This one is fresh from Brazil

I take a lot of gym classes, and the two key factors that determine whether or not I like a class are:

1) The teacher. Are they positive and encouraging without veering into bumper sticker mantra territory, or referring to a Maroon 5 song as their "new favey"? Then they have a shot.

2) Other students in the class. Are they wearing perfume? Are they extremely territorial? Do they talk a lot or look way better than I do? Then, I leave.

I have never had a teacher offer to be my fresh meat, but I still identified with this cartoon.

I still miss Kate's Bodyworks class at the decrepit LA Fitness on Wilshire. She inserted the phrase "no judgeemnt zone" into my life. Thank you Kate.

Just Dance 2 track list revealed!!!

Thank you Laura.

Highlights:

2. Bangles – "Walk Like An Egyptian"

12. Elvis Presley – "Viva Las Vegas"

38. The Jackson 5 – "I Want You Back"

44. Wham! – "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"

Worst track:

39. The Pussycat Dolls – "When I Grow Up"

Liberation Yoga in LAT

Christine is featured prominently in this piece about correct yoga technique. I haven't been to Liberation much recently due to scheduling and pilates but it is still my favorite.

Working out to get fat

If exercise won't help me get thin (as TIME and the NYT mag say), I can save the money from my Pilates membership and spend it all at Yogurtland.

Reebok EasyTone

The commercials for this product are so pervy!



Can someone tell me if these shoes work?

LA Marathon this Sunday March 21

Sweet new Stadium to the Sea route! Watch out for street closures.

Dear Swerve Studio, please go jump in a lake.

Guess what Swerve? If you want to encourage people to patronize your business, you could start by improving your customer service!

In the words of Lucy, "F* her. Namaste."

Related question: Who the f spells namaste with an f'ing accent aigu?

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:04:19 -0800
Subject: Re: Groupon promotion
From: info@swervestudio.com
To: Erin

Dear Erin,

We are sorry that you are disappointed in the Groupon promotion at Swerve. However, we do uphold the
New customer only policy for the promotion. The new customer only stipulation was very clearly printed on both the deal page and on your coupon. It is Swerve’s policy to abide by the rules it has set for itself and working with a partner such as Groupon.

There are many reasons that we set a new customer only policy for this deal. One of them being, we actually do lose money on the promotion when you factor in all the costs for a class such as teacher’s pay, desk staff, etc and the fact this is such a deep discount, Swerve does lose money. However, like any business we invest in bringing in new clients through deals such as this in the hopes they will enjoy the classes and decided to buy a package. You expressed you have no intention to buy a package yourself. In giving current clients a discount such a this we are losing a great deal of money.

Groupon advertised our promotion exactly as we set it up to and it was clearly stated that it would be valid for new customers only. You are welcome to sell it to a friend who has not been here before, sell it on Craigslist, or give it as a gift. Unfortunately, all purchases of the package went directly to Groupon and we do not have any control over them or the income to put towards a single class or package. Groupon runs the promotion as is and we honor it as is.

We hope that you are able to give or sell this to someone and receive your money back that way. We also hope you do enjoy the classes at Swerve enough to continue taking them. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns as we would be happy to answer them.

Namasté,

Swerve

On 2/17/10 11:18 AM, "Erin" wrote:

>
> Hello,
>
> I am writing to express displeasure at your policy concerning the recent
> Groupon promotion. I purchased the Groupon, not realizing that it was for new
> customers only. When I tried to redeem the Groupon last night to take a
> circuit training class, I was told that it is not possible for me to use the
> Groupon because I have been to Swerve before.
>
> The refusal of my Groupon implies that to honor it would cause Swerve to lose
> money, which is not the case. I purchased the Groupon specifically because it
> was a discounted offer; I had no plans to buy a full-price package. I even
> offered to use it as a credit towards a full-price class, and was told that is
> not possible. I have friends who purchased the Groupon for the same reasons I
> did, and now we are extremely disappointed.
>
> I don’t understand why Swerve would refuse to honor my payment for classes. If
> Swerve is unhappy with the way Groupon advertised this promotion, that issue
> should be handled between Swerve and Groupon, rather than punishing paying
> customers like me.
>
> I was told that my only options are to sell the Groupon or give it away; is
> this true, and if so, why?
>
> Thank you for your time,
> Erin

One man’s woo-woo, of course, is another’s deeply held belief system.

According to one yogi in this unintentionaly hilarious NYT piece, “A pure yogic diet is one that is only calming: no garlic, onions or chili peppers, nothing heavy or oily.”

Unbeknownst to everyone in my family, my mom has been on the forefront of yogic eating trends for more than half a century!

Crying at the gym

I do it too! My tears are rarely the result of an emotional song on the playlist; most likely, they are a direct consequence of reading inspirational/tragic stories on the StairMaster. Most recent culprit is here.

Barry's Boot Camp

Yeah, I went* there** before the LAT got involved.

*3 times
**Warning: their website is like an Ed Hardy catalogue.