Stuck in a Rut

by Nina

Front Yard in Austin by Nina Zolotow

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get stuck in a rut with my yoga practice. I have a few different sequences that I’ve developed for myself, and I tend to fall back on them again and again. Then I start to get a little bored. So lately I’ve been making a conscious effort to change things up a bit. Of course it would be a lot of work to write a completely new sequence for myself every day. So instead I’ve been focusing on spicing up my typical sequences. It’s kind of like deciding to remodel a room in your house by making just a few changes, such as buying new curtains or throw pillows, rearranging the pictures, or even just by adding a vase of fresh flowers. Sometimes a small change can make everything else look different.

 Here are a few tips for “remodeling” your home practice:

1. Add a new pose to your sequence, one that you never practiced at home before or haven’t practiced in a long time. I’m pretty good about working my way through the various standing poses on a regular basis, but I always forget about Dancer’s pose for some reason. Welcome back, Dancer's pose!

2. Replace a stretch you typically do one way with another pose that stretches the same area. For example, to stretch the fronts of my thighs of my thighs the other day, I tried replacing my Reclined Hero Pose with Frog pose. I hadn’t done that in years!

3. Subtract a pose you always do just to see what happens. Do you always practice Downward-Facing Dog or Triangle pose? What would happen if you skipped them? Would your other poses feel different?

4. Start working on a pose you think you “can’t” do. For example, maybe you think you can’t do arm balances, but even taking the shape of a pose like Crow without lifting your feet off the ground is doing a form of the pose. Maybe you can even lift one foot off for a second or two. Keep it light and playful, and you might find this adds a new element of fun to your practice. 

5. Face down a pose that you dislike. On a day when you feel up to it, try doing that pose that you really dislike (you know which one I mean) just briefly. Whew! Sometimes it can be exhilarating to take on something you’ve been avoiding (kind of like finally cleaning out your closet).

Readers, do you have any other tips for spicing up a sequence? Let us know in the comment section!

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Tips For Breaking Out Of Your Weight Loss Rut

By Adriane Neigh

Losing weight can seem like a struggle if you aren't used to the lifestyle you need to have in order to lose a lot of weight. But the truth is, you can lose a lot of weight if you just commit to doing so. Here are some techniques that will help you get started.

For most dieters, briskly walking can actually be better for you than running, especially if you are more than 50 pounds overweight. When you run as a heavy person, you're causing your joints damage and can damage your heart. By walking quickly, though, you're still burning calories while protecting your body.

To encourage yourself to make healthy snack choices, buy a party platter! A party platter filled with tasty veggies will give you a quick and easy way to snack on something that's good for you. Just be careful of the dip! While vegetables are always diet friendly, some dips are loaded with calories.

People who are out of shape regularly need tricks to stop them from eating too much. An easy trick you can try is to not eat for two hours before bed time. This will stop you from eating a bunch of extra calories when you wouldn't get hungry anyway since you are already sleeping.

Try to avoid losing more than one to two pounds per week unless you are highly overweight. When you lose more than this it normally indicates that you are doing something unsustainable. This will lead to you regaining the weight very quickly after you have stopped losing the weight in the first place.

A tip that may help you lose weight is to invest in a cup measurer. Cup measurers are great, because they allow you to measure out exactly how much food you want to eat. For example, you can measure out a whole cup of milk or only half.

Know your grocery store and the layout. If you are aware of the areas in a particular store where the items you are trying to avoid are displayed, then you can create a game plan on how to get the things you need without walking by the things you want and being tempted to buy them.

Losing weight with these tips is possible. Even more than that, these tips can help you make those beginning changes that will lead to even more changes and dropped weight as time goes on. Just commit to losing the weight and work at it; it will happen for you.

About the Author:

The chains of behavior are typically too small to be felt till they're too sturdy to be broken http://remedioscaserosparaadelgazar.com/remedios-caseros-para-adelgazar-abdomen-espero-que-le-sea-util/