[PhillyGirl2012]

Exhale...does yoga and Pilates do the same thing as far as opening up and helping with circulation?

Sidebar....its said that Madonna only does yoga. Do you think she got that super muscular body from yoga?

[novangel]

Ate 2 bowls of homemade beef stew and now I'm laid up on the couch watching Tthe First 48. It's not looking promising for Jillian tonight.

Uh....see you guys tomorrow. :/

[Exhale15]

Hi Philly, both a yoga and Pilates practice will help with opening up and circulation. Yoga more so, me thinks. Think of Sun Salutations (A & B); there is a lot of movement, flexion and extension of the spine, and in rotated postures rotation of the spine. Restorative practice encourages opening in a static manner. In Pilates the emphasis is keeping the core tight while maintaining length in the spine and joints - depending on the movements being done.

I read that Madonna was pretty into Astanga yoga for a while - that's a practice that can result in pretty impressive physicality. But I think there's more than yoga there...and a lot of times when I've read about trainers they list Madonna as one of their clients...

Hi angel, that sounds very comfy-cozy

[PhillyGirl2012]

Exhale, thanks for the explanation. If someone like me, who is VERY inflexible, what practice would I start with. Or should I just start with general stretching?

Novangel, that beef stew sounds delish!

[Exhale15]

Good morning all, what a gorgeous morning.

Philly, I think yoga is more fun...and if you do a flow series like sun salutations, you get in some breathing work (cardio) and strength.

David Swenson's has a 'Primary Series' dvd, which I recommend because he's a great teacher who includes modifications. Although he can do all sorts of fabulous yoga poses, he is totally non-intimidating and really nice. I was looking for excerpts on youtube so you can check it out, but they don't seem to be there anymore

Sadie Nardini is another cool teacher to check out; she has a series of 'yoga for the inflexible', although I haven't checked it out.....

The most important thing is to not go beyond your level of flexibility - because you really don't have to. Even if your forward bend brings you to knee-level - keep your knees soft and breath and you're doing great.

Have a great day everyone.....

Addition: I'm looking into dumping cable for online TV and I found lots of yoga on Hulu, although it seems you need a subscription to Hulu+ for the full programs, you can see snippits withoug $$$

[TheBunneh]

I got though my hour in the garden yesterday but I underestimated how much time it would take me. I did get the remaining sod dug up but didn't make it to tilling. It was gloomy and chilly though, and I think that slowed me down.

I would garden more today but... we have SNOW!! It is snowing right now as I type this. Uhg.

I'm going to go light with exercise today. I'm planning to do one of Tamilee Webb's Tight on Time workouts and Chalean Extreme Recharge this morning.

Happy Friday!

[Exhale15]

Snow ?!, Bunneh, I cannot imagine that as I look out my window. We've got clear blue sunny skies. Happy Friday you too

[TheBunneh]

Yes. The ground is covered and it's still falling!

Although, when my husband and I first moved here we flew out in June to look for apartments. We woke up the next morning to look out our motel window and saw several inches of snow! In the middle of June!

[PhillyGirl2012]

Oh wow...snow in April? In philly there was a freak ice storm a few years ago in march which threw us for a loop.

Exhale, I too am investigating dumping cable. I really recommend a roku internet box which gives you all kinds of content. I have the xs models which allow you to connect a usb drive. I've put all my workouts and movies on my computer so I just copy the mp4 files that I want to watch to a usb drive and connect to the roku. I can stream from my computer too, but with the usb it doesn't use my bandwidth. But, if you don't care about an additional connection, the lower priced models may suit most people's needs. Using roku is where I learned about liveexercise and gaim has a paid station on there too. We tend to watch a lot of old shows that we can watch through netflix. Newer stuff I can watch on hulu+. I'm an amazon prime member too, but newer stuff requires a subscription or pay per show. Amazon video on demand does have lots of stuff prime members can stream for free too.

There's also an app that I bought called playon which gives you additional content. Playon runs on your computer as a server. Don't worry, its low level and doesn't bog down the computer. Playon gives you access to shows that have already aired. For instance I got to check out the show Heavy on A&E. There's a developer community that work to add channels to playon so its always being updated. I love both of these things....roku internet box and playon app.

I also have the logitech revue google tv that I got for cheap but its collecting dust. I'll probably give that away to somebody that needs it. It gives content, but stations have blocked access because they were mad at google for not getting permission first. There are workarounds, but roku is more user friendly. Whew...that's a lot to read.

I have off today and woke up SUPER late. Did you ever sleep so long that your body ached after you got up? Well, that was me today. I have workout 4 to do later and since I'm not pressed to go anywhere I plan to do cardio too.

[PhillyGirl2012]

Wow...that's some crazy flexibility and strength!

[PhillyGirl2012]

So in looking for yoga videos on youtube I did not know that there relaxation scenery waterfalls and rain sounds were on there. I LOVE youtube!

[Exhale15]

Yeah, he's really good.

So I am excited....returned the cable box today. I was sitting here watching something dumb and thought...oh common, let's do this already. And something nice happened at the cable center - I ran into a neighbor of mine, who told me I looked so nice and asked what I did with my face (motioning around the eyes and cheek bones). I told her I just slathered on some make-up and tried to think of what I did differently. Well, I think what she was seeing - since I was lazy with the make-up today - was the weight loss - or, let's say healthier lifestyle - The 'puff' around the eyes and cheeks is gone. Hurray.

I will definitely check out the Roku box. - You are really good with this stuff Philly...thanks for all the info!

I was lazy this morning and missed Zumba - which turned out to be a good thing because I had Pilates class with a different teacher who conducts a really quick 'gym' like class. I looked up at the clock and we were 20 minutes into it and I thought ...but before I knew it we were finishing up and after a glass of iced water I was good as new

So there's progress in April.....

Have a wonderful Easter/Passover/Weekend everyone

[PhillyGirl2012]

What a cool story about the neighbor. We are always our greatest critic so its nice when other people take notice.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a tech head. Especially when it saves me money. I dropped my phone service and went with a voip service. Best money spent on the device and saving money monthly on my phone service.

Well tonight I did two workouts. You would think with my day off that I would've spread them out....NOT! Before I knew it it was 7pm and I was major relax mood complete with yawning. I forced myself off of the couch and into my workout clothes and got it done. I did a cardio workout and my scheduled strength workout. I was rewarded with a major calorie burn form my heart rate monitor. I'm fried now!

Off to find dinner.

[novangel]

Alright, got Jillian done. I'm not sure about tomorrow yet, it depends what's going on. I usually skip Saturdays but I prefer not to this week since I missed last night. Sunday for sure.

Ok, my love handles are really getting on my nerves! Go away!!!

[novangel]

Oh we're past 500 posts, gonna get locked soon. Time for a new thread.

I'll do the honors.