Being Aware in the Moment

Time – it’s always going by too fast or too slow, there is never enough of it or there is too much. In a world where we are bombarded with messages that we need to do more with less, including time, is it possible that we should be doing less to do more?

Increased productivity is one of the many advantages that a Mindful Awareness or Meditation practice can provide. It seems counterintuitive but in the two months that I have dedicated myself to learning more about the practice, I have experienced an increase in focus and sense of calm which has led to me getting through my to-do list faster and more effectively. Tasks that might have seemed daunting before are now preceded with a  deep breath, recognition of any anxiety around the task and the ability to just get it done without procrastination.

I can’t say that meditation has been an easy thing for me to take on. My original belief was that it was something that you had to do sitting on the floor cross-legged dressed in a organic cotton tunic chanting OM while somehow maintaining complete and utter silence. I’m a type A personality, I knew there was no way that I was capable of silencing the continuous stream of thoughts and ideas that stream through my head not to mention that tunics are just not my thing.  Then I came across MARC, the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA (www.marc.ucla.edu) where cutting edge research is being done on the positive effects of slowing down and listening to your body. They offer a class on Mindful Awareness Practice for daily living online and I decided that I would give it a try. Now in my sixth week of class I can say that it has helped me achieve calm and an increase in productivity that I didn’t expect.

In the following weeks, we will be diving deeper into different kinds of meditation and the powerful effects that it can have in your life. Whether you are a teacher, account manager or CEO, mediation can bring balance to your life through only a few minutes a day. Stay tuned in for more….

By Ruth Smith

The Best 13 Outdoor Workouts for Socializing in the Sun

When the weather outside is delightful, it can be quite frightful to be stuck inside, whether it’s the office or gym. Turn your lunch break into a Frisbee tourney with coworkers, or forgo the gym for a bike ride along the beach. Whatever your activity of choice, it’s great for your body and mind—fitness and fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive!

1. Practice Your Serve: Grab a pal for a game of tennis.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 544

Bonus Benefit: Svelte, sexy arms, shoulders, and back muscles

10 new ways to exercise with your pet

2. Spike Your Fat Burn: Play beach volleyball with the family.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 544
Bonus Benefit: Every serve and spike helps tone your arms, abs, legs, and chest.

3. Sneak in Freestyle Fitness: Swim laps while the kids splash each other.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 476
Bonus Benefit: Talk about a total-body workout! Swimming strengthens your chest, back, arms, abs, legs, and shoulders.

12 core exercises to trim your waistline

4. Pedal off the Pounds: Go for a bike ride.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 476
Bonus Benefit: Power up each hill to help tighten and tone your legs, hips, and butt.

5. Batter Up!: Join the office softball game.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 340
Bonus Benefit: You don’t have to be on the winning team to still work your chest, arms, legs, abs, shoulders, and back.

Walking boot camp! Drop 2 sizes fast

6. Hit the Trails: Take a hike in the woods.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 442
Bonus Benefit: You’ll build strong, lovely legs as you soak up nature’s beauty.

7. Float Your Boat: Paddle off on a canoeing excursion.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 340
Bonus Benefit: The resistance of paddling through water helps eliminate arm flab and strengthen your back.

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8. Get Tee’d Off: Play golf (and carry your own clubs!).

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 306
Bonus Benefit: With each swing, you work your arms, abs, back, and shoulders.

9. Dig In, Get Dirty: Finally catch up on your gardening.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 306

Bonus Benefit: All the bending and twisting required to plant and weed works your core from every angle.

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10. Saddle Up!: Go horseback riding.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 272
Bonus Benefit: Gripping the saddle gives your inner thighs and butt an incredible workout.

11. Window Shop: Stroll around town.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 238
Bonus Benefit: It may not feel like exercise, but walking around the mall or your neighborhood tones your calves and works your glutes. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes!

Walk off 5x more belly fat

12. Become a Disc Diva: Throw a Frisbee.

Calories Blasted Per Hour: 204
Bonus Benefit: Tossing the Frisbee gives your chest, arms, shoulders, abs, and legs a great workout.

13. Bring Out Your Inner Explorer: Learn to sail.
Calories Blasted Per Hour: 204
Bonus Benefit: Sailing works your sea legs–and arms, shoulders, and abs.

*Calorie burn calculations based on a 150-pound person

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

List from shine.yahoo.com

Happy 4th! Now Take a Hike.

On the trail in Topanga Canyon, a 5 mile loop that affords spectacular views of the coast and the city.

We’re all looking forward to a holiday weekend of classic 4th of July fun: BBQs, beaches, fireworks, and most importantly, much deserved time to spend with your family and friends. This year, instead of lounging around with your loved ones, consider taking a hike to explore LA, enjoy fresh air, and exercise in a fun, social environment.

Last weekend, I chose a new hike (had never been to Topanga Canyon!) to try using This Hiking Trail, a great in-depth resource for finding complete information on countless hikes in California by searching with your zipcode and enables virtual exploring with an interactive map.  It includes tips on hike length, elevation, driving directions, views, waterfalls, dog friendly, and links to more information. You’ll be surprised at how many hiking trails are right in your backyard

For a quick pick LA hike, check out the LA Times’ list of favorite Los Angeles Hiking Trails. Short and sweet, this article covers the most popular hikes around, with links to more information.

Finally, if you want a Yelp-version of a hiking guide, LocalHikes.com includes all the essential trail information, as well as detailed descriptions and hiker reviews.

Happy holiday weekend; enjoy your much deserved break!

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

How to Stretch at Work Video and Steps

Sometimes we have a few extra minutes to kill in the workday, but not necessarily enough time to hit the gym. So instead of twiddling your thumbs or Twittering away, check out these easy, quick stretches to keep your limbs loose, minimize stress and keep energy up throughout the day. And, they can all be done from your office chair, so don’t worry about weird stares from coworkers. That’s probably for something else.

How to Stretch at Work Video and Steps

(Video from realsimple.com)

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

Snack Upgrade: Chips & Salsa

¡Olé! It’s World Cup soccer time, which means that we may be sitting on the couch watching professionals play soccer more than running around ourselves. While the best option is to get out there and kick a ball around with your kids or go for a run with friends, you can also upgrade your sofa snack options from normal to nutritious during this Happy Hour…and a half.

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

Just Dance!

If you were always on the dance floor in college or your guilty pleasure is SYTYCD, then it’s time to put one foot in front of the other and get to a dance class. If only for the sake of telling your co-workers you’re headed out to work on your Krumping.

You can just google “dance” and your zip code and we guarantee you will find a hip hop, salsa, belly dancing, hula, samba, dance-cardio or burlesque class near you. That is just to name a few! In our research we found a lot of classes for $15.

Swerve, a dance and fitness studio on West 3rd Street specializes in “Yoga Booty Ballet”, my favorite thing about this class was that you didn’t have to do a routine with half the class watching you! A relief from some of the horrors of childhood ballet classes.

Your Neighborhood Studio just opened up a new space in Culver City. They offer many different styles of dance and have multiple classes every evening, a great option for after work. I am planning on starting the Tango series in February and now that I’ve blogged about it I can’t make any excuses! I hope some of you will join me!

Yogaglo – Online Yoga & Why We Love It

We came up with 12 reasons why we love Yogaglo and then thought “why not put them into the lyrics of the 12 Days of Christmas?!”… and then we tried, and that was rather difficult. So here is our list of 12 reasons for loving Yogaglo:

http://www.yogaglo.com Yogaglo:

1. The online yoga videos

2. Videos are in HD, much nicer to watch than a youtube video

3. You can select a class based on duration, i.e. 10 min, 20 min, 60 min, etc.

4. You can select a class based on style, i.e. Basics, Anusara, Vinyasa Flow, etc.

5. You can select a class based on skill level

6. You can select a class based on a particular emphasis, hip opener, meditation, backbends, etc.

7. Or, take a class in person! They have a studio in Santa Monica

8. It’s affordable, $18 per month for an online membership and FREE studio classes

9. Easy access to yoga when you travel

10. Yoga DVD’s can get boring, Yogaglo offers a lot of variety

11. You can try a new style of yoga in the comfort of your home, without anyone watching

12. You skip the traffic and  frustration of getting to the yoga class

Ok, one more

13. They have a FREE trial offer, so you can try it  for yourself!

Get Out There And Practice Yoga

Peter Wolff, Los Angeles based yoga instructor, is guest blogging for us this month as we explore yoga throughout LA.

Perhaps it’s word of mouth recommendation, or maybe it’s the numerous studies that have shown the wellness benefits of yoga, but no matter how it happened, yoga is mainstream. So you’ve made the decision, “I’m getting myself to a yoga class.” Now the next step is to find out where to learn and practice.

I’m an advocate of plugging into the resources that are closest to you. Finding a teacher that you like is important, and so is finding a teacher close to home or work. Staying “in the neighborhood” is good for the planet and reduces your stress from driving, especially if you are an urban dweller.

Thankfully, all the research can be done at yogamates.com, a comprehensive online resource for the yoga community. Click on “Studio” and then the “FIND” link to do a radius search for studios around your zip code. By the way, the site and its founder, Christopher Miglino, recently made the Ultimate Wellness Game Changer list in the Huffington Post.

Peter teaches on-site hatha yoga classes for businesses, as well as customized private instruction, specializing in therapeutic yoga. To schedule a yoga session for your office contact him at peter@yogasounds.net, or 323.939.0322. www.yogasounds.net

I (heart) Anusara Yoga – by Peter Wolff

Peter Wolff, Los Angeles based yoga instructor, is guest blogging for us this month as we explore yoga throughout LA.

Peter Wolff

About a year and a half ago I spent some time in Varanasi, India. I was visiting Babaji’s ashram on the holy day of Shivaratri, sitting at his feet with a few others, and I think he sensed that my future was uncertain once I returned to California the following month. He offered a blessing to me, which led me into contemplation for the rest of the day. Back in my guest house, alone, I felt as if I were in a state of grace, and I asked “What is my work?” Many affirming answers began flowing through me, but the one that kept repeating was “be in my heart”.

Although I discovered Anusara yoga a couple of years before traveling to India, the message is the same. Of all the styles of hatha yoga that have become popular in the US, I find Anusara yoga to be distinctly focused on heart opening. This is no accident. Anusara founder John Friend says, “The poses in Anusara Yoga are considered to be ‘heart-oriented’, and are expressed from the ‘inside out’. There is an emphasis on remembering the spiritual purpose of hatha yoga, which includes reconnecting with our innate goodness, power, beauty, and expressing ourselves from that divine place.”

What I find beautiful about Anusara is that it offers everything we could possibly want from a physically challenging practice, safely building strength and endurance in the body, as well as opening the practitioner to more. After an hour and half class one can come away with more freedom, connection, expression and an appreciation for the diversity of life.

There are several Anusara yoga studios around Los Angeles, including City Yoga in West Hollywood, Still Yoga and Urth Yoga in Silverlake. Many other studios offer Anusara classes, including Mission Street Yoga in South Pasadena and Black Dog Yoga in Sherman Oaks.

Peter teaches on-site hatha yoga classes for businesses, as well as customized private instruction, specializing in therapeutic yoga. To schedule a yoga session for your office contact him at peter@yogasounds.net, or 323.939.0322. www.yogasounds.net

Iyengar Yoga

Sri BKS Iyengar, Pune, India

This month we will be featuring different types of yoga and classes around LA. One of my favorite types of yoga is Iyengar. Several years ago I injured my neck and back in a car accident – which is all fine now thanks to the amazing hands of Jean in Boca Raton – but I found that doing some of the faster pace yoga tended to aggravate those old injuries. As it turns out, it’s not the yoga that is the problem, it was that I didn’t know the proper alignment for the poses. Iyengar focuses on each pose maybe doing only 5 or 6 in a class. The teachers really teach you about the poses and how all parts of your body should be interacting…your ring finger actually plays a role in downard facing dog! In addition to being an excellent way to relieve the tension that locks in the body, Iyengar is a great “how-to” of yoga.

There are classes in studios throughout LA. The Iyengar Yoga Institute of Los Angeles, which is 100% Iyengar Yoga, is located on La Cienega (between the 10 and Pico), they have many classes and offer 2 Weeks of Unlimited Iyengar Yoga for $27 for new students!

Check out these images of people doing Triangle Pose all over the world!