Supernatural Botanicals

This is one of my favorite yoga stretches, albeit, one of the hardest stretches.  It’s an amazing hip opener.  If you are a woman, you should be able to bend down further than the man in this video.  We are just programed to be more flexible than men, so go down as far as you can…and breathe into it.  Just when you feel like you can’t take it another second, take a deep breath and breathe again.  Try to stay in the pose for a full 30 seconds.  The more you breathe, the more you’ll feel your hips relax. 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i0d78nx2DY

If you zoom through your repetitions when strength training, you’ll be using momentum instead of muscle power.  You won’t get the same stimulus for muscle building, and you won’t burn as many calories. You’ll also be more susceptible to training injuries such as torn muscles.

Take 6 seconds to perform each repetition: 2 seconds to lift the weight and 4 seconds to lower it.  Experts agree that slowing down is the single most significant change you can make to get better results from strength training. 

Mood music to fit your every mood.  Click which one you are in the mood for, and r-e-l-a-x.

Fat burning Pilates is my secret weapon in the morning.  Pilates makes your body feel so good when you wake up…it’s the ultimate good morning stretch.  It also feels great to break a sweat by 6 a.m.!  I love the Crunch series workout videos.  I’ve also seen them at the library (an excellent source to try before you buy.) 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRDUG8j4FB4

Yoga Journal has announced today that they will be having their 7th annual Yoga conference in San Francisco January 28-February 1, 2010.  It will be five days, with more than 40 teachers, and 100 different classes offered.  Classes are for beginners to advanced yogis.  For more information and details, check their website here. 

Working out in bare feet for exercises such as Yoga and Pilates takes a toll on your feet, causing rough dry spots on your heels and toe pads.  If you want baby soft feet, you must try Supernatural Botanicals Body Butters!  These body butters are truly skin transforming.  The non-greasy formula makes it a perfect foot primer before a hard workout or before you slip your feet into socks. 

The results are instantaneous!  You’ll watch your skin transform the first time you use the body butter.  Made with all-natural ingredients, no chemicals, no parabens, no artificial colorants or fragrances.  Supernatural Botanicals Body Butters are made with pure ingredients, such as cocoa butter and beeswax, and are bursting with delicious essential oil scents in Island Coconut, Pure Mango, Pure Orange, and Pure Grapefruit. 

Avoid “Yoga Foot” and start protecting those feet.  Check out Supernatural Botanicals entire line of Body Butters for happier, sexier feet!

Think you have what it takes to pull this move off….gracefully?  My friends over at www.YogaJournal.com never let me down when it comes to new, challenging poses.  Even for a yogi like me, I find this extraordinarily challenging.    It absolutely sets my glutes a-flame!  It’s doable, though, not impossible.  Follow the steps below to do it perfectly.  Try it now…go ahead, lay down in the floor and see what you’ve got.  You may surprise yourself. 

Step by Step

 1.  Begin by preparing as you would for Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose). Lie on your back, feet on the floor, heels under the knees, and step your feet a little wider than your hips. Bend your arms and place your palms on the floor by your ears, fingertips facing the shoulders, shoulder-width apart. Pause for a moment to focus and tune in to your breathing.

 2.  As you exhale, press your knees away from your torso and lift your hips, shoulders, and head from the floor as you straighten your arms. Widen and draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone to lift your shoulders and lighten the load on your arms.

 3.  Bend your arms and place the crown of your head on the floor between your hands and feet, keeping your elbows shoulder-width apart and directly over your wrists. To ensure that your neck does not become compressed, exhale, press your hands into the floor, and again draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone. Keep your chest open and lifted.

 4.  On your next exhalation, slide one hand past your ear to cup the back of your head, bringing your weight onto your forearm. Repeat the same action with the other arm, interlacing your fingers behind your head (you may be more successful in these arm movements if you lift onto your tiptoes).

 5.   With a powerful exhalation, press down through your inner elbows and wrists and lift your chest to raise your head off the floor. As your head lifts, press your inner heels down. Of course, your head may seem glued to the floor; if that’s the case, continue to hold the pose where you are.

 6.  If you do manage to lift your head, the pose may actually become easier, since this movement allows your upper arms to directly support your weight, easing the demand on your muscles. But be careful not to strain the shoulder joints by pushing them beyond your elbows. Avoid this over extension by keeping your weight evenly distributed between your elbows and wrists, and by not allowing your elbows to slide more than shoulder-width apart. It is absolutely fine to remain in this position, with your head raised and your heels directly below your knees.

7.  In the full pose, however, you walk the feet away from your hands until your legs are nearly straight; then plant your inner feet and exhale as you stretch down through your calves and push to straighten the legs completely.

8.  Place the crown of your head back on the floor inside the cup of your hands, press your elbows into the floor and draw your shoulder blades toward your tail bone to help your shoulders stay lifted. Your middle back will be asked to extend more deeply.

 9.   Come out of this asana with great attention. First, walk your feet back under your knees. Remain on your crown and return your palms to the floor next to your ears. Again check to make sure your hands are directly under your elbows. Push with your hands to lift the head and tuck your chin and tail bone in as you roll your spine back down to the floor, tail bone touching last. Consciously slow your breathing down until you are once again at rest and can feel the powerful calm that is the product of balanced backbends.

So it’s Friday, and I like to talk about interior design on Fridays because it gives me an opportunity to (A) talk about one of my favorite subjects, and (B) it allows me to connect with my friend Julia over at Hooked On Houses. Love her blog!

In every home I’ve ever lived in, I’ve loved leaving my mark on it from a design standpoint.  Settling into my new-ish home of three years, I’ve definitely transformed it to where the previous owners wouldn’t even recognize it.

I was so excited about this new home because there were so many areas that had such huge potential to be developed into something fantastic.  I love creating those spaces, finding niche areas in your home and turning them into a favorite place to be.  Since working out is my thing (could you tell?), I was super excited to create a home gym.  Between my design and my carpenter’s expertise, we created one of the haven’s in my house…my home gym!

Previously, this was a basement with no walls and concrete floors.  We (okay, the carpenter) installed dry wall, lighting, and a rubberized floor…which made me a very happy girl!  It’s truly one of my favorite places to be.  It’s a guy’s gym, it’s a girl’s gym, and even the kids love playing on the stability balls on the padded floor in the gym.

I’ve even grown to love the elliptical machine.  Although my favorite cardio still remains step aerobics, dance, hip hop dance, etc., I’ve grown to appreciate the old ellip.

So welcome to one of the favorite spots in my house!  It’s a major stress-free zone, and you know you are going to leave this room looking better than when you entered it.  For that reason alone, you have to love it!

So you’ve mastered Downward Facing Dog pose in yoga, let’s keep going!  This is Dolphin pose.  This is a super-deep stretch that opens up your shoulders and digs deeper into stretching those hamstrings and glutes.

Benefits of Dolphin pose are:

Benefits

• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, and arches
• Strengthens the arms and legs
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
• Relieves menstrual discomfort when done with head supported
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Improves digestion
• Relieves headache, insomnia, back pain, and fatigue
• Therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet, sciatica

So the next time your head is pounding from a stress headache, forgo the Tylenol and center yourself with some postures to relieve tightness from the neck and shoulders.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Come onto the floor on your hands and knees. Set your knees directly below your hips and your forearms on the floor with your shoulders directly above your wrists. Firmly press your palms together and your forearms into the floor.

2.  Curl your toes under, then exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Against this resistance, lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the groins.

3.  Continue to press the forearms actively into the floor. Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them away from the spine and draw them toward the tailbone. Hold your head between the upper arms; don’t let it hang or press heavily against the floor.

4.  You can straighten your knees if you like, but if your upper back rounds it’s best to keep them bent. Continue to lengthen your tailbone away from the pelvis and lift the top of your sternum away from the floor.

5.  Stay between 30 seconds to one minute. Then release your knees to the floor with an exhale.

Looking for more great yoga stretches?  Head over to Yoga Journal and find 117 more moves just like this.

Enter for your chance to win a Wellness Retreat at La Puerta.  One lucky winner and a guest will escape to this award-winning health and wellness resort for one week, including spa treatments, access to over 50 fitness classes and complimentary meals and beverages.  Great giveaway.  Go get on that now!   Good luck!