Yoga / Health Related Posts Archives - Page 2 of 2

What is Yoga?

February 2, 2012October 26, 2016 bagmin 2017

Have you always wondered what yoga is? Do you find yourself sitting in a lotus position for hours? Yoga 4 Love exists to bring yoga to you! We are here to introduce yoga to people like you and me. Yoga is a form of connecting the mind…body…spirit with our breath through a series of poses called asanas.

At Yoga 4 Love we teach Vinyasa style yoga, which is a branch of Hatha yoga. Vinyasa Flow Yoga is where the class flows at a pace fluid with your breath. Yoga is like a moving meditation, creating awareness and focusing on conscious relaxation.

Just as people and experiences are vastly different, yoga is significant to everyone in a personal and unique way. To simply breathe, feel and let go for a moment, and learning to do so, …is the beauty of yoga.

No need to have tried Yoga before! Come as you are! Find Bliss through yoga instantly! Taking action no matter what level you’re at will give you countless benefits. Yoga 4 Love is for any BODY! Yoga Do’s and Dont’s

No previous yoga experience necessary!
All classes are instructor- customized for your body type and ability!

Yoga Guidelines, Terms and FAQ’s

These are terms that are listed most frequently used, and their basic meanings:

Asana- Poses, postures, positions used in the practice of Yoga

Hatha Yoga– This is an ancient practice of yoga and one of the most popular utilizing asana, pranayama , meditation and Savasana to achieve better health, wellness and instill an inner calm or focus.

Heated Yoga– Yoga practiced in a warm room, temperature 82 – 89 degrees, to get the muscles ready for movement.

Hot Yoga- Yoga practiced in a room body temperature up to 98 degrees to detox the body, focus the mind and clarify the cardiovascular system. Some practices add 50% humidity, we do not. (In Texas it is already very humid!) We usually start with heated yoga then let the temperature rise as our class builds in energy. Allow several classes to acclimate the body to the heat, drink plenty of water, and rest when needed.

Om- The supreme and most sacred syllable, consisting in Sanskrit of the three sounds (a), (u), and (m), representing various fundamental triads and believed to be the spoken essence of the universe. It is uttered as a mantra and in affirmations and blessings. [Sanskrit om, aum.] Source: Answers.com

Reiki- Rei: Universal/ Ki: energy– a healing therapy focusing on the body’s basic energies, guided by a certified and attuned Reiki Practitioner or Reiki Master. Reiki utilizes gentle hand positions and relaxation with guided imagery. The recipient is safe, protected and loved as blockages in their energy or physical body are released. At the end of a session most feel both energized and relaxed. Lisa has been practicing this healing art for over a decade.

Pranayama- breath work and breath awareness; connection of mind/ body.

Savasana- final relaxation

Thai Yoga Bodywork- Known as ‘the lazy man’s yoga’,as the practitioner moves the recipient in a full range motion. A type of massage in Thai style that involves stretching and deep massage. This form of bodywork is usually performed on the floor, and the client wears comfortable clothes that allow for movement. No oils are used in Thai massage. It is known in Thailand as “nuat phaen boran”. From Wikipedia

Vinyasa Flow- A branch of Hatha Yoga, breath awareness yoga. This yoga is Breath Synchronized Movement, where each inhale and exhale has an associated movement and the space between movements is focused.

Yoga Practice– The art and science of moving through asanas and breathing techniques to achieve calmness of mind, balance of body and connectin to spirit. The styles and intensity is varied wide and far, we at Yoga 4 Love mainly practice Vinyasa Yoga.

My 90 Day Detox Day 1 & 2~ where is my natural energy???

January 31, 2012October 26, 2016

I’ve been now working with 2-3 people on their Lifecoaching sessions and also have a group going called 90 Days To Feeling Fit at my studio where myself and a chiropractor created a plan using nutritionals and a meal plan. We meet every Sunday and have 11 people. Last week we took a field trip to the grocery store and taught them how to shop for whole foods and read labels. We had a blast.

This week I gave them homework on how to create affirmations and we made vision boards! Here’s a picture of the group and my good friend Allison with Eeva our little Feeling Fit Helper.

I’m doing the detox with my hubby Richard, and the group.
It entails:
(week 1, last week, but Rich and I started 100% Monday 1/30/12)
No caffeine
No refined sugar
No soy except soy isolate
No dairy
No gluten
Daily meals for us are all vegetation, sometines fish and eggs. I am not giving up fruit or soy, as I need to keep my caloric intake way up because I’m a yoga rock star, as you know. =-)

The plan allows for meat though, and so some may choose to eat organic chicken or organic grass fed beef or bison. Daily we drink a Detox Herbal Tea. I recommend Arbonne or Traditional Medicinals. We already eat mostly this way anyhow. But not the non dairy gluten free part. Also, we are increasing our vegan protein by utilizing protein shakes. I recommend Juice Plus or Arbonne. They both have chocolate and vanilla. It’s mixed into rice, almond or coconut milk or water. No fruit at first to reduce the sugars. Later we can make smoothies and such .
Then week 2 Richard joined me and I began to be really strict and adhere to it all the way. On week 2 we all begin to also add in a proprietary blend of herbs by Arbonne called the 7 Day Detox. It’s 7/ 2 oz bottles you mix daily into 32 oz of water.

Day 1
So I’m thinking ‘I got this, no problem’ yesterday and started off with little sleep since my daughter came into my bed and is a super heater.
I awoke, did my affirmations and meditation, at 7:40 am cooked the three of us (Aspen already got on the bus) all organic egg omlettes from our chickens with sautéed onions, black beans and organic salsa.
I had a totally booked day beginning with a meeting about our Reiki Training for this weekend, then taught my a class at 10. I finished with my clients and headed to Dallas for a meeting for The DFW Free Day of Yoga. I are some hummus and GF Mary’s Gone Crackers then had a meeting with an art gallery owner who FaceBooked me about yoga at her gallery. She’s from Israel and really lovely. I was super hungry and a bit dizzy. I had an appointment with Apple but cancelled and drove back. I stopped at Ann’s Health Food and totally stocked up on GF dairy free groceries. $150 later I rushed home to see my daughter practice her hula hoop routine with a friend who’s teaching her for the talent show. I unloaded the groceries and my hubby made me a spinach salad which I slammed with a org. PB rice cake the rushed to the studio. I co taught a fun Hot Vinyasa class then taught my Fluid Power class and came home starving. I finally finished my 32 oz Detox water at 8:15 pm. When i got home Richard surprised all of us with grilled Mahi Mahi, veggies, org baked potato with coconut butter. I finally was full but so so tired. Finished with a RawE O (dehydrated organic raw cookie, über cute and yummy, Rich said uh no thanks).
Checked some emails, put the kids to bed, drank a protein shake and crashed at midnight.

Day 2
I rested well, and started my day slow. Made our detox water, ate a GF bar had some decaf English Breakfast with coconut creamer and saw the family off.
Breakfast:
In the Health Master I made a yummy smoothie~
1/2 block of firm tofu
Blueberries
Banana
Pineapple chunks
Org Raspberries
Arbonne vanilla protein
Coconut milk
Water to thin
3 handfuls org Spinach
Mmm

My dad comes over Tuesday’s to help with our business, The Fish Physician. So after taking and doing some biz I rushed to the studio. The at&t guy was there and my Zumba instructor had everyone all settled into their mats, so nice. The phone guy installed our landline while I taught Hot Beginner Vinyasa 101.
After class I wanted to work on the computer but couldn’t get online. I went across the street to the daycare to see if they could get online and brought my laptop and some flyers. They let me use their Internet and also hand out a flyer to each of her families and booked a hot stone massage!
I then came home, ate GF toast with org scrambled eggs in coconut butter had done detox tea, sat with my daughter went outside and began to feel a but more energetic. My energy is still about 65% of normal.

In the afternoon I taught Twisted Yoga 101. Today was all about intention, focus and intensity. I gave them a long Savasana since they worked so hard, and then came home to hang with the kids and get some rest!

What does Yoga 4 Love do for YOU? See our new video!

January 5, 2012October 26, 2016

I’d like to give you an overview of what we bring to the table.
What does Yoga 4 Love do for YOU?

We offer Yoga, Hot Yoga, Zumba, Toning, Bootcamp, Lifecoachig, Energy Work, and have a lovely Dragonfly Spa.

Check out our link to the video above and let us know what you think!

Kombutcha Tea what is that and WHY would I drink it?

December 1, 2011October 25, 2016

SEE the RECIPE HERE

So I have a new love; it’s rather scary. It is Kombucha tea. I have had many of my heath nut friends tell me about this tea for years however, I never seemed to get around to be on the receiving end of a starter. You see you need a ‘scooby’ to make this tea. It may actually be called a scoby with a long O but I really like scooby and this is my blog so I’ll call it whatever I wish. I’m just in one of those moods. Maybe it’s because Mercury is just coming out of retrograde and I’ve been a tad edgy lately. Anyhow, I digress.

The scooby, yes, this is the momma to the awesome, scary looking ‘why the freak am I going to drink that’ tea. So as fore mentioned I have known about this drink for years. When I was randomly on FaceBook this summer my friend, Sandy, posted, ‘if anyone wants a slippery slimy wad of bacteria please comment’. Then she posted that she could actually hear the crickets chirping at the lack of response. I saw this and posted, ‘yes sign me up!’ and so my relationship was born. We met at Northpark Mall and made the exchange like a drug deal. She handed me this brown paper sack with a glass jar in it. It had several precious scoobys in it and was to be carried in my bag around the mall like I was hiding a big bag if weed. My hand in my purse and all to make sure it wasn’t tipping.
I got home and called two of my crazy yogi and hippie friends. We got together and over several bottles of wine we make our first batch of the precious drink. (it takes a while, ok, don’t judge).
I now know why It’s so expensive in Sprout’s! This baby takes a lot of TLC! The first batch stayed in Teresa’s closet. Every time I came over we’d ooh and aaah over how fuzzy it’s getting and how the scooby was growing. Finally it was done. We were really scared to drink this sh%*. Why the heck were we going to drink this again, you ask?
Well I did some research. (Actually I pulled up a link on my iPhone; cut and pasted it) and here it is.

According to Wikipedia… ‘Kombucha is an effervescent tea-based beverage that is often drunk for its anecdotal health benefits or medicinal purposes. Kombucha is available commercially and can be made at home by fermenting tea using a visible, solid mass of yeast and bacteria which forms the kombutcha culture, often referred to as the “mushroom” or the “mother”.’

The first batch was a bit addicting. You feel a bit daring as you let this nasty fizzy substance pass your parted lips. And then (insert a chorus of angelic voices) wow! It’s the second and third drink that keeps you coming back. Then you’re hooked.

So I’m on another batch, I guess batch 3. Note this was started in the summer, so I am reiterating how long this takes. It’s almost December 2011.

Here is my latest adventure in a photo diary of me and my daughter making Kombucha Thanksgiving weekend.

This is the second batch, after you finish you remove the scoobys and 1/4 cup of the starter tea into a new jar. Then the tea is ready as is or, as you can see we added pineapple, blueberries and grape/ acai juice and to the third Juicy Juice because it was in my fridge and no one was drinking it since its sickly sweet. But makes great Kombucha!

All our babies! Aren’t they cute? Ready for making batch 3!

This is the stuff you’ll need to start a batch.

You’ll also need a bunch of glass jars and a few cut up tees with rubber bands.

So there they are in our coat closet fermenting and brewing away. 2 weeks.
So, anyone want a slimy, round, slippery wad of bacteria to call your own???
Hello?
Bueller? Bueller?
I can actually hear the crickets chirping now.
And incase you were wondering did that little girl really drink her micro tiny cup of fermented tea that tastes somewhere between a yeasty beer and club soda and old fruit juice? HELL no! She’s just a good little actress like her mom.
Peace out.

Lessons in Leading a Healthy and Fit Lifestyle

October 14, 2011October 26, 2016

Most every American desires to be healthy, happy and lead an active lifestyle. Many people lead sedentary lifestyles. Driving, sitting at a desk or spending hours on the computer can take its toll on our bodies. We may intend on increasing our activity level with daily activity, but until that intention takes priority it will not just happen. As Nike says’ JUST DO IT’ and the new part two to that slogan, if you have yet to see it is ‘Every Damn Day’. Really.
Our level of discomfort with our bodies may motivate us to make effort to increase our activity level, if we are not uncomfortable, then it even more reason to get moving. Eventually if we do not move we will get stiff, tight and more prone to accidental injury. Our motivation may be a genetic predisposition to disease, such as arthritis, breast cancer, heart disease or any other life threatening condition. Even if you’re already lead a fairly active lifestyle, this should not be viewed as taking place of regular exercise done with intensity and focus.
Setting this desire to get exercise in to your life is going to require a personal commitment to yourself. Maybe getting up earlier to hit the gym or leaving to take a lunch hour fitness class. Nothing great is achieved unless something is given. Your efforts equal your results. However these little daily efforts begin to mount up and then the results will suddenly begin to flow!
Most importantly, be encouraged to step away from your comfort zone and try something new every day. This will prevent old patterns from taking over and reroute the neurotransmitters in your brain, preventing the onset of many degenerative diseases of the mind. One way to meet all these fundamental physical and mental needs is through a regular yoga practice.
There are many researched benefits of yoga, as it is a 6000 year old practice. To name a few, immediately you will see an increase in attention span and focus. Within the first month you will gain better balance, increase core strength, and learn to achieve mental relaxation without external stimulants. These benefits are increased and multiplied with Hot Yoga, as we have seen with our experience. We heat the studio space to a toasty 95-99 degrees and maintain a high humidity level of 65- 70%. We also add ionization to the air to help the nasal passages and airways become clear. This practice is a great detoxification for both the body and mind. Hot yoga increases the body’s ability to access the muscles and ligaments deeper than in a cool room; the practice increases stamina and endurance translatable to many other areas in life. Strength is gained, bone density increased and the simple pleasure of achieving something great is a wonderful reward.

Stand Up Paddle on Joe Pool Lake

Guide To Healthy Living, Less Stress and More Success in 2011 Lisa Ware, RYT

October 14, 2011October 26, 2016

Sunset yoga at South Padre

1. Get enough rest: 7.5 hours is ideal for most people.
2. Eat foods that are colorful. ‘Eating the Rainbow’ and avoid too many soft foods.
3. Eat foods that you can identify their source; where did the ingredients come from? The closer to the Earth, the better for you as a general rule. Look for and go out of your way to make sustainable choices, do it for your grand children’s children.
4. Drink pure water, half an ounce per pound of body weight daily is recommended. If what you’re drinking isn’t just water, drink 100% juice, organic or non dairy milk, caffeine free and free from artificial color and fake sweeteners. Keep a travel bottle with you at all times. Americans are almost always within 25 feet of a water source and most go around dehydrated every day!
5. Prepare your week in advance. Avoid wasting time and energy running around. Plan major tasks for each role in your life and write them down. Be open to change, as change is the only continuous pattern in our life.
6. Set realistic goals, make lists. If you set your aim high and shoot for the moon you may sometimes miss, yet you will land among the stars!
7. Do something every day to connect to a higher source or a bigger cause, however that connection relates to you most. Whether it translates to giving time or resources for charitable works, setting your intention in prayer, meditation, in nature or sitting in quiet time; make this a daily commitment to yourself.
8. Allocate time for special friends and family. Keeping those relationships nurtured and caring about others makes you feel better and is want really helps us through the hard times. When life is stripped to the basics these are the people that matter most. Demonstrate random acts of kindness.
9. Learn something new! Set things to look forward to in one week, one month, this year etc. Read, study, travel, spend time at the barn or creating artwork… whatever lights you up!
10. Be good to your body. Do a physical activity daily! Sweat, focus, and get your heart rate up, change it up to keep it interesting, but most importantly HAVE FUN doing it!
Yoga is a practical and enjoyable way to attain balance in your body, peace in your mind and focus for your spirit. The physical practice of yoga offers so many variations for everyone’s different needs. Yoga can be very physically active, depending on the style. Our yoga style is called Vinyasa. This means each pose teaches the importance of breathing during practice and is associated with an inhale and an exhale. Learning to breathe may sound automatic, but not breathing fully is a stress reaction and can be a symptom, or even a cause, of many diseases. After learning techniques on your yoga mat, in class, you will develop new skills to utilize in real life. You may quickly experience better awareness, less reaction and more pro-action; plus getting more oxygen is always a lovely benefit.
Healthy living and doing yoga go hand in hand. As we grow and practice in yoga, we develop our character and learn to take that very important time to disconnect from stimulus, technology and the constant bombardment of our senses. This is called OVERSTIMULATION; we can learn to live in peace in a chaotic world. We instead find a moment for ourselves, away from our regular routine, for just a simple hour on our yoga mats. As we push ourselves physically in class, we also take what we learn and translate that to pushing through any hard situation in life. We then in turn help nurture our relationships with others through loving kindness. Yoga ultimately helps us respond with love by using our practice as a mirror. We see our self, and develop discipline; this yoga is about developing character, learning to find stillness, getting stronger, more balanced and, of course, more flexible, in both body and mind.
By each of us committing to have a positive outlook and by utilizing these learned skills, we will be contributing our small part to making this community, and ultimately our planet, a better place to live!

Lisa Ware is the founder of Yoga4Love, LLC and Owner of Dynamic Yoga and Fitness Studio in Red Oak, where they offer HOT Yoga, Zumba, Hip Hop class, Massage Therapy and other services. She has practiced yoga for longer than she can remember. She has been teaching since 2008 in our area and around the state of Texas. She currently resides in Ovilla with her husband of 19 years, her 2 children and many pets.