workouts

Inversions already work your core, since the ab and back muscles are what help to hold the lower body steady and balanced. To work your core even more, here's a strength-training yoga move that will tone your entire torso as well as your upper body — you just might give up traditional crunches forever!

You'll need to have a strong Headstand, so if you haven't quite mastered this inversion, then work on this Headstand Sequence before attempting these Headstand Crunches.

• Begin on your hands and knees. Lower your elbows to the floor and interlace your fingers, bringing your lowest pinkie in front of the other pinkie, forming a semicircle with your hands.
• Place the back of your head against your palms, and the top of your head on the mat, so your skull is vertical with the floor. Once your head and forearms feel stable, straighten both legs and walk you feet toward your face as far as you can.
• Shift your hips over your shoulders, and keep your elbows planted firmly on the mat. Lift both legs into the air, coming into Bound Headstand.

• Stay in Headstand for five breaths, relaxing the jaw as well as the shoulders away from the ears. Take a breath in, and as you exhale, slowly lower both feet toward the mat so they are parallel with the floor. Hold here for another five breaths.
• Inhale and then exhale to raise the legs back up into Headstand. Repeat four more times.

Up for a bigger challenge? See an advanced variation after the break!

For 9-to-5ers, taking a yoga class after work can result in eating a late dinner. If you're eating closer to bedtime, then cut back on heavy meat and dairy to help ease digestion, and prep meals in advance to make the process of cooking a quick one. With some advice from a few Ayurveda and nutrition experts, here are five ideas for quick and healthy suppers to make after yoga.

Homemade Soup

A homemade soup is often as easy as throwing ingredients together into a pot. Cook broth in advance to always have the makings of a soup ready to go, but if you're crunched for time, then use a low-sodium, store-bought version. This recipe for ginger-carrot soup is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese, which aids in digestion, plus it offers hydration after a sweaty yoga session!

Veggie-Packed Wraps

Replacing a meat-heavy sandwich with a lighter veggie wrap can be easier on the digestive system to help prevent you from feeling weighed down after yoga. These vegan spiral wraps from Happy Healthy Life offer vibrant color, creamy hummus, and serious veggie power.

Keep reading for two more late-night dinner ideas.

You know it's the right thing to do, but every once in a while, getting to a workout can feel close to impossible. A late night or a tough day at work can leave you wanting to cancel your fitness plans and have a date with your couch.

During these times, making time to exercise is even more essential, since it can restore endorphins, clear your head, and leave you with a sense of calm. If making moves to the gym is feeling difficult, then try one of these low-key ideas that start slow but might turn into a more intense workout session.

Go out for a walk: Start off on a leisurely walk, plug into your favorite inspiring workout playlist, and see what happens. Once you warm up a bit, you might find yourself on a brisk jog or alternating between a fast-paced walk and sprints.

Head to the pool: Planning on a pool day where you'll relax and cool off? All those bikini bodies might inspire you to get moving! What started off as a quick dip can easily turn into a few rounds of treading water or a ton of laps.

Stretch on your mat: Rolling out that yoga mat might be the only motivation you need. Once you move through a series of relaxing and restorative poses, your body might be feeling so great that you start moving through a few series of Sun Salutations to get your heart rate rising.

Start slow on a machine: Hop on the elliptical or a stationary bike, and start at a slow and steady pace as you catch up on your favorite show or magazines. Once you start to get into the groove, you might find yourself moving through your own short interval workout, alternating between periods of pushing your body of the max and rest periods.

How do you trick yourself into a workout? Tell me below!

Yoga may be blissful, but it isn't cheap! Depending on where you live, classes can run you an average of $15 to $20 a pop. Dropping $50 or more for yoga classes each week isn't an option for everyone, but we can all benefit from a regular practice. The Internet is bursting with free full-length classes or shortened yoga routines. If you're willing to pay a little, then you'll be able to view a greater variety of videos. Here are some sites to check out.

• Yoga Today: This site offers one free class each week, and if you're itching for more, download other classes for $4 each. You can choose ones geared toward your ability level, or choose by instructors you like. If you're really into it, pay $90 for a yearly membership, which includes unlimited classes. Store them on your computer, and follow along anywhere you happen to be.
• Yoga Journal: For beginners and advanced yogis, these videos, ranging in length from five to 35 minutes, are the high quality you'd expect from Yoga Journal. Some of my faves include the hip-opening sequence Bird by Bird and Heart Wide Open, full of chest openers.
• My Yoga Online: These videos may not be free, but they're dirt cheap. Pay $10 per month or $90 for a year for unlimited access to the entire library of videos for yoga, Pilates, dance, martial arts fusion, meditation, and workplace wellness. The site also offers samples of popular yoga DVDs such as Shiva Rea's Surf Yoga Soul and David Life's Transform Yourself With Jivamukti. Another plus: you can sample a clip before you buy.

Keep reading for more websites that offer inexpensive yoga classes.

Take five minutes out of your day to challenge your core. Strengthening the center of your body does wonders for your posture and your athletic performance — hello increased endurance! You might be unfamiliar with two of the moves, so watch our video tutorials to help you master the up-down plank (aka push-up walks) and advanced bridge.

You might be surprised to learn that not every trip to the gym necessitates a preworkout snack. According to Heidi Skolnik, nutritionist to the Julliard School and the School of American Ballet and the Women's Sports Medicine Center, if you happen to snack on something right before a quick cardio session, it won't hurt you, but it won't necessarily help you either.

"If you’re doing 30 minutes [of cardio] to be fit, you don’t need to do anything." While a short cardio session certainly boosts your metabolism, benefits your mood, and improves blood pressure and cholesterol levels, "you’re not burning a significant enough amount of calories that requires you to eat anything special," says Heidi. However, this only goes for a short workout that's completely cardio. For example, if you’re taking a heavy-duty indoor cycling class and you’re going to lift weights right after, you need the right blend of protein and carbohydrates to fuel your workout — and at least 10 grams of protein afterwards to help muscles recover.

If 30 minutes of cardio to stay fit and maintain your weight sounds like your workout routine, it might be time to let go of snack time and create new healthy habits. Make sure you've properly nourished your body with a meal two to three hours ahead of time and drink plenty of water before, during, and after your workout.

Do you always snack before a short workout? Will this tip change your habits? Tell us below!