Archive for the Category » yoga «

Apr
20

From RN Central: 28 Great Yoga Moves in the Office

My office chair is HORRIBLE!  It’s not unusual for me to hobble away from my desk, bent over like an old woman crawling out of a shoe.

Courtesy of RN Central, here are a whole bunch of great moves to keep you walking, straight and narrow, that you can do easily at your desk or in the office:

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a typical yogi, yoga can be a very beneficial addition to your day. Taking breaks at the office is integral to staying flexible and healthy during the day, and you can supplement your normal stair climbs or walk around the building with these yoga poses. Whether or not you’ve tried yoga before or have studied the health benefits of yoga, try to find a peaceful spot in your office to stretch, strengthen your muscles, and regain your composure.

  1. Side benders: The first pose on this video will stretch out your neck, core and back. Just remember to keep your shoulders back and chest open.
  2. Shoulder rolls: Even if you don’t think you’re particularly stressed at work, you probably hold a lot of tension in your shoulders. Roll them out with this pose.
  3. Chair Pose: You’ll only pretend to be sitting in your chair as you do this pose, which strengthens your thighs, hips and hamstrings.
  4. Neck stretch: Another technique to immediately release tension and help yourself relax is this neck stretch.
  5. Tadasana: One of the most basic yoga poses, all you really have to do is stand with your feet together, practicing good posture and relieving back pain.
  6. Triangle pose: Anyone can do this pose, and as you become more advanced, you can focus on opening and stretching your hips and looking up to your other hand.
  7. Big Mind Meditation: Sit comfortably on the floor in this pose to quiet your mind.
  8. Standing tree pose: This is a great pose to do at work because it centers your mind and body while calming your nerves and helping you de-stress.
  9. Chair Twist: Your back will get a good, strong stretch with this pose you can do in your office chair.
  10. Warrior II Pose: Get a good stretch while strengthening your arms, thighs and legs at the same time.

Read more….

Category: Articles, Blog, Features, health, instruction, Postures, Practice, strength, yoga  One Comment
Feb
03

Jennifer Anniston, Oprah & You: Yogamatic Customized Yoga Mats!

A yoga mat is a very personal thing.  It’s covered in your sweat, your smell, your belly button lint and toe jam, your cleaner… it doesn’t get any more “yours”.  Tried explaining this to hubby to no avail… thinks we just have a collection of random, interchangeable yoga mats and just grabs ‘em willy nilly.  Argh!

I’ve since removed mine from the collection!

Also hiding from indiscriminate hubby is my Yogamatic Travel Mat/Yoga Towel, which I received a couple of months ago and fell in love with immediately.    It’s surprisingly light and thin, with a towel-ly soft top layer, complete with a design that I love, and a sticky rubber bottom that grips the floor.

I sometimes use it on top of my usual yoga mat for a little extra padding and absorption, but what I really love is how convenient and perfect it is for travel.  It folds up light and compact in a convenient little envelope, easily sliding into a carry-on.  No more packing around bulky yoga mats for me!  It could even fit in my purse, for Christmas sake!

As wonderful as the versatile Yoga Towel is, what makes Yogamatic truly unique is that they are all about making your yoga mat all that much more yours.

Whether you choose from their huge selection of wonderful designs or upload your own image or graphic, it’s all about suiting your practice, your personality and your passion for yoga and beyond.

Perhaps you’ve already heard about Jennifer Anniston recently gifting Oprah a puppified Yogamatic of her own!

Whether your after a handy-dandy Towel or customizing a for real, thick and cushion-y mat, Yogamatic is doing it best!

Category: health, people, Practice, Products, yoga  One Comment
Jan
26

30 Days of Yoga… Take Up the Challenge?

With New Years resolutions already falling by the wayside, yoga studios all over are capitalizing on the lack of resolve by offering another chance for instituting change.

To get your sorry butt off the sofa stir the embers of motivation, perhaps a little challenge might be in order.  The 30 Day Yoga Challenge might be what you- and I, Buddha knows!- need to be finding our way to the mat more regularly.

Beginning February 1st, we shall all commit to practicing every day. Every day.  If you miss a day, it’s to be made up on the following.

Remember, it’s a Challenge.

Perhaps you find it easier participating with a class, such as that at Vancouver’s Yogapod, as many studios are offering such programs.  The beauty of this is, of course, you can always do it on your own.

Choose your venue.  Choose your style… and for heaven’s sake, feel free to choose the time of day and the length of practice that works best for your schedule.  Keep in mind that this has less to do with the 30 days you’ve committed than to instituting real change in your life and health.

As I consider my own commitment, I know that here in the sticks I don’t have the benefit of a studio that can provide me with such a program. I’m on my own.  With no one but my lone reader many readers to keep me honest.

30 days?  Dare I say… I’m in?!

Category: 10 minutes to glory!, Events, Good Intentions, health, Practice, Spirit, strength, Trends, yoga  Leave a Comment
Jan
14

60 Houses Going to Haiti… Thanks to the Power of Yoga!

You wouldn’t think of the tiny province of Nova Scotia as being a hotbed of activism, but it’s amazing what can happen when you combine the spirit of yoga and, well, the spirit of people.

With the help of his staff, Jeff MacKinnnon, of Breathing Space Yoga Studio, and his Yoga 11 class partnered with Ian MacHattie and fotocan.org to raise the money for 60 houses, costing $500 each. The 60 houses will make their way to the devastated and struggling country, hit by a 7.0 earthquake a year ago, killing 220,000 and leaving 1.8 million homeless.

Part of the fundraiser featured a class of 94 students at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College on Monday, which is the largest ever in the region. MacKinnon was trying to break that number Thursday at Cobequid Educational Centre which was also the culmination of the CEC’s first semester of Yoga 11, and featured 86 participants. To meet the 60-house goal, the last $775 was raised through the class.

Read on….

Category: Articles, Events, gratitude, news, Practice, Spirit, yoga  Leave a Comment
Nov
22

Yoga + Couples: David & Victoria Beckham

If you’re looking for a pair of bodies to get you motivated to hit the mat, I suppose you don’t have to look much farther than the Beckhams.

Style icons for sure, but the picture of yogic marital bliss?  Who knew?!

With the help of twice a week couple sessions at The Sports Club LA in Beverly Hills, not only are their bodies kept enviably beautiful but their relationship too, is apparently made that much stronger.

According to an insider, “It’s a very intimate experience. You have to learn to become one entity entirely. You stretch, breathe and move as one – it’s great for couples and is probably better than talking in a way.”

In addition to regular practice of deprivation yoga to keep their bodies lean and lovely, thanks to the classes which include the ancient hands-on healing energy technique of reiki as well as meditation where the pair chant mantras to one another, Becks, 35 and Posh, 36, married 11 years, are able to better weather the persistent accusations of David’s infidelity that seem to plague them.

Keeping a man like David Beckham, and his various appetites, satisfied has got to be a full-time job… let’s hope the power of yoga can help out a little.

Category: beauty, health, news, people, weight loss, yoga  Leave a Comment
Nov
21

West Coast or East Coast… Pick Your Wanderlust!

Wanderlust is a retreat unlike any other… and it ain’t just for California gurls anymore.

The two-year-old yoga-slash-concert extravaganza will offer two locations for the summer of 2011, appealing to the green-, yogi-, and folk- hearted on both coasts.  If you can’t make it out to California, maybe you’ve a hankerin’ for maple syrup and an extra excuse to get to Vermont is in order!  An added bonus, they are a month apart, so you’ve plenty of time to save your pennies not missing one in favour of the other.

The details, instructors and musicians, are still to be announced next month, but if last year’s line-up is any indication (the likes of Shiva Rea, Baron Baptiste, Doug Swenson and Moby, Bassnectar, Brazilian Girls, respectively) then these retreats will be sure NOT to disappoint.

The beautiful thing about Wanderlust, it isn’t just a retreat for yoga-loving singles.  Families are welcome and encouraged, with the Wanderkind Kids Program, presented last year by Om Kids Yoga, Truckee.  It was the number one spot on site for kids to have an exceptionally cool experience, custom tailored to the interests of Wanderlust families.

Category: Destinations, Events, green, health, instruction, Kids, news, people, yoga  Leave a Comment
Nov
09

Yoga For Chickens: Relaxing Your Inner Chick by Lynn Brunelle

Yoga For Chickens: Relaxing Your Inner Chick by Lynn BrunelleLook… there’s very little else I can say to encourage those who haven’t yet made their way onto the mat, and until now, I wouldn’t have thought of this one, but if a chicken can freaking do it then, really…

As you’ve probably guessed, this won’t be your yogi’s yoga manual.

In this clever and fowl take on the practice, not only has Lynn Brunelle, one of the creative minds behind the TV show Bill Nye the Science Guy and the board game, Cranium, offered yoga from one of the most unique perspectives in print, she’s provided just that little extra encouragement in the form of an eagerly game, albeit slightly harried, model to guide you through the poses.

Written and illustrated by the talented Brunelle, Yoga for Chickens is geared to “lead you along the poultry path of self-awareness” and if you are interested- and who wouldn’t be- ponder along with you, your “being and chickenness.”

There is practical instruction, though brief, introducing readers to poses they might not be familiar with, such as “Wingstand,” “Rooster’s Sunrise Salutation,” and “Boneless Chicken Pose” (more commonly known as Corpse Pose).  But what is most charming about the book is the tidbits of wisdom, the things we likely have already heard, but could use perhaps another reminder, in a unique and memorable way.

As you might rightly assume, your average chicken is probably a little ruffled trying yoga for the first time.  But, as with anything, if a chicken can transcend her fears and give it a go… what are you waiting for?

Category: health, instruction, Just Crazy... In A Good Way, Postures, Practice, reading, yoga  Leave a Comment
Sep
14

September: National Yoga Month!

I’m afraid it’s been a busy month in the world of MommyOm… I was under the impression that, as Staples keeps reminding us, “It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeeeear!” because September means Back to School and thus find myself way behind the 8-ball and totally slow on the uptake in this being National Yoga Month!

For those of you not completely lost in the bliss and sudden abundance of peace and quiet in your lives, perhaps this month might also mean taking advantage of the various specials held at studios around America and getting acquainted with yoga for the first time.  For others, such as myself, it means considering what yoga means in my day-to-day life and perhaps re-committing to a regular practice… or maybe I did that last month?!?!

Whatever.  Whether it’s Back to School or National Yoga Month, do yourself a favour and check out a local yoga class this month.  It might be just what you need to fill up all the time you’ve recently acquired!

Happy Yoga Month!

Category: Class-y, Events, Good Intentions, health, Spirit, yoga  Leave a Comment
Sep
11

Oh Those Canadians: Yoga… ‘Cannabis Enhanced’

Leave it to the Canadians and their legalized marijuana to find yet another excuse to get high:  yoga class!

I suppose to some, yoga and pot are synonymous anyhow.  But to those of us who practice regularly, the high we get from a practice, any practice, from more mellow Iyengar to balls out Bikram, is just so satisfying and remarkable on its own, it keeps us coming back to the magic of the mat as often as we can.

But, apparently there is another faction of yogis that feel there’s just that much more can be achieved through a practice enhanced by the ganja… the herb… the tea… by the cannabis that they’ve developed a series of classes incorporating the hallucinogen to maximize their yogic experience.

Dee Dussault, founder of Follow Your Bliss center and Ganja Yoga classes, told Relaxnews that she has “been smoking marijuana for four years, practicing yoga for 15 years” and “teaching cannabis-enhanced yoga for about one year.”

Classes range in participation from four to fifteen students, and along with mats, towels and water bottles, it’s a strict policy of  BYOP: Bring Your Own Pot.  There is no sharing or mooching and there is certainly no buying or selling.

Classes include “a vaporizer café and chat (approximately 30 minutes), followed by a profoundly trippy yoga class, set to mystical music (approximately 75 minutes). Light munchies served afterward” for about $15 CDN.

Most of us don’t live in the Toronto area to take advantage of this unique approach to yoga, but if you’re interesting in experimenting with your own ganja infused practice, Dee Dussault offers a few pointers:

-  Focus more on the sensations that one feels in the body than on trying to achieve more intermediate or advanced postures while high.
-  Really slow down, focus inwards, let go of your idea of what “yoga” is supposed to look like. Just “be” in different poses. Hang out there, let the ganja take you to new realms of experience. Notice your breath. Notice how the body moves and feels. Do some simple stretches, whatever your body calls for.
- Always listen to your body, and err on the side of doing less than you think you can.
- Stay away from balancing poses unless you are used to them, as marijuana can negatively impact balance for some people. Spend a lot of time in meditative poses.
- If your mind wanders, just come back to your breath. If thoughts interrupt or distract you, see if you can commit to focusing on the breath and the feeling of the body.
- Marijuana is great for making us super-interested in things for the short-term. Be super-interested in things you’ve never noticed about your body before. Continually commit to coming back to the breath, to the body.
- If you feel anxiety or cannabis-induced paranoia, try “Child’s Pose” – kneel on your knees and lower legs, with your hips reaching down towards your heels, and your forehead on the mat. You can have your arms extended over your head, or by your sides. Child’s pose reduces mental tension and anxiety.

Category: Articles, Class-y, health, Just Crazy... In A Good Way, news, Practice, yoga  One Comment
Sep
04

Me Likey… Ultima Replenisher: A Sports Drink With A Difference

… the biggest being, NO sugar!

My biggest victory as a parent so far (and as the second-guessing, guilt-ridden parent that I am, that’s sayin’ somethin’) is from the moment they started drinking from a sippy cup, they drank water.  No juice, NEVER soda and no sports drinks.  In fact, while when my two younger kids get the chance to swig orange pop they are like little junkies selling their precious Pollys and XBox games for a hit, my eldest rejects everything that isn’t water.

So, the interesting thing when I introduced Ultima Replenisher to the family was getting eldest to open his mind to the possibilities of flavour and getting my younger to open the mind that a “treat” drink doesn’t have to tickle your nose!

While I’ve been tempted to offer sports drinks to my kids during sickness and now with all of them so active in sports, but the amount of sugar was just not worth the compromise to get them anything other than simply hydrated.

Ultima offers a NATURALLY sweet alternative to everything else out there, so you and your child can get valuable electrolytes without also getting jacked up on endless tablespoons of sugar found in other brands.  It’s vegan friendly and gluten free with NO artificial ingredients.  It’s great for everyone, from athletes to pregnant moms and is even recommended by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for keeping cancer patients more effectively hydrated.

Ultima “contains a full complement of electrolytes, not just a ton of sodium. Ultima also contains complex carbs for energy, water-soluble vitamins and vitamin enhancers for day-to-day health maintenance, and antioxidants to protect body systems from free radicals (toxins).”

The flavours are wonderful.  Subtley sweet and just so… so drinkable. Try the assortment pack and get all of them: Kiwi-Strawberry (my fave!), Wild Raspberry, Grape and Lemonade (recommend adding a squirt of lemon juice to amp up the lemon) and then commit to a favourite and go for the 30 or 90 serving cannisters.

I love Ultima packed in my fanny to keep me fresh during long runs and have it closeby for my flow practices.  The younger kids, of course, love it and I feel good allowing a sweet drink occasionally, knowing they’re not over-doing the sugar.  And while eldest still chooses water as his first choice, he surprised me by requesting the Wild Raspberry for swim practice!

Category: Eating, health, Kids, Products, running, Tri training, weight loss, yoga  Leave a Comment
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