On Working Out + The Workshop at Plana Forma

Yep, when I workout, a part of me dies a little each time.  Days and hours before, I’m usually excited but some 15 minutes before my class, I usually end up asking myself “Why am I here? Why do I have to subject myself to pain?”  But, I always end up leaving calmer, contented and happier…Then, I get excited about eating where the vicious cycle starts again. *Woops!*

Anyway, if you’ve been following @GooglyGooeys on Instagram, you would have noticed that the next Watercolor & Lettering Workshop will be at Plana Forma – The Fort.  I’m actually excited and nervous about this but I’ll explain why later.  I’m also amused that things are coming in full circle because:

(1) The first ever set of published comics I made was for my ballet teacher back when I was in high school.  The Googly Gooeys will be 6 years old this year but the characters you see below are from more than half of my life ago.  🙂  When I was initially asked to draw for our souvenir program, I told her I could copy some drawings from a certain book and she said that I should find my personal style and come up with my own characters instead.  This is probably the reason why I keep on stressing this here & here.  Fast forward to today, we’re actually drawing Plana Forma shapes during the workshop which isn’t so far away from the ballet cartoons I did back then.

(2) The one who introduced me to Plana Forma is a blog reader turned friend IRL, Ria Macasaet.  We were initially exchanging Tweets about a certain blog entry and then eventually, we collaborated on this post.  Eventually, I did a project for her and when she came home from Canada, we would meet up from time to time.  During one of them dinners, she shared with me that she wrote the article about Heart Evangelista & Plana Forma.  At that time, it was already 2 years since my injury and I haven’t been moving a lot.  I was walking slowly and cautiously…also expanding by the day.  I gave it a try & the rest is history. 🙂  So thank you Ria for my -10 pounds sans the hunger/crash dieting, stronger knees  + weekly source of endorphins. 🙂

If you’re wondering what Plana Forma is all about, it’s a combination of barre and toning exercises which draws its inspiration from dance, pilates, yoga & sports.  The Forma studio also offers Yoga and Zumba classes which gives you an opportunity to get your cardio workout and stretches as well. 🙂

Above: A peek inside the BGC Studio. 🙂 My favorite spot is at the other corner of the room where you get to the buildings while doing squats + pulses and you see the clouds bursting while you’re on your tabletop position which makes everything a little easier to bear. 🙂 Hehe.

Anyway, the reason why I’m so nervous about the session on April 26 is that the people I know in my life lately only know that I love to doodle or I love dancing but never both.  Those who have seen me hold a brush or tinker with my computer have never seen me dance my heart out and those who see me move to the music have never heard of my blog URL.  (“Googly eyes? What? Again?”) I think I have successfully compartmentalized my life.  For now, it kind of looks like a Venn Diagram.  Lol.

First, there’s blogging: I always say that it’s so easy to put your innermost thoughts when you’re blogging or making cartoons because it’s just you and the computer.  You feel like you’re just talking to a wall that won’t judge you and the people who will read & comment on your blog don’t see you anyway the same way you don’t see them so it’s so easy to be open. (I know this is such a twisted thought because to boot, this is a public blog, but I hope you get me. 😉 )  

I asked one of my Forma Instructors, Teacher Tanya, about how she felt before her art exhibit and she pretty much shared that there’s a bit of nervous feeling that you get when you show and share your work because you know people will be able to see right through you.  It’s exactly that kind of feeling!

Then, there’s dancing:  I also think it’s another honest process.  I mean, thanks to skating, I’ve learned how to control the expression of my face to looking somewhat bored and focused even if my heart is bursting with joy while I chase each note and beat because it honestly kind of looks crazy to get lost in the music lost at a public rink inside a mall.  But, when dancing, no matter how you try to suppress your facial expression, your arms down to the tiny flick of your wrist, the tension of your fingers, your legs and your giddy shoulders are bound to reveal whatever it is that you feel inside anyway.

So, dancing has been my kind of guilty pleasure for a good chunk of my life.  (I’m finally coming clean and typing this with a crumpled nose *Ahhhh*: 13 years of ballet + 4.5 years of figure skating). I know, I don’t look the part. Hahahaha. I mean, I love it but it doesn’t seem to love me back because my love for chocolates has somewhat overpowered my love for dancing if you know what I mean.  😉

Dancing is a guilty pleasure meaning it’s like singing in the shower or at the fire exit (which I discovered yesterday has awesome acoustics….You should try it)!  No one has to witness it but it feels soooo gewwwd. Hahahaha. (Yes, I’m not supposed to start my sentences with “and” but still…)

I’ve gone through this blog post in my mind so many times already and I wondered if I should share these feelings with you or not.  *The blog console publish button & I have been staring at each other for a while now.* But one of my teachers told me yesterday that you should share whatever it is that you feel like sharing because you don’t really know who can pick up something from it.  *Well, I don’t know if I’m making a wee bit of sense because my blog is just my Pensieve.*

I don’t think all of this irrational fear is even a valid concern but it would be really awesome if someone could confirm that this is…normal / natural feeling?  I’m just pretty nervous that these are two processes that kind of reveals a lot about how my mind works and what my soul is made of. *Gahh…Why am I so dramatic? #MustBePMS*

So, if you’ve seen me dance, you somehow know the existence of this blog + the social networking accounts that go with it and you get to talk to me in real life about the last two aspects, I get anxious, nervous, panicky and paranoid you will probably find me writhing and squirming while you’re at it.  It’s because I think that’s already pretty much almost all of me on the outside & inside that you can see so I am rendered helpless.  Hehe.

But of course, as with all of my other fears in life: be it walking on/falling off a glacier or traveling alone, it needs to be dealt with or it shall forever remain like some senseless secret of sorts such as the paragraphs before this.  (I swear, the alliteration was not deliberate).  

So, see you on the 26th from 1pm to 4:15pm!  Haha. The session is open to all current previous clients of Plana Forma.  To book a slot, please call the Forma BGC front desk: +63 917 8094392, +63 2 5530870.

If you’re having qualms about enrolling at a workout studio just because you’ve never danced or have done a similar exercise routine in your life, I suggest you sign up and know that when you take a Forma / Yoga / Zumba class, there’s this other girl in the room who manages to keep a sheepish smile or a clueless nonchalant facade (well, unless she’s dying in the middle of the workout) who’s just as equally scared and nervous as you!  And yes, from now on, I won’t mind if we will eventually be classmates in Zumba or Movement Nights…as long as you don’t mention this blog to me. *Kidding!*

See you at the Forma studios! 🙂

XOXO,

Tipsy ❤

Plana Forma
Website: http://forma-asia.com/
Twitter: @PlanaForma
Instagram: @PlanaForma

The Fort Studio
6th floor Jecoprime Building, 20th drive
McKinley Business Park, Fort Bonifacio Taguig
(63) 9178094392, (632) 5530870

Centris Walk Studio
2G-21 G/F Centris Walk
, EDSA cor Quezon Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City
(63) 9175838022, (632) 7099174

Related Pensive Reads:
Why You Should Travel Alone
Why Iceland Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity
Finding Your Own Art Style
How the Googly Gooeys Started