Sketch of Yoga News: Spring 2011

Start fidgeting. Magic underwear helping to fight sitting too much. Study shows that incorporating movement into the day helps sedentary people fight weight gain from increased calorie consumption. The take away here is, hitting the gym is not enough, make more movement during the day. Revisit Challenge 2 - Be Active [New York Times]

Eating too much sugar! Article is long but pictures is succinct. Revisit Challenge 4 - Consume Less Sugar [New York Times]

Not every one likes how America does yoga. [Telegraph]

Yoga Teaching is becoming a career trend. [Chicago Tribune]

Challenge 8 - Try a New Yoga Style

I just watched an episode of PBS's Scientific American Frontiers about the hippocampus, which plays a huge role in creating memories and linking experiences in the brain. The experiments showed the brain's elevated response to new experiences, which can help individuals store memories and keep the brain sharp. This should encourage all to complete the challenges this week

Challenge: Break your yoga routine to elevate your mental, physical, and emotional response to yoga generally. (This does not give a passport to skip yoga this week!)

Application:

• Try a new yoga style
• Try a new studio, a new environment and yogis can stimulate motivation
• Do yoga at a different time in the day: switch to morning asanas
• Talk to a non-yogi about yoga
• Read a book about yoga or meditation
• Do yoga at home by yourself or with a friend
• Use a yoga video or online source in your office or home
• Meditate for 30 minutes in lieu of physical yoga practice

Challenge 6 - Sleep More

Challenge: Sleep at least 8 hour a night, every night this week. If you really cannot get 8 hours....then at least sleep before midnight.

Application: Do what it takes to maximize your sleep time and encourage drowsiness at the right hour.

• Exercise in the morning or in the early afternoon
• Eat 3-4 hours before bedtime (Optimal dinner time is before the sunsets) 
• Take a shower to cleanse the body of toxins and energies to prep the body for sleep
• Sleep before midnight (Optimal Yogi time is around 10 pm) 
• Practice asanas that relax the body, such as inversions and forward bends, as opposed to standing asanas and back bends that energize the body 
• Practice pranayama or deep breathing before sleeping
• Avoid watching intensely emotional shows or engaging in strenuous activity after dinner. It can disturb deep sleep.

Go Above and Beyond: See statements in parenthesis above. The next two yoga classes will focus on relaxation and soothing asanas to aid in the quest for longer and better quality sleep.

Challenge 4 - Consume Less Sugar

Most grocery stores and fast food products overuse unhealthy ingredients but the culprit focused here  is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It was introduced into our food chain in the 1950s and our food was never the same again. A series of government agricultural subsidies and bad business practices made HFCS a cheap substitute for sugar. There is a debate on the effects of HFCS in foods. HFCS has been associated with obesity, diabetes, and producing addictive characteristics to sugary foods.

I recently went to A&W and Kentucky Fried Chicken, fast food chains, during a road trip and wanted a meal with no simple carbohydrates and sugars. Impossible! Everything was fried, doused with carbs, even grilled chicken was dipped in flour, and added sugar. I ended up eating an A&W Cooney Chili Dog and skipped the bun, even though the Chili had sugar, it wasn't high on the ingredient list. 

Challenge: Drink and eat less sugar.

Application:

• Use Cinnamon, instead of sugar, in coffee
• Drink water instead of fruit juices or soda (you have heard this one before)
• Skip the pastry and go for a piece of fruit or cup of yogurt 
• Switch to beer or gin and tonics from sugary mixed drinks
• Buy fresh bread from a local bakery (less likely to have HFCS) than grocery store brands

Go Above and Beyond: 

• Next time you go grocery shopping, check the ingredients for all your products to find out what has HFCS

Challenge 2 - Be Active

I know that this is a very generic challenge. Duh! Doesn't every person want to do more exercise? Working out for physical fitness is not necessarily the same as living an active lifestyle. People can go to the gym every day but still be inactive the rest of the day. This challenge should be geared towards adding movement to your daily life.

Challenge: Incorporate more activity into the most sedentary and inactive hours of your day.

Apply:

• Do squats (squeeze!) while brushing your teeth or blow drying your hair. Quick and easy way to jump start your metabolism in the morning with no extra time wasted.
• Take the stairs. Make it your policy not to take the escalator or elevator.
• Walk or bike to your next errand. Check online maps. If your  post office, coffee shop, or grocery store is less than .5 miles away, it is walkable, or less than 1.5 miles away, it is bikeable. 
• Get up every hour from your desk to stretch or fill up your water. I switched out my 1 liter water jug to a regular glass to drink water so I had to get up from my desk more often.
• Walk to lunch instead of driving. Visit establishments close to your office and school. It is good for your heart and good for local business.
• If you must watch tv then do push-ups during commercial breaks and stretch during the show. Don't just sit there!

Above and Beyond: Complete 30 minutes to an hour of exercise in the morning, lunch, or evening. You can download podcasts with short workouts. Yoga Today has a free podcast with short lessons, longer lessons you'll have to pay for on their site. Also, I use Running Map to track the distance of my running routes.

Challenge 1 - Eat More Fresh Vegetables

This challenge is based upon medical research and common sense, which tells us that fresh vegetables and fruits are healthier than processed foods.

Challenge: Introduce one fresh vegetable, fruits, or spices into your life this week, regardless where you get vegetables at the local supermarket or farmers' market.

Apply (vitamins and minerals associated):

• Add freshly cut green onions/scallions into noodles and soups (Fiber; Vitamins A, C, K; Calcium)
• Add fresh lemons (currently in season) to water (Vitamin C, slow insulin release)
• Add fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, or garlic to pasta sauces & stir frys, instead of frozen/canned
• Substitute Olive Oil or Macademia Oil for Corn Oil or Vegetable Oil
• Throw fresh berries into cereal or granola
• Substitute spices, such as Cayenne pepper, Oregano, Dill, or Rosemary for cheese/butter on vegetables
• Substitute Cinnamon for sugar in coffee or tea (lower blood glucose)
• Drink Almond Milk instead of Dairy Milk (less growth hormones, more protein and calcium) 

Go above and beyond: A good resource for the Inland Empire is the Inland Empire Community Supported Agriculture provider. The service is a bit pricey and I often have to throw away food when it goes bad. I assume that the storage time for CSA veggies are shorter because they are not sprayed/washed with preserving chemicals. Summer is the best season to try out the service with the one-month trial period because your box will be filled with tomatoes, tomatillos and feijoes. My boxes have expanded my vegetables repertoire and introduced new flavors into my diet.

Make Small Changes for Big Results

Nothing is permenant except change

Diogenes Laertius, Greek Philospher

People's lives are in a state of flux. New Jobs. New Relationships. New Routes. Along the way less healthy habits can be picked up or shedded. Small changes can help with large overall results in our lifesyles, including nutrition, exercise, friendships, spirtual lives, and hobbies. I personally subscribe to this idea and try to make small changes or minute additions every day, week, and year to bolster my quality of life.

Every Monday there will be a weekly challenge. I will post a weekly change or addition to your daily habits to increase strength, improve nutrition, bolster awareness/consciousness, or contribute to happiness.

Try to do this challenge throughout the week then keep it or drop it.

Similar challenges may reappear throughout the posts.