FitSugar

In Honor of Yoga Month: Medicinal Powers of Yoga

FitSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:00 PDT

All you yoga lovers out there and even the yoga curious, in case you hadn't heard, September is National Yoga Month. Sweet.

The purpose of this month dedicated to yoga is to educate people about the health benefits of yoga, and inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle. If you are interested in taking a holistic approach to healing rather than taking lots of meds, here's a list of some of the ways yoga can improve your health.

Yoga improves levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. In a study conducted in India, those practicing yoga had a 23 percent drop in cholesterol. It may have to do with how yoga can both decrease stress and help with weight loss, two factors that can affect cholesterol.
Improves the quality of life for cancer patients going through radiation. Researchers are also looking into how yoga may improve the immune systems of those with cancer.
Since yoga is all about controlling and slowing down your breath, it can improve the function of the respiratory system, and help alleviate asthma symptoms.
It's been shown to improve digestion. All that twisting and bending every which way helps to tone and strengthen your core muscles and keeps the organs underneath healthy by massaging them.

To learn about the other benefits of yoga

Open Your Heart: 10 Heart-Opening Stretches

Jenny Sugar — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:15:17 PST

I can hear Madonna in my head singing "Open Your Heart," and in my mind's eye see her doing her yoga moves on stage. Why not celebrate Valentine's Day and American Heart Month with a little bit of yogic love? Physically stretching the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and belly can create a deep emotional release helping you to appreciate and honor of yourself and your loved ones. These poses also bring a feeling of lightness and contentment. Try these 10 heart-opening stretches to make you feel positively blissful.

Source: Thinkstock

Enter to Win a $500 Under Armour Gift Card

FitSugar — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:43:34 PST

It's the New Year and time to get back on track, jump-start your January, and get fit for 2012. We've dedicated the month of January to helping you set your path for the rest of the year. Each week we've broken down different fitness fundamentals, and we're ending the month by focusing on all-around healthy living. And we're giving away amazing prizes to help you meet your goals for the year.

This week we're giving away apparel from Under Armour - perfect for every workout, from yoga and Pilates to kickboxing and boot camps. Enter below and you could be one of two lucky winners to receive a $500 gift card to Under Armour!

This giveaway has ended.

Check us out on Facebook where we will be keeping our own fitness diary and providing tips, advice, recipes, and workouts for all of our fans. If you're craving more fitness gear and goodies, enter our Asics giveaway for a year's supply of Asics running shoes and our KIND Healthy Snacks and Magimix giveaway for a year's supply KIND Healthy Snacks and a Magimix Food Processor. Good luck!

4 Lazy Moves That Boost Your Health

Prevention — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:05:16 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

You don’t have to go on a deprivation diet or spend hours exercising to ward off disease and be your healthiest self! Instead, try these supersimple tips
By the editors of Prevention

Staying healthy can feel like so much, well, work (think: logging hours at the gym and whipping up nutritious meals from scratch). However, there are plenty of small moves that you can make in your everyday life that will have big health benefits. We’ve rounded up 15 practically zero-effort ways to fight disease, whittle your waist, lower stress, and more. Bonus: many of these good-for-you moves feel good, too. So say sayonara to the old adage “no pain, no gain” and try these tips today.

Lazy Move No. 1: Protect Your Ticker by Snoozing
Need a good excuse to grab your comfiest set of pajamas and hit the sack? Skimping on shut-eye may do more than make you cranky or unproductive - it also boosts your risk of a heart attack. According to one Norwegian study, people who reported that they did not wake up feeling refreshed in the morning had a 27 percent higher risk of a heart attack, those who had trouble staying asleep almost every night in the last month had a 30 percent higher risk, and those who had trouble falling asleep almost every night in the last month had odds that jumped to 45 percent.

Twenty Ways to Sleep Better Every Night

Some researchers speculate that insomnia might trigger your body to release more of the stress hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol have been linked with high blood pressure and diabetes, which are both risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Plus when you’re exhausted, you may be more likely to make unhealthy choices that up your heart disease risk, such as skipping your workout or reaching for fatty or sugary snacks for a quick energy fix.

Keep reading for three more lazy ways to improve your health.

Healthy Dose Link Time: The Fittest Celebs at the 2012 Golden Globes

Michele Foley — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:00:36 PST

See the bodies that ruled the red carpet at this year's Golden Globes - Self
Score affordable gym clothes at these unknown retailers - Shape
From Anusara to Vinyasa - find out which yoga style is best for you - Yoga Journal
How to lose 10 pounds in one month - Fitness
See which workout underwear performs the best - Prevention
Miss America 2012 contestants on their health and fitness regimens - Blisstree
Work your entire body with this 20-minute workout - Fit Bottomed Girls
The most common side effects of birth control - Health

Yoga Studios Across the Country Offer Week-Long Passes For National Yoga Month

FitSugar — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:02:39 PDT

If you've always wanted to achieve Standing Bow pose with grace, now is the time. September is National Yoga Month, and to celebrate, over 1,200 yoga studios nationwide are offering one week of free yoga through October - registration is already underway. The hope is to inspire more people to try yoga so they can reap all the physical and emotional benefits of regular practice.

All you have to do is sign up on the Yoga Month website for a free week of yoga at any of the participating studios. After choosing a studio, you'll receive a card in your email that entitles you to a free week of classes; just print it out and bring it to your chosen studio. The one restriction is that you can't use the pass to go to a studio you have visited in the past. Besides a free week of yoga, many studios will be offering free days of yoga that require no prior registration.

Lil Links: Natalie Portman's Aleph Is a Farmers Market Cutie!

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:32:14 PST

Natalie Portman makes a farmers market visit a family affair - Celebrity Baby Scoop
10 things moms don't need in baby's first few months - Momformation
Toddlers and Tiaras mom dresses her tot in a meat bikini - The Stir
Tori Spelling's tots show their love of Yo Gabba Gabba - Celebrity Baby Blog
Meet your latest yoga buddy - FitPregnancy
A look inside the country's largest sperm bank - Parenting
Tips for telling strangers to keep their hands off your belly - The Bump
MotherKnows gives parents access to their kids' medical records - Tecca.com
Think you are seeing twins everywhere? You are! - Yahoo! Shine

Websites That Offer Free (or Dirt Cheap) Yoga Classes

Jenny Sugar — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:03:37 PST

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, 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 $3.99 each. If you're really into it, pay $89.95 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 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 $9.95 per month or $69.95 for a year, for unlimited access to the entire library. The site also offers popular yoga DVDs such as Body by Bethany and Transform Yourself With Jivamukti. Another plus, you can sample a clip before you buy.

Keep reading for more websites that offer inexpensive yoga classes.

How to Pick the Gym That's Right For You

Heather Dale — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:29:50 PST

If your New Year's resolution is to get fit, chances are you might be shopping around for a gym or fitness center, which is not as easy as it sounds. Here's criteria you should try to check off before signing up for any gym membership.

Location, location, location: Don't kid yourself into believing that you'll drive halfway across town to go work out. If a gym is closer to where you live (or work), you'll be more inclined to visit. Also, check to see if there's cost-effective parking, nearby public transportation, or if you can't walk to it. Also make sure it's in a safe neighborhood in case you want to pop in later in the evening.
Ask for second opinions: Get on Yelp, and ask your friends, family members, co-workers, husband's cousin's girlfriend - anyone! - what the best gym is in your neighborhood. Tell them what you're ideally looking for and see if your research, plus your mini-interviews, point to one locale.

Here are some more tips.

Yoga Class: Studio vs. Gym

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:03:11 PST

With all the New Year's resolutions floating around, if "trying yoga" is on your list, you're probably wondering where the best place to practice is. With yoga's increased popularity, just about every gym offers yoga classes on their schedule in between Body Pump and Spinning, but there are also studios on every corner that teach yoga exclusively. Keep reading to find out which place you'd prefer getting your Down Dog on.

Price

Studio: Purchase single classes at a drop-in rate that's about $12 to $25 per class (depending on the length of the class), or you can buy a group of classes at a slightly cheaper rate. Some studios also offer monthly or yearly memberships, so classes are even cheaper, but this only pays off if you go a lot.
Gym: Many gym memberships include classes in the monthly or yearly fee, so yoga classes at gyms might be significantly less expensive than at a studio.

Continue reading to learn how studio's and gym's compare when it comes to atmosphere, convenience, and teacher qualifications.