Yoga Daily

There is a recent trend in wedding planning going on, asking Bridesmaids to sign pre-wedding contracts that they sign saying they will do or not do all sorts of things. Things that range from covering tattoos, not changing their hair to losing weight or staying the same weight they are at the time of the contract.

Many brides are worried about how their pictures will look or how their family or friends will see them. My opinion? If you’re asking a friend or sister to change for your wedding, are they really your friend? Do you want a bridesmaid or a personal doll? Why not just line up your Barbie Dolls next to you for pictures?
Friends and family are there because you ideally accept them for who they are, so why ask someone to be a bridesmaid if they are not going to be who you want them to be?

It’s a great way to lose friends or start eating disorders or create much more turmoil in your already stressful wedding planning.

People need to lose weight on their own terms, in their own time and for their own health reasons. NOT because you want them to look good in your pictures. Hire models instead.

You and Your Wedding Magazine surveyed 1000 people and 1 in 5 reported a contract was a good idea. While there are some things that would certainly make me feel better if my bridesmaids refrained from them (hitting on inappropriate males at the reception, or getting rip-roaring plastered and removing their clothing) I’m not interested in making them sign a contract over it and I don’t feel I’m in any danger of anything happening anyway.

Here is the site and a downloadable contract if you are curious (or think this is a good idea).

I recently moved into a new house and every time I move I have to find a place for everything. I organize my food in the pantry by “aisles” in that all the canned food must be together in rows of the same color or type…all green beans and peas are in one row, carrots and yams in another and so on. Then, to make it more difficult, everything else must be sectioned by type: all boxes of pastas go one place, baking items go another, breakfast items another and snacks yet another. Don’t even get me started on how to load a dishwasher. It just makes sense to me and everyone should do in their own homes what makes sense to them.

Some things have not found that place yet and have never really had their own place in my other houses. I’m talking about my workout and yoga clothes. In my bedroom there are 2 possible places for these…the bureau or the closet. The bureau is where I keep my pajamas and such and although my workout clothes are often more comfortable than even pajamas it just doesn’t seem right and plus I can’t easily see the clothes to choose what I’d like to wear to yoga. Yet yoga digs just don’t seem quite nice enough to hang up in the closet and not easily “hang-able” at times.
So I compromised and got this. One Shelf for tops, one shelf for pants, one shelf for capris.

Perfect! They get hung in the closet but are folded and I can easily see what I want.

And at Stacks and Stacks it’s only $12.99. So if you are as neurotic about this sort of thing as I am then you may really like this idea of separating your fitness wear from all of your other clothing.

[Note to maintain some dignity: I am not this neurotic about anything beyond having a logical place for things to go and organized by some related property. If you see me organizing the sugar packets in a restaurant to make sure they are all turned and facing the same way...it's not me]

You think if you get your child a Nintendo Wii they will sit there, sedentary, day and night mesmerized until they grow pale with dark circles under their eyes and cataracts to rival your grandmother’s? Consider getting them a Nintendo Wii. The Wii, with it’s “sensor products” (my words, not theirs) inspires the player to get up and move about while they play video games where there’s a lot more moving than thumbs! The Wii can also help people get into shape by creating games that require extra movements such as the Wii Sports and the Wii Fit games.

For instance:

Last December, a guy in Philadelphia started a fitness regime with the oh-so-popular Nintendo gaming system, Wii. He played Wii Sports every day, 30 minutes per day for 6 weeks, did not change any other aspect of his life, including eating habits and lost a total of 9 pounds in that time. He even claims to have burned 125 calories every 15 minutes while playing Wii Boxing, one of the more active games.

Read about how he did it here.

To further your motivation to buy a Wii, as of May 19th Nintendo released the Wii Fit. The Wii Fit comes with a Balance Board and an array of fitness-related games like yoga, balance games, strength training and aerobics. You create a “mii” which is a little Nintendo version of yourself and it keeps track of all your stats and your progress (weight loss, BMI, etc) which you can compare with friends or family. You can even get your Wii Fit Age! This game is suitable (and fun) for both adults and kids and can provide some great family nights. The only caveat: you may want to buy two Wii systems because you will undoubtedly be fighting your kids for it.

A typical day for me starts with a few cups of coffee and some email reading before getting ready for work. Once ready, I grab a Vitamin Water from the fridge and head out. Vitamin Water has consistently provided me with increased energy and endurance, a positive mood, and a very healthy addiction to the stuff. I do this everyday…until today…

THE FRIDGE WAS DEVOID OF ANY VITAMIN WATERS and I stood and stared into the yellow-lighted-time-continuum for a moment. I wasn’t overly panicked, there was just a 20 oz shaped hole in my heart but I just figured I’d drive through the Starbucks by my house and rekindle my love affair with my daily coffee stop and that would carry me through lunch. Until now I had yet to go a day without a Vitamin Water for the past month. Before Vitamin Water I stopped at Starbucks everyday for a brew then one day I took a Vitamin Water instead with the intention of stopping the war on my calcium deficient bones that caffeine had religiously sucked the life out of. From there, I began taking one to work everyday instead of my beloved coffee. Admittedly I still drink coffee in the morning when i get up but ‘they’ say it’s good for the heart to have a cup or two every day.

So back to today…I stopped at Starbucks, have been nursing my Venti brew all morning and I am TIRED. Tired in a restless, can’t think, can’t focus kind of way. The annoying tired. The tired that makes the clock stop wherever you are while the rest of the world rushes past you. Additionally, I have an awesome headache and I’m irritable…and thinking back I realized that this is how I used to be every day. But it had become a part of life and I knew the probable reason but had tucked it somewhere in the back of my mind in the rationalization section between “why i shouldn’t date an ex-boyfriend” and “why I shouldn’t eat a pound of chocolate-covered strawberries.”

So…after today I am back to my Vitamin Water. You may ask why I don’t just take vitamins. I hate taking pills, I don’t really know how to do it and I end up gagging every time no matter what I do…it took me many years to learn how to even get one of those plastic-like Tylenol down so forget about the ugly, stick-to-your-tonsils horse pill vitamins that taste like dead grass.

My point is, try Vitamin Water. It tastes awesome, doesn’t leave you with a coating of sugar or aspartame in your mouth and it makes you feel great every day. I NEVER knew I felt so bad every day until I replaced some of my coffee intake with a Vitamin Water and my cash flow loves me more too since a bottle of vitamin water will typically go for $1.39 for 20oz. while my daily black coffee at Starbucks would cost me $2.00/day. Want my advice? Get the dragonfruit flavor.

Perfect for travelers who love to see the cities they are visiting like a local without feeling the sore feet and bulging disks of a tourist, several national retailers around the country are now carrying a shoe called the “Fit Flop” They seem to be the biggest thing since Crocs except more comfortable than Crocs and in my opinion a heck of a lot better looking–I’m not a big fan of the plastic-looking shoes even if I can wear them in a mud-slide then spray them down with a garden hose. These Fit Flops look good AND they give you a workout just by simply walking in them…huh, who would have thought? I thought walking was just a nice little exercise in itself and now you feel more burn while out on a leisurely stroll with the dog.

Here’s how they work and the benefits. There are too many benefits to post here without turning this article into my dissertation, so head over to the site by clicking on the link above and check out how they work.

Personally, I have problems with bulging disks in my back and something is up with my knees (I’m pretty sure it has something to do with my beloved Converse Allstars that I just can’t give up) and these FitFlops have been amazing. Usually I can’t walk or stand for more than an hour without back pain, but I put on these FitFlops and walked around the Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston for hours at a time last weekend and lo and behold…NO PAIN–well, except the burn in my legs and glutes. I put my Converse back on for work this week and that’s right, the pain is back and I’m stiff.

These new Fit Flops were born in the UK and fairly recently came out in the US to a standing ovation from legs and backs everywhere. Designed by a woman and engineered by a doctor to give you the support, comfort and a little bit of burn your body is craving. Read the customer reviews and hear the stories of miracle pain relief, feelings of “walking on a cloud” and many more.

I also get really frustrated that I can’t wear capris when I walk because I will not wear tennis shoes with capris and plain-jane flip flops from Target just won’t cut it–my knees would hate me for days. I bought the FitFlops and problem solved!

The ONLY negative I can say about these shoes is some of the ads show the model’s legs as if they are running in the FitFlops…I don’t recommend this…those of you who walk your dogs while wearing these shoes, I have one word for you: SQUIRRELS. Think about it. But some of you may have well-behaved dogs who do NOT have attention deficit disorder and selective hearing so walk the dog in FitFlops at your own risk and don’t say I didn’t warn you. All in all though, these shoes are a fabulous concept

The FitFlops retail for $49.99–a fabulous deal if you ask me, I mean, it’s cheaper than a treadmill, right?

Check out www.Macys.com or www.BathandBodyWorks.com or you may be able to find them in select Macy’s or B&BW stores near you.

It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week. You may be already feeling a little stressed from your work week so here’s a quick video from YouTube to help get you through the rest of the week.

Watch Yoga for Your Moods

I have chronically sweaty hands and feet, so much so that a so-called “sticky mat” is no match. I have washed the thing multiple times and tried different mats but still nothing keeps me from falling on my face in downward dog.  Until now.

I found the GaiamThirsty Towel at Target one day and skeptically tried it. Now, I’ll never look back. this towel is ESPECIALLY great for Bikram Yoga.

The Thirsty Towel sucks all the sweat off of me and provides a soft, yet traction-friendly yoga practice for me. Even if you don’t have a problem with sweaty hands or feet, pick one of these up to dry off with after any other regular work out too!

At Target, the Thirsty Towel retails for $24.99. Not bad for comfort and stability in your yoga practice!

Coffee has a lot of great benefits. It gives us a little boost of energy, and big dollop of cancer-fighting antioxidants, goes great with a croissant in the morning and can boost even a bad mood.

However, there is always an on-going debate about whether it is overall a good thing for the body to take in. There are many chemicals to worry about, it can induce stress, and the headaches that ensue when a habitual user misses their morning cup o’ joe. So if you’re considering quitting your coffee routine (or addiction) you can quit looking for a support group and move to aromatherapy.

Recent studies show that by simply smelling coffee it can wake you up, boost your energy and it even sounds like you may also get the benefits of a bit of antioxidants in there too.

I used to consume an inordinate amount of coffee everyday, a year ago I cut down from two pots to just one pot per day plus a Starbucks run here and there. My stress levels tend to be high, my blood pressure started rising about 6 months ago so I have been considering cutting out my habit and becoming a “social drinker”. I have to admit the idea of going “cold-turkey” has me a little jittery (or maybe that pot of coffee is kicking in), but this idea could be my nicotine patch, a little transition as I slowly cut out a cup here and there until I’m a fully-functioning caffeine-free human being.

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