Yoga Trends- the Good, the Bad & the Buff?

Many who work out strive to be buff... but I'm guessing ing this is not quite what they mean.

There is no debate as to the various health benefits afforded by yoga.  Even in its most basic gym class form, it seems to be the perfect cure-all for our stressed-out, time-challenged society.  Not only is it a highly effective zero-impact overall body work out, but it is a proven calming agent, utilizing, breathing and focus to quiet the practitioner and restore balance on several levels.

Like any great idea that goes viral, even the faithful can tire of a beloved activity; and the world of yoga -- generally practiced as Hatha Yoga in the West -- is seeing an explosion of different flavors, some appearing to be yoga-esque in name only.  From dance to acrobatics and even high wire techniques, the would-be yogini can find just the right fit for her kundalini.  The following are the latest trends, as tracked by Hindustantimes.com:

Anti-gravity yoga - Also called Suspension yoga, it’s the latest yoga fad to take hold in the fitness world. Using a specially designed harness, one can get the low-impact benefits of inversion therapy combined with yoga’s emphasis on strength and flexibility, while performing Cirque du Soleil-inspired poses. 

Yoga with your dog - Fondly referred to as “doga” by its fans, yoga for pups comprises a combination of meditation, massage, and poses, both independent (with dogs and humans posing separately) and partnered (in which owners use their pets as props).

Yogic paddleboarding - This trend of striking a yoga pose on a paddleboard in open water, is a hit in the US. Paddleboarding yogis claim that it works the body’s core in a different way, all while challenging your sense of balance.

Yoga meets spinning - Yoga Spinning was launched in New York by Spinning teacher and yogi Noll Danial. While each class varies, students begin on the bikes, cycling about 30 to 40 minutes, then they dismount for asanas using the bike’s handlebars for modifications.

Bare-it-all yoga - Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, has caught on like wildfire among students who love working up a hardcore sweat. But the truly free-and-easy like to shed their inhibitions — and their clothes — before twisting and bending in a room heated to temperatures of one-hundred-plus degrees Fahrenheit. The naked-yoga movement, founded by Aaron Star, who created a DVD series entitled Hot Nude Yoga, is steadily gaining popularity all over the world. 

Making yoga fun 

Outdoor yoga: Sitting under a tree, or on green grass in a garden makes yoga a lot more soothing. In case you can’t practice yoga outdoor, you can put up a calming scenery or painting on one of your walls, and practice yoga in front of it. 

Aroma and yoga: Practice yoga poses against the backdrop of natural incense. Aroma therapy adds on to the benefits of yoga. It helps reduce pain and anxiety and enhance energy and relaxation. 

Combining yoga and dance: A revolutionary form of yoga uses fluid movements of different yoga poses/asanas against the beats of world music. It helps release stress and relaxes your body.

Just Dance!

(CNN) -- Stretch out your core, cue the music and get ready to follow the beats. Zumba and other dance workouts are debuting on the list of the top 20 predicted fitness trends for 2012. 

Most of us won't ever see ourselves on national tv while performing on Dancing with the Stars, but even from your living room at home you can get in shape, improve your coordination, learn how to dance and workout like no one's watching!  Dance fitness is definitely on the upswing.  And here are some interesting options as posted by Shape Magazine

Glee Club at Crunch Fitness -- Calling all Gleeks! Singing is not optional in Crunch Fitness' Glee-inspired dance class. The dance and vocal adrenaline workout is described as a mix of stylized dancing with hip-hop and Broadway flair. For those that aspire to be the next Rachel Berry or want to move like Mike Chang, this class is for you.  

Michael Jackson-Inspired Dance Class -- Want to thrill your friends with your sweet moves and moonwalk your way to a toned dancer’s body? Try a Michael Jackson dance class. The King-of-Pop-inspired classes are gaining popularity in studios across the country. Broadway Bodies Dance Studio in New York offers Michael Jackson Mondays that teaches the icon’s signature choreography as well as some moves from his days as a Jackson 5. Beat the workout blues with an upbeat MJ course.  

Vegas Stiletto Fitness Class -- Ditch your sneakers and unleash your inner diva in a Vegas Stiletto Fitness class that will make you feel sexy and sweaty. Though this class is based in Las Vegas, there are plenty of other fitness classes around the country that sport heels and teach sexy dance moves. Dancing the night away in heels is killer on every girl’s feet, but after a few session in this class you’ll learn to rock heels like a pro and be ready to last all night on the dance floor.  

Hooping -- If you’re looking for a way to work your core while reliving your childhood playground days, hooping is an excellent workout. Hooping strengthens your core muscles and can even help build cardiovascular endurance. Put your body to motion in a hoop fitness class, where participants swivel their hips and move the hoop through their legs and arms to create a total body workout.  

Wii’s Just Dance or Kinect’s Dance Central -- If you’re too busy to make it to the gym, you can two-step in your living room with Wii’s Just Dance or Kinect’s Dance Central. Both games challenge players to mock the dance moves on the screen and burn some serious calories (just check the "sweat meter," which counts calories burned in Just Dance) in the process. Pick a genre and start grooving right in your living room for an excellent workout that is more fun than work. The best part is it allows for two players! So grab a friend or bond with your kids while battling it out to see who has the best rhythm.

Dance is a fundamental source of joy, fitness and wellness at Siren School.   And that is why we offer more than a dozen getaway and camp experiences that include dance. Through these differing forms of movement you learn something about the rich heritage of a variety of cultures; and instead of doing so in a lecture hall, it's on the dance floor.  Dance is the kind of art form that transcends language, borders and politics.  It's good clean fun with so much variety that there is literally something for everyone, regardless of age, gender or size.  So join the dance revolution.  You'll sweat, you'll smile, you'll be hooked!

Plus what?

An image of women of different shapes and sizes drifted down my Facebook ticker the other day.

Then later, a something or other discussing plus-size women floated by.
Then a thought occurred to me.
'Plus'... as opposed to what?

Does plus mean that which is bigger than the norm?
As a society our bodies are collectively larger than in previous generations.... post Rubenesque generations mind you. And since a 14 is now the average size, it stands to reason that size 14 should not be considered plus!
Rather, I am thinking that 

14 should be... IS the new size 0

From that premise one can deduce that anyone below a size 14 is in actuality an under-size.
That especially holds true for models.
They are to represent the archetype of attractiveness and beauty.
And 14 is the exact size attributed to the grande dame of attractive archetypes in the US.
I of course refer to Marilyn Monroe.

OK, so to make sure I have this right, the reality of things informs us that 14 is the actual 'model' size of the 'average' American woman.  Anything smaller would be considered under-sized.

So as far as I can tell, the bell curve favors the hour-glass... or as I heard quipped when I was a tot... "As long as she has curves, he has lines."

Guilt-Free Gelt Hannukah Cookies

Hanukkah “gelt” refers to small amounts of money given to Jewish children during Hanukkah. Nowadays, exchanging Hanukkah gelt usually means giving chocolate coins wrapped in shiny foil. This tradition began in the 1920′s, when an American candy company called Loft’s produced the first chocolate gelt coins.

If you have been in the holiday candy aisle of any store, you’ve probably seen chocolate gelt—chocolate disks wrapped in foil to look like coins, usually in a mesh bag.  These candies are a fun part of Hanukkah. The word gelt means “money” in the Yiddish language, and at Hanukkah, children traditionally received coins as a gift.

Coins are needed to play dreidel, a game traditionally associated with Hanukkah.  A dreidel is a top with four sides, and each side has a Hebrew letter on it.  Dreidel is a game of chance played with at least two people.  In addition to a dreidel, each player needs 15 coins. To begin, each player puts a coin in the “pot.”  The first player spins, and wins or loses depending on what Hebrew letter shows after the dreidel is spun.

Here is a cheat sheet for what happens when the dreidel is spun: (by jillbcooks)
If Nun appears, nothing happens, and the next player spins the dreidel.
If Gimel appears, the lucky spinner takes the whole pot.
If Hey appears, the spinner takes half of the pot.
If Shin appears, the spinner must add a coin to the pot.
(http://www.bettycrocker.com/community/blogs/viewblog/jillblog/2008/12/16/giant-hanukkah-gelt-cookies)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 grams) butter or pareve margarine, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix margarine and sugar until 
2. smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix flour with baking 
3. powder.  Slowly add flour mixture to dough until just blended. 
4. Divide dough into 2 balls. Do not refrigerate the dough. Flour rolling pin, rolling 
5. surface and cookie cutter. Roll out dough until 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes. 
6. Use a spatula to place cut-out shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet. 
7. Continue rolling and cutting cookies until the dough all the dough is used. 
8. Re-flour surface, rolling pin and cookie cutters as needed. 
9. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned.    

After cookies have baked and cooled to touch, coat lightly with cooking spray, then sprinkle with golden decorating sugar and top with an unwrapped chocolate gelt coin

For the most delicious dreidel you've ever tasted, see our note with the recipe for Hershey's Brownie Dreidel, coming soon to our L'il Mermaids blog

Bootless Camp

The Stressless Solution to Group Fitness Intensives
by Joie de Vivre

Everyone knows the 'drill' .... a brash, bombastic, linguistically colorful instructor barking, nee, shrieking orders at you, demanding you to go frighteningly far beyond your abilities, let alone comfort zone. Often these tactics yield amazing results and get people to 'shape up' and fly right.  But what sort of message does that reinforce? That success is hard won? And that you must suffer, I mean reeeeeeally suffer to achieve it?

For those of us whose lives seem difficult, unkind and overwhelming enough, the good news is... there is another way.  Tough love is not the only kind of love.  There is also the love that nurtures, supports, and cares enough to be consistently and calmly firm and disciplined. Fitness Support Groups are a perfect example of this.  They assemble like-minded, nurturing strugglers to aid each other on the path to fitness.... that fitness which is so much more than just physical, and so often has mental and emotional roots.

Livestrong.com defines such a group this way, 

"A fitness support groups is an option for those who are having difficulty achieving their fitness goals or would like to connect with others who are trying to lose weight as well or improve their physical activity. More often than not, a fitness support group will be made of individuals who are overweight and looking for support in their efforts. Topics of discussion can range from exercise to diets and the common struggles one faces when attempting to lose weight."

Our intimate and private Love Yourself Lovely - Love Yourself Lean group on Facebook was created for just that purpose -- to give a leg up to those struggling to get their own legs up.  From the usual diet and exercise tips to cheerleading from our peers, we work and sweat together, from all corners of the web.  Please feel free to join us, or invite a friend to do so.  

If you or someone you know would appreciate having someone by their side in person, Siren School has scheduled a 6-day LYLLYL Bootless Camp experience in 2012. It is an opportunity to lose dead weight and obsolete opinions while gaining healthier, happier habits and attitudes.

Whether you choose to join us in person, online, or start a support group of your own, do yourself and others the favor of working together towards our common goals of balance and wellness. It benefits everyone, not just those participating, but all with whom they come in contact.

Your Social Wellness

Social Wellness - it's much more than making polite conversation at the occasional dinner party. Turns out it affects not only our social skills, but overall health and even financial wellbeing.


"Social Wellness refers to one's ability to interact with people around them. It involves using good communications skills, having meaningful relationships, respecting yourself and others, and creating a support system that includes family members and friends."

"There are four key questions that will tell you what the impact your degree of social wellness is having on your other health dimensions. The first three questions tell you how your social health is now, and the fourth tells you if it is improving or on the decline.

How many close, personal friends do you have?Research has shown that people with less than four close, personal friends do not get all the benefits available. Interestingly, there is little gain shown by having more than four. In North America the average person now has just two close personal friends. 50% of the population have only one or none. The impact of social isolation on an individual's physical health has been estimated to be equal to that of smoking.... 

How often do you spend time with a close, personal friend?Spending time less than once per week with a close personal friend means you are not fully enjoying all the health benefits available to you. Note that it does not have to be the same friend [each time]. 

How many NEW close, personal friends have you made in the past twelve months?It is an unfortunate fact of life that no matter what your age, over time all social circles suffer from attrition. Our friends move to another city, get married or divorced, or pass away. If you are not making new friends, your social circle slowly diminishes. Since this happens very slowly, few people are aware it is happening. If you have not made at least one new close, personal friend in the past year, your social wellness is on the decline. 

How often do you engage in social activities NOT related to work or career?Up to its peak during the early 1960's, the average person belonged to at least one or two civic groups, Now the average person belongs to none. Joining one organized group that meets regularly will cut the probability of an individual dying in the next year in half. Joining two groups cuts it to one quarter. 

Social Wellness is important to us as individuals and as members of our communities because it affects our individual physical and mental health and thus the overall health of our neighborhoods. On both levels it affects our financial health and our ability to effect change or to effectively deal with challenges. The social health of its citizens is important to governments because health costs are one of its largest expenses. A socially healthy citizenry is a key ingredient of democracy and will be essential in our ability to deal effectively with the challenges of the next decades."

Note: I found this in my blog drafts from over a year ago and made very slight edits. I have no idea where it came from, as the writing style does not sound like my own.  I Googled the content but could not find its source.  So, 'thank you' to its originator. And I am happy to credit the author, should he or she be discovered.