Bikram Yoga Flow Online

We cannot (or will not) heat our homes to 105 degrees, but that does not mean that we cannot do the Bikram yoga sequence in the comfort of our own homes. If you are considering trying Bikram or Hot Yoga (which I completely recommend) but do not want to get to the class without any idea about what you are getting yourself into, do this first. This is a full Bikram class video. Unfortunately, it is just the audio instruction, but you can find a full list of the poses here.

I have found Bikram to be much easier in the heat, you just have to let your mind get over the fact that the body is hot. After the first few standing poses things become easier as the body looses up and is able to easily flow from one pose to the next. Sure, the heat may be a bit intimidating, but that is where this handy video comes in. If you are not quite ready for the heat or are traveling but want to get your Bikram flow in, you have this instead.

It's not as good as the real thing and I would highly recommend finding a great Hot Yoga Studio in your area, but for those who do not have or do not want that option, this will do the trick just fine. And, I end this week's posts with ^that ^ massive run on sentence. Yay for a day in Greece and throwing grammar to the wind!

Oh, and if you just want a hot yoga power flow at home, this one is pretty great too!

Standing Bow Bulling Challenge

This is the first of our challenges that has nothing to do with cardio and everything to do with yoga and balancing. Standing Bow Pulling Pose is one of my absolute favorite poses in yoga because it works so many parts of the body. This pose also improves balance, flexibility, and posture. The pose also helps tone all the muscles of the arms, legs, and core.

I would recommend adding this pose to the end of a yoga flow once you are already warmed up. To complete this for the time needed, you will need to look at one spot straight ahead, having the balancing foot locked, and keep a pull between the upper body and the held leg. This pulling action is what helps keep balance in the upper body where both the leg and the body are trying to be as tall as possible. A balance in this push-pull will create a balance in the pose.

The pulling arm should be held around the ankle or foot while the other arm can be straight ahead like above, or, lifted upwards in an ark. Really, the only way the non-holding arm can be is loose and floppsy down at your side. Just find a comfortable place for it and keep it there :)

I would also recommend trying to hold the 90-seconds the first time you get into this pose. It may not happen, but the more you try, the harder it will be since the body is reaching exhaustion. If this pose is new to you, try holding it for 1-minute first.

Good luck and let me know how long you were able to hold this for!

Let's Talk Core

Did you know that this will be the first fitness post of the week?! My, how this week and these posts have flown by! Well, we can, at least, end the work-week with some fantastic core workouts that I know we all are dying to have. Whoever said the a sore core is a bad thing was definitely wrong! That hurt-to-laugh bit is the part I sweat for :) And, speaking of sweat, these workouts are sure to make you.

Yoga for Core

I found this video by stumbling upon Candice's blog, Yoga by Candice. She of course, also has a YouTube channel and updates it with a complete yoga video once a week. The Yoga videos are wonderful, informative, and the yoga flow is fun. Her blog is also fantastic and I am super addicted now!

This yoga video was how I welcomed back working out after my long break. It is great! The core work at the beginning is super helpful and the balances make the flow seem short and fun. I would highly recommend this video to anyone who is an intermediate yogi or higher :)

Belly Bootcamp

Does you belly need a bootcamp? Mine sure does! Funny, but a mashed potato diet does not really do much for chiseling those abs... Neither did the 16+ hours of sleeping/laying around I was doing every day.

Anyway, this belly bootcamp looks like lots of fun and has moves all of us can do at home. It also seems perfect to do after a run or before yoga as a nice warm-up. This could even be done in the morning for a quick wake-up to get that metabolism going :)

4-Minute Abs

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Yes, I just spoke the words that every person loves to hear. Abs in 4-minutes may be a pipe dream, but Brooke Burke-Charvet's ab plan  (in the September issue of Shape) could get us those abs a wee bit faster than otherwise. This 4-minute plan is a well-rounded ab routine that will work all areas of your core. It is also way easier to do in the morning upon waking, before a big meal, or while watching some TV.

I hope your weekend is absolutely wonderful and you have something super fun planned! We will be checking out a local Mexican restaurant with the family and maybe even making it out to the beach for the second time this week! Ahh, going to the beach twice in one week makes me feel like it's high school again. Hey, with weather this nice, there is really no reason not to :)

Happy TGIF!

A Back Sculpting Yoga Flow

Happy Monday! Hopefully, your weekend was fantastic and you were able to do something wonderful! This was the first weekend the hubs and I were both home together, so we had an easy weekend at home.

This weekend I was also able to do some reading on back strength that led me down the rabbit hole of interesting reads. It all started when I went to the chiropractor and got a massage and adjustment for the first time in 2+ months. It was not the comfiest of visits and I am quite certain that my masseuse, who usually likes me, was trying to kill me. The chiropractor was also quite disappointed with my massive back tightness and asked if I had been having back spasms or cut back on yoga. Guilty on both counts, for shame.

I later read a couple of articles on back strength (including this one) and it led me down the bunny hole of internet reading. Turns out that yoga can help us in more ways than body weight training alone. This Huff Post article talks about the significance of back pain and whether or not yoga is a viable remedy while this article talks about the reasons yoga is good for us to do.

For these reasons, I wanted to create a simple interval workout based on a few core yoga poses that help with back strength and flexibility. As far as I know, we have never touched on back workouts here on P+K, this one is a great way to go into that new territory- it will work your lats, trapezius, teres, rhomboids, and even the bum!

I recommend doing at least one set of this, holding each pose for as long as possible. Then, if you want to try it all again, see if you can hold each for a few seconds longer! If you are doing two sequences of this, no need to do the first set of sun salutations the second time around. Also, links or explanations of every exercise are listed below :)

Sun Salutations

Sphinx Push-Up

Down Dog Plank Rolls: Go from downward facing dog to plank, hold in plank, then return to downward facing dog. The movement should cause a roll in the back, much like a wave.

Locus Pose

Banana-Boat

Cobra Push-Ups: Start in cobra pose and push-up so you are almost in upward facing dog. Be sure you are using the arms and upper back. Hold at the top before coming back down to cobra.

Side Plank Dips

Swimmies

Dancing Shiva