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From Yogini's desk: Tis the Season

Its here!! Overcrowded malls , filled up parking spaces, haggard shoppers, and long lines at the cashier in all its glory. On the home front, my house right about now looks as if it’s a wrapping paper store on sale. There’s paper everywhere, lil bits of tape sticking to the carpet, glitter on the throw pillows; it’s a gift wrapping war zone!

With all this around you, holidays are bound to become a little bit stressful. The key is to calm down and pace yourself. Easier said than done, right? Well, wrong. You can do it.

Some key pointers.

Eat right- Don’t go on a diet now. Just eat what you want to in moderate amounts. “Eat when you are hungry”. (As per my husband, a thought which I have started to firmly believe in).

Eat frequently- I am not saying sit down with a quarter pounder every time you are hungry. Eat a fruit, crackers, raw veggies, cheese and deli meat rolled up, granola bars etc.

Drink up- Drink water regularly instead of grabbing a soda every time. Drink decaf tea which will not only hydrate you but give you a refreshing not to mention a lesser calorie alternative to your mocha- cocoa- latte- frappuchino (with extra whipped crème) thingies.

Walk- Yup, you can walk to the next shop. You don’t need an escalator or an elevator to take you one level up in the mall. C’mon now.

Dress right- Put your sneaks on while shopping so your feet don’t hurt while running with big bags. Layer up so you can remove or add depending on your body heat. When going to a holiday event, dress up. Pamper yourself to a massage or a pedicure. (Guys can do that too you know). It will relax you mentally and physically.

Exercise – I know we don’t have time. We are so busy hosting or attending holiday parties. But think about your little sack of happiness a.k.a. your tummy. You need to churn that little thing after all the cookies and the fudge and that holiday punch!! Go for a run, stretch while the pies are baking. Try some yoga poses while your spouse or your significant other takes a turn to wrap his/her gifts.

Get the Family involved- People with families can take a break together and do all the above to support each other. Let one make the flavored water or decaf ice tea to take to the mall for a quick and refreshing drink. Let one make little bags of health and nutritious snacks. Let someone put away all the wrapping paper and the tape and the ribbons neatly so you can come to a clean home and start again. (Clean surroundings will definitely make you feel better). Give treats like home made cookies or candies pop corn in festive packets to children when they start throwing tantrums about walking to the next level in the mall.

Shop Online- You can definitely try this. With the holidays so close, most of the businesses are offering express delivery of items at a nominal or no fee. Its much better than finding a parking space for 20 minutes, and then standing in line with one item for an hour to pay for it.

And Remember -

Christmas trees, festive wreaths,
Sparkling lights, shining bright.
Tis the Season!!

Apple Cider, pumpkin pie,
Family love brings a tear to the eye.
Tis the Season!!

Happy Holidays!!

I will see you all next year.


Namaste!!! (Indian greeting)
Meaning- The light in me acknowledges the light in you.

From Yogini's desk: The Morning after

Thanksgiving. I am sleepy and might I add, full. Yes, that’s right. Full. After eating for 10 hrs, I am finally full. Turkey, honey glazed ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and all that champagne. Yup, all that and more and I am stuffed (like a turkey, no pun intended).As I get all bundled up to go out at 4 AM for the after thanksgiving sale, my body is feeling, “Ahh”. As I try to fit in those pants, I pant a little (exaggerating a lil bit). I decide to wear sweat pants, with an elastic waist (no exaggeration here) just in case my body decides to burst out in public.

As I run through racks and racks of clothes, weave in and out of maddening queues at the electronic store , push my way in through the doors to get the limited quantities of a free computer (which I miss) , I realize what a great decision those $15 sweat pants were. After 4 hours, I return home victorious with bags and bags of clothes, electronic gadgets, accessories, SHOES and cosmetics. I proudly display my wares to my family. I sit down to have a cup of coffee. The coffee starts acting up and I get sick.

Bless the Pilgrims and the Indians, for this wonderful day of eating…err... Thanksgiving, but I think I won’t be wrong in saying that we all tend to INDULGE a little way too much on this holiday and if you are like me, you'll say, “why not?” .It’s once a year, right?

Well, the correct answer is wrong. (Sorry, had to break it to you this way). The truth of the matter is, this is the way it is and we won’t stop celebrating this holiday for what its worth, but we can be a little bit more proactive about the aftermath of this wonderful day. Let me just not pick this day as the culprit, I say this for the whole holiday season. The combination of warm apple pies with ice-cream, toasted marshmallows, glazed ham, buttered bread, candied yams and eggnog could be great for the taste buds but I am sure your “little sack of happiness” a.k.a your tummy does feel the heat later on.

So, Ladies, Gentlemen and my fellow food lovers, today we are going to be cleansing our systems...…. You guessed it... with yoga!

A Few pointers:
1. Start your day with drinking green tea or substitute coffee or regular tea with boiled water with honey and lemon juice.
2. Chant Om.
3. Try the following poses to massage your abdominal organs and also to relieve indigestion and cleanse the toxins from your body.
Bharadvajasana I (Bharadvaja's Twist) *
Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog) *
Janu Sirsasana (Head-to-Knee Pose) *
Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose) *

4. Try to refrain from spicy, oily food and also lower the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.
5. Drink lots and lots of water. If you don’t like plain water, drink flavored water or unsweetened decaf tea (without milk) both available in superstores.
6. Try to eat light but nutritious. Add nuts or roasted pumpkin seeds, lean meat like left over turkey to your salad to make it interesting.
7. Sleep on a lavender filled pillow or light aromatic candles for 10 minutes before you go to bed at night. (This will relieve stress)

Hopefully this will help.
By the way, for lunch today, I am eating a sprout salad. (Eugghhh). But keep this in mind.

(In a commentator’s voice)
Sweatpants, $15. Turkey, $30. Waking up the morning after thanksgiving and ready to dive into the Turkey again… Priceless!!!





*- Special thanks to the website below for useful info.
http://www.yogajournal.com/

From Yogini's desk: Baby got back !!

Does this remind you of the famous Sir Mix-A-Lot’s sweet sweet melody? (Laughing)

It’s Friday night and we are going out. I have the best boots that there can be. They are leather and a perfect tan color with embroidery on the calves. These boots were really made for walking. So here I am wearing my jeans . My husband comes by and slaps my butt and walks off. I for some reason ask him, “Did you just slap my butt”. He says (with that smile of his on his face),” Yeah, why you didn’t feel it?” And then I go up to the bathrooom and look in front of my full length mirror and wonder. I heard the sound. Why didn’t I feel it? I didn’t feel my husband’s hand on my butt. I get mortified.

I investigate!!!

My findings: I have a flat butt. So, because of that, I had an air pocket between my buttocks and the jeans. So when my husband’s hand came to touch my rear, the air pocket acted as a cushion and hence my flat plateau shaped behind didn’t feel anything. Ahh. (A light bulb lights up somewhere) So that’s the reason.

Wait a minute….

THAT’s the reason????

(Aaaaaaaaaaaa…….Screammmmmmmmmmm)

I have a flat butt. After all the love meat, this is what I get. That is not fair.What do I do? Well I know Jessica Simpson worked her tail off to get that fab posterior to fit in those daises. I don’t think I can work out 7 days a week and that too 4 hours a day . So, Here’s my solution.

. ………….……. (Drum roll) ………..

Yoga !!
Maybe ?? Let’s try it.

Well, for all you people out there with big behinds or wanna have big behinds or want to tone the behind you already have, this blog is for you.

One of my friends has what I call the “bubble” butt. You know springy, happy, joyful and just Dom Perignon bubbly. But she is not too happy with it (I don’t see the reason why but oh well; we will respect everyone’s feelings here). I recommended these postures for her to tone down what her mama gave her.

Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)- This firms up the buttocks and also helps relieve stress.
Salabhasana (Locust Pose) – This strengthens the buttocks muscles and also backs of arms and legs.
Tadasana (Mountain Pose) – This firms up the rear and helps your posture.
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)- For strengthening your buttock muscles.

For people like me: (Not that there’s anything wrong with us)
All the above and below:

Utkatasana (Chair Pose)- Just like doing lunges.
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog) – Firms the buttocks
Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose) – Stretches the hips and opens up your inner thigh.

Hopefully these will help.

Well, I will be shaking my tail feather soon. Hope to see out there!!


Namaste!!! (Indian greeting)
Meaning- The light in me acknowledges the light in you.

Off the [Yoga] Mat: Everything Zen

Why is it so difficult to fully experience joy in our lives? My yoga teacher said something simple but profound in class the other day: Try to be happy for one consistent hour, and you'll see how difficult it can be. And what I think she means is when negative feelings/events intrude upon our lives, why can't we just let them go instead of dwelling on them? When I think about how much energy I spend on situations or people who really don't deserve it, it's amazing. So much time wasted! So much drama!

The joke about all things "new age" is this issue about trying to become "zen". It can sound so corny--in our fast-paced world, what does that even mean, being zen? Zen can be defined as trying to reach enlightenment through meditation and self-contemplation. People who practice yoga believe there is something fundamentally important about aligning your body, mind, and soul, and trying to achieve inner peace and calm. It's probably the most difficult thing to do in life (and in practice), especially when we have 5,000 things pulling us in different directions, not to mention the headaches of bills, families, relationships, and health concerns. How do we reach this state of zen?

One way is to identify the negative factors that affect our lives and work to change them. It continues to amaze me that we not only allow bad or irritating things to have an impact on our day-to-day living, but we become so used to those things that we don't even see them any more. And it can be difficult to look at things honestly and see them for what they really are--a weight. How would we feel if we shed those weights, be they physical (that last 10 pounds I'd like to see off my belly), or mental? How often have I looked at that stack of books I need to move in my bedroom and just ignored them? Now they're almost invisible to me. How can we try to reach a state of inner peace and strength if we have "junk" weighing us down?

I'll give two examples in my own life. For the past month I've been on a kick to "feng shui" my life--organize, shift, and clean out stuff I don't need. This started on a physical level: I have a study in my condo that was just filled with junk. I have a huge desk with overflowing paperwork, and on the floor were luggage, shopping bags, wrapping paper, clothing--stuff! It was taking over my den. I'd had enough, so last weekend I cleaned it out and tossed stuff I didn't need. It was so liberating! Next step is to go through the desk and toss that junk too. Now every time I pass by my room (which I do often...it's a small condo!) I get a little thrill. One accomplishment finished! It gives me a level of indescribable satisfaction. I now have the space to lay down my yoga mat and practice more than once a week. Now if only I could keep the rest of the house as neat...

Example number 2 also happened last weekend, but on an emotional level. I was involved in a relationship that wasn't particularly satisfying, but had been going on (in one form or another) for over 2 years. It ended (not by my choice), and kind of threw me for a loop. The fact that it ended in its current state is a blessing in disguise--we were not a good match, and the relationship was unhealthy. But I still felt feelings of anger, resentment, and disappointment--not necessarily reasonable, but there they were, just the same. And most of all, I was resisting the change to our relationship that I knew would happen. But now that it's been a week, I feel a sense of peace. I've raged about it to my friends and my mom, but it's helped me to let it (and him) go. I don't need him as a backup plan or to be a major part of my life anymore. There's a joy in knowing you and you alone are responsible for your happiness, and ultimately your life. I was using our relationship as a barometer for whether I was happy or not. And I spent so much time trying to make him happy and being unhappy in the process.

So here I am. Clean den. Totally single. Pretty healthy. Bob is doing great. Holidays are coming up and family will be here. Everything is falling into place, and I feel like I'm open and willing to experience not only job, but satisfaction with things. Right in time for New Year's and resolutions...oh no! Bring on inner enlightenment!

This wasn't a very yoga-centric post--I'll get back to that next time, I promise! And hopefully by then I will have given my new "yoga" space in my den a test run!

Until then, try to reach your Zen potential!

From Yogini's desk: Joy for the belly and soul

That’s what I read when I was finishing up a carton of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky monkey ice cream yesterday. Ohh. Stop.. Stop judging me... Yes, I admit, I did lick the carton clean but it was already half over (courtesy my husband) before I got my hands around it. And then as I was sitting there, I looked down at my belly. Yup, it was there, this pudgy little roll just peeking out from the bottom of my tank top, snickering at me. I swear, I heard it say, “Happy Happy Joy Joy !!!”. Even though, I admit my belly and soul were pretty joyful after that “sinful, I hate bananas but just can’t have enough chunky monkey banana ice cream” ice cream, there was something in me somewhere which said, “Get up and run… run…. Keep running till your tummy fat falls off.” And we all know if it was that easy, I would have done it by now (twice!).

Anybody who knows me knows my quest to lose that little tummy of mine year after year. My mom labeled it as “baby fat” even though I am a full grown 24 year old woman. My husband calls it love- meat (not to be confused with love handles). I call it, “Good lord!! Go away u $*$%@!!” ….You get the picture.

So I have decided to do something about it. (As I have been trying for as long as I can remember). But no seriously, I want it to disappear….Ok…. Realistically, I just want it to lessen at least. In this blog, I am going to try out some belly firming yoga tricks and let’s try them together and see if they’ll work.

Start with your Om Chant.
You can try either of the below and see which one you are the most comfortable with.

Plank Pose which is really good for Abdomen toning and also arm strengthening.
Bharadvajasana I (Bharadvaja's Twist)- Easy but really effective.
Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)


Advanced level:
Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose) - Strengthens the abdomen, calves, thighs and the total body.
Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)

I am going to try these and see if they help. If not, I might just blame my Indian genes for my rice and curry loving “love- meat”. Or maybe I’ll take up belly dancing?

Here's to a lesser- belly soul!!

Namaste!!! (Indian greeting)
Meaning- The light in me acknowledges the light in you.

From Yogini's desk: Yoga and Pregnancy

That’s right!! Yoga and Pregnancy work great together!! My best friend who is 3 months pregnant has been practicing yoga for as long as I can remember. She started when she was in college so it has become a lifestyle for her which she didn’t want to change when she got in the family way. After hearing from her about her yoga regimen, I did some research on the prenatal and postnatal yoga practices.

Recommended Pre- Natal Poses:
Hip openers like Pigeon, Warrior II, Triangle, Ardha Chandrasana, Baddha Konasana, and Knee to Ankle will help create the flexibility that will make giving birth easier.

Recommended Post- Natal Poses:
Downward Dog, Triangle and the SuryaNamaskar.

Follow the link below for more details:
http://yoga.about.com/od/prenatalyogaposes/

Some great websites for our expectant mothers:
http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/preg.html
http://health.discovery.com/centers/pregnancy/americanbaby/yoga.html
http://www.yogalifestyle.com/POJCYogaMom.htm?referrer=Gypreg

Some great maternity yoga apparel web sites:
http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/preg/clothes.html
http://www.yogabirth.com/yoga-clothes-store.htm

Please do comment on the blog if you would like a "watered down" version of the above where I can explain the different postures. Also, before starting any kind of exercise regimen, please consult your Doctor.

Here’s to beautiful and healthy babies!!! (and moms too) !!


Namaste!!! (Indian greeting)
Meaning- The light in me acknowledges the light in you.

Off the [Yoga] Mat: Bliss in Motion

I LOVE my yoga teacher, Debbie George. She's just amazing. When you listen to her, you know that she understands not just the importance of practice, but also the basic tenets of yoga--mainly, how yoga affects your life and your spirit. One of my biggest problems during practice (and I know I'll come off like a hypocrite because many of these posts are all about FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS on what you're doing!) is--yep, you got it--focusing during class. Debbie takes 15-20 minutes doing warm-ups, stretching, and meditating to center yourself before class (a good yoga instructor knows that mental preparation before class and meditation after physical practice is as important as the practice itself) and my brain is just everywhere: what am I cooking for dinner, did I tape that program I want to watch tonight, I'm really hungry--why didn't I eat something during class? (I'm often thinking about food), I need to call my friend Julia when I get home, etc. My brain just buzzes with JUNK. Yoga practice is the one place where I'm supposed to let that go and BE PRESENT--this is important. It's very difficult to be present in this moment--we're often thinking about what we should be doing or will be doing instead of what we actually are doing. Silly.

Yesterday was more of the same. I'd had a rough weekend--I lost my cell phone, which made twice in 2 months, and was bidding on one from ebay. The auction was ending at the beginning of yoga class. And for the first half-hour my brain was thinking "Did I win it? Will it work? Did I pay too much? What happened to all my money?? Can I even afford myself? Why am I so irresponsible?" You know, fun conversations with myself. So these are my rambling inner thoughts, and I realized I was NEVER going to be able to concentrate.

So as class started, Debbie talked about finding your inner bliss, and that your body knows exactly how far it should go, and you should listen to it--really listen--instead of pushing it beyond its limit. Focus on the flow and the movement, focus on the breath, focus on the alignment where all of your muscles and bones are working together. It's really quite beautiful--they body can do amazing things when you allow it to gradually get there on its own. And then something amazing happened when we started getting into our practice...I started really paying attention to my body and I was fully concentrating on it. Even when we were doing slow warm-ups and the beginning vinyasa (when my brain usually wanders), I was paying attention to my ujjayi breath (basically breathing through your nose but closing the back of the throat--think Darth Vader), the strength of my muscles in my legs, the energy traveling through my arms and fingers, and the alignment of my spine. It took so much work concentrating on all of these parts that I couldn't think of anything else. It was Debbie's version of Bliss in Motion. For the rest of the class, I just let everything else fall away. Don't we wish we all had a moment when we could just slow down and concentrate on something simple! So when I have the opportunity to do just that, I shouldn't let is go!

Oh, to have that level of concentration in other aspects of my life! I guess that's a goal to aim for, isn't it?

Welcome to Charlotte Bodybuilding and Fitness's Yoga Site!

We've had so much interest in Yoga, we had to dedicate a large portion of our site to it! Check our Riddhi and Erin's obsession with the bendi-flexiness of Yoga!