Pulled a muscle in my... err...

I skipped Tuesday night's class because I had an appointment with my eye doctor. Last night I was a bit rushed getting to class and didn't get as much warm-up time as I'd like before class started. Even on my best days I'm tight through my glutes, quads and hamstrings, and I really felt it during barre.

This is relatively easy class, which allows me to focus on the details of technique without struggling to remember complex combinations. Although sometimes I feel like it's cheating that I'm not challenging myself, I really think I benefit from this. It's also a slow enough class that I don't end up thoroughly exhausted, which leaves me able to think and move properly during the last 15 minutes of class. Which means I don't feel like I'm such a klutz.

Although we've had 10 or more students on occasion, last night there were only six of us. That allowed adagio combinations to be performed all together, and allegro combos in groups of two or three. People seemed to pair themselves with another of similar skill, and I paired with the young woman who has recently started taking barre in pointe shoes. One of the last combinations was sauté arabesque, sauté passé, glissade, pas de chat, sous-sous and hold. She and I both are able to let the music dictate the timing, and it was really fun to watch in the mirror as we danced in sync.

During the break after barre our instructor was talking about the time she blew out her Achilles tendon doing nothing particularly strenuous. She blamed it on an antibiotic she was taking at the time that apparently has a side effect of weakening tendons and ligaments for about a month afterward. I made a mental note to consider such effects in the future, because I sure don't want to tear anything.

After driving home, as I walked from my car, I felt an odd twinge in my right buttock and it felt like my right leg might give way. I took a couple cautious steps and found that, although there was a twinge every time I transferred weight to my right leg and it felt unstable, I could walk safely. I'm not prone to paranoia, and I know enough about physiology to know that I really didn't damage anything, but I wonder if I didn't pull a muscle during barre due to the minimal warm-up and chilly temperatures. The sensation has since gone away, but I think I'm going to be more careful to gently stretch before class from now on.