The Best Ways to Break in Your Yoga Mat
Posted: February 11, 2014 at 9:43 pm
The Best Ways to Break in Your Yoga Mat Sticky yoga mats offer ample cushion to support joints and muscles, but during the first few weeks of use, it's very common for you to slip and slide around a brand-new high-quality mat. The very best way to break in your yoga mat and avoid slipping around is to simply use it as often as you can, but there are a few ways to expedite the process to make your mat feel like home sooner.
Try a salt scrub: Giving your new mat an "exfoliating" treatment can help break down the initial layer and help you find stability in poses. Sprinkle your mat with a mix of sea salt and warm water, and either wipe it down with a stiff-bristled brush (if you have one) or a cotton washcloth. When the weather is warm, some people have found that leaving their mats out in the sun on a hot day can help break them in too.
More than yoga: Don't roll up your yoga mat as soon as your practice is over! Stomp around with bare feet as you watch your favorite TV show, or move through a quick workout video on your mat. The more you use it, the more it will loosen up you just need to get creative with how much you're using your mat. Hopefully, having your yoga mat out more will encourage you to be active more often.
Grab a towel: If it's difficult to get grounded on your new mat, laying a towel on top of it can help. Initially, you might have to re-adjust poses more often than you'd like, but it's the best way practice on your new gear and not feel held back. A big beach towel will do the job, but we're partial to the Lululemon The Towel ($49) that does a great job gripping on to a sticky mat. Far beyond the break-in period, you'll be able to use it during hot yoga and sweat-inducing Vinyasa classes. No more slipping or sliding around; you can just focus on your practice until you're able to break in your mat.
Whats Your Reaction? 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Reactions
Latest
More here:
The Best Ways to Break in Your Yoga Mat
Hazards of hot yoga: Consumer Reports
Posted: at 9:42 pm
(Consumer Reports) - Hot yoga classes are soaring in popularity. A number of celebrities, including Lady Gaga and Madonna, swear by hot yoga. So do legions of yoga practitioners. But many of the hot yoga classes require heat of at least 105F and humidity around 40 percent.
Is exercising in extreme heat and humidity healthful?
Consumer Reports medical experts have a caution.
Though there is little specific research on hot yoga, we do know that exercising in extreme heat can cause a number of uncomfortable and even dangerous symptoms.
It can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Warning signs include feeling lightheaded or dizzy, or experiencing nausea or muscle cramps.
If you suffer more serious symptoms either during or after class, such as unusual weakness, fever, vomiting, or confusion, Consumer Reports advises going to the nearest emergency room.
Bikram hot yoga practitioners say the high temperature and humidity promote health.
Studio owner Rich Pike says he hasnt had complaints of heat exhaustion and touts the benefits.
He says, Heat allows you to bend safely and be more flexible. What the sweating does is it eliminates toxins through your sweat.
See the original post:
Hazards of hot yoga: Consumer Reports
Yoga's 'calming' influence
Posted: at 9:42 pm
This yoga class takes place in a gym, on a tiled floor beneath a basketball hoop, rather than at a yoga studio. The mats are padded gym mats instead of the usual flat, sticky yoga mats.
The doors in the building are locked, with staff buzzed in and out.
The nine teenagers in a recent Sunday morning class five male, four female were dressed in dark-colored cotton pants and shirts, their gray sweat shirts and slip-on shoes next to their mats.
While the setting might look different, the class was familiar to anyone who has practiced yoga. Students started with poses that warm up their bodies, then moved on to a sun salutation series. The teacher led them through balance poses, standing and seated poses, and finally some stretches for the shoulders and twists. Class ended with savasana, a pose of total relaxation.
The students are inmates at the Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center. Maggie Taylor has been teaching the class a couple of times a month for the past six months. Its the first yoga program offered at the center.
Taylor is part of a cooperative of yoga teachers called Tadasana Yoga, who aim to bring yoga to more people including those who cant get to a studio or cant afford fees for classes through mobile classes with a variable fee structure.
Several years ago, she taught yoga at a residential facility in Portland, Ore. Her students were young men who had served their sentences and were transitioning back to regular life.
I feel like yoga can benefit everyone, Taylor said, noting the 16- and 17-year-olds she taught in Oregon really have high stress levels. I think the possibility of yoga to have a transformative effect in that environment is even greater.
Taylor approached the juvenile detention center last year to see if there was interest in a yoga class. Shannon Siders, assistant superintendent at the center, practices yoga; she started a few years ago to relieve the stress of her job and increase her flexibility.
She thought the teens at the detention center might get the same benefits from yoga that she gets.
Read the original post:
Yoga's 'calming' influence
Counseling vs Life Coaching – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
Counseling vs Life Coaching
By:
Cory WillsonRead the original post:
Counseling vs Life Coaching - Video
Faithlife Health and Fitness Class 4 – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
Faithlife Health and Fitness Class 4
via YouTube Capture.
By:
DebbieRichMinistriesRead more from the original source:
Faithlife Health and Fitness Class 4 - Video
How Can I Help You Reach Your Health and Fitness Goals – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
How Can I Help You Reach Your Health and Fitness Goals
Where do you START on your journey to GET HEALTHY!? I am here to help you figure that out! I would love to help you reach your health and fitness goals! Plea...
By:
Morgan RiegerFollow this link:
How Can I Help You Reach Your Health and Fitness Goals - Video
Phillip J Cannella: Speaks at a Crash Proof Retirement Educational Event – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
Phillip J Cannella: Speaks at a Crash Proof Retirement Educational Event
Senior Advocate Phillip J Cannella educates retirees every week about the dangers of the stock market and gives them crucial remedies that can ensure their r...
By:
Phillip J CannellaVisit link:
Phillip J Cannella: Speaks at a Crash Proof Retirement Educational Event - Video
When is the right age for retirement? – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
When is the right age for retirement?
Think about it. Can you remember when you first really thought about the subject of "Retirement"? Chances are, it was when you were in your 20s and the subje...
By:
Global Banking Finance ReviewRead more from the original source:
When is the right age for retirement? - Video
Dr. Mabel Jones Matthews Retirement 2013 – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
Dr. Mabel Jones Matthews Retirement 2013
By:
International Code Design Inc.See the original post here:
Dr. Mabel Jones Matthews Retirement 2013 - Video
5 Rules When Buying Into a Retirement Community – Video
Posted: at 5:42 pm
5 Rules When Buying Into a Retirement Community
Terry Snyder, President of Roland Park Place has 5 tips to live by.
By:
WBAL-TV 11 BaltimoreRead this article:
5 Rules When Buying Into a Retirement Community - Video