FitSugar

Partner Yoga Pose: Back-to-Back Butterfly

FitSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:00:00 PDT

Butterfly pose is one of my favorite hip openers, and there are many Partner Yoga moves that involve this pose. There's the Butterfly Pull, Butterfly Supported Forward Bend, and Seated Butterfly Lounge is great way to stretch. If you have tight hips then you will appreciate trying Back-to-Back Butterfly with a partner since this variation deepens the stretch and it is only slightly hands-on compared to a couple of other partner poses.

To give it a try

Partner #1 and Partner #2 sit with their backs touching and their legs out in front of them. They each bend their knees and come into Butterfly.
Then they reach their arms behind their backs and rest their palms on their partner's knees.
If it feels OK, each person gently presses down, increasing the intensity of the stretch in their partner's hips. It's important to communicate here. Each person should tell their partner to push harder or push less.
They stay like this for five breaths or more and then release.

The Brooch Is Back - See How Celebrities Style Up This Ladylike Accessory

Chi Diem Chau — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:22:59 PDT

Brooches are back and better than ever, and this latest batch of celebrities are showing us exactly how it's done. Opting for a more modern look, Freida Pinto made a striking arrival at the Tribeca Film Festival wearing a sharp red Gucci suit accessorized with a black and gold butterfly brooch. We love how Freida tempered her masculine pantsuit with such a feminine accoutrement, but if you're looking for a more ladylike appeal, look to Kate Middleton for inspiration. The Duchess of Cambridge styled her blue tweed Rebecca Taylor skirt suit with a red crystal flower pin - a look you can easily replicate for work. Furthermore, Elisa Sednaoui pinned her vintage-inspired Chanel brooch to a cropped top for a new twist on the button-up top. Click on to see more celebs showing off their beautiful brooches, then shop the look in the slideshow.

5 Simple Tips to Keep the Spark Alive After Moving in Together

Laura Marie Given — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:00:48 PDT

When a relationship shifts into the living-together phase, it can be difficult to maintain the exciting spark that exists in the beginning. There's a tendency to treat each other as roommates instead of romantic partners, but a few simple tweaks to your everyday routine can help to amp up the chemistry and strengthen your bond. Worried that you might get a little too comfortable with each other? Follow these five tips to keep the flirty, sexy vibes alive:

Meet after work. There's something to be said for seeing each other across a crowded restaurant - rather than, say, getting ready together in the bathroom. Maintain a bit of mystery and stir up some excited anticipation by skipping the DVR and making post-work dinner plans instead.
Avoid typical roommate drama. He doesn't close cabinets, you don't make the bed, and when exactly were the dishes going to be done? Nothing screams "unsexy" like nagging each other over housework, so do your relationship a favor and communicate any small complaints before resentment builds.
Keep the bedroom work-free. Designate your bedroom as an intimacy-only area. A little bit of bedtime reading is fine, but don't bring your laptop into bed with you. Set your desk up in another room and resolve to steer clear of screens as soon as you get ready to hit the hay.
Make chores fun. Turn dish-cleaning and laundry-folding into your favorite sweet and sexy time by turning on some music, dancing, or having a meaningful conversation - first date-style - while you fold your clothes. It may seem silly at first, but eventually you might look forward to the housework you used to dread.
Don't forget the little things. A simple bouquet surprise or breakfast in bed can go a long way in sparking a bit of passion, so keep up the cute habits that tend to fade after the courtship phase. Leave each other sweet notes and treat him to a fancy home cooked meal to get back to the butterflies.

Stretch Those Tight Hips and Lower Back

FitSugar — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:16:40 PDT

If you have the ever popular office job that involves sitting at a desk for eight hours a day, it can wreak havoc on your precious body creating tight hips and lower back pain. Many stretches for your hips also stretch out your lower back, so these poses are like two for the price of one.

Butterfly

Sit on the floor, bend both knees, and bring your feet together. Using your hands, open your feet up like a book, pressing your knees toward the floor with your elbows. If you want more of a stretch, extend your arms out in front of you.
Stay here for five breaths.

Continue reading to learn how to do three more hip-opening yoga poses.

Tech App-titude: 5 Free Apps For the Savvy Pet Owner

Sara Yoo — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 04:00:00 PST

If your iPhone is like another appendage, then you undoubtedly have apps to organize just about every aspect of your life: calendars, to-do lists, restaurant locators, pedometers, and diet monitors, to name a few. And these days, busy pets are just as lucky. We've rounded up our favorite free iPhone apps for safe and savvy pets and their companions, from medical references to dog-park finders to squeaky toys.

Map My Dog Walk: You and Fido conquered an awesome hike last Fall, but a few months later, it's tough to remember the route. This app allows you to log your walk routes, share them with friends, and even calculate calories burned!
Remind My Pet: For any pets on medication, this app keeps track of dosing schedules and emails or texts you when they are due for their next one.

For the rest of the list, keep reading

How to Avoid New Mom Comparisons

BabyCenter — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:00:57 PST

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Evonne Lack about avoiding the dangerous trap of competitive parenting.

The comparison game is one new moms know well. Even when we try to avoid the "does your baby do this yet?" questions, it's pretty impossible not to notice when, say, a friend's 5-week-old is smiling and yours isn't. As mom Heather Cianciolo says, "Doesn't every mother compare her kids?"

Blame it on our survival instincts, says Kathy Seal, coauthor of Pressured Parents, Stressed-out Kids: Dealing With Competition While Raising a Successful Child.

"We're hardwired to push our kids to compete. After all, our ancestors' children had to be strong enough to get that last piece of meat or outrun that dangerous animal," Seal says. "It's also natural to want our kids to acquire skills, so we compare for reassurance."

Normal as it is, comparing can be a recipe for stress. It can also prevent us from fully appreciating what our kids are accomplishing. Here are some common comparison traps - and how to sidestep them.

Related: Developmental Milestones

Milestone & Developmental Comparisons
Babies vary widely when it comes to hitting milestones like sitting up, crawling, and walking, which makes this comparison trap a particularly easy one to fall into.

"I remember sitting in music class, watching a 10-month-old demonstrate physical milestones that my 19-month-old was just getting around to. It was hard," says Cianciolo.

As moms, we're encouraged to watch for any development problems or delays and to get help right away with anything we notice. So it's no wonder we're constantly wondering what's normal and what's not.

Sidestep the trap: Research shows that as long as your child is reaching milestones within the normal range, how quickly he reaches them has no bearing on his later skills.

So if your 18-month-old says only one or two words compared to your same-age nephew's dozen, it doesn't mean your child won't eventually gab your ears off.

"Milestone development has very little to do with a child's future potential, so I encourage parents not to worry if their children are late bloomers or seem to be at the outer limits of normal," says Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatrician who's also an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of A Map of the Child: A Pediatrician's Tour of the Body. "It's tempting to think that what a child does when he's young is going to control his destiny, but everyday experiences don't bear this out. We can't determine a child's destiny based on what month they started walking," Sanghavi says. Enjoying your child's current skills and tricks can help ground you in the present and prevent you from fretting about the future.

"It's hard to hear my 15-month-old niece saying more than my 2-year-old daughter. But it helps to focus on the special things my daughter does - like when we get ready to read, she gets the blanket and pillow and sets it all up, which really makes my heart melt," says Kim Lybrand.

Finally, remind yourself that while we can certainly help our children learn new things, we can't force them to reach milestones before they're ready. When we attribute our kids' development to our superior parenting skills, it can come back to bite us.

"When others noticed how well my son got around, I felt like we must have done something great to facilitate his excellent gross motor skills," remembers Jennifer Parker. "But then I'd hear other children speak so clearly, while my son wasn't yet talking at all, and I'd feel like such a bad mom."

More on no-competition motherhood after the break.

5 Carry-On Packing Tips You Should Know

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 06:01:43 PST

If you're heading back home from a long holiday vacay, you've probably already given airport security some thought. If the thought of long TSA lines triggers a migraine, these tips from the TSA will teach you how to properly pack your gadgets, accessories, and chargers and help you speed through the X-ray line.

Pack in layers. Layer clothes, electronics, then clothes again inside a carry-on so the TSA agent can quickly see what's in there. This strategy also works better than the cram-everything-in-your-bag strategy once you unpack at your destination.

Check out the rest of the tips, including how to wrap your cords, and what kinds of bags are TSA-friendly after the break.

Get the Look: A Sexy, Wavy Blowout

Real Beauty — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:05:13 PST

We're happy to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Real Beauty.

Kattia Solano, the mastermind behind NYC's Butterfly Studio, says she's done with the froufrou Kim Kardashian look (we're kind of over the whole wedding spectacle, too). This much-loved hair guru is digging softer, more textured waves, like the ones seen on Jessica Biel.

But looking like you didn't try too hard isn't as simple as it sounds. Luckily, Solano broke down the steps for scoring beachy waves, so you can easily attain this piece-y, bohemian hairdo at home. Check out the details below.

Lil Gift Guide: Great Gifts For 5-Year-Olds!

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:32:02 PST

How best to describe kindergartners? Tots with a lot of personality! No longer "lil ones," these 5-year-olds are at an age where they know what they want and they aren't afraid to tell you. Toys and activities that build on the skills they are learning at school will keep their hands busy and their minds moving.

FIJIT Friends ($40) may be one of the biggest sellers this holiday season with their ability to respond to different commands and dance moves that keep kids wanting to join in the party. If your child has control of your iPad, Angry Birds Card Game ($12) may be the ticket to giving them a break from the screen. Lego's line of city kits just keeps growing, and the City Forest Police ($80) is packed with enough things to build to keep fans busy for a long time. Bead Bazaar's My Butterfly Bead Kit ($23) is filled with more than 200 environmentally friendly, hand-crafted beads to make more than a dozen accessories. If your kid's going to be moving, why not make it an artistic experience? The Razor Graffiti Chalk Scooter ($74) features sidewalk chalk near its rear wheel so kids can look back on their path after they've reached their destination.

Saturday Giveaway! Avon Step into Sexy

BellaSugar — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:00:00 PST

We love to help you feel your most beautiful, and this week we've got you covered with Avon's new fragrance, Step into Sexy. Featuring notes such as crisp violet leaf, butterfly orchid, and golden amber, Step into Sexy is sure to help you feel sophisticated and sexy every day.

To celebrate the arrival of the fragrance, BellaSugar will be giving away one bottle each day for each of the next 2 days. Be sure to come back tomorrow to enter for your last chance to win!

This giveaway has ended.