Day 2 - Come Hail or High Water

Cats & Dogs... It's lunchtime on a Tuesday and it's raining cats & dogs on Shenton Way. I'm due for my second pilates class with Jacq in about 10mins.. as usual, i'm going to be late!

Well, a little rain never hurt anyone and besides, i wasn't about to reschedule on the 2nd lesson and appear uncommited to my cause. No! Even if i had to be soaked to the bone, drenched and dripping with rain water, speckled with bits of mud and dirt kicked up by my Havaianas, i'll make it to class, dammit!

So I wind my way through the crowded maze of underground (read: sheltered & dry) walk-ways to get myself as close to Tras Street as possible. Emerging at the Peck Seah Street entrance of the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, i roll up the legs of my jeans - ignoring the smirks on the faces of the office ladies huddled under the shelter, waiting for the rain to dissipate - and I open my umbrella with a flourish, stepping out into the rain. As the water droplets thud lightly on my brollie, i glance backwards, victorious... My turn to smirk.

I arrive at the studio. Conscious of my lunch hour, we launched into the sequences immediately and it was nothing short of amazing. Just a day after my first lesson, I already felt a marked improvement in the way my body was reacting to the workout. As Jacq predicted, my muscles were now clued-in on the manner in which they would be (and were being) worked and I found the pilates moves much easier to execute than the day before.

Movements that had me shuddering and straining only yesterday, seemed more natural today. I felt greater stability. And with the stability, i gained confidence. Relieved that i did not resemble a Cirque du Soleil act gone-awry, i diverted my energies toward adding mental focus in controlling and sensing the contractions of my ab muscles and adductor muscles.

What. A. Difference. I found myself perspiring - not just tiny beads but rivulets of sweat. For that one hour, i was entirely devoted to me, my movements, my muscles and my breathing. Fabulous.

It had stopped raining by the time i stepped back on the street. 8 minutes later, i was back in the office, at my desk, tapping away on my keyboard, thinking that it was not at all, a bad way to spend my lunch hour.