Farting in Pilates class
It's not something to be proud of. Could even be something that you'd see on Springer. But it happened today. A fart in Pilates class.
I was moving on the Pilates apparatus and just like that! proot! Didn't even know it was in there.
Luckily there were only a few of us in the class and everyone politely pretended not to hear, but there was no hiding it. So the Right Thing To Do was to make a quick, understated apology: say, 'Opps, excuse me,' and then get back on with working out. I did wonder briefly what would happen if I sniggered - would that get the others going as well? But then I remembered that I had just celebrated a major birthday and major birthday boys don't snigger at accidental farts.
There immediately followed, I don't know, 'an isolation thing.' They knew. Just too polite to say anything. Or it smelled god-awful and they couldn't talk.
And that got me thinking - in all the years that I have been doing Pilates I have never heard anyone emit a bodily noise other than noisy breathing and the occasional groan. Not even an S.B.D. in all that time. What an incredibly polite group we are! Then I go and blow it (ha-ha.)
Reminds me of when the other kids and I were pretty small and Grandma Eunice accidently farted in front of us (it was quite a doozy if I remember right) and she said, 'Oh, excuse me kids, I've made a smell.'
'Grandma,' we were all dying to tell her, 'you didn't make a smell, you FARTED!' But that would be disrespectful so we didn't.
I reckon being relaxed about farting is a barometer of comfort, at least for guys. You know, when you've been with your honey in a relationship for a while someone is going to be the first to rip in bed. And you both laugh at it and you know you've crossed a psychological barrier in that relationship.
Through concerned friends I've learned that there is never a right time at work to fart, silent or not. Just cuz you can't smell your own doesn't mean the rest of us can't. There's a guy in my CAD class who really needs to take a shower, and on top of that he (I assume it's him) keeps sneaking little smell-bombs out. Double whammy! How's a guys supposed to concentrate on building great structures when he can't even see straight because of the blurred vision and gagging!
Don't get me started about how 'comfortable' our dog has become late at night lying at our feet in the TV room. Whew! NAS-TEE!
Guess I'll just have to keep better control of those deep abdominal muscles next week... Can't get too comfortable there, can I?
17 April 2005 Postscript
Well! Have I learned something. Just out of curiousity I did a Yahoo search on 'farting pilates' and there's a whole bunch of stuff about it! According to one site, http://www.systaspilates.com/pics.htm , it seems that the odd fart now and then is a natural result of tightening the abdominal muscles.
So, I'm now wondering, are we all being to easy on ourselves at Our Favourite Pilates Studio in Adelaide? Should we all be tooting away to prove how hard we are working our deep abdominal muscles?
Remind me to ask on Thursday morning...
I was moving on the Pilates apparatus and just like that! proot! Didn't even know it was in there.
Luckily there were only a few of us in the class and everyone politely pretended not to hear, but there was no hiding it. So the Right Thing To Do was to make a quick, understated apology: say, 'Opps, excuse me,' and then get back on with working out. I did wonder briefly what would happen if I sniggered - would that get the others going as well? But then I remembered that I had just celebrated a major birthday and major birthday boys don't snigger at accidental farts.
There immediately followed, I don't know, 'an isolation thing.' They knew. Just too polite to say anything. Or it smelled god-awful and they couldn't talk.
And that got me thinking - in all the years that I have been doing Pilates I have never heard anyone emit a bodily noise other than noisy breathing and the occasional groan. Not even an S.B.D. in all that time. What an incredibly polite group we are! Then I go and blow it (ha-ha.)
Reminds me of when the other kids and I were pretty small and Grandma Eunice accidently farted in front of us (it was quite a doozy if I remember right) and she said, 'Oh, excuse me kids, I've made a smell.'
'Grandma,' we were all dying to tell her, 'you didn't make a smell, you FARTED!' But that would be disrespectful so we didn't.
I reckon being relaxed about farting is a barometer of comfort, at least for guys. You know, when you've been with your honey in a relationship for a while someone is going to be the first to rip in bed. And you both laugh at it and you know you've crossed a psychological barrier in that relationship.
Through concerned friends I've learned that there is never a right time at work to fart, silent or not. Just cuz you can't smell your own doesn't mean the rest of us can't. There's a guy in my CAD class who really needs to take a shower, and on top of that he (I assume it's him) keeps sneaking little smell-bombs out. Double whammy! How's a guys supposed to concentrate on building great structures when he can't even see straight because of the blurred vision and gagging!
Don't get me started about how 'comfortable' our dog has become late at night lying at our feet in the TV room. Whew! NAS-TEE!
Guess I'll just have to keep better control of those deep abdominal muscles next week... Can't get too comfortable there, can I?
17 April 2005 Postscript
Well! Have I learned something. Just out of curiousity I did a Yahoo search on 'farting pilates' and there's a whole bunch of stuff about it! According to one site, http://www.systaspilates.com/pics.htm , it seems that the odd fart now and then is a natural result of tightening the abdominal muscles.
So, I'm now wondering, are we all being to easy on ourselves at Our Favourite Pilates Studio in Adelaide? Should we all be tooting away to prove how hard we are working our deep abdominal muscles?
Remind me to ask on Thursday morning...
posted by Rick's Rambles at 10:32 pm
2 Comments:
I've been gassy lately and thought it was because I've started doing some pilates excercises. which is why I searched and found your blog. I figured it was pretty common to squeeze a few out while trying to tighten up the area. by the way, what is snigger? it's "snicker" isn't it? chuckling,giggling, snickering etc.?
Snigger seems a little to close to a word I won't say.
Yo Robert,
I doubt that Pilates is creating the gas, but as you found the contraction of the abdominal muscles can cause the occasional fart.
Re 'snigger' check-out the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary; it's there, and basically means 'snicker.'
Keep up the Pilates!
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