12.31.06

Postpartum Wieght Loss- Eat to Lose Weight!

Posted in Fit by Sara at 3:51 am by ceo

If you want to lose weight Do NOT skip meals!  When you skip a meal your body doesn’t get the fuel it needs to function at it’s best so you will feel low energy and irritability.  Also, the weight you lose by skipping meals will be temporary. Once you lose the weight and start eating meals you skipped, you will put back on weight plus even more!  This happens because your body has been “starved” or “deprived”.   Thus when you resume your regular eating habits you are consuming more calories so your weight will go up.

How To Benefit To Your Health With Tai Chi

Posted in Herb Remedies, health, wellness, tai chi, yoga at 3:21 am by ceo

By Michael Hehn

There are many fitness regimes that incorporate breathing techniques, yoga being one of them. However, while other exercise programs, especially those which involve high impact and strenuous workouts depend on the fitness level of the individual Tai Chi is generally suitable for persons of all fitness levels. Of course the speed and intensity of its routines can be adjusted for fitness levels so as to maximize the benefit to each individual.

Tai Chi Chuan or Tai Chi for short is best known these days for its health benefits but its origin is as a form of martial art. This may be hard to reconcile with the gentle routines and dance like movements followed by its practitioners. It is an “Internal Martial art” - one that concentrates on building inner strength as opposed to demonstration of external brute force.

It operates on 4 levels - Physical, intellectual, spiritual and as a form of combat.

As a physical exercise the movements or forms involve a surprisingly large range of joint rotations and therefore promote flexibility and help improve metabolism, circulation and cardiovascular health.

On an intellectual level it involves relaxation and focus - awareness of your body, its posture, balance and co-ordination. It works on principles of qi (pronounced as chee). Qi assumes the existence of channels of bio energy - it is a life force that governs our being. This is by no means a concept unique to Tai Chi and is equivalent to the Yoga concept of “Prana”.

Proponents of it believe that this life energy is transported throughout the body through 12 main meridians and 8 secondary meridians. As long as qi continues to flow uninterrupted through these invisible channels (meridians) the body remains strong and healthy. However, when passage of the qi is blocked by bad posture, inactivity, injury or other factors that’s when problems set in.

You can see that there’s practical value in learning more about tai chi. Can you think of ways to apply what’s been covered so far?

Breathing techniques are an integral part of this process of distributing qi. Every movement involves collecting storing and distributing energy. Inhaling stores energy while exhaling delivers energy. Breathing is matched with appropriate movements. For instance when hands move apart in an opening movement or you step forward this is accompanied by inhalation and storing of energy while punching or when hands come together this coincides with exhalation and distribution of energy.

It teaches its students to breathe abdominally - to let the breath or qi sink to the “Tan Tien” i.e. the area below the navel. This gives the body a sense of strength and stability.

The spiritual aspect of it is also closely tied in with breathing techniques. A proficient practitioner of Tai Chi will no longer have to consciously control his breathing and match it with the movements of his body. Appropriate breathing will after some practice become second nature -a spiritual experience of communing with nature.

Hard as it may be to imagine, Tai Chi movements were intended as a means of combat and the movements or forms as they are called are geared to dislocate joints and cause internal bleeding in opponents. If Tai Chi were used as a dance routine then the benefits derived from it would be limited. To derive the maximum benefit from Tai Chi it should be approached as a martial art. Thereby deriving the attendant benefits of internal toughness and strength.

Although it is believed it was first practiced in China in the 1820’s recent studies have shown that significant health benefits can still be derived from it. These include better balance and co-ordination (Of special importance to elderly people as this reduces falls and associated injuries), lowering of blood pressure and stress levels, strengthening of muscles and joints and improved cardiovascular health.

Given these benefits and its adaptability to suit many individual circumstances it obviously has much to offer the health conscious individual in the 21st century.

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about these old techniques.

About The Author

Michael Hehn writes articles about various topics.
Find out what he has to say about yoga at Yoga

12.29.06

Katrina says thanks for helping her get back into shape after her pregnancy

Posted in Testimonials at 12:01 am by ceo

“Thank you for the years of motivation to help me get back into shape after my pregnancy with Ellen and during my pregnancy with Robert.” Katrina Saunders

12.28.06

Postpartum Weight Loss- Focus on How Good You Will Feel After You Exercise

Posted in Fit by Sara at 6:27 am by ceo

One way to stay motivated to lose weight is to remind yourself of how good you feel after you exercise.  Exercise produces natural highs called “endorphins” that can improve your mood.  Therefore, the more you exercise the more “addicting” it will be.  Once you get in a routine, it will feel strange NOT to exercise!

12.27.06

Rachel says that Sara’s Total Body Toning “addresses both cardio and toning”

Posted in Testimonials at 4:31 am by ceo

Total body workout in just 30 minutes!, December 25, 2006 Reviewer: Rachel Gershwin from amazon.com - I am not “post-natal” but borrowed this DVD from a friend anyways because it looked like a great workout for someone with limited time. It was! 30 minutes in the comfort of my own home…definitely worked up a sweat and I could feel all the different muscles being worked. Unlike many workouts, this one addresses both cardio AND toning, and focusses on areas like the upper body that a lot of workout videos for women ignore. Great workout, even if you’re not a mom!

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