How The Foam Roller Workout Helped Me Get My Life Back

It started with tightness in my hip flexors that no amount of stretching could relieve. I limited my running and cardio workouts, did more yoga, took more rest days and still, I couldn't find relief from this darned tightness.

Fast-forward two months. Now, my lower back was talking to me; stiff in the mornings and taking it's good old' time loosening up. Next were the hamstrings they were so reluctant to loosen up that I could feel them when I bent over to tie my sneakers. I especially felt this in the mornings. This pushed me over the edge.

I like to think I've always been athletic, at least throughout my adulthood. I am passionate about anything that breaks a sweat. I adore running and biking. I've taught spinning classes since spinning began. I've completed triathlons and half-marathons, all for kicks, and mostly with no foundation of training. I just woke up and felt like running a road race so off I went.

Or at least I used to. I have no patience for these nagging physical limitations. I'm only 45 years old, for criminy sakes (and 45 is the new 29, right?)

My husband (who I met at a 5K road race by the way) would also want me to mention that my personality tightened as well as my hamstrings. In the trickle-down theory, if I cannot do my regular daily workouts, everyone in my family suffers.

I do believe in divine intervention though and about this time I discovered the foam roller exercises through a fabulous New York City teacher, Susan Hitzmann, owner of Longevity Fitness, Inc. She offers a program called M.E.L.T., which stands for Myofascial Energetic Length Technique.

I coincidentally ended up in one of her many workshops about fascia and what to do about it. She offers tools (many on the foam roller) to add length and to therefore relieve muscular discomfort. Turns out that it wasn't just my muscles that were tight but the overlying and surrounding sheath of fascia that were giving me problems.

What's fascia? Think of it like a wet suit that fits snugly over your muscles, like a web or a net. Some people have more than others.

She showed us techniques of rolling on a foam roller that rehydrates those fascial sheaths of tightness, eliciting and immediate sense of length, space and release. Man! It was a profound release too; like unbuttoning your jeans after a big meal.

I was totally hooked after one workshop. I got myself a foam roller, which looks like a yoga mat rolled up, only bigger and made of foam.

I started rolling at home. In just a few minutes, my muscles released. All it took was a few passes up and down my thighs to feel my hips let go. With as little as five minutes a day, three or four days a week, I noticed that my hamstrings released their stranglehold. My lower back didn't wake me up in the morning anymore. I kept rolling and just focused on any areas that felt tight. Then I would pick a few other areas on my body, depending on what felt needed.

For example, my side hip and butt didn't feel tight when I moved around all day but when I rolled up and down my side hip-YOWL! There was tightness lurking that I didn't even know was there until I used my super-duper rolling pin of a foam roller on the dough of my thighs.

Over the next year, I continued to attend workshops and classes worth the phenomenally talented Ms. Hitzmann. I remembered her from her days as an aerobics teachers, famous for making the Crunch Boot Camp Video. Her story was similar to mine. After experiencing limiting soreness that no amount of stretching could relieve, she set out on her own to find some answers. After years of research and diligent experimenting with herself as the guinea pig, she developed this foam roller program, among other fascial release techniques.

This tremendous fitness development is not just for baby boomers, but especially for what I call "baby zoomers"; aging jocks who are not willing to give up or even modify their fitness regime because of stiffness or increasing lack of flexibility.

It is important to notice how you feel BEFORE you roll. Compare this with how you feel afterwards. My hunch is that you will sense that something has released.

My muscles melted, which loosened up my lower back, which helped me sleep better. In turn, I woke up feeling not only more rested, but more flexible. I was able to resume my daily cardio and strength training routine. In the trickle-down theory, this vastly improved my daily moods. I was nicer to my husband and kids, and in essence, I got my life back.

Penny Love Hoff, 20 year fitness professional . is the author of the revolutionary CD workout program"Does My Marriage Make Me Look Fat?", an eight week fitness program for couples to radically change your body and reawaken your relationship.You can find her at pennyhoff.com pennyhoff.com

Yoga Teacher Certification Allows You to Advance Your Experience Through Teaching

Yoga is a state of union between body and mind. If you love and practice yoga, you understand that this definition only scratches the surface of what yoga truly is. For many who practice and enjoy yoga, it is part of their way of life.

Having attended classes for years, you may be tempted to look into pursuing yoga teacher certification. A good place to start your research into this new career is with your current instructor. Finding out where they obtained their certification could save you a lot of legwork.

There are two levels of Yoga Teacher Certification training, based on the number of hours of instruction, one is 200 hours, the other is 500 hours. Most studios require the minimum 200 hour coursework for their instructors. Keep in mind that there are very different and unique types of yoga.

There is Bikram, vinyasa and hatha.Training programs for vinyasa and hatha yoga instructors is more common than for Bikram yoga. Another consideration is the cost of these programs.

It is likely that a basic 200 hour course will cost approximately $3000, and can be condensed into a brief period of time, or stretched out over several months. Ideally, upon receiving your certification, you will teach a few classes in the evenings and weekends to start out, and can retain your regular job during the day.

At the very least, completing a yoga teacher certification program will give you an heightened appreciation and experience in the yoga you practice. The courses will likely delve into advanced possess and philosophy which are shared by a dedicated fraction of yoga enthusiasts.

Ideally, upon completing your coursework, you can begin to teach classes.In this capacity, you will not only be doing something you love, but you will be passing your appreciation and knowledge onto others.

Whether your new credentials will lead to a major career change, or not, your training will afford you additional income, an advanced yoga experience, and the satisfaction of doing something that you love. This is probably what inspired most of the instructors you have known to look into yoga teacher certification.

Go to accrmassagetherapycourses.com AccrMassageTherapyCourses.com to learn about accrmassagetherapycourses.com/yoga-teacher-training.php yoga teacher training and find certification classes near you.

Pilates Exercises - Can They Give You The Body You've Always Wanted?

Pilates exercises are a favorite fitness choice for many people including movie stars like Danny Glover and Gweneth Paltrow, professional dancers, and even some professional baseball players. Why this fascination with Pilates? What can it do that other forms of exercise can't?

I began doing Pilates several years ago when I was searching for a different look for my body. I had been exercising for many years when I began to experience a level of dissatisfaction with the way my body looked. While I was lean and muscular, my body had a packed, crowded look to it. The more I used weights, the thicker my muscles looked. In addition, no matter how many crunches and reverse curls I did, I still had this abdominal bulge that would not budge. It drove me crazy.

I began to yearn for the body I had as a dancer - trim, strong, with elongated muscles. That's when I stumbled upon Pilates. The people who did Pilates exercises had the long, lean look that I craved. So I began to do Pilates exercises and I have never looked back.

What are Pilates exercises all about?

They focus on your core.

Pilates focuses on strengthening the core of your body - the deep abdominal muscles and pelvic stabilizers, the back, the butt, and also creating flexibility in the spine. This continual focus on the core has helped me get rid of my belly bulge and also develop 'six pack' abs .

They work your entire body as one unit.

Many people ask how Pilates exercises relate to yoga poses. In many instances, the poses overlap. However, while in yoga you often hold a pose, in Pilates you are always moving. In addition, no matter what area of the body you are focusing on, you are still engaging your entire body. For example, if you are doing an exercise for your legs, you simultaneously hold in your abdominal muscles and maintain proper body alignment while executing the movement.

They focus on quality, not quantity.

Pilates exercises are focused on quality, not quantity. With some exercises such as The Saw, you might only do 2 or 3 repetitions. In most cases, you will usually only do 10 repetitions of any given exercise. Yet because you are focused on the quality of each movement, you get a greater benefit from each exercise than with traditional strengthening exercises.

They focus on muscle balance and coordination.

Many people who do weight lifting have muscle imbalances. Strong muscles get over trained and weak muscles get more strained. That is because muscles are worked in isolation. With Pilates, you use many muscles at the same time. You also stretch and strengthen muscles during the same exercise. This helps correct imbalances and develops better body alignment. In addition, you learn how to more effectively coordinate movements in your entire body, which will help you as you go about your daily activities.

They focus on body awareness.

In Pilates, you are always focused on your body - your alignment, your breathing, the way you are doing your movements. This increased body awareness can help you maintain better posture, it can help you relax muscle tension through proper breathing, and it can help you reduce stress.

They are energizing, not exhausting.

With traditional weight lifting programs, your body often feels depleted after you finish your workout. An interesting thing about Pilates exercises is that after you do them, you feel more energized than before you started. The combination of deep breathing, high quality, low quantity movements, helps your body function better as a whole. The result -- you have more energy to go about your day.

I love doing Pilates. I have seen dramatic changes in my body and I exert much less effort than I did when I was using traditional weight training programs. I have significantly strengthened my abdominal and back muscles and I have improved my overall posture. I also look better in a bathing suit.

Try doing some of these exercises for yourself. When you do, I'm sure you'll be hooked on them too.

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Her website beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life. Visit the site and get your free meditation e-book.

Tantric Gurus Help Control Stress

People of all lifestyles have stress in their lives. This stress can come from multiple reasons but it is how a person deals with the stress that allows them to keep control of their feelings and emotions. If a person is not capable of controlling the stress in their lives, it could affect their their whole lives. Tantra is a form of happinesslifetime.com yoga training that helps us to learn to control all of the thoughts that race through our subconscious and conscious mind within a blink of an eye. You can find tantric gurus that can help you to learn this method.

Using the Internet is a great resource in order to find tantric gurus. These gurus can teach you methods to create clarity within the thoughts that you have. You will be able to have a better understanding of how you react to certain things that happen in your life. That understanding could enable you to take control of your thoughts and feelings instead of your feelings and thoughts keeping control of you. This is why most people cannot handle the stress in their lives because they cannot control how they feel about certain circumstances that happen in their lives.

You can find several different listings on the Internet in order to find tantric gurus rather you are in Toronto or wherever you may live. There are teachers available that you can schedule time with. You can also view their class schedules that are already on their calendar. The classes that are available go from beginner to advanced tantra. These classes usually are scheduled in sessions and can cost you anywhere from $15.00 for a single session and up to a couple of hundred dollars for a series of classes.

But if you read the many testimonials that are posted all over the Internet about people who went to find tantric gurus, you will find out that the money they spent on these classes was well worth the knowledge that they received. They were able to start learning about themselves in a way that they never thought was possible. They have learned that they can use the exercises that were taught to them to better control their life and get them to where they want to be without their thoughts and emotions stopping them from reaching their goals and dreams.

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Starting Your Home Weight Training

When you start your home weight training you have to consider buying few things. Some of them may be unnecessary for you, some of them may be absolutely essential. It all depends on your current fitness level, and on what you want to achieve with your fitness at home.

1. The most important thing is floor space. Without it there is no place to put the equipment, no place to actually work out. When you consider buying the equipment, check its dimensions to make sure that it actually fits in your home gym. Also be sure that you assigned enough space to move and train freely and safely.

2. Free weights like dumbbells and barbells should be the base of your equipment. Complicated machines may be unnecessary, especially when you are a beginner in weight training. A set of dumbbells, rubber bands, and a fitness ball may be all the equipment you need.

3. Weight training bench. A must-have if you think about building your muscle mass. Basic exercises for developing chest and back muscles require a bench. Adjustable bench is an interesting option, it allows you to do inclined and declined exercises.

4. Exercise mat. You can use it for working out your abs, Pilates, yoga or other exercises which require you to sit/lay on the ground.

5. Home gym machines. Most of them are a bit pricey, but they can provide you with a multiple selection of exercises that you can do on them. It's a good choice if you have a lot of space in your home gym, and you don't mind the expense. It surely can add an element of diversification to your routine, however working out with free weights should be a priority.

6. Treadmill or elliptical machine. Fantastic for cardio, or general body warm up, tough they are pretty expensive.

As you can see, there are many things you have to consider before completing the equipment for your fitness home gyms. The first thing you need to do is make a decision about your level of commitment to your home weight training, define your current fitness level and based on that start collecting equipment for your fitness home gym.

Tomasz Ruszuk is a health and fitness enthusiast. He likes to work out from the tranquility of his own home. You can read more about home weight training at:

homeweighttraining.net homeweighttraining.net

homeweighttraining.net/home-weight-training/starting-your-home-weight-training homeweighttraining.net/home-weight-training/starting-your-home-weight-training

Making Sleep a Priority to Improve Your Well Being

Do you want to....

...feel happier?

...be more energized and relaxed?

...be more productive?

Making sleeping-well a priority could hold the key. Getting enough continuous quality sleep helps the body to repair itself, helps the mind to process the days events and contributes to how we feel and perform daily. If we sleep soundly we wake up refreshed, able to face our day. If we don't every area of our lives can suffer.

Sleep Trouble

In my psychotherapy practice I have found that many people seeking help for their symptoms of anxiety or depression have trouble with sleep. Some people report that they:

1. Don't get enough sleep.

2. Have trouble falling asleep or they wake up frequently and can't fall back to sleep.

3. Often wake up tired or feeling very anxious.

Often feeling as if there is something terribly wrong with them many people worry that only relief can come from medications, that can have negative side effects. What I have found is that for most people sleeping well at some point became so low on the list of priorities that it was easy for an unhealthy pattern of behavior to be established, leading to more trouble sleeping. Lack of good quality sleep fuels unhealthy patterns and unhealthy patterns fuels sleep problems. The good news is that often these patterns can be turned around with a few simple steps.

Steps to Better Sleep

Step one: Recognize how important sleep is to your wellbeing. Remember lack of sleep will negatively impact every area of your life. Just as food, air and water are necessary for your survival, so is sleep. Proper sleep strengthens the immune system and is necessary for our nervous systems to work properly. Sleeping well contributes to emotional stability and can improve relationships. In our culture we tend to think sleep is something that can be put off for more active pursuits without significant consequences.

Step two:Set a schedule for sleep. Have a regular bedtime and a regular wake up time every day, even on weekends. Early is better. Going to bed before 10pm and waking before 6am is ideal. Consistency trains your brain to know when to sleep. It also helps you stay in tune with nature rising with the sun and going to bed at an ideal time for your body to be best able to process what you consumed during the day, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Step three: Prepare for sleep. Make sure you limit caffeine, alcohol and nicotine as these substances can negatively impact your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. One hour before bedtime "unplug" from all those electronics. Instead of staying connected to your TV, computer or phone develop a tranquil routine before bed. Try a warm bath, drinking warm milk, light yoga stretches, listening to soothing music, reading or other relaxing activities. Make your bedroom a quiet sanctuary for sleep. Pay attention to the environment. Make it cozy and relaxing. Asking for help may be necessary if you are having trouble with any of these steps.

Erin's Story

Erin, a successful 32 year old business executive felt desperate. Tired, irritable and overweight Erin (not her real name) was sleeping less and less every night. When she did sleep she tossed and turned until she finally got up to get a snack or get on her computer. Because work demanded so much time and energy that was what became her priority. She often stayed up late and slept as late as she could in the morning, changing her schedule day to day. Although Erin knew she needed sleep to feel better she had let sleeping well fall to the bottom of her long list of priorities years before and was more inclined to prepare for a presentation at work than get a good night's rest.

Once I was able to help her understand that she could be more productive but more importantly she could be happier, less driven if she made getting better sleep a priority. Over time she was able to take the steps necessary to put sleep at the top of her to-do list. As part of an overall improvement in self care, Erin has lost weight feels more relaxed and is enjoying her life more than ever.

Summary

Let's review the key points of making sleeping well a priority.

Recognize the importance of sleeping well.
Make a sleep schedule.
Prepare for sleep.
Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Medication is not the only answer for this type of problem.

Step by step you're moving towards sleeping your way to a better quality of life.

Awareness Counseling is a private practice that specializes in helping adults and families struggling with anxiety and depression using traditional therapy and mind/body methods that are intentionally designed to bring your life into balance. The result is more joy, freedom and enthusiasm for life. The founder, Elle Garfield, ACSW uses an effective combination of methods including cognitive/ behavioral, experiential, mindfulness, bibliotherapy, and Life Force yoga to help clients gain freedom from fear.

For more information go to Awareness-counseling-mi.com Awareness-counseling-mi.com or Call Elle Garfield at 248-961-4081 or email

The Importance of Being Flexible

I am Dr Patrick Flanagan, and this is the latest edition of my Dr Health Secrets newsletter.

I am a scientist with over 300 inventions related to health, longevity and medicine. This newsletter installment is about stretching, flexibility and its effects on your body.

Bone Up on Your Stretching

You attempt to bend down and lift your cat but your lower back creaks, seizes up and complains. Your hamstrings are tight as two boards of plywood from years of running, but will not allow you to reach down to pick up your grandchild. You stretch for the bar of soap in the shower but your shoulder tightens in its rotator cuff. Your body rattles, grates and squeaks like the tin man as you stiffly maneuver through your busy day.

If you want to retain a youthful flexible body that will bend at your request, then move the toxins out and get the oxygen in to the connective tissues and joints. You may not ever be ready to run away with the trapeze lady at Cirque de Soleil, but you will be able to bend down and pick a flower or tie your shoe all the way into your 70's if you give in to a routine practice of stretching.

Flexibility is a health issue for many adults as the average person loses up to 70% of flexibility between the ages of 20 to 70 if they do not take conscious action to stretch their joints, ligaments, and bones. Although not life-threatening, lack of flexibility is a health concern for those who exercise, and for those who don't, because of its debilitating effects on the human body, as joint stiffness increases and muscles become less limber with age.

Stretch These Old Bones

Extended periods of inactivity bring about chemical changes that can limit flexibility. Underused connective tissue loses elasticity as it becomes stiff and dense. The human body goes through a similar process as it ages, but a flexibility program will not only improve physical fitness, it can give you a more youthful body. Stretching will increase suppleness by stimulating the production of chemicals that lubricate the connective soft tissue. Stimulating the production of lubricants between connective tissue fibers promotes hydration and as a result, the pliancy and agility of the movements of your body, slowing down the aging process.

Flexibility is defined as the absolute range of motion available in any joint. It is joint specific. How far will the joint yield to slow steady stretches while breathing deeply. It is also movement specific. You may be flexible in one shoulder stretch, but not in another. Flexibility training promotes relaxation both mentally and physically. Body awareness, aligned posture, and proper breathing patterns will be enhanced and carry over into your daily life, which is the ultimate goal of all exercise and health care. You exercise to increase the quality of your life through taking care of the body. Stretching quickens the delivery of oxygen and other nutrients, while speeding the removal of lactic acid and other waste products. It is vital to hydrate, and re-hydrate after deep stretching, to help remove the toxins from the body and to promote suppleness and lasting health.

Recommendations for Flexibility Training

1. Stretch and flexibility training should be done when the body is warm.

2. Yoga is an amazing practice to strengthen and stretch the body and mind.

3. Never stretch to the point of pain, only slight discomfort.

4. Slow long inhales and exhales will aid you to get into a stretch, and ease the muscles over time into relaxing more deeply.

5. Hydration is a necessary way to keep healthy, removing the toxins from the muscles, joints and connective tissue.

Water These Old Bones

Some of you may say, "Well, I hate water and I don't want to drink anymore than I have to," and while I want to enforce that water is essential to our bodies and minds, seeing as how we are mostly comprised of it, there are other ways to make the most of the water that you do drink.

Make sure you can absorb the nutrients with proper hydration. That means enough of the right kind of water each day. The naturally present water in raw foods is a great source but also make sure your water has a low surface tension.

Though most tap and bottled water has high surface tenions, there are ways to make water more available to your body's cells.

Silica is a natural mineral and special forms of microcluster® silica are small enough to change the absorption properties of water. Ask your vitamin store for it.

For more information about optimal sources of hydration, visit [drhealthsecrets.com/news_flexible.html]

This article has been brought to you by Dr Patrick Flanagan, a cellular hydration expert who has developed a unique mineral form called Microcluster® silica and silica hydride to dramatically increase longevity. Silica hydride is also the most powerful antioxidant known. To learn more about Dr. Patrick Flanagan and ways to more beauty, health and longer life, for less than $1 a day, please visit [drhealthsecrets.com/news_flexible.html]

You will also find a link to download the Wetter Water Report by Dr. Patrick Flanagan for FREE.