Workout «

Feb 15 2012

Trying something new or something for the first time? You might want to bring your inner peace along with you!!

Trying something new or something for the first time? Headed to the hills? Playing sports? You might want to bring your inner peace along with you in whatever you do… Yoga is not just a workout!

If you don’t currently have a yoga practice, there is no time like the present to start, if you already do have one you may like a restorative practice once in a while. Yoga can help calm nerves, get you centered, and work though some tough sore spots. If you aren’t getting the results you’d like in your sport or by working out in the gym your body may have plateaued. Try incorporating yoga to take your body to the next level.

I know many people are just into yoga for the workout, but yoga does a lot more for you than just any old plain exercise can, yoga will complement anything you are doing especially if you are trying a new sport or doing one that you don’t practice all the time.

A solid yoga practice will help even out the body’s imbalances by streamlining muscles and removing pain that may incur from daily life or forms of exercising. New activities especially require use of muscles that aren’t activated all the time, even the most experienced athlete or very active person is likely to be more dominant on one side or in one direction.

Yoga will incrementally help to open, elongate, strengthen and stabilize the body over time, you don’t need to be flexible or strong or even in shape. There is no starting or end point; yoga is a completely personal practice and every person has a different body, muscular and bone structure with different capacities and capabilities.

Start out with an easy restorative practice and work your way from there. It really doesn’t matter what the person next to you is doing, just figure out how to move your body easily in and out of the poses with correct alignment. Get into your own zone, being tense and muscling through poses will completely defeat you. Yoga is all about breathing and being childlike, as long as you are breathing it doesn’t matter if you fall, or aren’t bending all the way. Just keep a sense of humor about your practice and pretty soon the most daunting poses will seem natural.

I’d like to put flexibility in perspective – you really don’t see anyone new in a gym pick up the heaviest weights to prove their strength or running a 5 mile if they’ve never tried. Please clear your mind of what you can’t do and start openly with what you can. Lack of flexibility is a reason to start yoga – not hold off until you are even more crooked, rigid and sore or worse too late.

Tagged advice, Amy lynn grover, amy lynn grover fitness, amy lynn grover yoga, breakfast, Fitness, healthy, lose weight, nutritious, strength, strong, Workout, Yoga

Feb 14 2012

Here are 10 simple habits that will increase your wellbeing without sabotaging your life

We are just into the second month of the 2012, and any NYRs made back in January are probably sitting on that pile of “stuff to do” and are just not getting done. Added stress from not enough time and boat-loads of work leads to vices such as too much partying and/or binge eating. The good news is Spring Break is just around the corner, and summer isn’t too far off either. Although it’s very exciting to start peeling back layers of clothing, for many the thought of slipping into a little less (beach wear) is incredibly daunting, especially for those who have packed on more than enough over the holidays.

There is no rush to be Superman/Superwoman by tomorrow, or even by the time you hit the beach. The only urgency is to get started today!! The idea is to create a healthy practice to live by (for your own happy longevity). You can do this by incrementally making positive choices and increasing positive changes so that you’ll feel a little healthier day by day. The process doesn’t need to be extreme- Try to find enjoyment in your routine, rather than punishing yourself, and you’ll be less likely to quit.

Here are 10 simple habits that will increase your wellbeing without sabotaging your life:

1) Self love! Think positive thoughts about thyself. What you believe, you become.

2) Think healthy for longevity in life not just for looks.

3) Be patient with your body, you can’t go from looking like Hillary the Hippo to a Victoria Secret model over night, ever! Quick fixes do not exist!! They guarantee backlashes and disappointment.

4) Allow yourself to have things you like in moderation. Deprivation ends in over indulgence.

5) Stop counting calories and beating yourself up for poor decisions. If you choose to eat it, enjoy it and move on.

6) Drinking. Limit yourself to 1 or 2 nights out instead of being the life of the party every night. When you do go out, hold off the sugary cocktails. Instead drink lighter alcohols, like vodka at 60-70 calories per shot (the lighter it is the less sugar it contains). Avoid carbonated or juice mixers- they add up a lot faster.

7) Hangover food and French fries. There is nothing good about them. Instead, reach for a hearty comforting soup, or when snacking reach for celery and carrot sticks, for guilt free munching. Be prepared! Head to the grocery store for some healthy snacks to keep on hand for late night study sessions, or worse an unconscious drunken food binge.

8) Make the most of the winter months. It’ll help make the cold a little bit more bearable. You’ll burn a ton of calories and have a ton of fun. Try skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ice-skating or hockey and tobogganing.

9) Sex. It relieves stress, helps you sleep better, increases self esteem, boosts immunity, increases mood, burns calories and it helps to increase intimacy between you and your partner. *Always practice safe sex*

10) Sleep. It assists the body in metabolizing food, especially carbohydrates, by stabilizing glucose and insulin levels. This prevents excessive storage of fat. Sleep is also when the body heals itself by renewing and rejuvenating.