FitSugar

Relax Already: Find Calm Through Family Photos

FitSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:30:00 PST

Sometimes it seems like the more effort we put into shutting down our busy brains, the harder it is to accomplish. Jam-packed, stressful days make true relaxation challenging for many of us, and we often forgo winding down after work because of time demands. If taking a 90-second vacation doesn't always work for you, look through pictures from previous vacations to help get you to a state of relaxation.

While you are flipping through those memories, try your best to recall the little things you loved about a particular trip: special moments shared with your friends or loved ones, things that made you laugh, and the happy feeling of getting away from it all. The simple act of revisiting your memories will take your mind off of your hectic day and to-do list while reminding you of the good things in your life.

Source

Class Act: Yoga Nidra (Yoga Sleep)

FitSugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:30:00 PDT

If you're stressed out, wound up, or feeling down, then you're in desperate need of Yoga Nidra. It's the definition of deep relaxation.

The nidra class is devoted to bringing you into complete stillness and calmness while still being aware. You come into a comfortable Savasana pose (sometimes a teacher may encourage you to use blankets and pillows to make you feel comfy, cradled, and fully supported). The teacher may talk you through a meditation, use guided imagery, or she may use musical instruments or music to bring you into deep relaxation. Your job is to lengthen each inhale and exhalation, to be aware and in control of your breath, and to allow the stillness to take over your mind and unwind your nervous system. It's common for beginners to accidentally fall asleep, but once you practice Yoga Nidra more often, you'll become better at bringing yourself into a beautiful marriage of relaxation and awareness. It's normal to daydream a little, to experience a sense of weightlessness or floating above the ground, and many people will say they feel like the 45 or 60 minute class flies by within minutes. After the class, you'll emerge feeling refreshed and serene.

Call a yoga studio in your area to see if they offer this type of class. If you cannot find a class, you can try on your own with a book or CD.

Relax Already: Active Relaxation

FitSugar — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:15:00 PDT

I know that it seems like a contradiction of terms, but active relaxation is a real technique for getting rid of unwanted tension. Stress creates muscle tension so actively relaxing your muscles can really help clear your mind and ease your level of anxiety.

Hold the following positions for 5 seconds and focus on the sensation of muscle tightness. Then actively release the position and focus on the sensation of tension leaving the muscles. These moves can be done sitting at your desk and I recommend doing them each a couple of times.

Lower body:
(Start with your right foot, then repeat on the left side)

Scrunch your toes and point your toes inward
Flex your toes and pull them toward your head
Straighten your knee, so leg is parallel to the floor and tense your thigh, relax the leg back down

For your torso:

Squeeze your bum
Tense your stomach, make it feel tight like a ball
Squeeze your shoulder blades together

To see what else you can do for your shoulders just

3 Things I Learned From My First Indoor Cycling Class

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:15:09 PST

Since it's important to vary workouts and keep the body guessing, this year I resolved to add indoor cycling to my usual running-and-weights fitness routine. I made sure to wear and bring the right items to the gym, but I learned a few technique-related tips during class that I wish I'd known earlier. Planning to try an indoor cycling class for the first time? Keep these three pointers in mind to steer clear of injuries and make the most of your workout.

Regularly shift your hands: To avoid stiff, sore wrists, be sure to move your hands around the handlebars by correctly incorporating the standard cycling hand positions. You should try to keep your hands slightly loose - no death grips necessary - and do your best to let your weight fall into your feet, rather than leaning your entire body into your hands. It's also important to keep your shoulders down and relaxed.
Keep pedal rotations pause-free: Aim to make each pedal revolution as smooth as possible so that you don't put any extra strain on your ankles or the balls of your feet. There's a natural tendency to pause at the bottom of a rotation - especially during standing intervals - so make sure that your leg and glute muscles stay in a constant push-and-pull rhythm. To achieve this, try keeping your feet flat rather than letting your heel turn up and toe push down.
Focus on technique, not resistance: As you ease into indoor cycling, don't worry too much about the resistance level on your bike. Instead, strive to stay moving throughout the entire class and learn to fluidly transition between the sitting and standing positions. Later, when you've grown more comfortable on the bike, you can begin to worry about increasing resistance and amping up your workout.

Go Deep Into Your Forward Bend

Jenny Sugar — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:10:41 PST

If you run, bike, ski, or sit at a desk all day, chances are your hamstrings are screaming for some attention. Get on the floor and give them what they crave - a seated forward bend. This pose looks simple enough, but here are some ways to increase that deep stretch in the backs of your legs.

Before folding forward, sit with your legs straight out in front of you. Take your right fingertips and pull the flesh of your glute up and away from the sit bone. Repeat on the: left hand moves left cheek. Moving the cushioning of your seat out of the way helps target your hamstrings more effectively in the stretch.
While still sitting upright, increase the stretch in the backs of your legs even further by gently pressing the backs of your knees into the floor. Flex your feet to also engage your calves and shins, but do keep your heels on the floor so you don't hyperextend your knees.
Actively roll both thighs inward, creating a more grounded base for your hips to hinge from. This action in the thighs also help keep the feet flat, as the pinky toe side of the foot has a tendency to curl away from you.

Continue reading to learn

Fresh Start Resolution: Improve Your Public Speaking

SavvySugar — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:19:03 PST

It's a new year and a new you! We're highlighting 12 helpful tips to start off the year right, from quitting your caffeine addiction tp mastering time management. Here's another way to start afresh in 2012.

Public speaking is a regular - and regularly feared - part of life, so it's important to refine your skills. This year, challenge yourself by learning to lecture like a pro. Here are four tips to help you polish your public speaking.

Assess yourself. What part of public speaking makes you nervous? Where have you slipped up in the past? One reason public speaking is so nerve-racking is because there's so much to manage - your presence, your words, your delivery, and your reaction. Determine your weakest points, from stuttering to stiff hands, in order to tailor your speech improvement.
Find opportunities to practice. It's hard to feel confident about speaking if it's something you rarely do, so look for the chance to polish your technique in everyday life. At a dinner party? Offer to give the toast. Working on a new project at the office? Present it at the weekly staff meeting. Public speaking is like anything else: the more you do it, the better you'll become, and the more comfortable you'll feel when the moment arises.

Keep reading for more public speaking tips

Check Yourself: Running Form To-Do List

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:59:26 PST

Whether you're new to running since Jan. 1 or just trying to find your fitness groove, running can be difficult to love 24/7. When my affection for running wanes, one thing that helps bring back the love is technique. When out for a run, I go through this simple list to check my form. It makes me a mindful runner, which helps not only avoid injury but also helps me find my stride once again.

Before you head out to put this checklist to work, be sure to enter to win a year supply of running shoes from Asics. Nothing motivates more than a new pair of sneaks!

Here's my form checklist, starting with the feet.

Land midfoot, not on the heel. Striking the pavement with your heel naturally puts on the brakes, which slows you down and leaves you prone to injury since it's jarring. Not convinced? Read more about heel striking here.
Keep your ankles relaxed and pick your feet up. Bringing the heel toward the bum to activate the hamstrings - a good thing - while pushing the ground away causes muscles to fatigue more quickly, especially the calf.
Shorten your stride. It's nicer for your knees. Really, it is.
Lean slightly forward. The lean should start at your ankles, not your waist, since bending in the middle can hurt your back and it's also inefficient.

To see what you should be doing with your upper body while running, just keep reading.

Light My Fire: 6 Ways to Update Your Fireplace

Lizzie Fuhr — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:07:41 PDT

With an Autumn chill in the air, nothing is better than spending time by a beautiful fireplace, relaxing with friends, or a cup of hot tea. Too many times we see beautiful fireplaces that are being underutilized in homes, because they just haven't been updated for a while. If you want to heat things up in your home this Fall, here are some simple remodeling and decorating concepts to bring a fresh, updated look to a tired looking fireplace.

Add glass doors. Installing a pair of glass doors will not only give your fireplace an elegant look, but they make it more energy efficient. The mesh doors and an iron partition work just fine, but if you're looking for some updated elegance, consider installing a pair of glass doors to your fireplace. If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace in your bathroom or kitchen, I think this technique brings a particularly chic vibe.
Consider a raised stone hearth. There is nothing more charming or quaint than the image of getting up close and personal with a fireplace, sitting on a raised hearth. You can try it DIY style, but this is a pretty involved project that would be super easy for a contractor.
Don't be afraid to paint brick. For years my heart would be in knots when I saw painted brick in a room. But, recently, I'm loving the look when it's painted the right way in a stark black or bright-white hue. If the brick is just too outdated, or the color doesn't work in the room, don't be afraid to switch things up and paint.

Keep reading for three more ways to update your fireplace.

Work-Life Balance Tips For Newbies

Anna Monette Roberts — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 05:05:38 PDT

When you are new to the workforce, you will quickly learn that entry-level positions do require you to prove your worth and dedication to the company. Aka, working a lot of overtime. You want to be sure that you are taking care of yourself and your life outside of work, so that you remain energized, happy, and motivated. Implement our savvy tips so that you can feel your best self in and outside of the office.

Stay focused while at work. Use the Pomodoro Technique to time your productivity. It's so easy to migrate away from your work to check your email or browse the web, which just drains you of your energy and time. If you concentrate only on one task for 25 minutes, you're more likely to complete your work in an eight-hour day rather than take it home with you.
Complete a daily achievement and something pleasurable. Jim Bird, the publisher of WorkLifeBalance.com recommends that every day you should be saying, "I just want to achieve something today and I want to enjoy something today. And if I do both of those things today, I'm going to have a pretty good day. And if I do both of those things every day for the rest of my life, I'm going to have a pretty good life."

East Meets West: 5 Easy Feng Shui Fixes

Lizzie Fuhr — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:00:54 PDT

The feng shui hype has died down in the last few years, but if you're into cultivating creativity in your casa, chances are you recognize that the spaces we reside in affect our general well-being. The colors you choose, how much light enters your bedroom, and the general ability to flow through your home are all concepts that affect our ability to live comfortably and happily. Above all else, the goal of feng shui is to create a harmonious living environment that promotes health and invites happiness. And I don't know about you, but I could use as much of that as I can get. The idea of feng shui may sound a little far out, but this ancient Chinese art of placement does not have to feel so foreign. Here are five easy feng shui fixes that will allow you to harness some good energy, breathe in, and zen out.

Clear out the crazy clutter. Clutter translates to unfinished business. The last thing you should feel is overwhelming when you enter your home, or sanctuary, at the end of a long day. Get and stay organized. This means everywhere.
Let the sun shine in. Natural light promotes prosperity and happiness. Coming from someone who has lived in a number of super-dark bedrooms, there's nothing more beautiful or inspiring than the way light enters a room in the morning.
Bedrooms are for relaxation. Not work. Treat yourself with delicious fabrics and surround yourself with scents you love. Your bedroom is not a place for catching up on TV or hanging out on your computer. When you enter your bedroom, you should have a calming experience. Limiting your activities in the bedroom will make it way more intimate.
Make sure your bed is in a commanding position. The placement of your bedroom is not just a stylistic choice, it can also affect the chi in your room. The golden rule of bed placement in feng shui? You want to make sure you're facing the door when you're in bed. It can be placed across the room with your headboard against the wall, or even diagonally, but you want to have a feeling of peace and safety in your bed. This alignment will help you achieve that.
Fresh flowers and plants keep energy awake and moving. You don't have to import Chinese bamboo in order to feng shui your spot. Bringing just a little green into your home will connect you to nature and warm things up. It's also a great idea to put some plants in a corner of a room; this technique is said to keep energy flowing in typically stagnant spots.

Does your home harness some serious chi? Share a photo in the Su Casa group, and we may feature it on the site!