Five tips to advance in your yoga practice

Here are five tips to help you advance in your yoga practice.

1. TALK TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR.

If you have an injury or a physical condition such as a pregnancy, high blood pressure or recent surgery that might affect your ability to practice, let your instructor know. You may feel that those issues are private ones but your teacher needs to know in order to guide you through a session safely and appropriately. Your instructor can provide advice for you and pose modifications to avoid putting stress on the affected area. It's important to let your teacher know what's going on with you for safe and effective practice.

2. FOCUS ON FOUNDATIONAL POSES.

Focus on foundational poses as it will help to train your body and mind as you advance in your practice. You’ll also lay a solid foundation, build strength and increase flexibility for more advanced poses.

3. PRACTICE FREQUENTLY.

Our bodies change from day to day for many reasons and we must work with your body where it is today. Remember, it's called "practice" for a reason. Never rush or force the process and be humble enough to practice frequently to get to where you want to be. When things become difficult, focus on your breath and remember your practice on the mat is practice for your life off the mat. That is where the real challenge begins! Focus on your breath and you will feel more at peace on and off your mat.

4. TAKE YOUR REST DAYS SERIOUSLY.

Rest days are just as important as your practice days because they assist in healing and preventing injury so take them seriously. They are great days to focus on meditation or reading more about Pilates and yoga.

5. HAVE FUN.

It’s only exercise! The more seriously you take it, the more ridiculous it becomes. Instead, have fun with it and enjoy yourself.

Learn more in the Couch to Consistent course where you’ll see how to stop struggling, make time for yourself, and workout regularly.

---

---

I worked out 39 days in a row!

Every year on Thanksgiving, I start an exercise streak where I workout everyday from Thanksgiving to New Year’s day. I workout 39 days in a row!

Holiday streaks are great not only because you’ve committed to working out consistently but also because in order to workout consistently during the holidays, you’ll have to overcome obstacles that have probably thwarted your efforts to workout in the past.

Although many believe this to be the worst type of challenge to do during this time of year because of the holiday parties, treats, and decadent dinners, I think it’s the best time of year to learn how to prepare for and handle these types of challenges.

If you can overcome these challenges, other challenges that you face throughout the year will be much easier to manage.

Here’s what I’ve learned from these streaks.

1. PLAN AND PREPARE

Plan your workouts in advance and always have a plan B for weather or technology snafus. Being well-prepared will prevent you from being at the mercy of your surroundings. In addition, having a plan for possible pitfalls will make it easier to stick with your healthy habits and fitness routine. As the saying goes, "failing to plan is preparing to fail."

2. WORKOUT IN THE MORNING

Waking up early and working out allows you to put your health first before the rest of your day can derail your efforts.

3. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

It will be a challenge to workout everyday for 39 days in a row. Be sure to listen to your body and adapt your workouts and modify poses as needed.

4. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

Social networks have a significant influence on your healthy (and unhealthy) lifestyle habits. When your friends, family, and coworkers learn about your goals, they will hold you accountable and check-in with you often to hear about your progress. Consider getting an accountability partner is simply someone you report regularly on the progress of your goal. It can be a friend or colleague. Whoever you choose you both should commit to a recurring time to check in and discuss the progress of your goal. During these discussions, you should discuss what is your overall goal, what you’ll accomplish before the next call, what problems you’ll fix, and who you’ll reach out to when you need help. An accountability partner can encourage and push you to deliver on your goal.

I invite you to step out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself this year, and learn more in the Couch to Consistent course where you’ll see how to stop struggling, make time for yourself, and workout regularly.

---

---

---

You're minutes from a better bottom

Summer's long gone and fall is nearing its end but that's no reason to let your fitness routine fall by the wayside. Try these variations of Shoulder Bridge for a toned backside. With this pose, you'll begin to feel confident even when baring it all. 

Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor and your arms alongside your body. Inhaling, slowly lift your hips up towards the ceiling forming a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, activating your glutes. Hold for five seconds. Exhaling, slowly roll down bone by bone like you're laying down a string of pearls. Repeat eight times. 

For a challenge, lift your hips and bring your right knee into your chest. Then, lift your right foot towards the ceiling and slowly lower until your foot is just hovering above the mat. Repeat eight times on both sides. Make sure your hips don't dip and your bottom doesn't sag!

Learn more in the Couch to Consistent course where you’ll see how to stop struggling, make time for yourself, and workout regularly.

---

---

Increase your flexibility with yoga

There’s an older man in my neighborhood who picks up trash on his walks. He usually uses a trash pickup tool to reach trash on the ground.

One day, I noticed that he didn’t have the tool. When he bent over to pick up a piece of trash, he didn’t have the range of motion he needed and he toppled over. Into the street! As a city bus approached!

He was unable to stand up on his own.

He was so embarrassed. He was still embarrassed days later when I passed him on the street.

Here’s what I learned from this:

1. Flexibility and balance are important as we age.

2. Don’t let embarrassment prevent you from accepting help when you need it and don’t let fear stand between you and the life that you want.

3. It’s never too late to increase your flexibility and improve your balance.

When it comes to improving your flexibility, you’ve probably been scrolling through Instagram looking for workout inspiration. You’ve been admiring all those cool yoga accounts but feel too intimidated by the gravity-defying yoga poses. You feel unmotivated, tired, and you don’t know where to begin. Or maybe, you’re already practicing yoga and want to advance in your practice but aren’t able to keep a consistent practice.

Here are a few tips to increase flexibility with ease:

1. Consider why you want to improve flexibility and why you struggle increase it. There are many reasons why we struggle to increase flexibility including bone shape, body proportion, body awareness, intention, strength and length of tissue, past injuries, genetics, and lifestyle. Good news! The reasons why we struggle are also the things that can help us improve our flexibility. For example, you can’t change the shape of your bones but you can change the angle of the bone so that you can more easily enter a yoga pose. For instance, in Half Pigeon pose, if it’s difficult for your front leg to be parallel with the mat, try bringing it closer to your body.

2. Consider your body’s shape. As beginner yoga practitioner, I struggled to find examples of others who looked like me. I researched different poses and did not find anyone who looked like me or had my body type. Without this information, it was sometimes difficult to know how to get into a pose or what my body would look like in the pose. Consider you body’s proportion and that you may like to make more space for yourself in a pose so that the pose is comfortable for you, you enjoy your practice, and you continue to practice. It’s okay to enter a pose differently than others. For instance, instead of keeping your knees together in child’s pose, consider doing this pose with your knees far apart. It’s okay to enter a pose differently than others

3. Be consistent and practice your stretches every day. Start with a few minutes and work up to an hour or more. Try doing these stretches after a workout or while watching TV. Try these yoga stretches: crescent lunge, malasana, wide legged forward fold, half pigeon and double pigeon, and standing and seated forward fold.

4. Commit to working with a professional fitness instructor or stretch coach to help you reach your goals. I’m working on front splits. I’ve tried to work on this on my own in the past but just haven’t been able to get to where I want to be on my own. I realized I need a little help from an expert so I committed to working with a stretch coach. It’s not always easy to admit when you need support but occasionally we all need help. It was not easy but, after just one session, I was able do things I haven’t ever been able to do. I visibly progressed in just two hours!

Random classes aren’t going to work. One day, you’re on YouTube. Another day, you’re on Pinterest. On another day, you’re doing your saved Instagram or Facebook workouts. You don’t need to do everything. To get the results you want, you’ll need to focus your efforts on the right things. Try a proven method rather than a series random of workout videos that will not get you the result that you’re looking for. You need a structured plan and one-on-one support.

Learn more in the Couch to Consistent course where you’ll see how to stop struggling, make time for yourself, and workout regularly.

---

---

10-minute ab workout you can do anywhere in the world

When you’re traveling this summer, don’t take a vacation from your workout too. You may not have the time, space or energy for a full Pilates practice when you're traveling but commit to a quick workout even when you're away. Here’s a 10-minute routine that works your whole body!

HUNDRED

To warm up your body, lie on your back with your legs in tabletop position, maintaining a 90-degree angle at the hip and knee. Lift your head and shoulders. Reach your arms towards your feet. Pump your arms above the abdominal wall. Inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts. Repeat for nine more cycles until you have reached 10 inhales and 10 exhales. For a challenge, extend your legs out to a 45-degree angle.

ROLL UP

From the Hundred, lie on your back with your legs on the mat and toes pointed towards the ceiling. Float your arms above your head. As you inhale, peel your head, shoulders and upper body off the mat bone by bone. Exhale over your body. Inhale and exhale roll down with control to the starting position. Complete 5-7 repetitions. Remember to use full inhalations and exhalations as you move through this pose.

SINGLE LEG STRETCH

Lie down on your mat with your arms at your sides. Bring your knees to your chest. Lift your head, neck and shoulders. Place your hands on your right knee and extend your left leg out to a 45-degree angle and switch sides. Complete for 10 repetitions on both sides. 

DOUBLE LEG STRETCH

From the previous pose, curl both legs in and lightly place your hands on your knees. Inhale and extend arms and legs in opposite directions. Exhale and return to the starting position. Complete for 5-7 repetitions. 

SCISSORS

Keep your head and shoulders lifted. Extend both legs to the ceiling and reach up as far as you can on your right leg. Pull it in for two short pulses and then switch legs. Be sure to climb up your leg and not pull it towards you as you complete 5-7 repetitions. 

CRISS CROSS

Keep your head lifted, bring your knees to your chest. Extend your left leg out to 45-degree angle and twist towards the bent right knee. Switch sides. Aim for 5-7 repetitions on both sides and be sure to keep your shoulder blades off the mat. 

LOWER LIFT

From Criss Cross, keep your head up and place your hands at the base of your neck. Extend both legs up to the ceiling. Slowly lower legs to a 45-degree angle. Then, return legs to a 90-degree angle. Aim for 5-7 repetitions.

FRONT SUPPORT

This exercise is great for your shoulders, chest, triceps, hamstrings and core! From a standing position with your feet hip distance apart, fold forward from the hips into a full forward bend and place your hands on the floor. Bend your knees, if necessary, to place your hands on the floor. Walk your hands out to a plank position. Check to make sure that your hands are directly under your shoulders so that they are close to your body. Keep your neck in line with your spine. Glide your shoulder blades down your back. Pull in your powerhouse. Inhale and lower for a Pilates pushup. Repeat for two more times. Exhale fully to return to the plank position. Complete 2 more pushups. Walk your hands back to an inverted Pilates V (aka downward facing dog). Take a deep stretch and continue walking your hands towards your feet and slowly roll up to a standing position. That’s one rep. Attempt to complete 3 repetitions to end this Pilates routine. Finish by rolling your shoulders back three times and standing tall.

Learn more in the Couch to Consistent course where you’ll see how to stop struggling, make time for yourself, and workout regularly.

---

---

How to stay healthy while traveling

This summer will be the busiest travel season ever as Europe is expected to relax restrictions, mask mandates are falling in the United States, and borders are reopening to welcome back international tourism. Most Americans are expected to travel this summer.

But for many us, traveling can mean a disruption to our health and fitness plans.

Here are a few travel tips to help you travel like a fitness professional and workout accessories you can take on vacation to make things a bit easier to maintain a consistent workout routine while away from home.

1. Seek out an airport gym or wellness center. See if the airports you’re traveling to offer exercise classes you can take before or after your flight.  Many also have yoga rooms.

2. Avoid airport pitfalls by eating before you arrive and packing snacks. Unfortunately, not every city will offer healthful, plant-based options, so it's best to bring your own snacks. Nuts, dried fruit, trail mix, and granola bars are great snack options to have on hand. Remember, you never want to decide what to eat when you're hungry because it can only result in poor choices and regret.

3. Stay hydrated when traveling. Carry a water bottle with you and drink plenty of water on the plane. Many airports offer water bottle refill stations so that you can fill up before or after you board your flight.

4. Find a health-conscious hotel. Book a fitness-friendly and health-conscious hotel that offers loaner gear, so there’s no need to bring yours. They may also offer fresh fruit, running concierges, personal trainers, workout clothes, and gyms with phenomenal equipment, earbuds, and cold towels.

5. Use the city as your exercise partner. While it's easy to call a taxi or get an Uber, walking or biking around town is a great way to get in a simple yet effective exercise session. Also, if you’re not in a hurry, try getting off one metro or bus stop early to get a few steps in on the way to your destination. This tip is one of the easiest methods to squeeze in a bit of exercise into your day.

6. Meet new people. Social networks have a significant influence on your healthy (and unhealthy) lifestyle habits. Sign up for a local Pilates or yoga studio or join a local running club for a city tour.

7. Visit a local grocery store or farmer’s market for healthy, nutritious options. Look up grocery stores or markets that sell healthy food. It’s also a fun opportunity to explore the different foods the city has to offer. When in Rome, right?

8. Take online exercise classes. The pandemic has encouraged more fitness instructors to offer sessions online through streaming services. With these classes, you can quickly get a workout right in your hotel room.

---

---

What to know about yoga for beginners

Ready to start an at-home yoga practice?

Don't worry. I got you! Find out how to setup a home practice, prepare for your next session, and practice safely with the tips below.

I've laid it all out for you with frequently asked questions from new clients and tips to help you prepare for and get the most out of your at-home yoga sessions.

HOW CAN I DO YOGA AT HOME?

When I started practicing yoga, I watched the same DVD over and over again until I was ready to commit to a studio and an instructor. With consistent practice, your practice will advance. The DVD workout remains the same but your practice will progress. If you want to practice at home, an online course or membership is a great alternative.

WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?

During your yoga practice, you should wear activewear that feels comfortable and allows you to move easily such as a tank top and a pair of leggings.

WHAT DO I NEED?

You’ll need an exercise mat with non-stick grip that prevents you from sliding during practice. These roll-up mats are also available with extra padding for individuals who have back issues or prefer more cushion during rolling exercises.

SHOULD I USE A THIN (3MM) OR THICK (5MM) MAT?

This is a personal decision and largely depends on your preferences. For example, I prefer a 1.5mm travel mat when traveling but prefer to practice on a 5mm when working out at home, practicing salt yoga, or practicing outdoors on uneven surface.

A 3mm mat is a great entry-level mat and is widely available in many stores. If you’re just starting out, begin with a mat like this. Note what you like and don’t like as you practice on this mat. Consider things like cushioning, grip, durability and performance. These mat features come at a premium cost so take time to practice on the standard size mat and learn more about your practice and mat preferences before splurging on a mat with additional features.

HOW MANY TIMES PER WEEK SHOULD I PRACTICE?

Three to four times per week is recommended. When practiced consistently, benefits of yoga may include a refreshing mind-body workout, improved balance, increased strength and flexibility, and decreased stress.

SHOULD I AVOID YOGA DURING MY PERIOD?

You can do any exercise you like during your period. This is a personal decision and largely depends on your comfort level. Some women prefer to avoid inversions and supine positions. Listen to your body and discover what works best for you. This may also be a great time to explore different workouts and modifications.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR SOMEONE OVER 50 TO START YOGA?

You can enjoy yoga at any age. If you haven’t found a style you prefer yet, try several different styles to what works best for you. During class, remember to take the class at your own pace and make modifications to poses to best suit you. These are two things that all yogis practitioners - no matter their age or style of yoga they practice - must be mindful of.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

Yoga is not suited for everyone. Before practicing, discuss your medical history and fitness goals with your physician so that you can make an informed decision about your health.

If you choose to practice yoga, remember these tips for practicing safely.

1. Never hold your breath in any pose. Be aware of how you are breathing throughout your practice and use it as a guide. Are you holding your breath? Can you hear your breath as you breathe in and out completely? Are you inhaling and exhaling at the appropriate times? Relax your shoulders and face and try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Be sure to use full inhalations and exhalations to aid movement control as you move through challenging poses. Breathe out as you exert effort and breathe in when the pose is less challenging. If you feel your breath become jagged, that's your cue to back off and try a modification.

2. Move only in a range of motion that you can control.

3. Practice frequently. Our bodies change from day to day for many reasons and we must work with your body where it is today. Remember, it's called "practice" for a reason. Never rush or force the process and be humble enough to practice frequently to get to where you want to be. When things become difficult, focus on your breath and remember your practice on the mat is practice for your life off the mat. That is where the real challenge begins! Focus on your breath and you will feel more at peace on and off your mat.

4. As you advance in your practice, focus on foundational poses. Foundational poses will help to train your body and mind as you advance in your practice. You’ll also lay a solid foundation, build strength and increase flexibility for more advanced poses.

5. Take you rest days seriously. Rest days are just as important as your practice days because they assist in healing and preventing injury so take them seriously. They are great days to focus on meditation or reading more about Pilates and yoga.

6. Have fun. It’s only exercise! The more seriously you take it, the more ridiculous it becomes. Instead, have fun with it and enjoy yourself.

You should never feel strain or pain in any pose. If you feel an exercise is too strenuous, stop and consult your health care provider.

Learn more in the Couch to Consistent course where you’ll see how to stop struggling, make time for yourself, and workout regularly.

---

---