| |
|
February 15, 2013
Is yoga right for you? It is if you want to fight stress, get fit and stay healthy.
Many people wonder about this thing called “yoga.” People who do yoga love the powerful healing benefits such as fighting off disease improving over all health and fitness levels all while reducing stress. Is it right for you?
Yoga has many health benefits. Over 20 million women in the United States practice yoga on a regular basic.
Yoga is considered a mind-body workout that can help you feel more connected to your true self.
Yoga can combine together physical and mental disciplines to help you relax and feel better as well as manage stress.
There are many styles of Yoga
Hatha yoga, in particular, may be a good choice for stress management. It is a slower pace and has more flowing movements that are great for begininers. But most people can benefit from any style of yoga.
In yoga there are two aspects.
Poses. Yoga poses, or sometimes referred to as postures, are a series of movements that are designed to increase strength and your flexibility. Postures range stretching, moving and laying on the floor.
Breathing. Controlling your breathing is critical aspect of yoga. In yoga, breath signifies your vital energy. Yoga can teach people that controlling their breathing can help you control your body and quiet your mind. It is a great way to fight of stress.
There are many health benefits of yoga:
Stress reduction. There are many studies that have shown how yoga can help reduce stress and anxiety. It will most often enhance your mood and overall sense of well-being.
Improved fitness. People who practice yoga can have improved balance, flexibility, range of motion and strength.
Management of chronic conditions. Yoga has long been known to help reduce the risk factors for chronic diseases, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Yoga might also help alleviate chronic conditions, such as depression, pain, anxiety and insomnia.
Yoga is part of your overall health and wellness routine. Doing yoga regularly can actually improve your health. But if you don not taking care of your self in other ways the yoga will not help as much.
Dr. Marostica, a Dentist in Hillsboro, OR, says it is like people who brush their teeth everyday but don’t floss, you don’t really get the full benefits.
December 17, 2012
We are in love with the elegant, soft, comfortable cloths from zobha. If you still need to do some last minute holiday shopping, look no further. These cloths are perfect for your BFF who is active and social.
We love the Annette Tunic! It is where luxury meets loungewear. Featuring an eco-friendly Tencel fabric, the Annette drapes beautifully over the shoulders and boasts a shape flattering, longer silhouette. It is perfect for work, to dates to the studio to and from.
Every time we wear this, people say how much they love my Annette Tunic! It is the go to piece in our wardrobe.
September 3, 2012
It seems that “hot yoga” is about as trendy as Jennifer Aniston’s’ wedding plans. Dedicated yogis are dipping into the hot studios, and newbies are jumping into the heat. With all the craze surrounding hot yoga, and its mighty tall to order health claims, it is worth diving in a little deeper to reveal the truth about this popular practice.
The hot yoga philosophy suggests that if you practice every day, you won’t need anything else in life: get ride of everything, no more drugs, no more gym memberships, no need for endless hours of sit-ups, chuck the coffee and no more excess food or overindulging, and no more toxic relationships. Hot yoga can save you, after all this is the promise they propose.
Perhaps there is a rhyme to the madness compulsion, and yoga studios are not just commercializing the benefits but also indeed exposing the truth.
Over 20 million people practice yoga in the United States, and this number is skyrocketing with the explosive popularity around hot yoga. People are flocking to the hot studios, but are their intentions for a good reason?
I can’t help to question the motives, as a dedicated hot yoga student myself; I have to wonder why am I addicted? The reality is much like the craze surrounding this practice; I have bought into the hype as well. I believed by stepping into the yoga studio I would magically drop 30 pounds and be able to bend my torso into birds of paradise with sheik grace and ease. But six months later, I am wondering about the myths and their ultimate truth.
Is Hot Yoga the Best Detox?
Doing any physical activity in a heated room, will surely increase more sweat. As the sweat pops through your pours your will release toxins in the body. Hot yoga accompanied with a healthy diet, and juicing detox is a full detox. Doing hot yoga alone will not detox your body anymore then a long sweaty run will. Sure you will feel great after your sweat, but the real detoxification happens outside of the yoga studio and off the mat. What you eat and drink has a much larger impact on your overall health then the activities you choose to do.
Will Hot Yoga Help Me Lose Weight?
Okay lets get real, yoga is a gentle exercise that can strengthen your body and lean out your limbs. However, yoga will not help you lose weight if you continue to eat crappy food all day. Many newbies come to hot yoga with a dedication to lose weight, but the fail to look at their diet. If you do hot yoga daily, but you still over eat, and consume sugary soda and alcohol often you will not lose weight. The reason hot yoga can help you lose weight is when you balance it with healthy eating. Including a diet of fresh whole foods, all natural ingredients and low sugar, low fat options.
Yes, Hot Yoga Can Help Improve Your Overall Health
Once again, many people come to the mat in a hot yoga studio expecting a magic bullet. There are no magic bullets in life and hot yoga is not the answer. The answer is your dedication to your practice. Hot yoga is a powerful tool to help you increase your health. But leaning on yoga primarily to improve your health is a false indication of the true benefits. Yoga can increase your health and improve your outlook on life when and only when you combine it with a well rounded health routine. Continue to take care of every aspect of your health, brush your teeth twice a day, floss daily, visit your doctor annually and your dentist semi annually for regular check ups. Doctor Hana Walkup a Dentist in Beaverton, explains how “Yoga is a lot like flossing your teeth, it is about prevention and a daily routine for optimal health.” The more you do it the healthier you will be.
~ Written By Shannon Kaiser
~ Photo by www.aliveinthefire.com/
September 2, 2012
September is National yoga month, which means that now is the best time to roll out your mat and get moving. Whether you are a yoga newbie or dedicated yogi, this is the month to hit the studio and get into flow.
National yoga month is designed to educate people about the health benefits of yoga and to inspire a healthy lifestyle. Over 1,600 yoga studios around the nation are giving one week of free yoga to new students.
Many people come to yoga from all walks of life. The Yoga Health Foundation explains that it is more than just a physical exercise program. It is a scientific system designed to generate greater clarity and harmony in life. With a regular practice, individuals often notice a stronger, slimmer and more flexible body, in addition to a mentally sharper, more patient and relaxed sense of self.
Why Yoga is Different Than Other Exercises
As the Yoga Health Foundation describes, many health and fitness programs are difficult to maintain because they are rooted in an overall negative attitude – that you are inadequate and need to “fix” yourself. Negativity is a lousy motivator. Yoga, on the other hand, meets you exactly where you are and does not judge. By practicing yoga you have the opportunity to improve your health with a positive, non-forceful approach.”
Each day when we come to the mat we can choose to resist or dive into the flow, the gentle rhyme is part of the practice. Yoga has inspired me, personally, to be a better person, a stronger woman and a more present and grounded human. Each day that I return to the mat, I am reminded of the life lessons that are available to us through yoga.
Here are 3 ways how yoga can transform your life
1. Appreciate the Moment
In life’s shuffle to push ahead, we often forget to breathe. The essence of yoga is about flowing air into the lungs and exhaling it out. This process helps the body function better and increases circulation and mental clarity. When we are more present in the moment we can feel more balanced.
2. Love Yourself
Yoga can teach us to be ourselves and accept who we are. It reminds us to never compare ourselves to anyone else. When we look outside of ourselves to feel better or validate our own self, we limit our own capabilities. Learning to love yourself fully is part of the yoga journey. Changing the way you look at the world starts with the conversations you have with yourself. Be kind to yourself, and love yourself for being uniquely you.
3. Listen to The Body
Yoga can teach us to listen to our bodies, because they are the best indicator of what is really going on with us. In yoga, the body is the tool and pathway to awareness. What I have learned through yoga is that When we deny the inner voice and resist our true self, stress can often build up. Sometimes that headache you feel is an indicator that you are dehydrated and need more water. Sometimes that toothache is a sign that you ate too much sugar. Doctor Andrew Thompson, a dentist in Portland, tells his patients that the majority of your toothaches and health problems can be avoided if you listen to your body. Yoga has a way of making us feel better. No matter what your goals are, yoga can help you reach them.
~ Written by Shannon Kaiser
February 24, 2012
A few weeks ago I went to Jamaica for the Caribbean Yoga Conference. If you are planning your 2013 yoga retreat make sure to add this one to your list. Super star instructors including Seane Corn, Simon Park, and Toni Bergins.
The conference felt more like a healing retreat, with many opportunities for self-reflection, rather than a traditional conference. Here are some highlights in a photo review. Photos by Bill Tipper and Sabriya Simon.
November 10, 2011
“You won’t intimidate me if you are a warrior woman. Show me your best warrior!” Donovan Fyne, head fitness director, challenges me to deepen my yoga position.
For the past few years I’ve been flirting with yoga, but for the most part I’ve been noncommittal, until a few weeks ago when I meet Bikram. I joined the hot yoga studio and have been practicing religiously. Bikram is recognized as the Marines of yoga, the hardest of all hard cores so when the manager of Round Hill Hotel & Villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica invited me to the morning basic yoga class I assumed it would be easy.
But here I am 20 minutes into class and my muscles are twitching. Either I am really out of shape of Donovan is a God given hero sent to rescue misguided yoga souls. Here I was thinking I was doing the poses correctly and in swops Donovan, adjusting here, and tweaking over here. All of a sudden my body is open and expansive.
The class is intimate, four students allows for many hands on adjustments to help us perfect the postures. Donovan tells us it is easy to assume yoga is just stretching, but when you do it right, the value is in the breath, and in each moment of stillness. We all gaze out into the teal green crystal Caribbean Sea. Tropical birds create the soundtrack to our morning routine.
I finish class feeling more engaged, stronger and connected. Donovan has reminded me that finding a good teacher, whether you are looking for a new yoga teacher, a mentor, a boss or a guru, the teacher can only teach when the student is ready. And a good teacher will always make for a good practice but the real take-a-way is yoga is just like life, as Donovan tells us, “What you put into it, you get out of it.”
Written by Shannon Kaiser
Shannon Kaiser is a contributing travel tip writer for Healing Lifestyle & Spas and Examiner.com. She is in Jamaica for five days exploring spas and the wellness aspect of the island. Follow her journey here and on facebook. She is founder of Playwihtheworld.com. An adventure blog dedicated to helping people love life to the fullest.
October 2, 2009
I have been to the Yoga Journal conference for almost ten years, and every time I’ve gone I’ve gotten something of value. This year I took classes with Tias Little, Marla Apt, and Marsha Wenig. With Tias I awakened my inner spiral with twists, with Marla I learned what type of poses help with depression and anxiety, and with Marsha I learned how to make yoga fun enough to entice children.
It’s a great conference, how it brings yogis of all shapes and sizes and walks of life together. The yoga slackers were there again this year, doing their asanas on the slackline, a site that is hard to comprehend the difficulty of until you step onto a slackline yourself. There were yogis in tie dyed flairs, posh looking yogis in the equivalent of a little black dress, yogis in tank tops and Uggs, baby-carrying yogis, and of course hot guy yogis and inappropriate yoga dudes. It was all good, all peaceful, and kind of fun to watch.
More than anything, it’s a reminder of how much I want to make room in my life for yoga. I want asana to somehow inform the rhythm of my days the same way food and meals do. Having had the chance to practice with these great teachers, who have given their whole lives to yoga prods me to at least give it five minutes a day—a yoga snack, as it were, when I can’t commit to a full meal.
Even if it’s just a headstand here, a twist there, a mindful wiggle before bed. Yoga’s too good, too rich, not to indulge a little each day.
In fact writing this just inspired me to do a little spiraling at my desk. And because I was feeling anxious about how to close, I did a back bend over my ball/chair. I can already feel the anxiety floating away…
|
|
 |
|
