Merry Christmas to all the Bad Bs who celebrate! 🎄💜 cackling at my Christmas gifts this year because my whole family knows how much I love RPS - my gifts this year included wrapping paper with Santa doing Pilates, a Pilates Xmas tshirt, and a note from my partner that he’s going to pay for my annual subscription this year 😭 feeling grateful for both my family and RPS - thank you Ruth Brenza for keeping me moving all year this year (and looking forward to next year too!) 🥰

good afternoon guys!

i did some pouring into me today and i feel so damn good! 🤭

i kinda like following the theme of the week/daily workout its like opening a present every day! and it takes a lot of mental load off of having to find something.

i hope everyone is having a merry christmas eve and happy holly days! 🎁

just finished sos!

im getting back into the groove of things and it feels scary but nice at the same time.

also, i decided to stick to the weekly themes until the challenge begins! i am so excited 🧡

i hope yall have amazing days ☀️

Hi everyone! This is a very long post from my Notes app lol 😅 but wanted to share my wins / goals achieved after the 30 Day Challenge program I completed yesterday 😊

Mental health support ✅💟 completion on the winter solstice was not intentional, but feels divine to be prepared and strong given how much I struggle during the winter months. Activity levels helped me keep my appetite and sleep better, critical for my mood stability.

Keep warm ✅ I read yesterday that warming up the whole body (exercise, drinking tea or eating soup) is more effective than just keeping parts warm (like hands or feet). How fitting!

Physique goals ✅ I have gained muscle and lost body fat. Set a “smart” (achievable) goal to hit by end of Dec. I hit that goal as of a few days ago, so seeing how close I can get to hitting my “stretch” goal by end of year!

Creative inspiration ✅ as a fellow movement professional, I chose this program to study intensity / push limits in my own body with a creator (Ruth) that I deeply trust and resonate with. A week in, I watched a documentary about one of my fav musicians, Jeff Buckley. He found so much pleasure in listening to music, it was everything to him. From the time he was a child he would practice singing vocal styles of his favorites like Nina Simone and Leonard Cohen. Eventually he created his own work, with skills he learned from trying to match the greats he looked up to; his style became all his own, arguably one of the best vocalists of all time. I was reminded of how important it is to consume art for the sake of pleasure and joy it brings. Play IS learning. So I prioritized that with this program, integrating it into my being, mentored by it. I’m so grateful to have found the art that is Ruth’s teaching!

Unexpected win 🦋 This challenge traveled with me to Carmel, CA and Las Vegas, NV as I visited family for the holidays. I completed one of the hardest videos on perhaps the most emotionally difficult day I had all year. It feels iconic to look back on the routine, stamina & strength I had built to hold myself & stay present instead of freeze & dissociate. That might be my proudest moment of this journey.

What’s next? More creativity as I exit this cocoon, and movement of course! Looking forward to Ruth’s strength program happening in January.

Thanks again bad b’s for your support, and thank you Ruth for all that you are and create! 🩷🦋 Sharing on this micro-social platform and interacting means a lot. Wishing you all lots of warmth and blessings thru winter and beyond. ❤️❤️❤️

Tapping in, returning to the Weekly Schedule 💗

Just tapped in for our Monday class! It blows my mind how I filmed this 7 months ago but I now have an entirely new body that feels so different. I was impressed that my overhead press got stronger! But the tendon stretch felt nearly impossible I thought my arms might give out lol. The side lying work felt great and really comfy despite how challenging the weighted clams were. Yay for showing up imperfectly. I love kicking off my week with y’all 🦋🩷here’s to a powerful holiday week of pouring into ourselves.

Day 30 ✅ 🌟 Halfway thru I started singing “Nasty” by Tinashe… 🎤 “is somebody gonna match my freak? is somebody gonna match my nasty? I got stamina, they say I’m a athlete” 💪🏽

This was nasty 😤 but I did indeed match your freak Ruth (almost entirely) !!! 😂🩷🩵💛 got into a flow state and had fun. Thanks for the 29 days of prep that led me here! 🏆

I have several reflections that I may share on the wins thread. It meant so much to share this “30 Day Challenge” program journey with the RPS community. Thank you everyone for your kind words and any/all engagement. Gonna take a cool down walk lol, sending you all love! 💗

Day 29 ✅ I’ve learned through this challenge that flow classes are kind of my nemesis, which is funny because I did yoga for years and flows are a big part. But Pilates flows really kick up the heat and demand so much control, I can get perfectionistic about it. Fascinated by how central breathing becomes to keep going, almost like you have to focus on your breath rather than what you are doing in order to flow - which disrupts any notion of perfection mentally, you have to trust your body to just do it as it can. I really like tapping into that level of consciousness so intentionally yet passively at the same time. It’s very yin and yang, idk if I’m making sense but ok curiosity and appreciation unlocked !!

Modified the intensity level of this class today as my cortisol levels are a mess rn, but it felt really empowering to slow it down, choosing when to push through or pause. I held the planks / static strength moves for their entirety nearly every time which felt really good. And as usual on days I’m not feeling it, challenged myself to do at least 1 rep of every move which led to more. 😊

Can’t believe tomorrow is day 30! I’ve been off socials the past several months, but has felt really special to be able to nerd out in this community. 💗 I appreciate everyone’s support along the way so much - thank you!

Day 28 ✅ “band + booty 2” + below. Great combo of videos, really complemented one another to produce so much depth and bodily integration during this session. Ruth, you are a genius teacher! 💡 I love learning from you.

Been awhile since I’ve done a beats class! Tapping in 💪🏽💃🏽✨