Friday, January 29, 2010

Yoga for Weight Loss



Move beyond fitness as usual and join Yoga for Weight Loss. Now enrolling for our February sessions. My participants have released between 8-19 pounds and 7-11 inches.

Yoga for Weight Loss is a holistic wellness program that incorporates mind/body health, fitness, and wellness into the weight loss regimen. Participants will have weight loss counseling, meal planning, yoga, Pilates and customized cardio. Registration runs to Feb 12, 2010. Program runs from Feb 15th-March 20th. Payment Plans are available. This program is designed to teach you everything you need to continue with success in your weight loss journey.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Fooditude-Salad Dressing

Mixed Citrus Vinaigrette

recipe image
Rated: rating
Submitted By: Alex99
Photo By: cheesemite
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Ready In: 5 Minutes
Servings: 20
"This is a delightful alternative to ordinary salad dressings. Works well with many types of salads ingredients like greens, vegetables, and fruits."
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix together the vinegar, orange juice, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and lemon juice. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking vigorously. Add the walnuts and Romano cheese and stir. Season with salt and pepper.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Benefits of Yoga 7


The benefits of yoga are endless. Check out the additions below. The info below comes from "Count on Yoga" in Yoga Journal's Yoga for Beginners.

Thoughts
- Feeling sad? Sit in Lotus. Better yet, rise up into a backbend or soar royally into Lord of the Dance Pose. While it's not as simple as that, one study found that a consistent yoga practice improved depression and led to a significant increase in serotonin levels and a decrease in the levels of monoamine oxidase (an enzyme breaks down neurotransmitters) and cortisol. At the University of Wisconsin, Richard Davidson, PhD, found that the left prefrontal cortex showed heightened activity in meditators, a finding that has been correlated with greater levels of happiness and better immune function. More dramatic left-sided activation was found among dedicated, long-term practitioners.

Immune System-It's likely that both asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing) improve immune function, but meditation has the strongest scientific support in this area. It appears to have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the immune system, boosting it when needed (for example, raising antibody levels in response to a vaccine) and lowering it when needed (for instance, migrating an overly aggressive immune function in an autoimmune disease like psoriasis).

Breathing - Yogis tend to take fewer breaths of greater volume, which is both calming and more efficient. A 1998 study published in The Lancet taught a yogic technique known a "complete breathing" to people with lung problems due to congestive heart failure. After one month, their average respiratory rate decreased from 13.4 breaths per minute to 7.6. Meanwhile, their exercise capacity increased significantly, as did the oxygen saturation of their blood. In addition, yoga has been shown to improve various measures of lung function, including the maximum volume of breath and the efficiency of the exhalation.

Come out to yoga and feel the benefits of yoga for yourself. Namaste.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Fooditude -Veggie Soup


Greetings,

Fooditude is my latest addition to I Love My Temple blog. Fooditude is Food + Attitude. I thought this would be a great way to introduce nutrition and talk about healthy yet tasty foods. I invite you to contribute your tasty healthy recipes via email @ ilovemytemple@gmail.com (Subject: Fooditude). You can send pics along with your contributions. Tell me why your food has a great healthy attitude and I will post them on my blog. My favorites will be shared with my Yoga for Weight Loss group.


Here is a wonderful soup recipe from Healthy Kids, Smart Kids: The Principal-Created, Parent-Tested, Kid-Approved Nutrition Plan for Sound Bodies & Strong Minds by Yvonne Sanders-Butler, Ed. D. with Barbara Alpert

1-2--3 Veggie Soup


2 cups of water
1 (16-ounce) bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 (12 ounce) can low-sodium diced tomatoes (with chilies or jalapenos, optional)
1/2 tomato paste
2 teaspoons Vegesal or Mrs. Dash
1 teaspoon of Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a large, heavy pot, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add vegetables, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Add seasonings and stir. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Per serving: Calories 71; Protein 3 g; Carb: 16g; Sugar 6g; Fiber 4g; Fat 0g; Sodium 500mg

Monday, January 11, 2010

Benefits of Yoga 6


I am keeping it coming with yoga benefits.

Control -Some advanced yogis can control their bodies in extraordinary ways many of which are mediated by the nervous system. Scientists have monitored yogis who could induce unusual heart rhythms, generate specific brain-wave patterns, and, using a meditation technique, raise the temperature of their hands by 15 degrees Fahrenheit. If they can use yoga to do that, perhaps you could learn to improve blood flow to your pelvis if you're trying to get pregnant or induce relaxation when you're having trouble falling asleep.

Limbs -Do you ever notice yourself holding the telephone or a steering wheel with a death grip of scrunching your face when staring at a computer screen? These unconscious habits can lead to chronic tension, muscle fatigue, and soreness in the wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, and face, which can increase stress and worsen your mood. As you practice yoga, you begin to notice where you hold tension: It might be in your tongue, your eyes, or the muscles of your face and neck. If you simply tune in and pay more attention to these areas, your may be able to relieve some tension.

Chill -Stimulation is good, but too much of it taxes the nervous system. Yoga can provide relief from the busyness of modern life. Restorative asana, yoga nidra (a form of guided relaxation) Savasana, pranayama, and meditation encourage pratyahara, a turning inward of the senses, which provides downtime for the nervous system. Another by-product, studies suggest, is better sleep -which means you'll be less tired and stressed and less likely to have accidents.

Join me for class and feel the benefits of yoga for yourself.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Yoga for Weight Loss



Yoga for Weight Loss is a holistic wellness program that incorporates mind/body health, fitness, and wellness into the weight loss regimen. Participants will have weight loss counseling, meal planning, yoga, Pilates and customized cardio. Registration runs to Jan 8, 2010. Program runs from Jan 11th-Feb 12th. Payment Plans are available. This program is designed to teach you everything you need to continue with success in your weight loss journey.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Benefits of Yoga 5


Happy New Year! Let's ring in the new year with more wonderful yoga benefits from Yoga Journal's "Yoga for Beginners"

Weight-Move more, eat less- that's the adage of many a dieter. Yoga can help on both fronts. A regular practices gets you moving and burns calories, and the spiritual and emotional dimensions of your practice may encourage you to address any eating and weight problems on a deeper level. You may also become a more conscious eater. (Note: See my Yoga for Weight Loss Blog)

Sugar -Yoga lowers blood sugar and LDL ("bad") cholesterol and boosts HDL ("good") cholesterol. In people with diabetes, yoga has been found to lower blood sugar in several ways; by lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels, encouraging weight loss, and improving sensitivity to the effects of insulin. Get your blood sugar levels down , and you decrease your risk of diabetic complications such as heart attack, kidney failure, and blindness.

System- Yoga encourages you to relax, and slow your breath, and focus on the present, shifting the balance from sympathetic nervous system (or the fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic nervous system. The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers breathing and heart rates, decrease blood pressure, and increases blood flow to the intestines and reproductive organs-comprising what Herbert Benson, MD, calls the relaxation response.

Space- Regularly practicing yoga increases proprioception (the ability to feel what your body is doing where it is in space) and improves balance. People with bad posture or dysfunctional movement patterns usually have poor proprioception, which has been linked to knee problems and back pain. Better balance could mean fewer falls. For the elderly, this translates into more independence and delayed admission to nursing home or never entering one at all.

Give Yoga a chance this year and gain some of these wonderful benefits.