Sculpt and strengthen: glutes

Sad but true fact: you cannot spot-reduce areas of the body. That's right, no amount of crunches will turn a beer gut into a Beckham belly. However, you CAN strengthen areas of the body with targeted training - improving your posture and lean muscle mass and OVERALL strength and energy-burning potential. Your glutes are one of the major muscle groups (some days, more major than others) and working them to fatigue will have your body on fuel-burning momentum for hours afterwards. Some ideas from Women's Health magazine below. For the link to the article and print-out PDF, visit my Facebook page!

Women's Health butt blaster

Mmmm Miso!

Miso Soup

Miso is a fermented soy product that is not only super tasty, but also provides a wealth of health benefits.

Making miso is an art form in Japan. It is made of soybeans and koji, a culture starter made from beneficial molds, yeast and lactic acid bacteria. As long as you choose unpasteruized miso, you will be getting the benefits of live friendly microflora for the health of your inner ecosystem.

There are many types of miso, some made with just soy beans and soy koji (called Hatcho miso, a favorite in Japan) and others made with barley and rice.

No matter which type you choose, this fermented superfood is immune strengthening, high in antioxidants (good for inner AND outer beauty!), aids in digestive system balance, high in protein, vitamin B12, vitamin E, vitamin K and isoflavones.

Check out the asian food section of your supermarket, health food stores or asian grocers!

Recipe for miso salad from 101 Cookbooks:

Miso salad

1 1/2 cups shallots, skinned and thinly sliced
splash of extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of salt

2 tablespoons miso
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard (or a bit of whatever mustard you have around)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey or agave)
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
1/3 cup mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure toasted sesame oil (optional)

1/2 of a medium-large cabbage
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3/4 cup chives, minced
8 ounces extra-firm tofu (see headnotes), room temperature

Stir together the shallots, splash of olive oil and big pinch of salt In a large skillet over medium heat. Stir every few minutes, you want the shallots to slowly brown over about 15 minutes. Let them get dark, dark brown (but not burn). if needed turn down the heat. Remove them from the skillet and onto a paper towel to cool in a single layer. they should crisp up a bit.

Make the dressing by whisking the miso, mustard, and brown sugar together. Now whisk in the rice vinegar and keep whisking until it's smooth. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, and then the sesame oil. Two pinches of fine grain salt. Taste and make any adjustments if needed.

Cut the cabbage into two quarters and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half.

Gently toss the cabbage, shallots, almonds, red onion, chives and tofu in a large mixing/salad bowl. Add a generous drizzle of the miso dressing and toss again - until the dressing is evenly distributed. Add more a bit at a time if needed, until the salad is dressed to your liking.

Serves 3 - 4 as a main dish, 6 - 8 as a side.

Welcome to today

GUEST: iHanuman Yoga Teachers

Guest blog from iHanuman - free yoga videos from yoga teachers of all traditions! Enjoy.



Hanuman yoga videos

Last summer, a friend of one our iHanuman Yoga Teachers' inquired about doing some video work for us. She had just finished her first year of film school and she was anxious to put her training to work. She only had two months of free time to offer us, so we began an idea for a project we had been thinking about for several months. We contacted all of our local studios and offered their teachers the opportunity to film a yoga video clip for our "In the Studio" series. Our goal was simply to highlight the variety of incredible local teachers and studios while creating valuable yoga teachings.

Hanuman pose (the white monkey)

  Most of the videos come from Charlottesville, Virginia, but Saraswati also took the concept on the road to the Outer Banks and even Portland, Oregon. The videos range from the breathing techniques, known as Pranayama, from the Ashtanga Yoga Tradition and the Kundalini Tradition to Yin and Vinyasa yoga sequences that are accessible to most yoga practitioners. We have created a playlist on our Youtube Channel for you to view the current videos. And Saraswati has contacted us again about returning to the project this summer! So we are currently putting together a schedule for recording more including a Yoga sequence in Spanish, some Yoga Philosophy and more asana sequences from new teachers.

Where to start with fitness tools for home and travel

So, it’s icy cold outside. You know you’ll have to stop for petrol too. For four days this week you’re at a conference in Timbuktu in a budget motel with no gym for miles. What to do? Eat fast food and give up on the whole fitness schmitness bizzo? You could. Or you could invest in some smart home/travel fitness tools and make some plans!

Exercise DVDs – ask friends, trainers, research online and watch YouTube videos to decide on the sort of workout you want to do, the personality of the instructor that appeals to you (if you don’t like super-perky, avoid zumba at ALL costs), the length of the workouts and how many options it gives (ie. does it cater to beginners, regular and advanced participants?)

Alternatively, subscribe to an online video service! Some are free, some are minimal cost. Check out iTunes.

I love barre3, Tracey Mallett, Casey Ho’s Blogilates, TeriLeigh’s power yoga podcasts

Hit up your local Target, Kmart, Big W, insert generic brand here...you get the idea.

Wrist support handles

A recent trek down the sports aisle at my local Kmart unearthed fit balls ($12), ab rollers ($10), wrist support handles ($12), yoga mats ($19)...

Talk to a trusted personal trainer and schedule some appointments to go through a program of body-weight exercises you can do when travelling that will maintain lean muscle mass while ensuring your technique is spot-on! Do NOT think that powering out 200 push-ups that are actually belly-flops counts as a workout. Don't think I haven't seen it. Also? 100 sit-ups that are actually more puffing and grunting than real abdominal contractions? Not. On.

Lunge anywhere

Fit ball

Push ups done right

Licorice tea - sweet as.

Licorice Root

The only alternative to coffee that doesn't feel like a poor substitute for me. Licorice root. Super sweet, smells heavenly and supposedly treats adrenal fatigue. As a natural stress-head and over-caffeinator, my poor adrenal system needs all the love and cuddles I can give it!

Health Food Store

It reportedly supports the adrenal system by balancing the level of cortisol (stress hormone) in the body. It's an anti-inflammatory and can also aid in upper respiratory inflammation (asthma, phlegm) and apparently, indigestion and water retention. But hey, what matters is it tastes addictively good. Please be aware that ALL herbs contain properties that may not be suitable for you depending on interaction with existing health conditions or medication. Please do your research to make sure it's safe for you. 1 - 2 cups daily is the suggested dose.
Find licorice tea at your local health shop or try Natural Health Direct.

Sweaty salutations

Bikram Yoga

Back to Breathe...more my pace!

I did my first Bikram Yoga class this morning! Let me get it out in the open early: this is not the yoga for me. I felt extremely uneasy watching participants get red-faced and need to flop into "corpse" pose regularly throughout class. For 85 minutes of the 90 minute class, I desperately wanted it to be over! I can't even say that I see this experience as yoga. This class felt like self-flagellation. I know that it is popular. I know that it has physical and mental benefits for many participants and I respect that. We all ask something different of our practice. I want to feel challenged, but also energised and invigorated, celebrating what my body can do and the feeling of being part of my class. The rapid-fire delivery of instruction was passionless and it most closely resembled the calling of a horserace! "Higher, leg higher. Go deeper, higher, stop. 3,2,1...bang, bang, bang!" So, not for me, but it DID satiate my curiosity. Thankyou to Lily for the opportunity - our next stop is back to Breathe Wellbeing! I also love barrebody.
Have you done Bikram? Does it work for you? Leave a comment!