Yoga Informer | Everything About Yoga

Spin & Yoga – A Happy Workout Couple?

Kaitlyn Mackey — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:10:35 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Mark Gail/THE WASHINGTON POST

Two unlikely fitness classes have been paired together. Well, actually, maybe they arent that different after all. One gets your cardio fired up and the other slows your internal rythm down and helps you stretch away the tention. Maybe it’s more like a match made in heaven?! I’ve actually tried one of these classes and LOVED it!

It seems as if we are always struggling for balance in our lives. Work or play? Spend or save? Eat that doughnut or save those calories?

The same is true for our fitness regimens. Everyone from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to your physician wants you to mix cardiovascular workouts with strength training, stretching and balance drills. How do you fit it all in?

In truth, many of us fall short. We work too long, spend too much and I need not elaborate on doughnut consumption. When we exercise, we tend to find that workout we love — running, cycling, Zumba, martial arts — and do it more than anything else.As anyone who has tried to lose weight will attest, our bodies adapt when we challenge them in only one way. They become efficient and limit our progress.Gyms and experts have recognized this problem and are working to offer options that incorporate more than one type of exercise per session. CrossFit may be the best known of these efforts; it mixes high-intensity cardio with strength training. But you can also find bike and barre hybrids, or workouts that combine spinning with jumping off the bike every few minutes to lift weights.A saner alternative, especially for men of a certain age like me, is Gabriella Boston’s new Revolution/Yoga class at the Results Gym on Capitol Hill,which follows 45 minutes of high-intensity spinning with 45 minutes of elementary yoga.“I was teaching them separately, and I realized that I liked to do them together,” Boston, a former Washington Times reporter, told me. “This is a really, really good fit. It’s a full-body workout . . . [and] you’re getting the whole mind-body thing together.”The class I took was at 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday, a time when my mind and body agree they’d rather be drinking coffee and reading the paper. But there I was, trying to keep up, as Boston, wearing a microphone, repeatedly took about 30 of us to the edge of myocardial infarction and back. We kept time with the heavy, percussive beat of a soundtrack as we stood to ride hills and sprinted as fast as our legs would turn.

Mostly I sweated. Rivers of sweat. Waterfalls of sweat. On the handlebars, on the bike frame, on the rubber matted floor.

It felt great. But the best was yet to come.

Hearts still pounding, shirts soaked, most of us adjourned to the yoga studio next door, rolled out mats and within a minute or two began a series of yoga poses designed to slowly cool us down as we gently relaxed and stretched the muscles we had just taxed. I became dizzy as we bent at the waist to begin easing the strain on our lower backs. But once that passed and my heart rate returned to near normal, the slow, controlled yoga stretches were the ideal balm for the strain of spin class.

“In cycling you tighten, and in yoga you stretch,” 67-year-old Jackie Eiting told me after the yoga class. She took up spinning after the pounding of running had taken its toll on her knees. Then she realized that, like most of us, she usually shortchanged herself on post-workout stretching. That “motivated me to do a full class instead of just doing stretches,” she said.

A bonus of Boston’s class is a bit of upper-body work she includes to complement the lower-body emphasis of spinning. We held plank poses, front and side, to work abdominal muscles and obliques. To develop balance, we stood on one foot and leaned into various positions.

As I’ve written before, flexibility and balance are not my strengths. I like to trudge forward on foot, mile after mile. I like the solitude, the rhythm. This is when my mind and body come together. I know I should do other forms of exercise, and from time to time, I feel guilty enough that I’ll lift weights for a few months and do some plyometrics. But inevitably I grow bored.

Boston’s class and other workouts like it will help you do better.

At the end of the yoga session, we lay quietly for a few minutes and settled our minds. On Monday, I awoke with just a bit of stiffness in the muscles I had awakened, instead of that beaten-up feeling that follows a long run.

“Yoga keeps my muscles from feeling rusty afterwards,” Lisa Branscomb, who also injured her knees running, told me after the class. “I can now walk upstairs without making noises.”? [source]

What I liked most about this style of class was the warm up and cool down effect it had on my body. I get all worked up and sweaty during the spin class and then slow it down and stretch out my muscles during yoga, which leaves me realxed and ready to take on the day. It’s a wonderful class and if you can find one in your area, I would definately recommend trying it.

Yoga to Mellow Out Your Moody Teen?

Kaitlyn Mackey — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:38:19 +0000

Photo Courtesy of emaxhealth.com

The teenage years of your child might be some of the toughest to go through depending on their temperment and things they go through at home and school. Some teenagers get agressive and defiant, while others remain clam cool and collected. If you got one of the moody everything is about me type teenagers then you need to read this article. It may offer some relief to your teenager woes.

Parents of moody teenagers take note: If you’re tired of the rolled eyes and are worried about your children’s emotional and mental health, then yoga may help. A new study found that high school students who practiced yoga scored better on a number of psychological factors.

Teenager years are challenging times

Parents of teenagers often use words like “moody” and “defiant” and “stressed” when they describe their children. The teenage years are times when adolescents are searching for a sense of self, asserting their independence, and in the process, undergoing much emotional turmoil.

Although parents realize the teenager years are challenging times, they wish there was something they could do to help relieve the stress, depression, and anxiety, which are a severe strain on their children’s mental health. Yoga may be some help.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School evaluated the impact of Kripalu yoga classes on the mental health of 11th and 12th grade students at a Massachusetts high school. Two thirds were assigned to take Kripalu yoga classes for 10 weeks, 2 to 3 times a week, while the rest of the students attended regular physical education classes.

Kripalu yoga involves physical poses along with breathing exercises, deep relaxation, and meditation that can help individuals objectively experience their physical, emotional, and mental being. To assist the investigators in identifying the impact of yoga on the teenagers, psychosocial tests were administered before and after the 10-week study.

Here’s what the investigators learned:

Teenagers who took yoga scored better on mood and anxiety compared with the control group

Negative emotions got worse among students in the control group but improved among teens who took yoga

Positive emotions did not change in either group

Teenagers in both groups did not show any significant difference in self-regulatory skills. These skills include resilience, mindfulness, and controlling anger, which are believed to protect individuals against developing mental health problems

Most of the teenagers said they wanted to continue taking yoga classes

Other yoga studies
Among the scores of yoga studies on the benefits of the practice, some have explored its impact on children and adolescents. For example:

A recent review evaluated the effect of exercise on depression, anxiety, chronic illnesses, growth, and overweight in children and adolescents. Of the studies that involved yoga, the focus was on ADHD and anxiety, and the findings suggested yoga may be beneficial because it may stimulate pressure receptors that lead to increased vagal activity, decreased stress hormones, and an increase in the production of antidepressant neurotransmitters such as serotonin.

A previous study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine evaluated use of yoga as a complementary therapy for adolescents, but focused on physical rather than mental health. The study did, however, note that “yoga appears promising as a complementary therapy for children and adolescents.”

A Boston College study of 4th and 5th grade girls explored the impact of yoga on stress reduction. One group of girls met for 1 hour a week for 8 weeks and were taught mindfulness through yoga while the control group was on a wait list. Girls in the yoga group showed greater appraisal of stress and greater frequency of coping than did the control group.

According to the authors of the latest study, which was led by Jessica Noggle, PhD, their findings were “generally consistent” with the few yoga studies conducted previously among school children. Although larger and longer-term studies are needed to accurately identify the mental health benefits of yoga for teenagers, parents should take note of the positive findings thus far. Yoga anyone? [source]

The hard part about yoga though, is convincing your moody teen to actually go to the classes. You’re used to the disobedienace and defiance, so now it’s time to come up with a way to convince them to go and somehow convince them that it was there brilliant idea all along. Good luck parents, it’ll be worth it in the long run, right? It’s worth a shot!

Yoga – The Common Cure For What Ails You?

Kaitlyn Mackey — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:16:54 +0000

Could Yoga be the common cure for what is ailing you? Some say yes! A yoga session not only strengthens the body but also the mind. When these two items are combined, it can do wonders for your physical and mental health.

Photo Courtesy of yogaexercise4u.blogspot.com

Celebrity yoga instructor Tara Stiles has been teaching people for years how to heal through the power of yoga. In her new book, Yoga Cures, Stiles gives simple routines that can help alleviate more than 50 common ailments, ranging from hangovers to broken hearts.

“A little bit of meditation and simple movements have a way of getting everything out of your body and your mind…It brings out the organs, and gets your nervous system going and gets the brain activated,” Stiles, who also is the founder of Strala Yoga in New York, N.Y., told FoxNews.com.

For something like a hangover, Stiles recommends a basic twist to help lessen the sluggish feelings. A headstand can also help – though beginners should only apply a little pressure to the head.

“As you inhale, you make a little more room in your body, and as you exhale, twisting sort of gives pressure to the organs and wrings out toxins and things like that,” Stiles said.

Yoga can even ease some of the pain of getting dumped. Studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association have shown that ‘broken heart syndrome,’ known clinically as stress cardiomyopathy, actually mimics some of the symptoms of a heart attack. Stiles said a simple tree pose can help bring balance to a person’s life and move on.

Stiles also includes beauty tips in her book, such as a quick, easy way to fix bags under the eyes.

“You can rub your hands together pretty quickly,” she said, “Create some heat there, and then close your eyes and press the heels of your hands into your eyeballs. Stay there for a few breaths, and it really brings some energy and circulation and life into the eyes and gives you that refreshed feeling.” [source]

While Yoga may not work for everything that is ailing you, it certainly can help improve your mood and your mindset while giving you focus and energy to fight what you are dealing with. Whether you just went through a breakup and you’re feeling depressed or you have a headache that needs some soothing, Yoga may be the answer to your problem. Do a little homework about your ailment and chances are, you’ll find someone who is using Yoga to make it better.

Yoga Newbies – Listen Up!

Kaitlyn Mackey — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:41:43 +0000

Photo Courtesy of beginnersyoga.com

New to yoga? No big deal, you’ll learn along the way. Nothing to be afraid of by any means, but there are some basic tips to follow while doing yoga or attending a class for the first time.There is nothing quite like getting embarrassed or doing something completely stupid in front of a class of people you don’t know.

Here is a list of items you’ll want to pay attention to for any/every yoga class across the board:

Bring water, a hand towel and a mat. Most studios rent or lend them, but it’s nice to have your own. “Your mat, your germs, plain and simple.”

Do not wear shoes. “You could try yoga socks that help prevent slipping, but practicing barefoot is highly encouraged.”

Wear workout clothes without pockets, zippers, buckles or buttons on the back or abdomen. When practicing hot yoga, where temperatures and humidity swell, wear breathable material.

Go easy on perfumes or colognes. “It’s best to keep the studio in a neutral state.”

Don’t be loud or chatty. “The yoga space is intended to be a sanctuary where one may go to decompress from the day.”

Listen — LISTEN — to the instructor so you can learn how to do the poses safely and to the most benefit.

Be on time. You don’t want to miss the warm-up. “It’s an issue of both safety and respect.” [source]

The rest will be left up to you to do your research and learn. Not all yoga is practiced the same and some styles will vary greatly from others. For instance Vinyasa Flow Yoga and Bikram Yoga are virtually complete opposites and you would be surprised if you showed up for a Bikram class expecting Vinyasa. I’ve written posts before about not following the rules, so make sure you find out what the rules are where ever you go to avoid being embarrassed or yelled at by an instructor.

Go Green with an Eco Friendly Yoga Mat

Kaitlyn Mackey — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:01:02 +0000

Photo Courtesy of Jade Yoga

Yoga mats are great, but they are not all created equal. The cheaper yoga mats (and even some of the expensive ones) are made with toxic materials. For those of your practicing a ‘green’ lifestyle, then some of these mats are not aligning with your inner green chi. How do you fix the problem? Do your yoga mat research as many companies offer the information freely on their websites. What you can expect to find in some yoga mats:

Many yoga mats are made from vinyl, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and phthalates. Vinyl is toxic to the environment during production and disposal, not to mention that it is made from a nonrenewable resource. Phthalates and PVC are “plasticizers” often found in soft vinyl materials, which leach out during the product’s lifetime, and have been known to have negative reproductive health effects in both men and women. It makes no sense to get healthy through yoga while breathing in terrible toxins, so JadeYoga created an eco-friendly alternative.

The JadeYoga line of yoga products are made from natural, FDA-approved rubber, a renewable resource from sustainably farmed rubber trees. They contain no PVC, synthetic plastics or ozone depleting substances, which means you don’t have to hold your breath while holding your downward dog. “We use natural rubber because it grips better and has more cushion than any of the synthetic rubbers on the market,” reads the website.

Perhaps most importantly, the mats are made in the United States in compliance with all U.S. environmental and labor laws, and as an added bonus, the company helps Trees for the Future plant a new tree for each mat they sell. “What we like about Trees for the Future is that they work with local communities on projects that are environmentally and economically sustainable,” states the website.” They are not about going in and dictating what they are going to do, doing it and walking away. They engage the local community which leads to a project that can continue long after Trees for the Future has left.”

JadeYoga mats start at $54.95, and are available online through its U.S. or Canadian divisions. [source]

So not only can you invest in an environmentally savvy yoga mat, but some companies are upping the stakes by offering tree planting or other environmental benefits. In addition to sending you your new mat, some companies also offer recycling for your old mat. However, in our research, it looks like environmentally safe comes with a higher price tag but the sticker shock quickly wears off once you remember why you are living green in the first place.

Let it Come, Let it Go, Let it Flow

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:49:20 +0000

Today’s Yoga quote:

Let it come, let it go, let it flow. – Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

Go ahead and repost this onto your Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest (just rollover image)! Namaste!

Broga – Yoga Designed Just for Men

Kaitlyn Mackey — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:58:28 +0000

We’ve heard of Bromances before but never Broga. We can only assume that they have to do with men and yoga and not so much a love affair between two men. Interestingly enough, many men don’t care for yoga because they feel it is more for women than men. However, this Broga concept may be a turn in the right direction.

A new fangled form of ‘masculine’ yoga hopes to bring more men into the class. Are Mumbai’s men ready for it?

Photo Courtesy of greenlotus.hubpages.com

You have mankinis and man spas and now there’s another entrant in the world of male vanity. It’s called Broga, a new form of yoga that’s tailored just for men. Hailed on the website as a yoga class ‘where it’s okay if you can’t touch your toes’, Broga is for the guy who wants to keep fit yet not lose his ego doing what most men feel are ‘silly poises’. And judging by the response it has got, the new fitness regime might just give women all the competition!

What it’s about?
A website quoted Adam O’Neill, co-founder and president of the concept as saying, “Broga is founded on the belief that millions of men could live happier, healthier, more fulfilling, injury-free, self-aware, and (maybe even) longer lives if they incorporated yoga into their current health and wellness regime.”

It’s believed alpha-males stay away from the usual yoga classes as the usual routine like chanting patiently and meditating with soft music dissuades them. But this one’s changing all the rules! O’Neill’s partner was quoted saying they play music like Radiohead in the Broga classes, something more identifiable to traditionally athletic men. Having taken off well abroad, the regime might find used in several fitness-savvy places. Considering we have the most heavy-set pot-bellied men around, is Mumbai ready for a Broga class?

Mumbai ready for ‘only-men’?
“No for sure,” states funny man Cyrus Broacha. “Do you expect me to pay a swami join a class, wear a loin cloth and hang around with a bunch of men? It’s sounds like a punishment, bad karma actually. I would join a class with girls in it, I mean how else would you have fun? That’s how I used to pass time in school. So, I think this Broga should be banned!”

While actor Chetan Hansraj who practices yoga everyday, feels that it’s a new fad and might be challenging he’s also not willing to go for a class minus the ladies. “Women bring a sort of energy level into the whole thing,” he smiles. “It would be so boring to have a guys-only class.” [source]

So there you have it, Broga! Yoga classes designed specifically for men. While it isn’t something that has been adopted by your local 24 hour fitness or other nationwide gym, you might be able to find a class that caters to men in your area. Otherwise, you’ll have to just keep dragging the men you know to your yoga class. After all, what man wouldn’t want to see the amazing bodies and positions that go down in a yoga class. I mean, really!

Yoga in the Bedroom

Kaitlyn Mackey — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:54:23 +0000

Photo Courtesy of YogaVibes.com (Rollover to PIN it).

Alright, I know what you’re thinking, but get your mind out of the gutter (or don’t, but you’ll probably not finish reading this post if you let your mind wander too far the other way). While you might not actually have the bed that you see pictured above in order to harness the ultimate yoga experience, there is nothing wrong with imagining that you are living the life pictured above.

I shall paint you a picture! It’s late at night and you’re lying in your egg-shaped pod bed, waves lapping gently in the background, and yet! You can’t slumber. Your mind, it whirls. Gently cast your thoughts back to the online yoga sequence you watched earlier today. Twist, sigh, stretch, settle. Sleep well, my pet, sleep well. [source]

Here is the yoga sequence she is referring to:

It’s morning. You wake to birdsong and sunbeams. You’re refreshed, ready to begin your exciting day! But your body runs a little behind your mind. You feel a touch…creaky. Never fear! Whip out your in-bed yoga sequence and rejoice as the physical you catches up to the advanced, awesome mental you! Stretch, twist, smile. It’s time to go get ‘em, tiger!

Okay, so maybe parts of my story don’t quite mesh up to your life. That doesn’t mean this new quick sequence from Sage Rountree doesn’t feel darn good and help you settle down or get going. It’s multipurpose! Yoga victory!

Give it a try! Let me know what you think. I’m pretty sure you’ll love it. [source]

So the next time you prepare for bed, give this technique a try. I've heard it said that visualizing success can lead to success, so why not try visualizing a relaxing and luxurious sleep experience? Bring a little zen into your bedroom and try bedroom yoga tonight. If it doesn't work for you, then you only wasted one night trying, but at least you tried it.

Yoga Studios – One of the Fastest Growing Industries in 2012

Kaitlyn Mackey — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:33:14 +0000

In America, it is no secret that the economy has taken a huge dive over the last few years. Blame it on the president, the mortgage industry or whatever/whoever you think is responsible, but at the end of the day our economy has suffered immensely. Regardless, we are staring to see glimmers of hope at the end of the dark tunnel of unemployment and all the struggles that come along with a down economy. Fortunately, as the economy starts to recover, certain industries start to shine brightly and rise above the rest. If an industry can be successful in a down economy then its going to flourish when the economy recovers (of course, this doesn’t go for companies who are only in business because of a down economy). CNN Money recently came out with a list of the fastest growing industries in 2012 and wouldn’t you know it, Yoga made the list!

The full list includes:

Generic pharmaceuticals

Solar panels

For-profit universities

Pilates and yoga studios

Self-tanning products

3D printers

Social networking games

Hot sauce

Green and sustainable construction

Online eyeglasses and contact lens sales [source]

Photo Courtesy of youryogaguide.com

Some of the industries on the list might surprise you, but the fact that Yoga has made the list is definitely exciting. What does that mean for us? More studios close to our homes and competitive pricing. While I will willingly pay full price for a yoga class, I do enjoy using coupons and trying new studios in my area on a regular basis. So, the good news about Yoga being on this list is: More Yoga for everyone!

If You Thought Paddleboarding Was Hard – Try Yoga on a Paddleboard!

Kaitlyn Mackey — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:00:03 +0000

Photo Courtesy of elephantjournal.com

As an avid paddleboarder, I love a good challenge. However I have never seen anything quite like this. Paddleboarding yoga! Yes, that’s right, it’s not a typo. Paddleboarding yoga is becoming a new fitness craze. Beginners are welcome to practice yoga on land and paddleboard after while anyone up for more of a challenge can have an entire yoga class out on the water on top of a paddleboard. Check out this video:

New craze: Yoga paddle boarding: kxan.com

“Experts say it may feel like walking on water because paddle boarding works on the flat water of a lake or pond and doesn’t involve waves.

“Paddle boarding is a form of surfing. A paddle board is basically a surfboard that’s thicker, more buoyant, so it can hold you standing up in flat water,” said Scott Bumbalough, founder of Maui B’s Stand Up Paddle Boarding, which is based in Florida.

“For fitness classes we take a one-hour lap around the lake,” he said, which in this case is Lake Ivanhoe in Orlando, Florida. “Buoys are placed at intervals and at each buoy we do an exercise such as squats, push-ups, squat thrusts on the board.”

Bumbalough encountered paddle boarding, which probably dates back to ancient Polynesia, while living in Hawaii, where it was a popular way for surfers to train when the surf was down.

“It’s a high-intensity, low-impact workout,” said Bumbalough. “The class probably works about 85 percent of the muscles in body.”

Bumbalough said he brought paddle boarding to Florida in 2007. Since then it’s spread throughout the nation as a hugely popular sport that can be done anywhere there’s safe water.

Peace, serenity, and six-pack abs are among the many benefits that have accrued to Nani Sadowski, a healthcare consultant, since she started exercising on the paddle board two years ago.

“I have a very stressful job, so it’s very relaxing to be on the water,” said Sadowski.

She also does paddleboard yoga, which she explained is a complete practice from sun salutations to the final resting pose done on the water.

“I prefer yoga on paddle board because you have to focus that much more on your balance,” said Sadowski. “You look down and see the water below you. Any fear is more a question of mind over matter.”

Shirley Archer, a Florida-based fitness expert and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, has tried paddle boarding and finds it is a very effective core workout that requires balance.

“You can’t fake it in the water … It provides you with immediate feedback,” Archer, who is a certified yoga and Pilates instructor, explained. “Yoga on the paddle board simply expands on this concept because many yoga postures require good balance.”

She said that paddle boarding, while ideal for those seeking a new challenge, would likely work out only for people who enjoy the outdoors and who don’t mind getting wet.

Sadowski said she has only fallen off once, perhaps because there is one instructor for each five students in her class.

“They watch us like hawks the whole time,” she added.

Her devotion to paddle boarding has transformed her body.

“People always comment on how toned my arms are, how great my posture has become,” she explained. “When I was off work for a couple of weeks I went out every day for two hours,” she said.

The result? I’m 38 years old and I actually got a six-pack.” [source]

The next time you see or hear someone complain about how difficult paddleboarding is, mention yoga and see if their tone changes. In fact, I would go as far as practicing yoga everytime I paddleboard so the next ‘that friend’ comes paddleboarding and complains, I can perform a perfect headstand and ask them to restate why paddleboarding is so difficult again .