Just What We All Need After This Very Long Week: Puppies Doing Yoga

Are we ready to clock out of this week yet? (Answer: yes!) Here's some health inspiration for the weekend...good, relaxing, restorative stretches. As performed by dogs!
Like this one who nails the leg-over-head maneuver:

And this little one who follows his routine to the letter (in Italian, no less):

Dalai Joy the Chiweenie Yogini looks like she's just falling asleep at first, but then she really does seem to follow along with the instructions on the phone!

Even if you don't have dog yoga—or dogs, or yoga!—in your future this weekend, what good-health things do you have planned?

Yoga Moves That'll Relax You When You Have Absolutely Zero Time to Relax

Because so many of us really just don't, Kimberly Fowler, founder of YAS Fitness Center, shared three yoga poses that are quick, easy, and practically guaranteed to get you to relax. "All of these will you unwind and relax your body," she says. "Once the body is relaxed, the mind will follow. The most important thing to remember is to breathe the entire time you're in the pose. Focus on the muscle group you're working and breathe air to each area."

Hero Pose
This move helps loosen your legs and ease your knees, Fowler says. Here's how to do it:

• Drop to your knees and bring them knees together.
• Bring your feet straight back behind you, a little wider than your hips (your heels should touch the outside of your hips).
• Your toes and the tops of your feet should be flat on the floor; sit back between your feet.
• Bring your chest up, sit up straight.
• Place your hands on your thighs.
• Hold for 45 second to one minute.

Cobbler Pose
This pose opens and stretches your hips, your lower back and your inner thighs. Focus on keeping your back straight and don't force yourself to stretch harder than is comfortable.

• Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you.
• Bring the soles of your feet together and your knees wide apart.
• Bring your heels of your feet toward your body.
• Sit up straight, grab your feet for leverage, take a breath in and on your exhale hinge forward from your hips.
• Keep your back straight to get the maximum benefit from the pose.

Seated Forward Bend
This pose releases your back and stretches your bottom (hey, it needs stretching too!).

• Sit on the floor with your legs together and straight in front of you.
• Sit up straight.
• Reach your arms up to the ceiling.
• Hinge at your hips and try to reach your toes.
• Try to grab your feet. If you can't, you can use a strap or towel to help out.
• Hold for 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Ahhh. Now go on about your day :)

What Your Breathing Patterns Can Tell You About Your Emtional State

Stop for a sec and listen to your breathing. Is it deep? Slow? Shallow? The fascinating things you can learn from listening to your breath...

Yoga lovers know well the importance of deep breathing. But you can focus on breath off the mat, too. Here's what you can learn by paying attention to your breathing from Yoga Journal's Erica Rodefer:
Shallow, chest breathing: This is the universal sign of stress, says Rodefer. "When I notice myself doing it, I know I need to take a deep breath and really access the situation and put it into perspective."
Held breath: "When I’m holding my breath I’m usually trying too hard at something—sometimes it’s a yoga pose, sometimes I’m thinking a little too hard on the word I’m going to play next on Words with Friends," she writes. Either way, she says she knows this means she needs to relax a bit--pronto.
More exhale than inhale: This is my frequent breathing pitfal, and Rodfer has a fascinating explanation for it: "When my exhale is longer than my inhale, there’s a good chance that I’m feeling defeated or depressed," she writes. "Finding more equilibrium and consciously extending my inhalation gives me more energy."
Balanced breathing: "On those occasions when I’m feeling calm, controlled, focused, and just plain happy my inhales and exhales will be the same length and go deeper into my diaphragm," she writes. "It’s kind of astonishing how infrequently I notice this type of breathing--usually just during Savasana, my morning meditation, or before I drift off to sleep."

Try This Easy Move to Help Your Body Detox

Good things in, bad things out! That's the idea behind this fitness move that's designed to help your body detox, naturally...

The move to help your body detox? Whole Living says it's the standing twist, which helps your body stimulate elimination in the liver and kidneys and helps release toxins. Here's how to do it:
"Start in a runner's lunge with your right leg bent at a 90-degree angle and your left leg extending straight back behind you, hands on either side of your right foot. Lower your left knee to the floor, and bring your hands into prayer position (palms touching). Take a breath, then exhale, rotating your upper body to the right and bringing your left elbow to the outside edge of your right knee. Stay here for 5 breaths, then repeat on the other side."


I love this, and it's so easy to do and surprisingly energizing.

The Cutest Sun Salutation

Breathe in.. Make sure your arms are nice and straight, now look up! 

The New Yoga Trend I'm a Little Stumped By

I'm all for new fitness trends, and I love mixing things up. But this new spin on yoga? Well, I'm not sure I could get into it. You? 

I love yoga, but floating yoga? Not so much. Here's how Yahoo Shine described the new trend: "Essentially the concept involves practicing downward facing dog and other yoga poses on an over-sized surfboard floating over water (instead of a yoga mat in a safe, dry, stationary studio). The classes are actually gaining popularity in Hawaii, California, Florida, and Washington. That may be because some yoga instructors believe paddle board yoga is more of a workout than regular yoga--the platform is unstable and you have to use your core and muscles to keep from falling off the board into the water. It's only a matter of time before they are offered at a studio or surf shop near you."