Pilates

I was thinking about getting into some different forms of martial arts here in Serbia.  It is very common and most of my friends here have been taking lessons for years, including my boyfriend.  However, I knicked that idea when I realized I had to move away for work for the time being.  It was pointless to start something and only have about 2 months to interact.  But once I'm here permanently I might get into a few of them.  Biking is awesome. I thought about getting a bike here.. but the whole moving thing screwed that one too. LOL

I would love to take up swimming; I'm thinking about signing up for it when I get back to Rome- there's a fitness center right by our house. I love biking, too. It's probably my favorite mode of exercise/way to relax, too. Martial arts is so interesting; I've never tried any of them, but I used to have a friend who's brother did karate so we would go and watch sometimes. It sounds like a lot of fun!

From Pilates to dvd regions and hair dryers :P

I used to order movies or tutorial DVD's from abroad, and found that regardless of the region, they would play. And I have a very cheap dvd player, so that should mean something. Although, I also have an xbox360, and it doesn't play dvd's from different regions...

My favourite ways to workout/exercise:

I like to swim, and ride a bicycle. Haven't done a lot of that lately, since I think the time I spend doing that is better spend applying abroad, or studying something else.

And I love to study martial arts. My favourite is wing tsjun, but I like all martial arts really. I'm not really good at any, or train regularly enough, but I've done judo, taekwondo, one or two styles of ju jutsu, capoeira, and wing tsjun. I took a few classes in thaiboxing and tai chi once, and I really LOVE kyusho jutsu (also known as dim mak) although kyusho isn't really intense as a workout, you can apply it to any other sport, and helps you understand the human body so much better (and it's good fun to practise on friends :P ).

Part of my interest in Thailand was because I wanted to study muay thai, and there are some wing tsjun schools in the bangkok area, or so I heard...

Especially when you're new and you have no idea what store you'd find certain things in that you're just used to getting in one store.  I still don't know where to get hair dryers and curling irons in Serbia. LOL

Oh I know; in Italy it's so much different because they still have these little stores that have been around forever and they don't seem to like the idea of expanding. Which has it's good and bad aspects. It can just be hard to find things over there somtimes!

True.. things like that can be much cheaper in the States. Especially at Wally World.  It's weird not having chains like that here in Serbia.  I mean they have chain grocery stores, but they are a fraction in size to Kroger's, Wal-Mart groceries, Piggly Wiggly, Food Lion, etc.  I'm finally getting used to the fact that there aren't any one stop shop places here. LOL 

They wouldn't work; it's a different region, but I'll have to play them on my laptop. I know, it's really dumb that they are different regions, isn't it? But to buy them here is so much cheaper than in Rome; at wal mart they're only 10 bucks each! :)

Will the work in Italy.. with the whole different region thing?  I think most players here in Serbia play their region and region 1 which is US.  Just double check your player back home.  (I never understood why they had to make different regions anyway.. they are all DVDs!)

That sounds like a lot of fun, maybe I'll look into it! I'm planning on asking for lots of pilates dvds for my bday and then taking them all back to Italy with me :P I'll look into a bellydancing one, too.

I'll look into the pilates thing!!  :D  As for belly dancing.. taught myself. I learn best sometimes by just watching other dancers and imitating. I've got some dvds that I put on my harddrive before I left the States.  If you're interested.. look into the Shimmy series.  It was on TV. Not sure if it still is.  There is also the Bellydancing Superstars and they have DVDs too.  Rachel Brice is amazing dancer and she has GREAT videos.

I do it at home; my sister is actually really into it and has a whole set of dvds that I've been tapping into. You can start out with the beginner dvds which are great because they're much slower paced and easier to understand. You're supposed to use a mat for some of the exercises but it's not required. It's great because it's fun and at the same time, you're doing a lot of work and really burning calories/moving around. I don't know much about yoga, though I did do a bit of it in high school for my health classes. Belly dancing sounds amazing! Did you teach yourself or take a class?

Any suggestions for information into pilates?  Are you doing it at home or somewhere else?  I've been looking into yoga and other means as well.  I like to belly dance and will be getting back into it soon. :)  Nothing wrong with a post about good health as a healthy body and mind make us better individuals and better teachers. ;)  (Now it's related to TEFL.. LOL)