6 Month Fitness Project

Picking a Yoga Studio

If you're planning on giving yoga a try I suggest giving more than one yoga studio a try before making any decisions. There are many variations of yoga and each studio has a different style. I've found that yoga studios tend to be much more soothing and true to traditional yoga than the type of yoga class you will find at your local gym. This is because a yoga studio is built around practicing yoga, whereas the gym needs to be more utilitarian for multiple purposes. Here are a few things to consider:

- Location: the closer the studio is to your home, the more likely you are to attend regularly.

- Atmosphere: if there's hard core throbbing music in the next room, chances are you are not going to get the full benefit of your yoga session.

- Instructors: the instructors should be experienced, well trained and have a personality you are comfortable with. The last point is important, there is a certain amount of trust involved with yoga and if you don't like your instructor you just won't do as well with the class.

- Class times: many studios have classes throughout the day and are easy to fit into your schedule.

- Cost: in my area typical classes are between $8 - $12 per session, they may be more or less depending where you live.

- Class size: avoid classes that are packed to the gills with students, it's too uncomfortable to move and make the most of your practice. Smaller class sizes tend to allow the instructor to give more hands-on personal instruction.

Hope this is all helpful, next time I'll talk about what to expect during a yoga class.

Ann Teliczan

http://www.anntopia.com

Guest Post: Yoga, What a Deal

Yoga has been the most rewarding form of exercise that I've found. It makes me stronger, mentally and physically while increasing my flexibility. I feel like I'm getting the most for my efforts because of this. The most surprising thing I noticed about yoga is how important improving my flexibility has been for me. When I was younger, I was pretty proud of being able to put both my feet behind my head... that is until a bratty neighborhood kid pushed me over when I was showing off.

I always took this flexibility for granted until I went to yoga about five years ago and realized how stiff I was. I was having low back pain and my physical therapist recommended it. In two weeks Yoga cleared up what massages and physical therapy couldn't even touch after months of treatment. Once I was better I quit going, until I started having problems again.

This year I took a different approach, I started attending yoga class regularly even though I felt fine. In fact, last month I bought an unlimited monthly membership and started attending class several times a week. I noticed a huge difference in how happy I was, how much stress I felt and how well I slept at night. Next time I post, I'll give you some tips on how to get started.

Ann Teliczan

Guest Post: How do I stay on course when the luster fades and the goal is still far away?

It's a few days in, and we're finding it hard to keep up with all our wonderful intentions. This is generally what happens with most people, so it's completely normal. What usually happens after that is we become discouraged and feel like failures, then give up. But since I'm a coach, I know better. For me, I'm going to see this as a fun experiment, and play with it, not making too many intentions and holding myself accountable without making myself wrong.

It's so easy to beat ourselves up when we don't follow through with every fitness goal we make for the day.  It's almost a reflex!  We start out by creating 3 or 4 goals for the day.  For a few days we're good as gold, so we start adding more daily goals.  Inevitably, life intrudes and we accomplish perhaps 2 or 3 of seven daily goals, forgetting that we have other personal, business, and family goals every day, too, and that's balancing a lot of spinning plates.  We get out the figurative bullwhip and start flailing at ourselves, criticizing, belittling, whittling away at our confidence, sense of self-control, and long-term focus. 

I still find my mind going there, but I no longer listen to it.  I understand that its function is to help me be better, achieve more of my potential, and protect me from perceived dangers, but that function can limit me unless I repattern the direction of thought to "Okay, these are the facts of today.  What's the next best step toward my long term goal right now?"   Sometimes the next best step is to make simpler, fewer goals for the next day.  Sometimes it's to take a big drink of water, or a walk, or make a commitment to do a more vigorous workout the next morning.  And it's always to remember what I *was* successful at that day.

Kerul Kassel

www.NewLeafSystems.com and www.StopProcrastinatingNow.com .  Helping individuals and groups with productivity, performance, effectiveness, and procrastination.  kerul@newleafsystems.com