Time to wrap things up on the home workout portion of the affordable workouts in New Orleans blog series.  Saving money is almost synonymous with proper prior preparation. Just like you’ll save money by cooking your own meals and taking your lunch in from home to work – in order to get an adequate workout at home, it will require solid proper prior preparation.

For a quick review…in the last post on this topic, we discussed establishing structure by: setting a workout schedule, establishing your home gym, ensuring your write out your weekly workout plan, investing in the proper equipment you will need, setting realistic goals and including activities like walking, running and biking into your routine.

Do It Yourself (DIY) Routines

If you aren’t ready to invest the time in creating your own routines – the best thing to do is to get the right home workout video series.  An example of a great workout series we discussed in the past is P90X. Between paying for the DVDs and the equipment you’ll need – the cost will be approximately $300.

If you want to truly create your own routine…than you can do so for free or very little money with websites like:

Exercise TV: What I like about Exercise TV is that they will put a workout routine together for you and break it down from day to day. I’m a little hesitant to say that following their guidelines is enough…but it’s certainly a good start.

yogadownload.com: Yogadownload.com is a great way for you to include yoga to your DIY routines. Many of the 20 minute workouts are free to download and the cost to download longer videos is very inexpensive.

Don’t Weight To Lose YouTube Channel: Our own local motivator Jacques Courseault created a series of workout videos that you can do with just using a resistance band – which counts as resistance training.

SparksPeople YouTube Channel: To be honest, there are a lot of various workout channels on YouTube – so if you take the time to check them out; you’ll be able to line up the workouts you need to put a good routine together for FREE.

Creating your DIY Routines

1. Watch and Tag Videos – watch a lot of videos of various lengths to know exactly what the video will require of you, the intensity of the workouts and whether or not you would enjoy doing the workout(s). Tag all the videos accordingly, i.e. high intensity cardio, yoga routine, low intensity cardio, bicep, shoulder and back workout…etc.  You might actually want to use a bookmarking site to do this.

2. Mix and Match – Start planning your routines by mix and matching your videos.  If you are trying to lose weight, than you need to be doing 40-60 minutes of cardio…preferably 5 times a week and resistance training 3 times a week. Remember…add going for a walk, run or long bike ride in your routines.

Example One Week DIY Routine:

Monday – 3 miles run/walk (depending on your level of fitness), abs workout video

Tuesday – (2) 20 minutes workout videos medium intensity and arms and back resistance workout

Wednesday – Rest Day

Thursday – 1 hour of yoga video and abs workout video

Friday – Bike ride and shoulders resistance workout

Saturday – Rest Day

Sunday – (2) 25 minutes workout videos ((1) high intensity (1) low intensity) and calves, legs resistance workout, abs workout

Yes…I know – that is a lot of planning!! But that’s what it takes to save money by working out at home.

Get a Be Fit NOLA t-shirt for writing a review!!  We’re not asking you to run, bike or swim…we’re simply asking you to share your opinion(s) and enlighten us and we’ll give you a t-shirt for it.

The post I wrote the other day “Be Careful When Talking About The Health of My City” in defense to what someone else had to say about our city is a prime reason why you should take the time write a review – people outside of New Orleans just don’t see it.  They don’t get all that our city has to offer for health and fitness.

Writing a review of your gym, yoga or pliates studio, boot camp, favorite park, running or cycling trail, personal trainer, health store, or best healthy meal in a local restaurant is your opportunity to unveil New Orleans’ hidden treasures.  We sweeten the pot by adding a t-shirt…not just any t-shirt.

Aaron is a little picky about the fit of his shirts – so to please him and ensure you love our shirts we ordered men and women’s Gildan Soft Style t-shirts from Purple Monkey. We’ll run this giveaway until we’ve received 50 reviews and given away 50 shirts.

Read this post as a refresher of what we’re looking for in a review. We ask that you make your reviews at least 100 words long. (We will post constructive criticism type reviews but nothing flat out rude, mean or inaccurate)

Don’t be shy either…tell your friends about it.  Let’s really open up about New Orleans’ Health and Fitness!!

Last month, before the big game….we covered How to maintain your practice during the Super Bowl – this month the question is for us, New Orleans yogis, how to maintain our practice during Mardi Gras?!?  Most of us would like to spend time on our mats and on St. Charles Avenue to watch the parades…so how do we manage to do both? Easy, just requires a little balance, exactly what we’ve been working on, right?

Whether you’re riding in, marching in or watching parades this year, you can always sneak in a little practice. Try tadasana (no one will even notice, especially if your friends are drunk). You can even try a little tree stand or

warrior 1

warrior 1. If anyone looks at you kind of strange, just wink, smile and practice a little non-attachment by handing over your best catch of the day. That solves that.

If you happen to find that you’ve overindulged, or, far more likely, that you just so happen to be dehydrated, then a restorative practice might be just the thing for you. A restorative practice could include Legs up the Wall, gentle hip openers,

child

child’s pose and savasana. Follow up with a hot bath with sea salt and eucalyptus essential oil and you’ll be good as gold, black and gold, that is.

Enjoy the next few days having the best of both worlds the Yogi World and Mardi Gras World!!

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Heather Ryan is a strength trainer and certified yoga instructor in New Orleans. She trains clients at Ultimate Fitness and teaches at NOLA House of Yoga. You can also find Heather cooking on The Herbivore Next Door show.

My decision to live a healthier lifestyle very naturally led to me reading more about yoga. What sets yoga apart from some other forms of fitness is that it is not only a physical but also a mental and spiritual health practice.

The beginning of my yoga journey was a consultation with LIFE Yoga Director, Nathalie Croix. This is something that anyone who is considering doing yoga can schedule. We talked about what my personal goals were, different types of yoga and class series that I could start with.

The main thing that I am understanding is that everyone’s yoga journey is different and that it is a constant learning experience.

I was really excited to get the chance to interview Nathalie, who is now my instructor, about her experiences as well as some general questions that I had; and I’m really excited to share this with all of you:

M:How long have you been practicing yoga and what made you decide to start?

Nathalie Croix: I have been practicing yoga regularly for the past eleven years and before that I had tried yoga a few times, but I was only experimenting. I had been a dancer since I was a child, on my late teens I was already performing professionally and one of our dance teachers was really into yoga practice so he introduced me to asana practice which is the physical practice of yoga. However I began studying meditation and yoga philosophy when I was very young. My aunt was a devotee of Gurumayi and my first visit to an ashram I was nine years old. I grew up frequently visiting the Hare Krishna Temples to learn more about Indian culture and philosophy. So I guess the whole process was very organic for me.

Although I continuously study and have a profound respect for ancient yoga traditions, culture and philosophy, my teachings are very non-dogmatic.

M:What are some physical, mental and spiritual benefits of yoga that many people may not be aware of?

Nathalie Croix:Yoga works on you on a very subtle and deep level. It changes you to your deep core. It is not something however that will happen over night. It is an organic process. You have to stick to the practice for a while, so in the beginning the practitioner need lot’s of effort and patience, but if you do that than it transforms your life, your way of thinking and therefore it certainly changes you physically and mentally. After the change happens than it becomes easy to be a yoga practitioner, at this point it’s actually hard not to practice yoga because it’s a life style, a part of who you are. Honestly it’s hard for me to talk about yoga because it’s one of those phenomenons you need to experience in order to fully understand. On a most obvious plane yoga releases stress, improves health, fastens your metabolism, helps you stay focused, increases flexibility, strength and balance. These are only a few of the many benefits. On a deeper level I believe it improves your relationships with people around you because you become more aware. It helps you calm the mind and move into the inner essence of being. This is a very powerful practice and you can take it as light or as deep as you want, that’s the beauty of it.

Yoga is about peace. Peace with others, peace in the world and peace within yourself.

M:I know that there are many different types of yoga – can you tell us about three in particular that Life Yoga offers?

Nathalie Croix: There are so many different types of yoga out there. Even though they are all taught in different methods they all lead to the same ends results because it’s all just yoga but there are different ways to get there and a person should practice whatever style resonates with you better. At Life Yoga we have many different styles, some are Ashtanga Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Jivamukti Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Anusara Yoga. Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is a traditional yoga practice which began in a city called Mysore in South India. Ashtanga is a dynamic vinyasa practice it links movement to breath in a constant flow creating body heat. The postures and sequence are always the same. You use your breath and your gaze (dristi) to steady the mind and the practice eventually becomes a moving meditation. Vinyasa Flow has it’s roots in Ashtanga Yoga, but does not use the six series of postures specific to the Mysore Ashtanga Yoga as taught by Sri K Pattabhi Jois. A difference from Vinyasa Flow to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is, that the “asanas” (yoga postures) can be arranged into different sequences that can meet the practitioner’s need or mood.

There is also Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali, Yoga Sutras, this is the core teachings of all yogas, the essence of yoga philosophy and there are eight limbs; Yamas(your attitude towards others and the world around you), Niyamas(how you treat yourself or your attitude towards yourself), Asana (physical poses), Pranayama (breathing exercises), Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses), Dharana (concentration/focus), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (enlightenment).

I do not teach the other styles of yoga so my knowledge is limited. Is best if I don’t attempt to explain.

M:How do I know which yoga is right for me; is there any particular discovery process that you suggest?

Nathalie Croix: This is a very good question. The best thing to do is to first research, read about the many different styles out there. Second, find local studios in your area. Try many different styles, experiment and see what feels right for you. Once you find classes, try and read teachers bios it is always very interesting to find out the yoga journey each teacher has taken. But don’t fool yourself with fancy bios either. Ultimately you will know if you like the style/teacher once you attend the yoga class. Listen to yourself, are you enjoying the experience? how does it feel? Be patient. It is important to find a good teacher so he or she can guide you in this process. After you’ve tried different classes and you know what works for you than stick to it. Stay on that path for a while and you will see beautiful transformation, relax and have fun in the process.

M:How has yoga changed your life?

Nathalie Croix: It has changed my life in so many ways and it continues to do so every day because we are always growing, it never stops, and yoga makes this really clear. Through yoga I found contentment. It’s a wonderful thing to accept who you are on any given day and be okay with it whether things are going extremely well or very bad. Yoga helps you remain steady. I guess I could say I don’t react to things as much as I did years ago. It helps me practice the laws of equanimity. It helps me stay centered and present in the moment.

It helps me accept things the way they are and make the best out of it.

Each person has their own path of self discovery so I believe it can be different for everyone, but remember you don’t always get what you want, but you might just get what you need.

Namaste!

2010 is off to a blissful beginning.  Mardi Gras AND the Super Bowl! What’s a yogi to do? I can see yogis, jumping off their mats, rushing out the door to follow Xavier prep down Laurel Street or leaping out of bed as the Buzzards walk by with drinks in hand at 6:30 am, Mardi Gras day.

I see Saints fans trying their best to meditate before the big game, with thoughts of touchdowns interrupting their efforts.  I’ve considered our options, yogic revelers. How can we practice and party?  Easy, just requires a little balance, exactly what we’ve been working on, right?

Lets’s start with the Big Game and in the next post we’ll get into Mardi Gras.

Have any of you noticed your heart rate skyrocketing during the past few games? We have a lot of emotional energy invested in our city and our fantastic team. If you find your chest tightening and your heart pounding wildly during the big game, it might not be a bad idea to try a couple of breathing exercises during commercial breaks.

You can begin diaphragmatic breathing by simply bringing a palm to rest on your belly.  Allow your upper chest and shoulders to relax and trace your inhale as it enters your nose and travels all the way down to the diaphragm.  When your belly expands at the bottom of your inhale, you’ll feel your palm move out with the rise of your belly.  As you exhale, your abdomen will begin to settle toward your spine.  This diaphragmatic movement activates the vagus nerve, which, in turn, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby slowing your heart, oxygenating your organs, easing muscle tension and generally calming you down.  A couple of minutes of diaphragmatic breathing can work wonders on the nervous system.

Another calming technique is left nostril breathing.  Gently close your right nostril with your right thumb; bring your two peace fingers to rest between your eyes.  Inhale and exhale through the left nostril. Allow the exhalation to last a couple of seconds longer than the inhalation. You could even include a silent mantra on both the inhalation and exhalation, for example:

Inhale: Saints
Exhale: Victory

At the same time, you can visualize an open field with your favorite player racing towards an easy touchdown…for a nice added touch.

Thank you to the Saints for giving us so much to celebrate.

Peace, love, namaste and WHO DAT!!!

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Heather Ryan is a strength trainer and certified yoga instructor in New Orleans. She trains clients at Ultimate Fitness and teaches at NOLA House of Yoga. You can also find Heather cooking on The Herbivore Next Door show.

I ran into Megan Hargroder (@HeyItsMegan) on Twitter –  As many of you know I’m tracking your tweets for the ones that talk about fitness, working out, and health related matters to RT them with the hash tag #befitnola.  Megan tweeted a few times about Yoga and then came this tweet: Runners who hate to run: first weekly jog today at noon today @ people bridge#NYresolution #getfit from Megan.  That definitely caught my attention.  A second run is scheduled for this Sunday.  I contacted Megan to see if she would enlighten me on what this is all about!

Q. How did you come about creating this run group?

Megan: Actually the group was the brain child of Ryan Lane (@SquidDLane) who hates to run but really loves to stay fit. His idea behind this was to gather as many people as possible who also hate to run so that we could all share our hatred and be miserable together. When he first told me about Runners Who Hate To Run (RWHTR) I knew this was exactly what I needed to get started! I really hate to run but I still WANT to run – so the option of getting started doing this with others like me (instead of experienced runners) seemed like my last hope at making this happen!

Q. What do you hate about running?

Megan: I suck at it! I have absolutely no endurance and after about five minutes I have to stop and walk. It’s completely embarrassing because I actually look like I should be in decent shape. Every time I’ve tried to run in the past, it’s with someone who loves running so I basically get left in the dust and then get really discouraged.

Q. I know you love Yoga so if you really hate to run – Why do it?

Megan: I actually JUST started practicing yoga a week ago at Life Yoga on Magazine. It’s really my ideal workout because it involves stretching and building strength and endurance.  The type of yoga I’m doing isn’t cardio, though, and that’s necessary for a well-balanced workout routine. Plus, I’m hoping that by forcing myself to run (but not pushing myself too hard) I will eventually enjoy it. Additionally, running outside is free!

Q. How was the turnout at last week’s run?

Megan: It was the first RWHTR session, so there were actually only four of us – Ryan, myself, my girlfriend and our friend Tom who was in town and isn’t much into working out but was a great sport about the entire thing. After the run, we had a ton of messages from people who saw our posts too late but that were interested – so I think we will have a great turnout this Sunday!

Q. What do you think is going to motivate people to come run –  who really do hate it?

Megan: The main motivation for joining RWHTR is that you will be in the company of like-minded runners! There’s no commitment; you don’t have to come every time, and you can complain all you want and quit when you want. This is for people who HATE to run but want to run because of the health benefits and physical results.

Q. Is everyone free to go at his or her own pace or is it more of a group run?

Megan: Once more people start coming, it will definitely be a “go at your own pace” type of thing. Even now, we have a “no runner gets left behind” policy. I’m probably the slowest and least in-shape person and am always like “F this!” So if any runner gets tired, I will gladly stop and walk with them.

Q. Are people who love to run welcomed?

Megan: Of course! We need all the motivation we can get!

Q. What exactly are your New Year’s fitness goals?

Megan: My goals are to tone up, eat better and exercise regularly. So far so good! Here’s my planned routine for 2010:

MWF – 15 minute jog at 7a.m.

Sunday – 1 hour RWHTR at 1p.m.

Sunday – 1 hour yoga class at Life Yoga at 4p.m.

Wednesday – 1 hour yoga class at Life Yoga at 4:30 p.m.

The idea behind that schedule is that I wanted to make goals that I could really stick to. My morning runs are so short that I just roll out of bed, jog a couple of blocks and then go inside and make coffee. Short morning jogs really give you tons of energy throughout the day. Yoga is really therapeutic for me, so I don’t consider that a chore but more like a leisure (even though it is hard work), and the RWHTR jog on Sundays is basically my once a week “challenge” to myself.

Well, there you have it folks!  If you hate to run, RWHTR is the group for you to be surrounded with like-minded souls and get a fabulous cardio workout in.  Megan is setting the example and being part of leading the way in living a healthy lifestyle in New Orleans.  Also, stay tune as Megan will be blogging for Be Fit NOLA – she is going to share more about her adventures as a new Yoga enthusiast, she’ll share her story of how she quit smoking and tips to help others do the same and although she is not a health expert – she is someone new to embracing living a healthy lifestyle and is passionate about sharing what she’s learning.