It’s out and hopefully landing in a dvd player near me… hear that hubby- I mean, Santy Clause!?!
Archive for the Category » Trends «
Dec
12
Category: news, people, Products, Trends, weight loss, yoga
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Dec
12
I guess yoga isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to makin’ babies… and surely, I don’t think I ever thought of massaging my innards with a ball when it came to the months we spent trying to conceive the energetic little pip that is my second son.
But then again, I’m an old fashioned gal, who until now, believed it was just a matter of charting cycles, analyzing cervical mucous and otherwise good timing in creating energetic little pips.
That said, I pride myself in having an open mind and when I came across the growing trend of yoga geared to enhancing efforts in conception, well, I decided to have a look-see. After all one never knows….
I don’t know if you remember the girlfriends of Seinfeld, but one in particular has been making a name for herself beyond the mega-successful TV show. Brenda Strong, formerly best known as Sue Ellen Mischke the “bra-less wonder”… oh, and the dead lady neighbour narrator on Desperate Housewives – hel-llooo!- is a yoga teacher and expert, specializing in helping women get pregnant through the ancient practice of yoga… and a few new-fangled props, such as her trademarked Strong Fertility Ball.
According to her website, Yoga4Fertility, The Strong Fertility Ball Method, created by fertility yoga expert Brenda Strong, is a way for women to empower themselves to:
- Stimulate Circulation/Blood Flow
- Massage Internal Organs
-Use Acupressure Points for Fertility
-Help to Regulate Gynecological Function
-Detoxify and Cleanse
-Decrease Stress
-Open Connective Tissue/Fascia.
The ball acts as a tool for acupressure, and when combined with yoga…
…you get the benefit of two ancient healing systems working together to help your body release tension and balance it’s natural ability to function.
Use of mind/body practices help support your doctor’s protocol by lowering stress and help you feel more in charge of your chances to conceive.
The beauty of this program, or any other yogic practice in trying to conceive or during pregnancy, is that if nothing else, it offers a means to maintaining flexibility and a certain level of fitness while, most importantly providing a valuable tool in stress management essential for effective coping during what can often be a time of stress and fatigue.
Dec
08
I’d have cranked the heat… but it is Canada, after all!
In our neck o’ the woods we’ve seen celebrities of all stripes, most notably the whole Twi-hard phenomenon as they make their homes locally (roughly) to film the monster vampire franchise.
Anywho… a celebrity nearly as big, at least in his own mind, and certainly more interesting, recently graced our northern shores. With mouth, cocked and loaded, attitude and cash in abundance, the ‘bad boy’ founder of Bikram, Bikram Choudhury, did Vancouver.
“It takes six hours,” the Los Angeles-based yoga mogul said, before laughing: “And I buy all the junk. I love it, you know?”
Here to conduct a lecture as well as judge the Western Canadian Hatha Yoga Championships- who knew?!- Master Bikram, whose efforts and commitment have manifested in a veritable empire founded on heat, sweat and just plain balls(!), boasts more than 350 affiliated studios around the world and the devotion of millions. Without doubt, were it available to me and given my penchant for celebrity yogis, I’d probably be sitting sweaty and happy on the Bikram train as well.
The roots of Bikram’s methodology lie in a childhood devoted to hours of practice, where he became more and more aware of the positive effects of heat on his body and it’s response to yoga.
“When room is more hot, then I can sweat more, I can stretch more, I can push more, I can go more deeper and deeper and inside the body, it hurts less and you never get injury,” he said, recalling early days in India when he’d shut doors to keep in the heat.
“So I developed this with my own practice,” he said. “Years and years and years and years.”
Guru to any number of celebrities, Shirley McLain chief among them… oh, and Tiger Woods as well, along with the likes of Madonna, Elle Macpherson and the lovely George Clooney. Despite his roster of notable clientele, when it comes to giving them the celebrity treatment, Bikram states emphatically,
“This is the way I run my kingdom: my way or the highway,” he said in a tone that leaves little room for dispute. “I don’t listen to anybody. You need my help: Come to me, shut up, forget who you are. I will take care of you. And I do my job.”
For anyone perhaps considering taking Bikram to a more competetive level, take a peek… Here’s Mari Dickey, number one woman at the competition. A little inspiration:
Category: news, people, strength, Trends
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Dec
07
In time for Christmas, I turn to the the OM-nipresent, the OM-nicient, the OM-nipotent and the ever OM-nificent… to guide me through the minefield that is holiday shopping. And, in case there’s some confusion to whom I might be referring, let me be clear… I’m talking about Google, of course… the arbiter of all things… all things.
Where I, in my Mommy-OM-ness would trend towards the yogic in my gift-giving preferences, it seems that Google is telling me otherwise. According to an article in Canada’s National Post, when it comes to most searched items this year, “yoga” is lucky to squeak into the top ten as Google Zeitgeist, the empire’s trend-tracker tells us that “hula hoop exercise” emerged at number two… second only to P90X exercise program (been there, done that… not for wimps… and sure, feel free to call me a wimp!)
Despite some growth, such as Lululemon, the Vancouver-based clothing giant, with its annual revenue increase by roughly 30% from 2008 to 2009, these recessionary times are sending us looking for less expensive means to our physical fitness and fat-burning ends. And, if you can resist the attempts to cash in on this trend, with companies offering all flavours of hula induced spending from hoops encrusted with fat burning marbles to full service hula fitness kits, you still only pay about $5 bucks for this not-so-modern marvel. And, hey, anyone can do it!
You’ll also do your part to support what might appear as something of a yoga backlash:
Is yoga now on a downward trend? Or has the uber-trendy exercise suffered some sort of backlash due to expensive studio classes or, as Antonia Richmond says in a 2006 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, a growing sense of insecurity from the non-yoga inclined masses:
“These are the yoga people. And they’re better than you…They don’t have the haggard appearance or sensitivity to bright sunlight that I do as I stumble down the street in search of coffee. They appear to … glow.”
Yoga-hater and creator of New York clothing company “It’s a Sickness”, Barnaby Harris went so far as to create an entire f— yoga clothing line.
Harris elegantly summed up the history of the ubiquitous trend, saying:
“Yoga has survived for thousands of years and will survive for thousands more. It’s just that it has gone unopposed for too damn long.”
Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/12/03/yoga-backlash.aspx#ixzz0YujRGLRD
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Category: health, news, Trends, yoga
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May
27
Would I be in danger of being stoned… or possibly flayed… right here on my yoga mat if I admitted I don’t like Downward Facing Dog?
Occasionally, in the heat of Sun Salutations, I find some solace in taking the posture… sighing into it… but then, remembering my form, back to work.
Unlike Savasana, where the work is largely mental, with a hint of the spiritual, for me, Downward Dog requires considerable effort on all fronts: the mental, spiritual and just downright physical.
More often than not, the sigh- upon recalling there is proper form involved- is replaced by an “Ugh!”, uttered through the exhausted heave of my exhale… followed by shallow, inadequate breaths… until, finally- yes, finally- I embrace my last inhale and take my steps, depending on my level of energy, my hop forward to the exalted release of forward bend.
But, here’s the thing: Downward Dog is supposed to be a posture of rejuvenation… of healing and renewal! If this is the case… then why, why, WHY do I dislike it so?!
Category: Meditation, strength, surrender, Trends
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May
15
Look, I’m not sure I’m buying this trend exactly… but anything that involves chocolate warrants an open mind!!
Category: Blog, Eating, Just Crazy... In A Good Way, Practice, Spirit, Trends
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