Aerial Yoga

I stumbled upon this post on Glamour Magazine, and it looks so much fun! Aerial Yoga - it has two features that draw me towards it. 1) It uses a circus hammock, and I've never had or used a hammock, and 2) it's yoga in mid-air! I wonder if the instructor leads the class upside down too.

Aerial Yoga classes are held in numerous states across USA and in various countries across the world, such as Portugal, Estonia, Russia, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Holland, etc. Here's a photo of what it looks like from Glamour Magazine:

Credits: Glamour Magazine

Has anyone tried it? How does it compare to regular yoga? Share your experiences below! ^_^

Combating Sedentary Lifestyle - Take Action!

Hope you were able to make changes to your lifestyle? Did you come up with interesting ideas to overcome your habits that lead to a sedentary lifestyle? I hope so! If you need another look at the post (because I know it's been quite some time since!), here's the link: "Factors Leading to the Sitting Disease"

We discussed technology as one of the leading contributors of sedentary lifestyle. Can we stop technological sciences from progressing? No, and I don't think we should wish for that either. We do know ourselves though, ever since each of us was born. We understand our hardships, strengths, and habits that maybe the one closest to you might not know. Why don't we adjust instead? For example, I can push the idea of working out by so much that I end up skipping it for the day. But if I'm in my workout clothes, I feel more motivated. Therefore, at night I make sure to keep my clothes hung nearby; this way, when I wake up, I will be less lazy by seeing the clothes right in front of me. I will change and get right into exercise mode.    

Pick a day and subconsciously observe your normal routine. Notice how often you use the computer/laptop, watch TV, use your car to drive to a destination 1 to 1.5 miles away, etc. Make a list of those activities that you feel can use some physical exertion. I'm not saying that you should use a pestle and mortar to powder black peppers or coriander seeds (although it can really work your arms!); I wouldn't recommend ditching the washing machine to wash clothes by hand. The calories burned aren't work the time spent. Do it only if you have items that absolutely need to be hand washed or is a delicate fabric.


Add lunges while vacuuming! When pushing the vacuum forward, lunge down, and come back up while pulling the vacuum cleaner towards you. Remember to feel the pressure on your glutes (hip muscles) and thighs. Repeat this motion with the other leg too, and keep it up during the whole vacuum routine.

Credits to Nano Workout

Another thing you can do is to really focus on your arms. When extending your arm to push the vacuum, feel the pressure on your triceps. Then when pulling the vacuum back, feel your biceps do the work.

Do squats while cleaning the window! When cleaning with your hand in an up-down motion, squat down every time you slide the rag down against the window, then stand back up when working towards the top of the window. If your window is a little taller, great opportunity to do calf raises as you reach up!

Credits to bettaliving.co.uk

Washing dishes? Standing leg extensions (backwards)! Keeping your leg straight, raise your leg backwards. You will feel this in your hamstrings (back of the thigh muscles), and on your glutes. Repeat it on the same leg a number of times, whichever number is convenient to you, then do the same with the other leg. For example,if you did 10 times with your left leg, do 10 on the right leg too.

Here are more tips to incorporate exercises in your daily life:

  

Maintaining a workout routine is definitely helpful if you have a sedentary lifestyle, an hour a day is   If you're wanting to maintain your current weight, exercise 3, maybe 4 times a week. If you're trying to lose weight, exercise 5-6 times a week.

For every hour spent on the computer, watching TV, or playing video games, take a 5 or 10 minute break to move. Stand up and walk around the house or hit the stairs, anything to boost the blood flow which has been restricted in your seated position. Please try to avoid snacking during this break. Instead, drink some water! The majority of us sitting in front of screens don't drink enough water, so replenish yourselves.
At the same time, don't eat anything when in front of the screen. Like I discussed in my previous post about sedentary lifestyle factors, it's a natural instinct to crave something to eat. Once you start eating, there's no limit to it; and before you know it, you will have finished a family size bag of chips!

If you do feel like eating, grab something healthy and arrange your plate to keep a decent portion size. When you do this, eat at the dining table, or anywhere away from the screen. Let the food be your focus of attention; this way, you'll feel fuller, and better satiated than snacking nonstop.  Do not grab an infinite supply of the food, like a full bag of peanuts, or the whole box of raisins to munch. Check out these healthy ideas:

 
       
At the end, stay on the lookout for ways to incorporate physical activity around your schedule, with regular exercise, creating workouts out of your routinely activities, and limiting the amount of time spent in front of the screen or sitting.

Share how you made these changes!

Sedentary Lifestyle - Factors Leading to the "Sitting Disease"

As I mentioned in Good Posture For a Better You Part 2, here's to analyzing the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle.

Sedentary lifestyle, or as WebMD calls it a "Sitting Disease", is rapidly growing. The #1 factor leading to this is: technology. As repetitive as it may sound, it really is one of the major root causes of our sedentary lifestyle. And I'm not just referring to computers/laptops here, but any other devices that reduce physical labor.

Gone are the days when women washed clothes by hand (in most households), rubbing and scrubbing all the dirty scuffs, rolling and wringing the clothes dry, and finally hanging them on the line. All these efforts are replaced by washing machines and dryers. All you have to do, is toss the clothes in the washing machine, then transfer them to the dryer when they're done.

Let's be honest, technology is about reducing manual work, increasing your level of comfort, and promote more luxury for the mankind.

I found this world map showing approximate statistics for the level of inactivity between men and women across the globe, take a look:




Very few places have carpet brooms, where you squat down and brush the dust and debris off of rugs and carpets. They're replaced with vacuum cleaners or carpet steam cleaners. Don't get me wrong, vacuuming does burn some calories, but not as much as the old carpet brooms. You see what I'm saying?

Every now and then, not only do I hear moms complaining about their children playing video games 24/7, but it's an unsettled affair among some couples as well. TV, and computers have been around for ages now, providing entertainment 24/7, but the gaming industry has been booming exponentially. As you might notice, there are a lot more people, as old as late 30s, who play video games regularly. The heightened sense of gaming pleasure results from better graphics, more role-playing games, and greater interactivity with the games. A popular genre has been that of MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) which tend to be more engaging by bringing together gamers from all over the world. You might have heard of some of these, such as Guild Wars, Runescape, League of Legends, etc.



While we're engaged on-screen for prolonged hours, it's natural to reach for something to eat. The downside to it, is that you can eat infinitely! Not to mention the haphazard food choices, mainly consisting of quick foods, ranging from microwave meals to a mere ketchup sandwich; otherwise snacking on a bag of chips, pack of cookies, soda, or sugary energy drinks, and the list goes on. If you have a game party at home, everyone's snacking and playing, which can easily last for up to 5 hours. This is one of the psychological loopholes I used to finish my pack of carrots because they went bad. I ate them while chatting with a friend, and before I knew it, the carrots were gone! Simultaneously, there are some computer or gaming addicts who even forget to eat, easily spending hours with an empty stomach, which is equally unhealthy.
          
It seems like we exist with two extremes - those who are all about sports, and those who enjoy video games and other computer-related sitting activities. And to be fair, there is a population of some who manage to be engaged in both, kudos to you!

Here's a short story about Ricky Naputi from Guam, I watched this episode last year from the show 900 Pound Man on TLC. I'm sure some of you might be familiar with it:



Now don't get me wrong. I'm not targeting any race, ethnicity, religion, or nationality, but this clip only serves as an example to learn the importance of having an active lifestyle and maintaining a healthy weight.
By showing this video, I don't mean to say that this will happen to any of you. Although, when you think about it, how did Ricky gain all this weight? Sedentary lifestyle was one of the contributors, as well as poor diet - which may mean not eating enough foods of high nutritional value, or overeating. With reference to this case, it also helps to have a partner who's just as enthusiastic about keeping a healthy lifestyle as you are.    
There are quite a few jobs that demand manual labor, but several workplaces require computer usage. In most of those jobs, employees can sit up to 9 hours a day, 5 times a week. How exhausting does it sound to be in a 10+ hours flight?    

You can't combat a 6 to 8-hour sitting per day with an intensive hour long, or even worse, 2-hour long workout. Note that when sitting, your lower back, hamstrings, and and hip flexor muscles are tense to maintain the seated position. If you try to even it out with an intense workout, chances are that you might end up injuring yourself. Making the body at rest to abruptly jump into full-throttle action creates unnecessary body tension. You need to keep it balanced by creating the right equilibrium between the times of resting and performing activities.

What are some ways to maintain the balance? How can we cut out some of these sedentary activities or replace them with healthy alternatives? I will discuss that in my next post. Until then, I'll let YOU decide! =}