yogAH

"The first serious yoga class was a similar wake-up call. How was I going to live the rest of this one wonderful life? What was my personal responsibility if I wanted to be as healthy, strong, flexible, and life positive as possible? Thus, my commitment to yoga."
-Yoga Journal Magazine

I have just recently realized the importance of yoga. Currently I am in volleyball season so that with school becomes quite a lot but I recently bought, "Moving Toward Balance: 8 Weeks of Yoga with Rodney Yee." I am going to hold off until my season is done but it is a program for 8 weeks, 6 days a week that guides you through different poses. I have read the beginning intro and will definitely share some of it with you! I'm really excited for that, and I am going to commit to Hot Yoga classes twice a week. There are so many benefits of yoga that have been advertised that I hope to truly get in touch with my inner self.

so...yeah

"'Nothing looks as good, feels as good, or tastes as good as being fit.' Thinking that always motivates me to work hard at the gym!"

Living in Synch

By: Jacqui Neurauter

"You have a choice to live more aligned with the real you and what your soul is calling you to do, or stay on the same course as before.

In the words of Jane Goodall, 'You make a difference every day. You matter and life is important.' It's never too late to make a life course correction or even move in a whole new direction and make a difference in your small part of the world.

Doing the inner work frees you to live a fuller and more meaningful life.

You discover that your inner truth can help you make wise choices in each endeavor as you plan for the year ahead or enter a new life phase.

Sit quietly by the fire and have a brainstorming session with yourself, particularly reflecting over the last decade. Make a list of unfulfilled dreams and goals. Play with them as though they were friends, and see if any  aspect of them would still like to be fulfilled and how that might be accomplished. Listen and let them teach you lessons and new ways of showing up in the future. Write down the inner responses you hear. This will provide good soil for later actions.

When did you feel confident, brilliant, intuitive, playful, or something equally empowering? Let your inner guide help you create a list of authentic feelings.

What would you like to accomplish over the next 10 years? What would you like to be doing, with whom, and where? If you don't have a clear picture, then make a list of how you want to feel on whatever path life takes you. How do you  want to be engaged?

You may want flexibility, spontaneity, and variety to feed your spirit.

Sort through all your reflections for clues of what you need to do to satisfy your dreams of how you want to experience life. Creating space for fulfilling your dreams and goals is essential. Think about what you need to change or let go of in your lifestyle, how you work, where you make commitments, and how you feed your spirit. How can you make better use of your time? Are you seeking a healthier lifestyle?

Now you are ready to decide what you need to do or how you want to live in the coming year. Your soul's calling for what you want to accomplish in the coming year. Create a phrase, like an affirmation or mantra, to describe the essence. They may be:

'I find passion and meaning in life-and celebrate the Real Me!'

'I care for my spirit with healthy eating and yoga practice.'

'Everyday I find meaning and love in my life.'

Start and end your day with this phrase and think of it periodically during the day, especially when handling challenges, to help you stay focused on your dreams and goals.

Let this year be the time you choose to start anew. You have a clean slate to make a fresh start. You are the inventor of your life. What do you aspire to this year? May it be true to the real you!"

I'll soak away my cares in a warm bath...

"Frazzled? For many of us, exercise dives to the bottom of our to-do list. 'Anxiety can be consuming, making it impossible to prioritize your health,' says Michael Vallis, Ph.D. associate professor of psychiatry at Dalhouse University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Decompress regularly (meditate, get a mani, take a bath, whatev!) to help refocus."

-Self Magazine

Get Movin

"You don't need a designer dress or a pricey trainer to help you feel confident aabout your shape--just get moving. In a review of more than 50 studies, researchers at the University of Florida found that 20 minutes of any kind of exercise significantly improved a woman's body image. That's a (free!) boost you can squeeze in anytime."

-Shape Magazine

Bootylicious

"I've learned that being in shape doesn't mean being rail-thin; it means being at peace with yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually."

-Brittany Brinkley, Shape Magazine February 2010

Slow Food

So I was recently reading the Vogue April 2010 Issue and it addressed eating habits...here are some highlights...

"How hungry are you?

I realize how rarely I take hunger into account before I eat.

'It's important to tune into your hunger before you eat.' [Ronna Kabatznick (Ph.D., social psychologist)] explains. 'It can help you decide how much food you need, rather than how much you want--and understand why you're eating in the first place. Are you stressed? Happy? Tired? Worries? Is it just because it's lunchtime? Or are you really, truly hungry?"

Try to savor every bite, notice all the sensations.

I could stand to lose five pounds, but I hate diets. On a deeper level, I want to eat when I'm hungry, instead of when I'm anxious or bored, and stop when I'm full, not engorged. I want to feel satisfied.

In our yoga-crazed, om-chanting culture, the idea of applying mindfulness to diet was, perhaps, inevitable.  People who practice yoga regularly have a lower body-mass index than regular walkers and gym goers. [This is] because they eat mindfully; they eat when they're hungry and stop when they're full. Mindfulness has also been shown to help binge eaters.

I resolve  to follow Kabatznick's program: Asses my hunger; take a reasonable amount of food; appreciate the flavors and sensations; stop when I'm full. The approach appeals to me because, unlike most diets, it doesn't dictate what you eat; instead, it attempts to change how you eat. I revive my...routine of meditating for ten minutes every day, in hopes that getting into the habit of observing my impulses in all aspects of my life will help me rein them in.

'Pausing for a few moments to refocus on the experience of eating and your sense of satiety.' Jean Kristeller (Ph.D., professor at Indiana State University and creator of the Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training program) says. Bite, bite, pause, reflect. It [gives] me the opportunity to think about how much I'm eating [and] also stretches out the meal, giving my stomach--and brain--time to register the sensation of fullness, a physiological process that can take up to 20 minutes.

I aslo begin to notice the emotional triggers--not only stress but also fatigue, fear, and even joy--that make me crave chocolate-chip cookies. And I discover that sometimes when I think I'm hungry, I'm actually thirsty, so I can drink a glass of water and be satisfied.

The biggest challenge is eating out with other people. Kabatzncik said, 'When you lose your focus or overeat, just begin again. Every bite, every meal is a chance to start over."

THIS IS ALL SO TRUE.


Eating goals:
...eat slower
...eat when hungry
....stop when full

"You just have to make the decision to go forward and never look back--and then move slowly and steadily toward your goal."

Fitness Inspiration: Melissa Rycroft

Work It Gurl

Diet Strategies
Here are a few quick facts about losing a pound: It will make your jeans feel a smidge looser, it's the equivalent of four sticks of butter (picture that for a second!), and it requires that you burn and/or cut a total of 3,500 calories. Sound like a lot? It adds up faster than you think.
To lose one pound in seven days you need to reduce your net calories by 500 every day. The easiest way to do that is a 250 split: Cut half from your diet and burn the other half through exercise. To come up with easy ways to do this, we enlisted trainer Heather Rider, founder and director of Rider Fitness Consulting in Los Angeles, and nutritionist Lauren Slayton, RD, of Foodtrainers in New York City. Choose one strategy from the diet and exercise columns each day (feel free to mix and match) and after seven days you will have cut out 3,500 calories. Losing four sticks of butter has never been such a cinch!

Diet Strategies
-Replace your morning bagel and cream cheese with an English muffin and cottage cheese.
-Skip the large bakery muffin in favor of 1 slice of whole wheat toast topped with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.
-Swap your large bran muffin for 3/4 cup of bran flakes.
-Replace eggs and cheese with scrambled egg whites.
- Replace your 450-calorie lunch with a 200-calorie protein shake.
-Replace large french fries with a yogurt-and-fruit parfait.
-Modify your lunch: Skip the cheese on your salad or sandwich, substitute mustard for mayo, and replace potato chips with soy chips.
-Have half a tuna salad sandwich instead of a whole, plus two cups of raw vegetables.
-Skip the cheese in an omelet and a lunchtime sandwich.
-Switch from cream soup to vegetable-based soup at lunch and dinner.
-Switch from one cup premium to light ice cream.
-Skip your afternoon frozen yogurt with ground nuts.
-Resist the handful of M&M's at the receptionist's desk.
-Cut out 1 biscotti and 1 large mocha.
- Switch from a chai tea latte to lemon tea.
- Have 1 ounce of soy nuts instead of 3 ounces of roasted almonds.
-Substitute a serving of beef with shrimp or a white flaky fish like cod at two meals.
- Leave behind one-fourth of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
-Have 1 cup of strawberries instead of a whole banana, and cauliflower instead of a baked potato with sour cream.
- Replace ranch or blue cheese dressing with low-fat vinaigrette at lunch and dinner.
-Have a vodka and soda instead of a margarita at happy hour.

Exercise Strategies
-Jog at a 10-minute-mile pace for 20 minutes.
-Alternate sprinting and walking for 20 minutes.
-Walk briskly for 30 minutes.
-Spin for 30 minutes at a moderate pace.
- Go for a 20-minute trail run.
-Do 1 hour of housework.
-Walk 1 mile in the morning and 1 mile in the evening.
- Do 35 minutes of power yoga.
-Do 35 minutes of Pilates.
-Practice tai chi for 45 minutes.
-Perfect your swing at the driving range for 60 minutes.
-Practice capoeira (a Brazilian mix of martial arts and dance) for 30 minutes.
- Hit a punching bag for 30 minutes.
-Go in-line skating for 15 minutes.
- Shovel snow for 30 minutes.
- Ice-skate vigorously for 30 minutes.
-Run up stairs for 15 minutes.
- Jump rope for 20 minutes.
-Do 25 minutes of circuit training.
-Dance for 40 minutes.
-Play Frisbee for 1 hour.
-Wash windows for 1 hour.
-Use a pedometer and log an extra 3,600 steps.

(tips from Fitness Magazine)

Tips on Eating Healthy...

SLEEP
If it is bedtime, go to sleep. Fatigue can also be misconstrued as hunger by the body.

DRINK WATER
In the meantime, drink something. Sometimes our bodies misinterpret thirst signals for hunger. Fill up on fluids. This may instantly solve the problem. Our bodies are about 75% water. It is a vital part of a healthy diet. Water helps flush our systems, especially the kidneys and bladder, of waste products and toxins.

EXERCISE
Do some exercise. Take your mind off of the hunger. This will also release endorphins which signal the body to be content. It can mimic eating.

BE ACTIVE
Get active. The more active you are, the less time you have to eat.

DRINK TEA
Drink some coffee, tea or other no calorie caffeinated beverage. This takes the edge off, and signals your taste buds it is time to stop eating.

CHEW GUM
Chew some gum or low calorie candies. This will keep the mouth busy

EAT FRUITS AND VEGGIES
Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol. Try to get fresh, local produce.