone turned up.
so off we went in and set up, i got some Zumbatomic tunes going for the kids while we adults had a good chin wag.
had a few familiar faces show up - Sanna (from uni) and her hubby, Lynseyann and Sharon from Lyna's class. was great to have them there for support but at the same time absolutely terrifying lol
we didn't get going until about 3:20, they wanted to hold off a bit to ensure we got as many people through the door as possible.
the class went really well! had a real mix of participants, young-uns to the 'not-quite-so-young-anymore-but-still-young-at-heart', all fitness levels. my 2 oldest participants up the back were brilliant, gave it what they could and laughed their way through the entire class! i even had FOUR men in the class! yes, you read that right FOUR!! lol
i had read on one of the Zumba instructors' forums about needing to give 150% to get your participants to give 75% and let me tell you this - that is EXHAUSTING! by the 4th song in I was already beginning to feel it and was seriously beginning to wonder if i'd make the end of the class, especially as i still had a good few high energy songs to come! but you pull it from somewhere... not sure where... the enegry of the participants keeps you going i guess, especially when you do give it a bit of welly and you see them laugh at what a prat I must have looked hehe :)
and on the 6th song in - I blanked - and of all songs to blank on - Me Gusta! FFS.... *rolls eyes at self* *facepalm* etc etc, it was only a couple of seconds, but for me it felt like half the song, I was really beginning to panic and nervously announced "i can't remember the steps!" to which i got a lot of laughs (thankfully!), but once the intro had passed it all clicked in and off we went.
all the participants were great, loved seeing all their wee confused faces when the steps got a little more complicated and even more the look of satisfaction when they got it. they really were a good crowd, it was a pleasure to instruct to them!
at the end I had quite a few come up and speak to me which was lovely, it's always great to get feedback especially when you're still pretty new to instructing - this was only my 4th class!
- had comments of 'working muscles i didn't know existed', others asking about classes, participants who'd never been to a Zumba class before saying they'd enjoyed it, i even had a lovely message through FB from one of the participants saying how she'd been to a class before and had been put off of Zumba from it but came to the class to support the cause, and that she enjoyed so much ('converted'!!) that she wants to give it a go again :)
i totally believe there is an instructor out there for everyone, it's just a case of trying out different ones until you find one whose style you like- Zumba is all about being yourself, showing your own unique flair, and that goes for instructors as well as participants.
I have been moved to near tears, absolutely genuinely blown away by the comments i've been recieving, I am SO happy people enjoyed the class! I always get so so so incredibly nervous before a class, these comments really do mean ever so much to me.
all in all between the class, the raffle and the "guess how many sweeties in the jar" £134 was raised for the Fun Club which will go towards a trip for the kids to legoland next year - Well Done everyone!!
when i initially got there there was no-one around, had a wee wander about in my neon get-up, attracted a few odd looks.... but nope - no doors open, nothing... odd considering it was 2:15 and we were meant to have the hall from 2pm was beginning to think I'd got the address wrong!
so sat about for a while until I saw Paula, phew! relief! was at least at the right place!
she'd been there since 2 and had gone in search of someone to open the doors. eventually at about 2:25 someone turned up.
so off we went in and set up, i got some Zumbatomic tunes going for the kids while we adults had a good chin wag.
had a few familiar faces show up - Sanna (from uni) and her hubby, Lynseyann and Sharon from Lyna's class. was great to have them there for support but at the same time absolutely terrifying lol
we didn't get going until about 3:20, they wanted to hold off a bit to ensure we got as many people through the door as possible.
the class went really well! had a real mix of participants, young-uns to the 'not-quite-so-young-anymore-but-still-young-at-heart', all fitness levels. my 2 oldest participants up the back were brilliant, gave it what they could and laughed their way through the entire class! i even had FOUR men in the class! yes, you read that right FOUR!! lol
i had read on one of the Zumba instructors' forums about needing to give 150% to get your participants to give 75% and let me tell you this - that is EXHAUSTING! by the 4th song in I was already beginning to feel it and was seriously beginning to wonder if i'd make the end of the class, especially as i still had a good few high energy songs to come! but you pull it from somewhere... not sure where... the enegry of the participants keeps you going i guess, especially when you do give it a bit of welly and you see them laugh at what a prat I must have looked hehe :)
and on the 6th song in - I blanked - and of all songs to blank on - Me Gusta! FFS.... *rolls eyes at self* *facepalm* etc etc, it was only a couple of seconds, but for me it felt like half the song, I was really beginning to panic and nervously announced "i can't remember the steps!" to which i got a lot of laughs (thankfully!), but once the intro had passed it all clicked in and off we went.
all the participants were great, loved seeing all their wee confused faces when the steps got a little more complicated and even more the look of satisfaction when they got it. they really were a good crowd, it was a pleasure to instruct to them!
at the end I had quite a few come up and speak to me which was lovely, it's always great to get feedback especially when you're still pretty new to instructing - this was only my 4th class!
- had comments of 'working muscles i didn't know existed', others asking about classes, participants who'd never been to a Zumba class before saying they'd enjoyed it, i even had a lovely message through FB from one of the participants saying how she'd been to a class before and had been put off of Zumba from it but came to the class to support the cause, and that she enjoyed so much ('converted'!!) that she wants to give it a go again :)
i totally believe there is an instructor out there for everyone, it's just a case of trying out different ones until you find one whose style you like- Zumba is all about being yourself, showing your own unique flair, and that goes for instructors as well as participants.
I have been moved to near tears, absolutely genuinely blown away by the comments i've been recieving, I am SO happy people enjoyed the class! I always get so so so incredibly nervous before a class, these comments really do mean ever so much to me.
all in all between the class, the raffle and the "guess how many sweeties in the jar" £134 was raised for the Fun Club which will go towards a trip for the kids to legoland next year - Well Done everyone!!
Saturday, 2 July 2011
life was simple once upon a time, a long time ago...
today we were through in Livingston for Paul's work's family fun day, they're a big american company so they really go for all that sort of stuff, it was good, but not anything to write home about.
on the way back we did a tour of houses the boys have lived in, including through in Livingston, Wishaw and Stonehouse.
Caelan was born when we lived in Stonehouse, I loved living there, the village is wonderful, but we were rapidly outgrowing our small 3 bed semi and there wasn't anything more local that suited our requirements that we could afford.
we had a massive back garden, it really was huge, we had a good 4m x 7m decking outside the back door and that didn't even put a dent into the garden.
i regailed Caelan with stories of water fights we would have in the garden (usually me trapping Kieren in the top corner and attacking him with the hose!!), how we spent SO much time out there playing with the dog, with the tents....
and then Caelan said "why do we not do that now? life is boring now, all i do is go to school, come home and go on my computer or watch tv"
of course that's not his life every day... but unfortunately that is his life for a lot of it...
life was a lot simpler back then, I had a 9-5 nursery job which was only a couple of miles away, Paul worked from home, the boys attended a wee school just 200m down the road... we didn't have anything that ate into our precious family time.
now if i'm not at uni/on placement, i'm studying, or travelling, and if i'm not doing any of those then i'm usually sitting with my brain oozing out of my ears really not in any functionable state to do anything other than drool.
it's suddenly made me feel very guilty for wanting to better myself, which i know is stupid, but it was so saddening to hear him say what he did. i have realised that things have changed a LOT over recent years, and me being in Uni has been accounted for a lot of that, but i guess i never realised quite how he actually felt about it all.
really given any choice in the matter i'd be a stay at home mum, i'd go out volunteering during the day but always be there for my kids when they left school, i'd be there to do activities with them, to teach them life skills they wont learn in the classroom, i'd be there to play with them and have spontaneous water fights. instead i'm never in, and when i am i'm so tired all i manage to do is tell them to give me some peace.
god i feel guilty right now.
on the way back we did a tour of houses the boys have lived in, including through in Livingston, Wishaw and Stonehouse.
Caelan was born when we lived in Stonehouse, I loved living there, the village is wonderful, but we were rapidly outgrowing our small 3 bed semi and there wasn't anything more local that suited our requirements that we could afford.
we had a massive back garden, it really was huge, we had a good 4m x 7m decking outside the back door and that didn't even put a dent into the garden.
i regailed Caelan with stories of water fights we would have in the garden (usually me trapping Kieren in the top corner and attacking him with the hose!!), how we spent SO much time out there playing with the dog, with the tents....
and then Caelan said "why do we not do that now? life is boring now, all i do is go to school, come home and go on my computer or watch tv"
of course that's not his life every day... but unfortunately that is his life for a lot of it...
life was a lot simpler back then, I had a 9-5 nursery job which was only a couple of miles away, Paul worked from home, the boys attended a wee school just 200m down the road... we didn't have anything that ate into our precious family time.
now if i'm not at uni/on placement, i'm studying, or travelling, and if i'm not doing any of those then i'm usually sitting with my brain oozing out of my ears really not in any functionable state to do anything other than drool.
it's suddenly made me feel very guilty for wanting to better myself, which i know is stupid, but it was so saddening to hear him say what he did. i have realised that things have changed a LOT over recent years, and me being in Uni has been accounted for a lot of that, but i guess i never realised quite how he actually felt about it all.
really given any choice in the matter i'd be a stay at home mum, i'd go out volunteering during the day but always be there for my kids when they left school, i'd be there to do activities with them, to teach them life skills they wont learn in the classroom, i'd be there to play with them and have spontaneous water fights. instead i'm never in, and when i am i'm so tired all i manage to do is tell them to give me some peace.
god i feel guilty right now.
Friday, 1 July 2011
when exhaustion hits...
i've pretty much been on the go solidly since the beginning of semester B/trimester2 - ie, new year.
we never really got a proper holiday between semesters B and C as we had to take our uni holidays when the schools were off, which meant most of us had our 'holiday' in dribs and drabs in the middle of placement, and so as a result, it wasn't really a holiday as we still had placement and uni work to worry about.
add to that my sems B and C overlapped by a week as i got an extension for my sem B essays...
i'm now 1 week into my final placement of 2nd yearand I am absolutely done in and have no idea how i am going to make it to the end of 2nd year. i just need to get through this placement- 5 more weeks, 1 more essay, and that'll be 2nd year over and done with.
but at the mo I just don't know if i'll make it.
shattered doesn't even come close. I have completely and totally burnt out.
as if i wasn't burnt out from uni, Caelan's not been well lately either, 2 nights this past week he's been up most of the night throwing up and yet come the daytime he's been fine.
last night i managed to kick paul out of bed to deal with him, considering i dealt with Caelan last time, plus paul was working from home today - but still, i woke up whenever it was Caelan started being sick (i didn't look at the clock) and never really got properly back to sleep.
placement is going good, i'm back with the team i was with for my 1st placement of 1st year, same mentor too, but now my mentor is based in the Girvan end of south ayrshire... so most of my day is spent in the car, it's about 20 miles into town to get to the CLDT base, and then anywhere between 20 and 35 miles down to wherever we're going that day... so most days i'm travelling between 80 and 100 miles.
and today i had to traipse into uni to hand in my essay (we had to hand it in electronically too, so quite why we need to hand in a paper copy too i dunno), so again today i was on the road well over 100 miles.
only saving grace is that because i'm solely based with the community team and not with a family, only 40 miles of most of my days is my petrol, the rest is the nurse's. if i were placed in a family of my mentor's caseload all the miles would be mine.
that's glasgow caledonian logic for ya, place me in a relatively near-by team (20 miles away is near-by by rural scotland standards!) but in a sub-team which covers many many miles away.
i've got a charity Zumba class next weekend and i'm not sure where i'm gonna find the time to practice for it.
as it is i've had to cancel going to a Zumbathon this sunday as i'm going to a family event thing at Paul's work on saturday and I NEED at least 1 day to really just try and rest and re-gather my energy.
my bedroom looks like a chinese laundry, clothes get as far as coming out the tumble but then get dumped back in the big washbaskets waiting for me to gather up the enegry to sort and fold it all. - there's about 4 of them now and i'm trying to ignore them in the hope they'll sort themselves....
we never really got a proper holiday between semesters B and C as we had to take our uni holidays when the schools were off, which meant most of us had our 'holiday' in dribs and drabs in the middle of placement, and so as a result, it wasn't really a holiday as we still had placement and uni work to worry about.
add to that my sems B and C overlapped by a week as i got an extension for my sem B essays...
i'm now 1 week into my final placement of 2nd yearand I am absolutely done in and have no idea how i am going to make it to the end of 2nd year. i just need to get through this placement- 5 more weeks, 1 more essay, and that'll be 2nd year over and done with.
but at the mo I just don't know if i'll make it.
shattered doesn't even come close. I have completely and totally burnt out.
as if i wasn't burnt out from uni, Caelan's not been well lately either, 2 nights this past week he's been up most of the night throwing up and yet come the daytime he's been fine.
last night i managed to kick paul out of bed to deal with him, considering i dealt with Caelan last time, plus paul was working from home today - but still, i woke up whenever it was Caelan started being sick (i didn't look at the clock) and never really got properly back to sleep.
placement is going good, i'm back with the team i was with for my 1st placement of 1st year, same mentor too, but now my mentor is based in the Girvan end of south ayrshire... so most of my day is spent in the car, it's about 20 miles into town to get to the CLDT base, and then anywhere between 20 and 35 miles down to wherever we're going that day... so most days i'm travelling between 80 and 100 miles.
and today i had to traipse into uni to hand in my essay (we had to hand it in electronically too, so quite why we need to hand in a paper copy too i dunno), so again today i was on the road well over 100 miles.
only saving grace is that because i'm solely based with the community team and not with a family, only 40 miles of most of my days is my petrol, the rest is the nurse's. if i were placed in a family of my mentor's caseload all the miles would be mine.
that's glasgow caledonian logic for ya, place me in a relatively near-by team (20 miles away is near-by by rural scotland standards!) but in a sub-team which covers many many miles away.
i've got a charity Zumba class next weekend and i'm not sure where i'm gonna find the time to practice for it.
as it is i've had to cancel going to a Zumbathon this sunday as i'm going to a family event thing at Paul's work on saturday and I NEED at least 1 day to really just try and rest and re-gather my energy.
my bedroom looks like a chinese laundry, clothes get as far as coming out the tumble but then get dumped back in the big washbaskets waiting for me to gather up the enegry to sort and fold it all. - there's about 4 of them now and i'm trying to ignore them in the hope they'll sort themselves....
Friday, 24 June 2011
2 classes, 1 day
it was a busy Zumba day for me again yesterday.
i had a half hour demo at the north ayrshire learning disability awareness week celebrations, it was lucky i got there early as it transpired that my slot had been moved forwards and i hadn't been told!
so i walked into the Volunteers Rooms in irvine and OMG - it was SO busy, loads of stalls and LOADS of people!
spotted loads of familiar faces, nursing staff, carers, clients... it was one of those days where i saw loads of faces I knew and struggled to place a few of them. it was nice to catch up with some of the nurses i'd worked with last year, even had one ask about where i was going for my year long 3rd year placement and if i'd consider going back to the north team. chatted to a few service users i'd got to know from my 10 weeks with the north team too, most of them recognised me but couldn't recall where they knew me from.
anyways, we got started with the Zumba, had about 20 starting out, wide variety of ages but generally ability level was a lot higher than tuesday's class so routines were yet again modified to suit the needs of the group.
yet again, some real characters started to stand out, mainly males I must say!! i think I've probably had more men taking part in these 2 classes than most instructors get in a year!! there was a small group of young male service users who i spent an afternoon with while on placement last year who joined in after the first couple of routines despite being all shy initially when i'd asked if they were gonna join in, they really got into it which was a great laugh. it's interesting how i've found from these 2 classes how it's actually been the guys who have really got into it!
about half way through during a water break i got approached by a woman who asked me to find her after i was done so that we could talk putting on some Zumba classes, i assume she must have been from a day services - unfortunately come the end i couldn't track her down, i hope she manages to get my contacts through one channel or another...
so we finished the half hour slot and the physio department took over the floor to do some games, i had a couple of the service user participants come up and chat to me about Zumba, one already goes to 3 different classes and raved about how much she loves it, she even showed me her entry into the artwork competition which was Zumba based! :)
then got approached by a woman who turned out to be Paula, the lady I'm doing the charity class for in july, I had seen her daughter running about (her long flame red hair makes her difficult to miss!) but didn't know she was there herself, so it was nice to put a face to the name. am really looking forward to doing that charity class :)
on the way out I caught up with Lisa, who I'm at Uni with, who had been doing massages all day and looked shattered - i think in general we're all just hitting exhaustion stage now and cannot wait for our holidays in 6 weeks.
then ran into a guy (support worker) who i knew i knew from somewhere but couldn't for love nor money work out where from, he came up to me and pretty much said the same thing - we are both student nurses but in different years... on different branches... at different unis.... so it evidently wasn't that... we ended up backtracking our careers and it transpired we worked at Daldorch (a residential school run by the national autistic society) at the same time, which would be why i found it so hard placing him considering i've not worked there in 4 years, plus i'm pretty sure he worked in a different unit, so knew him as a face in passing but didn't actually know him.
that's one of the benefits and downfalls of having been in so many community placements - you certainly 'get your face known' which is obvs a good thing, esp when it comes to future jobs, but it gets to the stage you know so many people in passing....
I went and picked Caelan up from school in my Zumba attire, which attracted a few odd looks.
I covered a standard class in the evening for Gillian (Zumba Ayr), only 6 people turned up but to be honest i wasn't really expecting a huge turnout, according to Gillian it's never usually a huge class and between those going to see take that, those who decided not to go considering it was a cover instructor and those who made the most of the sun... but it was a reasonable class, had a range from those pretty much brand new to Zumba to one who had evidently been going for a long time, but i'd say most of the participants fell into the first category so i kept things quite simple and added more empahsis and flavour slowly throughout the routines, letting them get the hang of the basics before adding the umph, the lady who'd evidently been going a while just gave it welly throughout once she knew what step went where, which was fine by me.
this was my first hour long class, so this one for me was the real test, especially so as it was my 2nd class of the day added to the fact i wasn't feeling all that well.
i survived the class, managed to get it pretty much bang on to the hour and everyone left sweaty and smiling, so i think i did OK.
i had one of the ladies stay and speak to me at the end, saying how it was only her 3rd class and how she finds it easier to follow when the instructor is facing the same way as them, which I agreed that some routines are a lot easier to follow trickier leg moves when the instructor is facing the same way. i did the whole of baila, menea y goza facing the same direction as the class, as well as stand by me as i knew the legs would be easier to follow in the same facing. she said she's still at that stage where her legs get in quite a muddle but that it's probably just a case of practice - i told her of the number of times i've tripped over my own feet, landed myself on my backside etc when having '2 left feet' days.... i ended up doing a fair stint of the static stretch along side this lady as she was having difficulty working out what leg went where and what leg bent and where you put your weight to get the optimal stretch out of the muscle, which she said she really appreciated.
it made me realise that despite my deep hatred of mirrors, they do serve a purpose - it would have been nice to have faced the same way as the class so that it was easier for them to follow my moves but still be able to see what they were doing - i felt i needed wing mirrors or something!!
i did remember to cue for the most part again too - though for some reason I struggled more with the cuing for this 2nd class.
it does make me laugh, both classes I did cinco letras, both i started off doing the legs very slowly and when i said "shall we take it up a level, go a bit faster?" there was this nervous laughter, but they all managed.
come the end of the day to say i was sore was an understatement, i didn't get a great sleep last night either due to the ache in my legs, but after a day of relative rest they're already feeling a bit better. wine is helping too.
i had a half hour demo at the north ayrshire learning disability awareness week celebrations, it was lucky i got there early as it transpired that my slot had been moved forwards and i hadn't been told!
so i walked into the Volunteers Rooms in irvine and OMG - it was SO busy, loads of stalls and LOADS of people!
spotted loads of familiar faces, nursing staff, carers, clients... it was one of those days where i saw loads of faces I knew and struggled to place a few of them. it was nice to catch up with some of the nurses i'd worked with last year, even had one ask about where i was going for my year long 3rd year placement and if i'd consider going back to the north team. chatted to a few service users i'd got to know from my 10 weeks with the north team too, most of them recognised me but couldn't recall where they knew me from.
anyways, we got started with the Zumba, had about 20 starting out, wide variety of ages but generally ability level was a lot higher than tuesday's class so routines were yet again modified to suit the needs of the group.
yet again, some real characters started to stand out, mainly males I must say!! i think I've probably had more men taking part in these 2 classes than most instructors get in a year!! there was a small group of young male service users who i spent an afternoon with while on placement last year who joined in after the first couple of routines despite being all shy initially when i'd asked if they were gonna join in, they really got into it which was a great laugh. it's interesting how i've found from these 2 classes how it's actually been the guys who have really got into it!
about half way through during a water break i got approached by a woman who asked me to find her after i was done so that we could talk putting on some Zumba classes, i assume she must have been from a day services - unfortunately come the end i couldn't track her down, i hope she manages to get my contacts through one channel or another...
so we finished the half hour slot and the physio department took over the floor to do some games, i had a couple of the service user participants come up and chat to me about Zumba, one already goes to 3 different classes and raved about how much she loves it, she even showed me her entry into the artwork competition which was Zumba based! :)
then got approached by a woman who turned out to be Paula, the lady I'm doing the charity class for in july, I had seen her daughter running about (her long flame red hair makes her difficult to miss!) but didn't know she was there herself, so it was nice to put a face to the name. am really looking forward to doing that charity class :)
on the way out I caught up with Lisa, who I'm at Uni with, who had been doing massages all day and looked shattered - i think in general we're all just hitting exhaustion stage now and cannot wait for our holidays in 6 weeks.
then ran into a guy (support worker) who i knew i knew from somewhere but couldn't for love nor money work out where from, he came up to me and pretty much said the same thing - we are both student nurses but in different years... on different branches... at different unis.... so it evidently wasn't that... we ended up backtracking our careers and it transpired we worked at Daldorch (a residential school run by the national autistic society) at the same time, which would be why i found it so hard placing him considering i've not worked there in 4 years, plus i'm pretty sure he worked in a different unit, so knew him as a face in passing but didn't actually know him.
that's one of the benefits and downfalls of having been in so many community placements - you certainly 'get your face known' which is obvs a good thing, esp when it comes to future jobs, but it gets to the stage you know so many people in passing....
I went and picked Caelan up from school in my Zumba attire, which attracted a few odd looks.
I covered a standard class in the evening for Gillian (Zumba Ayr), only 6 people turned up but to be honest i wasn't really expecting a huge turnout, according to Gillian it's never usually a huge class and between those going to see take that, those who decided not to go considering it was a cover instructor and those who made the most of the sun... but it was a reasonable class, had a range from those pretty much brand new to Zumba to one who had evidently been going for a long time, but i'd say most of the participants fell into the first category so i kept things quite simple and added more empahsis and flavour slowly throughout the routines, letting them get the hang of the basics before adding the umph, the lady who'd evidently been going a while just gave it welly throughout once she knew what step went where, which was fine by me.
this was my first hour long class, so this one for me was the real test, especially so as it was my 2nd class of the day added to the fact i wasn't feeling all that well.
i survived the class, managed to get it pretty much bang on to the hour and everyone left sweaty and smiling, so i think i did OK.
i had one of the ladies stay and speak to me at the end, saying how it was only her 3rd class and how she finds it easier to follow when the instructor is facing the same way as them, which I agreed that some routines are a lot easier to follow trickier leg moves when the instructor is facing the same way. i did the whole of baila, menea y goza facing the same direction as the class, as well as stand by me as i knew the legs would be easier to follow in the same facing. she said she's still at that stage where her legs get in quite a muddle but that it's probably just a case of practice - i told her of the number of times i've tripped over my own feet, landed myself on my backside etc when having '2 left feet' days.... i ended up doing a fair stint of the static stretch along side this lady as she was having difficulty working out what leg went where and what leg bent and where you put your weight to get the optimal stretch out of the muscle, which she said she really appreciated.
it made me realise that despite my deep hatred of mirrors, they do serve a purpose - it would have been nice to have faced the same way as the class so that it was easier for them to follow my moves but still be able to see what they were doing - i felt i needed wing mirrors or something!!
i did remember to cue for the most part again too - though for some reason I struggled more with the cuing for this 2nd class.
it does make me laugh, both classes I did cinco letras, both i started off doing the legs very slowly and when i said "shall we take it up a level, go a bit faster?" there was this nervous laughter, but they all managed.
come the end of the day to say i was sore was an understatement, i didn't get a great sleep last night either due to the ache in my legs, but after a day of relative rest they're already feeling a bit better. wine is helping too.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
my first EVER class
it's been quite a long time coming, but today I taught my first class
my first class was for staff and service users of a learning disability day service as a part of learning disability week celebrations.
to say I was nervous about my first class could possibly be the understatement of the millenium, i was absolutely BRICKING it.
practice practice practice, that's pretty much all i've done for the past 2 weeks - if you fail to prepare then you prepare to fail and all that jazz. my playlist had changed about 27 times since i got asked to do these classes, there was even a last second substitution last night after a lightblub moment during Lyna's class.
so I arrived at the venue at about 9:45am, class to start at 10, was nervous as hell but once i was in there, said hello to some of the service users and staff and started setting up they all just went away. there ended up being about 20 service users and 10 staff.
i got some background music playing and within seconds half of the service users were out on the floor dancing along, I kinda knew then that most of them were pretty up for this and that in itself eased my nerves a lot. others came up to me and started talking about samba and salsa dancing, evidently it's something they've been talking about at the day services.
just before we started i was approached by the day services manager asking if it was OK to get some photos taken, kinda felt like a celeb for 30 seconds while i posed with the class!
so once the photo session was over with we got started, explained quickly a little about Zumba, how they're not there to learn how to dance so it doesn't matter if they go the other way to me, however they move is perfect etc that they're there to move to the music and to have some fun. brief safety rundown etc and away we went.
it became obvious within about the first 10 seconds of the limbering section of the warm-up that although most were fairly unrestricted physically, cognitive ability level was lower than I had prepared for, so already the old grey matter was planning ahead for the rest of the routines of the class and the modifications i'd need to make. I wouldn't say I needed to take it to Gold level, but for the vast majority of routines they were kept at absolute basic steps level with limited additions of directional changes etc, i deliberately chose routines that had fewer longer sections so the same movement could be repeated over and over, and for the most part i'd say that worked well with this population group.
I was quite surprised as to the routines they found easier to deal with, it ended up being the routines i was sure they'd manage no problem that i ended up having to modify. eg Pegate they managed with minimal modifications to the original routine, yet Do You Dig It was taken right right down to absolute basics only.
my last minute substitution, Para No Verte Mas, ended up probably being the most popular track, I had a wee girl in a wheelchair with obviously quite profound disabilities dancing her wee heart out to this track in particular, it was a sight that would make your heart melt!
i need to remember to add more arms in on the belly dance track for those less able with the legs...
clapping
clapping was a big thing in this class, they all loved a good clap along to the beat and was something those who didn't want to take part in the actual class even joined in with, so ended up putting clapping in anywhere i could!
cardio got to a reasonable level, I certainly worked up a good sweat anyway, but i didn't want to push them too hard - these are people who are generally used to pretty sedate lifestyles, I didn't want to push them too hard and a) scare them off from potentially wanting to go to classes on a regular basis or b) end up having them dying on the dancefloor!!
I remembered to talk to the class- giving praise and words of encouragement, I even remembered to cue (well, for the most part anyway!).
some would possibly say the amount of praise i was throwing out verged on condesending, but I meant every single last word of it. I really do feel they all did fantastically well considering none of them had ever been to a Zumba class before and i was ever so proud of every single one of them for taking part, for showing their ability and unique flair! and believe me, these guys had flair!!
when class was over I had the vast majority of service users approach me and told me how much they enjoyed it, they even presented me with a little gift to say thank you which I was totally not expecting! i did my little speech to say thank you and announced that this was my first ever class, that they made it really special for me and that i'd always remember it for being the most amazing experience. i later had staff approach me and say they were surprised to hear that was my first shot at teaching - so phew, i must have actually done reasonably ok!!
to be honest, i didn't really even care if I was crap (well I did, but...) the point was the service users enjoyed it, and that's what the day was about for me, it wasn't about me trying to prove my abilities to myself or anyone else, it was about encouraging movement (ie exercise) in a population which has a shockingly high rate of obesity due to needless sedentry lifestyles, this was to prove they CAN do it if given the oppertunity to do so.
it was probably the best first class you could wish for, working with a population group who don't judge you, who aren't there with the mindset of being there to get fit, burn calories etc, they're just there to move to the music and have a good time. true exercise in disguise!
i approached the wee girl in the wheelchair and asked her if she had enjoyed it, said that i'd spotted her joining in and how well she did, she didn't have any verbal communication but her face said everything. this was evidently a young woman who loved her music and loved a good boogie and coming to class opened up a whole new world of music to her.
after class we broke for lunch, went down the street for a roll and caught up with the learning disability nurses who i've not seen since my first placement of 1st year (i go back to them next week, I can't wait!).
I was grinning like a loon for probably about 7 hours after the class finished.
then the adrenaline wore off and i crashed- big time... ended up taking to my bed at 5pm and sleeping for 2 hours!
all in all it was an absolutely fantastic experience and i whole heartedly encourage other instructors to approach their local learning disability services about classes.
i learned a lot from today from my wee first class guinea pigs, some modifications to make for my next class on thursday, but i think what i mainly took from today is how completely and totally sure I am that working with people with learning disabilities is just the BEST work in the world, whether it being Zumba or nursing - this it is for me. totally.
my first class was for staff and service users of a learning disability day service as a part of learning disability week celebrations.
to say I was nervous about my first class could possibly be the understatement of the millenium, i was absolutely BRICKING it.
practice practice practice, that's pretty much all i've done for the past 2 weeks - if you fail to prepare then you prepare to fail and all that jazz. my playlist had changed about 27 times since i got asked to do these classes, there was even a last second substitution last night after a lightblub moment during Lyna's class.
so I arrived at the venue at about 9:45am, class to start at 10, was nervous as hell but once i was in there, said hello to some of the service users and staff and started setting up they all just went away. there ended up being about 20 service users and 10 staff.
i got some background music playing and within seconds half of the service users were out on the floor dancing along, I kinda knew then that most of them were pretty up for this and that in itself eased my nerves a lot. others came up to me and started talking about samba and salsa dancing, evidently it's something they've been talking about at the day services.
just before we started i was approached by the day services manager asking if it was OK to get some photos taken, kinda felt like a celeb for 30 seconds while i posed with the class!
so once the photo session was over with we got started, explained quickly a little about Zumba, how they're not there to learn how to dance so it doesn't matter if they go the other way to me, however they move is perfect etc that they're there to move to the music and to have some fun. brief safety rundown etc and away we went.
it became obvious within about the first 10 seconds of the limbering section of the warm-up that although most were fairly unrestricted physically, cognitive ability level was lower than I had prepared for, so already the old grey matter was planning ahead for the rest of the routines of the class and the modifications i'd need to make. I wouldn't say I needed to take it to Gold level, but for the vast majority of routines they were kept at absolute basic steps level with limited additions of directional changes etc, i deliberately chose routines that had fewer longer sections so the same movement could be repeated over and over, and for the most part i'd say that worked well with this population group.
I was quite surprised as to the routines they found easier to deal with, it ended up being the routines i was sure they'd manage no problem that i ended up having to modify. eg Pegate they managed with minimal modifications to the original routine, yet Do You Dig It was taken right right down to absolute basics only.
my last minute substitution, Para No Verte Mas, ended up probably being the most popular track, I had a wee girl in a wheelchair with obviously quite profound disabilities dancing her wee heart out to this track in particular, it was a sight that would make your heart melt!
i need to remember to add more arms in on the belly dance track for those less able with the legs...
clapping
clapping was a big thing in this class, they all loved a good clap along to the beat and was something those who didn't want to take part in the actual class even joined in with, so ended up putting clapping in anywhere i could!
cardio got to a reasonable level, I certainly worked up a good sweat anyway, but i didn't want to push them too hard - these are people who are generally used to pretty sedate lifestyles, I didn't want to push them too hard and a) scare them off from potentially wanting to go to classes on a regular basis or b) end up having them dying on the dancefloor!!
I remembered to talk to the class- giving praise and words of encouragement, I even remembered to cue (well, for the most part anyway!).
some would possibly say the amount of praise i was throwing out verged on condesending, but I meant every single last word of it. I really do feel they all did fantastically well considering none of them had ever been to a Zumba class before and i was ever so proud of every single one of them for taking part, for showing their ability and unique flair! and believe me, these guys had flair!!
when class was over I had the vast majority of service users approach me and told me how much they enjoyed it, they even presented me with a little gift to say thank you which I was totally not expecting! i did my little speech to say thank you and announced that this was my first ever class, that they made it really special for me and that i'd always remember it for being the most amazing experience. i later had staff approach me and say they were surprised to hear that was my first shot at teaching - so phew, i must have actually done reasonably ok!!
to be honest, i didn't really even care if I was crap (well I did, but...) the point was the service users enjoyed it, and that's what the day was about for me, it wasn't about me trying to prove my abilities to myself or anyone else, it was about encouraging movement (ie exercise) in a population which has a shockingly high rate of obesity due to needless sedentry lifestyles, this was to prove they CAN do it if given the oppertunity to do so.
it was probably the best first class you could wish for, working with a population group who don't judge you, who aren't there with the mindset of being there to get fit, burn calories etc, they're just there to move to the music and have a good time. true exercise in disguise!
i approached the wee girl in the wheelchair and asked her if she had enjoyed it, said that i'd spotted her joining in and how well she did, she didn't have any verbal communication but her face said everything. this was evidently a young woman who loved her music and loved a good boogie and coming to class opened up a whole new world of music to her.
after class we broke for lunch, went down the street for a roll and caught up with the learning disability nurses who i've not seen since my first placement of 1st year (i go back to them next week, I can't wait!).
I was grinning like a loon for probably about 7 hours after the class finished.
then the adrenaline wore off and i crashed- big time... ended up taking to my bed at 5pm and sleeping for 2 hours!
all in all it was an absolutely fantastic experience and i whole heartedly encourage other instructors to approach their local learning disability services about classes.
i learned a lot from today from my wee first class guinea pigs, some modifications to make for my next class on thursday, but i think what i mainly took from today is how completely and totally sure I am that working with people with learning disabilities is just the BEST work in the world, whether it being Zumba or nursing - this it is for me. totally.
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