hey there, babes,

the sun is out, the moon is full, and so we enter into what is, for me at least, one of the more intense seasonal shifts as we emerge from our sleepy winter dens, shed our protective layers and rev it up for the spring. don't get me wrong - i strongly dislike winter, and love anything that brings me closer to long, languid summer days, heat and bare skin and irresponsible sandals.

but spring itself, for all it is an exciting, colorful and tantalizing relief from the desolate grind of winter, it's also mercurial, aggressive, and can't be trusted to play nice.

and it makes sense - it takes massive gumption and energy for all those tiny green plant shoots to bust up through the cold hard earth and get their growth on, and i find i feel a similar mix of fomo, irritability and breathtaking exhaustion in these early days of spring. i want to be outside all the time, but i tire quickly and intensely. my skin is shiny but my scalp is dry. the apartment is chilly, but it's warm out of doors - you know what i'm talking about.

we are children of nature, and our hormones and systems respond in kind to changes in environment. we are not the same all year round, nor should our food and daily rituals be. to assist in these perfectly natural shifts, i humbly offer some tips and a go-to recipe that helps me re-adjust for the new season and a few words about barre class as functional fitness.

happy reading!

live and let liver

i don't know about you, but the longer days (and a postpartum/pandemic year) make me want to wear my summeriest (and smallest) clothes, to be out allllll the time soaking up the nicer weather, and to drink fancy drinks on patios. but the fact is, it's still cold, and we need nourishment at a basic level to truly be ready for spring (and fit into our booty shorts):
- stay warm. ayurvedically speaking, wind is just as unsettling to the body as cold, so keep ankles covered and protect ya neck until it's over 70.
- sleep. at night because our organs like nighttime to rest & refresh themselves. to assist in this, i *try* to do a mini-fast from both food and phone every evening from at least 8pm-8am.
- eat a spring soup (recipe below) or similar warm, restorative, bitter & sweet foods.
- give the liver a break and chill on the wine. moderation always and a few consecutive days off from alcohol can go a long way in helping the body to rebalance.

annie's kale and sweet pea spring soup:
1 bunch of kale, chopped
half a package of frozen peas
a small onion
around 3-4 cups broth of choice (i'm homemade bone broth girl, but vegetable stock is super yum for this) and/or water
butter or olive oil for sauté
optional milk/mylk for a little creaminess
salt, pepper, garlic (fresh or powdered) and/or ginger (fresh or powdered) - to taste

sauté your onion for a bit, then add your fresh or powdered aromatics. add the kale and peas and cook for a few minutes. add liquid and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 20-25 minutes. add optional milk or alternative (i like coconut) and blend with immersion blender. adjust seasoning and enjoy your pretty, green & v healthful lunch :)

actions speak louder

it's been oft-repeated that we are what we eat, but i think perhaps even more pertinent is that we become how we move. i say a lot in class that the way we work out is the way we design our bodies, and that by focusing on excellent form and being super present in our workouts, we can make new neuromuscular pathways that effectively change how our bodies function over time.

we already know that we spend an historically unprecedented amount of time in spinal flexion (sitting at a computer, looking down at the phone, feeding a baby, writing, playing most musical instruments, woodworking and artmaking, driving...) when we practice lifting, broadening and opening up our posture and strengthening the back of the body, we help to save ourselves from the negative effects of a lifetime of flexion, such as hunchbacks, headaches, poochy bellies, pelvic floor troubles, sleepy glutes and bummed out hamstrings, to name a few.

clearly, how we exercise has health ramifications far beyond calorie burn and 6 pack abs, and i wanted to highlight some of the not-so-obvious ways class prepares us for a lifetime of badassery (and inspire you to come move with me) so, in no particular order:

- single leg and foot/ankle exercises = great balance. having good balance is not only handy for preventing falls as our bones age and become more delicate, it also recruits smaller, harder-to-talk-to muscles that result in awesome looking legs and less joint pain.

- pelvic tucks = healthy pelvic floors. literally and figuratively, maintaining our connection to these deep strong core muscles also maintains their tone and function and keeps us out of various kinds of pain, which in turn keeps us confident, energized, and sexy as hell.

- all the booty exercises = all that booty. the more i learn about pain, particularly in the context of postpartum healing and posture, the more i realize how important the posterior chain in general and the glutes specifically are for basically everything. and it's a gift of nature that strong & functional butts also look rad, so even if your motivations are more cosmetic than rehab focused, everybody wins.

- moving in and through different planes of space = better overall mobility. our daily movement patterns tend to be pretty limited (unless we're actual acrobats, ninjas or toddlers) and since mobility is a move-it-or-lose-it type of deal, it's paramount to work in various planes of motion frequently. we do a great deal of this in barre (side/reverse planks, mermaid, twists or pretzel, anyone?) and i always endeavor to switch things up and keep it fresh.

music for your ears

i love music, and i love to share it with you, so until we can go out dancing at shows again, please enjoy my latest barre class playlist :)

anyway babes, that's it for now. stay rad, do good and righteous things (and keep wearing your mask)
with love & planks,
annie

hey hey, barrebabes,

i hope this finds you feeling well, chill and able to take some time to go outside in this wild sun and make yourself some vitamin D. today i have for you a flexibility challenge, and a few words about posture.

let's get flexible, flexible

flexibility is, by and large, a use it or lose it situation. for most of us, i'd be willing to bet that there's been more lose than use in the past 12 (?!) pandemic months. and being flexible is more than having sweet poses for your instagram. neuromuscularly-speaking, a nimble body contributes to a flexible, adaptable mindset, helps us go with the flow, and maintains youthfulness both inside and out.

so begins the barrebabe splits challenge!
or bsc, for short.

here's what to do:

- snap a photo or film yourself doing a front split. no judgment! what's measured is managed, so this will be your "before"
- check out my how to video here for targeted stretches to improve your splits
- stretch. for at least 3 minutes. every. single. day for 30 days
- stick around after zoombarre for a bsc stretch, or find your favorite time & space each day that works for you
- share your progress! tag @pretendmermaid on IG and keep your eyes peeled for tips, tricks, mini-challenges, and other accountability-related fun.

if nothing else, someday, when there's parties again, you'll have a cool trick up your sleeve with which to wow your jealous friends :)

not your mama's posture

while i know i more or less constantly lecture on posture, it occurs to me that the word posture is actually pretty culturally loaded and that this is not always (or often) a particularly progressive or positive thing.

in general, the idea of "good posture" in mainstream american culture is more than a little patriarchal, with midcentury military-inspired ideals of conformity mixing with charm school ethos. sit up straight, follow the rules, puff up your chest, stiffen against showing strong emotions, strive for perfection. these are obviously not the ideals a body-positive feminist fitness instructor wants to espouse.

at the very least, "good posture" isn't rock and roll.

and yet, i think practicing good posture is actually culturally subversive. for my teenage self, at least, ballet was the only thing that kept my angsty, fishnets-and-cutoffs-wearing, black lipstick-obsessed self from slumping my way to rebellious oblivion under the table. and in an increasingly tech-heavy world, i'm ever more thankful for that. i see more and more 20-somethings with hunchbacks and headaches that won't go away. the struggle is real.

but posture isn't a place. it isn't a static, cookie-cutter image that can be surveilled and controlled. rather, posture is dynamic. it is embodied dynamism. its practice takes you out of your devices and frees you from the grip of the borg/high tech stress-laden society in which we dwell and returns you to health, to autonomy and freedom in your physical life.

it also recruits your abs and burns calories, which certainly doesn't hurt :)

posture is how you meet the world, and my aim is that we all feel confident and strong in our posture, and our lives.

with that, my loves, i bid you a good week, full of health and all good things... with love & planks,
annie