Aurorae Synergy Yoga Mat – Towel

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The biggest complaint I hear about traditional mats is that they can be too slippery. When people practice hot yoga and/or work up a good sweat, they often find themselves sliding out of pose. Not only is this counterproductive, but it is potentially dangerous.

Aurorae Synergy Yoga Mat-Towel

One company that has created a solution to this problem is Aurorae with their Synergy Yoga Mat – Towel. It is not a separate yoga towel. It’s an actual yoga mat that is merged with a microfiber towel. The two pieces are bonded together.
Synergy Yoga Mat - Towel folded to show both sides

It’s an unusual item. For a while I had been very curious to try it, especially Continue reading →

Richard Hittleman’s “Yoga for Health”

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***BIG NEWS: Richard Hittleman’s classic TV series “Yoga For Health” Has been released on DVD! Check it out at www.richardhittleman.com ***

Richard Hittleman’s “Yoga for Health” is not a new book. It is, however, tried and true. First published in 1983, “Yoga for Health” has been a reliable resource not only for beginners, but for long term practitioners as well.

Richard Hittleman - Yoga for health

Hittleman (1927 – 1991) is famous for bringing Yoga to millions of people in the 1960s and 1970s with one of the first ever Yoga television series. He brought Yoga to more people than any other living person at the time. He was indeed a pioneer.

Richard Hittleman changed my life

In fact, his TV program is how I came to discover Yoga in the first place. With four of my six children already born, and my husband in college full time, Continue reading →

Yogalosophy with Mandy Ingber – DVD workout review

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Although there are many benefits to practicing yoga at a studio, I mostly practice yoga at home. I prefer it to studios or gyms for many reasons: I can practice it on my own my own schedule, I don’t have to worry about getting ready, there is no time spent on transportation to or from, no worry about parking or transportation costs, no membership or drop-in fees, I can control the climate, and I don’t have to worry about germs or other people’s body odor (sorry to be so blunt!). And if those reasons were not enough, I can decide exactly what yoga routine I’d like to do based on my needs at the time.

Yogalosophy

One yoga hybrid DVD I really like and have been practicing regularly is Yogalosophy with instructor Mandy Ingber.

yogalosophy-even-bryter-5

Inbger is known for her A-list of celebrity clients including Jennifer Aniston, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Lawrence, Ricki Lake, and Brooke Shields. I’m not necessarily impressed by celebrities, but since these people have a world of resources to choose from, Continue reading →

Trigger Point Therapy Workbook review

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In my previous post I reviewed the Theracane. I told the story of how I used it to cure 15 years of chronic neck pain by applying trigger point therapy. I learned how to do this from The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies. It describes in detail everything you need to know to treat your specific condition. I definitely wouldn’t have figured out how to treat my pain without this book.

Trigger Point Therapy Workbook

Trigger points are knots in your muscles that can cause pain in other parts of your body. Sometimes the pain is far from the trigger point. That’s called “referred pain”.

The best way to treat trigger points is with direct massage. The Theracane allows you to locate and work on your trigger points yourself. Massage techniques vary a lot for different Continue reading →

The Theracane – How I ended 15 years of chronic pain

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I suffered from chronic neck pain for 15 years. I tried everything, including physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, and going to a chiropractor. I bought therapeutic pillows and even a new memory foam bed. Eventually I resigned to living with my pain, and thought I’d be rushing to the ibuprofen bottle first thing every morning for the rest of my life. At the end of a physical therapy session one day, my therapist had an idea. She showed me a Theracane and told me to buy one online. I literally haven’t been to physical therapy since!

the theracane

I followed my physical therapist’s advice and ordered a Theracane, which allowed me to perform “trigger point therapy” on myself. To learn how I also bought “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook” by Clair Davies (Update: I’ve reviewed the book here). The key to how trigger point therapy works is the concept of “referred pain”.

Trigger points are basically knots in a muscle. What most people don’t realize is that these knots can cause pain in  Continue reading →

Yoga for Back Pain Relief

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I have a lower back injury that creeps up on me now and then.  That’s actually one of the reasons I started to practice yoga more seriously. So, I have a particular interest in yoga for back pain relief and core strengthening.

Yoga for Back Pain Online Videos

When I began focusing on yoga for back pain specifically, I found some YouTube videos to get me started. One short practice I liked was Esther Ekhart’s “Hatha Yoga Routine for Lower Back”:

It’s about nine minutes long and is low impact, instructed with live cuing (as opposed to voiceover). The instructor explains Continue reading →

10 minute yoga class video review

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This is literally my second time ever doing yoga, so I wanted a short workout. I found a 10 minute yoga class on YouTube that featured a “Sun Salutation”. I thought it would be fun to try. It was also my first chance to use my new yoga mat!  I love the mat and will review it in a future post.

This video was made by the same studio whose video I watched the first time I did yoga. It’s the same instructor, but with a different model. Like the other video, Continue reading →

Yoga Cat Mat: My New Favorite Yoga Accessory

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Today I came across something which is currently my new favorite yoga accessory: The Yoga Cat Mat! It’s a mat and toy made especially for yoga cats, from the yoga curious to the full on feline yoga gurus.

yoga cat guru

I can totally relate to how the Yoga Cat Mat’s creator, Paige Hodges, likely came up with the idea. On the “About” page Hodges explains, “In order to accommodate the felines and make room for myself on the mat I’’ve learned to modify poses in ways that would make my yoga teachers cringe in horror”. In addition to getting a huge kick out of this, I was also relieved to discover that I’m not the only one that has to move my asanas to make way for the whiskered warrior poses.

Not only do my cats have the need to coach me when I’m in the middle of my yoga practice, Continue reading →

“Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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I just finished the book “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Yes, that is the correct spelling. Yes, it’s impossible to pronounce!). Wow, what an amazing book. It’s a challenging read, but incredibly rewarding. Pretty much all 240 pages are packed with really profound insights on how to be happy. I wish someone would write “Flow For Dummies”!

"Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Flow occurs when you’re doing an activity where the challenge matches your skill. When that happens the focus required absorbs you completely. When you’re playing tennis and you’re totally involved in the game, that’s a flow activity. You forget everything else but the game. That’s flow.

Yoga is arguably one of the best flow activities, and the book has a section specifically on flow and yoga. But almost anything can be a flow activity, from sports to music to reading.  If it’s something you enjoy focusing on, it can be a flow activity.

Flow makes you happy

In spite of all the wonders of modern technology, humans aren’t any happier now than they have been throughout history. We are healthier and live longer, but we aren’t happier. So what can we do about it? Csikszentmihalyi shows that how often Continue reading →

Yoga wear shorts and bra review

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I’m shopping for some new yoga wear shorts and a bra. Specifically, I’d like some comfy yoga shorts and a couple of sports bras that can be worn on their own without another top. I’d like the sports bras to be supportive and comfortable enough to be worn also as sleeping bras.

A few years ago I bought some very inexpensive spaghetti strap sports bras from one of those close-out discount stores. I think it was something like $5 for a three pack. They were 96% cotton and 4% spandex and 100% comfortable. Actually, I still wear them and they’re still very comfortable but no longer as supportive as they once were now that I’ve worn and washed them about a million times. I know it’s unlikely that I will get the same deal I got that day, but I have searched for replacements and I think they must have been discontinued as I cannot find them. That’s probably why they were such a good deal!

yoga wear shorts

So, for the past several months I’ve been trying to find something similar to these tried and true bras. I still want something that is mostly cotton with a tiny bit of spandex or lycra. I came across these Hanes Stretch Cotton Low Impact Sports bras.  Although they were not spaghetti strap, the style was decent and they came in a two pack for under $10. Since it was free shipping and free return shipping, Continue reading →