Friday Fitness: Connecting the Elements with Four Basic Yoga Asanas

As many of you may know, our (H3’s) annual spring Yoga Retreat is just around the corner. In efforts to engage and encourage more yoga into your daily routine, I have decided to make yoga this Fitness Friday’s theme. As the weather begins to shape up, and spring begins to bloom, let’s take our yoga outside and re-connect with the four classical elements.

There are four basic outdoor asanas (postures) that yoga practitioners can easily integrate into their outdoor practice. Each posture and the elements of nature they represent have a corresponding impact on the physical as well as the spiritual body.
For example, earth exercises help to provide a grounding effect on our physical and spiritual body. These postures/exercises help to add more stability. Meanwhile, wind postures/exercises represent the ability to achieve freedom and self expression. These will help to nourish your body. Fire exercises present strength, power and zest. These postures represent the continual effort to meet and achieve goals. And lastly, water postures/exercises are the closing postures in your outdoor asana practice. The element of water represents rejuvenation and calm. As you practice your water asana outdoors, feel the elements of nature like a tide washing through your body. Let the water flood your body with soothing energy. As the water asana helps to calm and sooth, it resulting exceeds past your physical body and into your spiritual body.


 

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Get SUP and Paddle!

H3 is excited to “re-announce” our adventure fitness spring and summer series activity: SUP and SUP Yoga!

As mentioned in a previous post, SUP is an acronym for “Stand Up Paddle”. Stand Up Paddle Boarding is a surface water sport, meaning it is a sport that is performed atop a body of water. Stand Up “paddling” differs from “surfing” because essentially you do not need a wave to propel you. Instead, you propel yourself by using a paddle.

Many of you ask about SUP. The most common question I answer is what is it like? If I could relate SUP to something familiar to you, H3 Alumni and or fitness advocates, it is similar to standing on the BOSU ball. It essentially requires basic balancing abilities. The good news is however, if you become unbalanced you simply fall in the water. This, I can acknowledge, feels really nice on a warm spring day in HHI! The idea of balance is sometimes daunting to individuals whom are fearful of injury due to falling. No need to worry about injured hips and wrists with SUP. Your efforts do not permit falling atop a hard surface; as the water simply acts as a pillow for your balanced/unbalanced efforts. Kudos!  

Therefore, note: By engaging in activities like SUP you are actively working to strengthen and tone muscles in your legs, buttocks and core. These are all important in FUNCTIONAL fitness. The “paddling” involved with SUP, facilitates the muscular gains in all the muscles of the back, shoulders, arms, as well as core too. Thus, it is a TOTAL body FUNCTIONAL workout!

My motto for SUP is “Strength Unites Pleasure”. It is for many a new, challenging, FUN form of cross training. It’s low impact and people of any age, and or any athletic ability level can partake.

So what are you waiting for? Come back to H3 and join me! We may even just incorporate SUP Yoga session in the upcoming Yoga Retreat (April 26^th, 27^th and 28^th).

Get’ yourself SUP!

OM Your Way to Better Health

Because of its impact on the circulatory system, stress is linked to cardiovascular disease. Emotional stress can contribute to a wider spectrum of physical stress, i.e. muscle tension and constricted breathing. Efforts to alleviate these physical and emotional stressors will help you in reducing your risk of heart disease as well as other risky illnesses. Yoga, like many forms of physical activity, can help relieve stress. Yoga reduces stress by encouraging deep, rhythmic breathing. It physically increases the flow of blood and oxygen to each part of the body, which in return promotes decreased muscle tension, and overall relaxation.

Emotionally, obstacles with weight management can sometimes bring with them a great deal of unkind self-judgment. In conjunction with physical stress alleviation, yoga also has many psychological benefits. Through yoga we can create a safe, positive environment to reconnect with our bodies. As we connect with our bodies our minds begin to quiet those counterproductive messages. With a committed practice we can re-gain balance and serenity, thus opening our best pathways for improved health.

FYI: H3’s upcoming three-day “Yoga Retreat” workshop held March 24-26th will help immerse you into your journey to less stress and better health. So what are you waiting for? Book now and join us for this refreshing, balancing and rejuvenating retreat!

Top 8 Hilton Head Health Moments of 2010

Here are eight of the many amazing moments in 2010.  What were your top H3 moments of 2010?  Relive your experience in the comments section!



8.  Yoga Retreat – On May 15th, 2010 we completed our first ever yoga retreat with Karen Verechia.  It was an enormous success!  The three magnificent days were spent practicing various styles of yoga in some of the most beautiful and tranquil places on Hilton Head Island including: White Point on Pinckney Island, Lake Joe in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve, and a barren tidal island in the middle of the May River.

7.  The Return of Jeff and Jen – Jeff Ford and Jen Welper both returned to Hilton Head Health in 2010.  Jeff, previously a program intern in the fall of 2009, became a full-time fitness specialist in May 2010.  It was a no brainer to invite Jeff back to H3 after how well received he had been the previous fall.  His passion for Health and Fitness is infectious!  Jen Welper left Hilton Head Health en route to Chicago in 2008, but realized that H3 was her home away from home.  So, in 2010 when the position of executive chef reopened, Jen Welper was the obvious shoe-in.  Both Jeff and Jen added a tremendous amount of experience and enthusiasm to an already incredible H3 team.



6.  New Pool and Front Entrance – In the early spring of 2010 we opened a brand new state-of-the-art swimming pool.  The geothermal heating system combined with mineral filtration and zero degree entry was the first pool of its kind on Hilton Head Island.  The nearly 25-meter pool’s rectangular shape gave H3 the ability to start teaching a variety of new classes.  Oh and let’s not forget the new Hot Tub that had been a desire of repeat guests for years.  About two months later we finished the world class front entrance, fountain and sitting area.

5.  H3 Direct and Our First Corporate Wellness Client – The Zeigler Group, an auto dealer in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo area of Michigan, became our first ever corporate wellness client.  The owner, Harold Zeigler, and his son visited H3 and wanted a way to start implementing the healthy tactics in their workplace.  They enlisted the help of H3 by bringing the experts to their employees.  Bob Wright and I each gave two days of lectures to hundreds of their motivated employees.  Soon they were dropping pounds and getting fit.  H3 Direct was born and interest in the now nationwide program blossomed.

4.  Two Brand-Spanking-New Sister Websites, H3Daily.com and HHHealth.com – If you’ve been reading H3Daily.com for a while you know that it’s gone through a major overhaul as well as an overall improvement in content.  Video, recipes, workouts and articles are now published daily, keeping our guests and their network of friends and family well-informed and motivated.  Then, four weeks ago we unveiled the new flagship HHHealth.com website.  Its combination of strategic organization, design, improved photo content and revamped testimonials page have given potential guests a true representation of what Hilton Head Health is all about.

3.  Wellness Coaching – All six of H3’s Health Specialist’s spent 13 weeks in an intensive wellness coach training program developed by a world-renowned Harvard professor and accredited by the Gold-Standard organization in health and fitness, the ACSM.  The program has improved our in-house individual coaching sessions that every new guest receives, but has also spawned an entire new sector of lifestyle advancement that H3 we’ll be fully unveiling in 2011.  The program includes phone coaching for departing guests that’s expected to drastically improve their opportunity for long-term success. 



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2.  The Filming of the Upcoming HEAVY Documentary for A&E – If you were here this past summer you likely had the opportunity to meet twelve incredible individuals that spent six months at H3 transforming their lives.  Fortunately, for those of you that didn’t get to meet the gang, the entire transformation was captured by Tijuana Entertainment and is set to air throughout the next 3 months starting January 17th, 2010 at 10 pm on A&E.



1.  Devin’s Dash 5k – In 2010 we lost our beloved massage therapist Devin Schaffer to cancer.  But, his battle brought hundreds of family and friends together on Saturday, October 16th, 2010 in a day that can only be described as divine.  His presence was certainly felt along the 3.1 mile running route in Shipyard Plantation.  The turnout was astounding and the over $10,000 raised for the American Cancer Society was a testament to the impact that Devin had on so many lives.  There is no question that the top moment of 2010 at Hilton Head Health was the race in honor of such a beautiful individual.

Meditate this Monday

This weekend, the Yoga Retreat at H3 is back.  It’s a yoga-filled three day workshop – led by H3 Instructor Karen Verechia.  During Yoga Retreat – the guests have the opportunity to participate in yoga sessions on the beach, a special yoga session on a May River sandbar as well as hot yoga in our fitness studios.

I thought it would be a great day to bring back our You Tube Yoga Series from July.  Watch the 5 part series on You Tube with H3 Program Intern, Brigid.  Follow along – and you will be on your way to becoming a full-fledged yogi!

Here’s video #1 – Yoga Basics.  Click the here to watch all 5.

 

Unleash Your Inner Yogi

As a blog contributor here at H3, I also spend my time reading other’s fitness and health blogs.  It’s a great way to keep up with the newest trends in the field - and to keep myself inspired by new topics to share with you! 

 

A few weeks ago, I saw a post about this really cool yoga mat, appropriately named the Trainer Mat.  For those new to yoga or those wanting to learn, this mat is perfect for you!  Each mat has a different stretch or exercise program illustrated on the top, ranging from yoga to Pilates to golf based stretching. 

 

Once considered a technique for stress reduction and relaxation, yoga is proven to promote numerous health benefits that go well beyond the emotional and spiritual aspects. Incorporating yoga into your fitness routine will increase your flexibility and strength, improve your posture, lower your blood pressure, increase your cardiovascular endurance and relieve painful areas (just to name a few). Its popularity has continued to grow because of its adaptability to all fitness levels.

 

The Yoga Trainer Mat has 28 essential yoga poses printed on the mat, as well as video instruction on their website.  The mat is also eco-friendly and comes with a lifetime warranty.  To see more photos and even a test video, visit their website here.

 

Beach Yoga is quite the hit here at H3, and with heightened interest by our guests, Hilton Head Health has developed Yoga Retreat, a three-day workshop focusing specifically on the different types and techniques of yoga.  Whether you are a yoga novice or enthusiast, you will gain a new appreciation for and enjoy the physical and mental health benefits that this activity offers. This workshop is facilitated by H3 Yoga Instructor, Karen Verechia.