Healthy happy you.
Fitness
1 Sit Up Straight! 8 Exercises to Stretch and Strengthen the Shoulders and Back
Yoga
2 Improve Your Posture and Relax Your Back With Yoga Twists
stretch
3 Running Tip: Stretch and Strengthen Your Back
back pain
4 Stretches to Help Your Travel-Weary Back
Yoga
5 Yoga and Regular Stretching Proven to Relieve Back Pain
A new study has found that yoga isn't just good for the mind — for chronic back pain sufferers, yoga and stretching can alleviate pain and reduce dependency on pain medication. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, split 228 back pain sufferers into three treatment groups: yoga class, stretching class, or at-home self-care with a back pain book. The yoga group's therapy Read more
Sitting at a desk, lifting heavy weights improperly, or neglecting to stretch the shoulders can take a huge toll on posture. Even if you think you're sitting up straight, you may still be slouching your shoulders and upper back. Crunch trainer Tim Rich shows us some key stretches and exercises that you can do to strengthen your back and open up your shoulders. Read more
One of my favorites parts of yoga class is when it's time to twist. Not only do twists make your back feel incredibly good and relaxed, they also help straighten the spine, meaning better posture and improved breathing. But the benefits don't end there — spinal twist poses also help you digest a big dinner and aid in, ahem, moving things along. Here are five poses that'll have you twisting and Read more
The holidays can be bad news for the back. From sleeping at the airport to sitting for long periods of time in a car or lugging around all those heavy bags and presents, there are too many ways your back can go from perfectly aligned to aggravatingly achy. Stretching out your muscles is the perfect combatant to help relieve any back pain your hectic holiday schedule has left you with. So if Read more
Life taxes the human back and spine. After working with so many clients with lower and upper back pain, I sometimes wonder why we ever stood up as a species. It is truly important to keep your spine both supple and strong. Here is a great series of yoga poses to increase both flexibility and strength. Just click on the link to learn how to get into each pose. Standing Forward Bend - You can Read more
Grab a sari and start shaking! The fitness trend you haven't tried — The Daily Beast Feel like there's a bun in the oven? Ways to banish belly bloat — Fab Fit Fun When it's a grab-and-go kind of day: the best breakfast bars — Fitness 45-year-old Olympian Dara Torres on staying healthy while aging — Blisstree How you can beat the breast cancer odds — Prevention Eight easy moves that Read more
We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar! Barre classes may make you easy on the eyes, but at $20 or more a pop, they're definitely not easy on the wallet. Rather than take a second job to pay for our latest fitness addiction, we turned to Beverly Hill-based Cardio Barre instructor Stacey Bosworth to get the inside scoop on scoring a long, lean dancer's body Read more
The exercise ball may occupy a lot of room in your home gym, but it's one versatile piece of equipment. Find out how to get the most out of your exercise ball below. A healthier seat: Ditch your normal seat on the couch and sit on an exercise ball instead. Using a ball to sit helps correct your posture, tones your abs, and encourages you to stretch, all of which sounds a lot better than the Read more
After learning Ashtanga Yoga's Sun Salutation A, it's time to learn the poses in Sun Salutation B. It begins with a pose called Fierce, which may look easy but is a killer move for your thighs and glutes when done correctly. It also strengthens your core and stretches your calves, so it's an essential move for runners and high-heel wearers alike. Sanskrit Name: Utkatasana English Translation: Read more
What's not to love about circuit training? Combining heart-pumping elements of cardio with strength-training moves means you torch calories while toning muscles. It's just so efficient. Here's a fun yet challenging circuit workout I did recently with my Equinox trainer Lauren. The workout has you performing each exercise for a minute, which means you need to keep a stopwatch handy, but you have Read more
