Christy Turlington yoga beauty plan

The article on Shape magazine about Christy Turlington and yoga start with: "The next time you see a woman with sculpted muscles, don't assume that she spends hours in the gym. She may have a yoga body from incorporating yoga positions in her workout routines."

So how does Christy Turlington maintain her catwalk-calibre body? She attends yoga three to four times a week. Besides conditioning her muscles, yoga helps her maintain focus and energy. In the article she also adds a touch of philosophy and spirituality.

Is that all Christy Turlington does to maintain her shape? Probably not. I'm sure she eats virtually next to nothing but no one should judge yoga by its simple postures. Yoga poses may look easy and boring but it's one of the most challenging forms of exercise.

The end of this article gives instructions on sun salutation but click on the second link to see the animated version which is much easier to follow.

Christy Turlington yoga beauty plan article from Shape magazine

Animated Sun Salutation pose

Firming your face and neck using yoga

Annelise Hagen, a yoga expert and author of The Yoga Face, shows us some exercises we can do to reduce sagging around the neck and jawline!

Annelise makes a good point about muscles sagging if not used. So, for all of you ladies and gents who fear sagging, check out this video!

Stop my sagging!

Christy Turlington - weight loss & yoga

I've had a few friends comment about their weight gain over the past couple of months. It could be the change of season (Australia is now approaching the 'dreaded' summer) which inspired my friends to do something before shedding the clothes for the upcoming hotter months.

During my research I found that yoga can help one lose weight. This is due to the person becoming "mindful" about what they consume. I believe that it's also because yoga (at least certain types of yoga such as Vinyasa) build muscles and therefore the body burns more calories when resting.
yoga for weight loss

Christy Turlington says she did yoga 3 times a week and pilates once a week while she was pregnant.
How Christy maintained her weight during pregnancy

Lady Gaga and meditation

I was quite blown away by the depth of Lady Gaga in her interview with Ellen. She tells the audience she does Bikram yoga and her teacher suggested that she spend 15 minutes per day meditating and thinking compassionate thoughts about herself. Lady Gaga admits to only meditating for five minutes because 15 minutes would drive her "mental" but what a wonderful way to start your day.

It's one thing thinking compassionate thoughts of others but if we cannot love and accept ourselves, then why would anyone else love and accept us?

Lady Gaga interview on Ellen

Babar does yoga too!

Just for some inspiration!

Essential steps for someone who wants to maintain—and even elevate—their emotional health during down times

As Jack Canfield, co-founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul series, says: 

"Turn off CNN (Constantly Negative News) and turn on your own inner movie of that which you want to create in your life. Live from your vision, not some externally created “reality” piped into your brain by the media. Look for the positive in your life and celebrate it."

In the interview he mentions four more things to keep in mind that will help you keep your emotional well-being in check no matter what’s going on:

1. Keep Dreaming Big

2. Believe in Yourself

3. Believe It Is Possible

4. Become an Inverse Paranoid (believe that the world is going to do you good instead of bad)

All of the above makes sense. If we're going to waste time thinking about things which really get us nowhere, we may as well think grandiose and be a little uplifted for the day!

I've been thinking of an Audi S5 for many months now and nothing has happened yet. But I sure as hell am uplifted whenever I think of it!

So how does this perennially happy man stay this way? He does yoga of course. Not to mention 20 minutes of meditation every day amongst other things. 

I could add some cynical views here but why pollute my thoughts with negativity. That's like dreaming of an Audi S5 but with the driver being my worst enemy. 

To read more about Jack Canfield's insights: Jack Canfield interview

 

The Two Most Damaging Emotions to Physical and Emotional Well-Being

I'm starting off the day by reading an article written by Dr.John Demartini.

He writes that the two emotions, fear and guilt, affect our physical and emotional well-being. But, he continues:

"We have the power to heal within our own minds and hearts. Just as imbalanced emotional feelings can result in fear and guilt and can lead us into illness, the balanced feelings of love and appreciation can bring about our return to wellness. Love and gratitude can fortify our immune systems and initiate physiological poise throughout our body."

For those of you going through an emotionally challenging time, I suggest meditation or gentle yoga. It may take some time to find the right instructor but with any relationship in life, it's important to have the connection. The meditation will leave you with a sense of acceptance and gratitude thus the healing of the heart begins.

Dr.Demartini's article of two most damaging emotions

Christy Turlington & yoga

Is this really necessary? I understand sex sells and all but does the white tank need to be wet!?

Further to this, I'm told one should not attempt this asana if they have lower back problems. Clearly, she does not.

But here is an even more impressive picture of Christy Turlington! This asana is not an easy one as it requires a lot of focus, flexibility, balance and of course practice!

Good luck to all of you who want to try! Best to attempt this asana with blocks on the outside of your legs and pushing down with your hands to lift yourself up. I still have not mastered this pose as I don't have enough strength yet. Soon though!

DTE hits 55c! 5c above my prophecy!

Back in April 19, I blogged about a dream/prophecy (being dramatic here) I had. It was regarding a stock in my portfolio, Dart Energy (DTE), which fell to 50c (initially bought it at around 90c)! The reason why I even bothered blogging about it was because some of my dreams actually have come true in the past. And it started to happen when I began yoga on a regular basis. I've come to the conclusion that it is when one is meditating, they're in a different state and are much more in-tune to other "things".

So, imagine my surprise when I saw it break past the support level of 73c to see it trail down to its all-time low of 55c! It would seem that the 55c mark is now the new support line and has since recovered to of about 63c!

Maybe I'm reading too much into it considering the Australia sharemarket has performed very poorly but it seems much more exciting to think I can 'predict' a share price through my dreams!

Blind faith..

When second youngest NSW footy player in State Origin history, Will Hopoate,  chose a two-year Mormon mission rather than sign up with clubs offering big dollars, I was gobsmacked. At 19, how much brain washing must he have gone through to choose blind faith over something tangible. I'm not just talking about a big dollars but the loss of time in honing your skills as a player. Albeit his youth, he would no doubt be less of a skilled player after a two year absence!

I've never believed religion to be an important aspect in my life. And always wondered why so many religious believers behave in mass hysteria.

But as I read up on how to help a friend through a bereavement process, I wonder if choosing faith is such a bad idea after all. My dearest friend suddenly lost her father and I can't even begin to imagine what she is going through. Maybe it's true what they say. It's times like these when you assess priorities and think of your life in a different light. When things which once mattered fade into the background...

Food for energy after an illness

Yesterday was my first session back at yoga after a 2 week absence. It's been a crazy two weeks with the flu, emotional distress (see previous post: Tibetan Healing 2) and bathroom renovation (which meant no rest for most of the week).

I thought I was well enough to attend the basic flow class until I found myself feeling dizzy and ready to collapse at the first Utkasana (Chair pose: see below image). It's not a hard pose once you build up strength but two weeks without practice and no exercise, it's torture.

What was I to do? Take rests in between the poses and I didn't go down as low.
 
Back home, disappointed and tired, I searched for what I could eat to recover my strength asap!

If this website is anything to go by, we should be eating protein every day because our bodies don't have the ability to store it and "Our cells and immune systems rely on protein for maintenance and re-building."

Of course there is other important content such as how much/types of carbs to eat, why we should drink a lot of water etc, but I do all that stuff anyway. It's a good site and hope it helps the readers.
Eating for energy
 
Can't wait to jack up the protein, recover fully so I can start flexing my moves in class and be the envy of everyone in class. Oops I mean, recover fully and continue being my very best in yoga.

Sometimes I can't help but look at myself and admire my achievements in class. And at times, snub others who aren't as good as myself. It's vanity at its worst I know. I need something to bring me back down to earth! Perhaps the flu.. haha

Tibetan Healing 4

Ok, this really will be the last post about Tibetan healing as I'm sure people are sick of it.

I just need to mention a few things about it before I bury it in cyberspace.

Two weeks ago, I discovered something about my partner which I wasn't fully aware of. In short, it was a credit card debt that I didn't know about. Being a financially savvy person, it was pretty stupid of me to not know about this way before and not demand that I know of it before we became involved.

Anyway, it was way worse than I thought and being a results-orientated person that I am, we sat down to figure out a way to pay this all off. I thought I was handling the whole incident ok despite being in shock. But a couple of days after listening to the chanting cd, I became uncontrollably angry and upset. I also cried a lot which I rarely do and managed to have a deeper conversation with my partner after all this emotional roller-coaster ride.

I'm not saying it was due to the chanting cd because I'm still skeptical about the whole thing but I must say it was pretty coincidental. Also, I've been listening to it whilst scanning through my charts but I haven't picked a stock that's given me a spectacular return as yet! I know I know, it isn't supposed to do that type of thing anyway...

My last advice to people: I know financial advisers tell you to know your partner's finances inside out before getting involved, and I can tell you, as unromantic as that is, you won't find better advice anywhere. It certainly will save you a lot of heartache and empower you in many ways!

Lastly, this is EXACTLY how I feel.

Tibetan Healing 3

Yesterday being the last day of the MBS festival, I made my way there again one last time. Turns out the venerable Lobsang Tendar was fully booked again!! Do that many people out there need tantric healing?!

Somewhat disappointed, I got the next best thing! A cd of Tibetan tantric chants, prayers and meditation by Tendar himself!

My Bose has been playing nothing but Armin van Buuren's "A state of trance" for the past few weeks. Going from that to now chantings by a Tibetan monk... The neighbours must think I'm a complete weirdo.

Anyway, I don't entirely know what I'm looking from this chanting CD but all proceeds from the sale of any of the items that are sold through their website or the festivals go to educating and providing healthcare for the Tibetan children. Good deed done for the week! Now where is my positive karmic energy?! (Just kidding of course)

For anyone interested in purchasing the CD, here is the website:
Tendar's Tibetan tantric chant

Ahimsa

At times after a session, we will all have our hands in prayer position and listen to our yoga instructor say "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" which translates to "May all beings everywhere be happy and free".

It always seemed a good way to end a class when we were all spaced out and "at another place".

But upon research, I found more to this mantra than just consideration of others who may be less fortunate than ourselves. 

The mantra speaks of Ahimsa (literal translation being non-violence), one of the ideals of Hinduism. It refers to respecting all living things and an acceptance that all living things are connected. Although one might think of non-violence as an act, it also refers to verbal and emotional non-violence. Because violence of any type bears its own karmic consequences.

Gandhi, the strongest proponent of ahimsa, said: "Ahimsa, non-violence, comes from strength, and the strength is from God, not man. Ahimsa always comes from within."

LOKAH SAMASTA SUKHINO BHAVANTU
May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute to happiness and freedom for all.

Tibetan Healing 2

Curiosity got the better of me today!
Nursing a sore throat, fever and body ache I pulled myself out of bed to make my way to the Mind Body Spirit festival.


I knew that the venerable Tendar was scheduled to be on stage to chant at 10:30am. Assuming that everyone was as intrigued as I was, I got the front seat 15 minutes early just so I could get a good view and receive most of the energy he may send out! What I failed to realise was that today is a Friday and most people work! Anyway, so he came on and spoke about what we can expect after his chant. Calmness, serenity, centredness, peace and so on. He says if there is an imbalance within ourselves, we are always running here and there (maybe mentally) but not really anywhere in particular.

As he started chanting (sounding as deep as a didgeridoo) I stared at this person thinking how cold he must be in nothing but an orange robe and wondering what I was supposed to feel. After much deliberation I finally closed my eyes hoping to get maximum benefit from this chanting!
And here's what I started thinking:
1. Soy Cappuccino
2. Noise coming from the psychic reading area
3. Australian share market
4. Myself as a monk wearing an orange robe
5. Freaked out by the previous thought, replacing it with an Audi S5
6. Lunch
7. "Why aren't I feeling anything?"

The venerable Tendar paused and spoke of having peace within ourselves so that the calm energy we send out help those who have been struck by natural disasters such as Japan. Whether it works or not, I'm all for being compassionate and having positive thoughts of those who are less fortunate. As he continued chanting, I wondered what the benefits of chanting is and whether it would help me pick better stocks!!

After the chanting, I went looking for their stall. $50 for Tibetan tantric healing.. I was tempted until I asked one of the monks what Tibetan tantric healing actually is.
"It's healing" said she.
Err ok.. I should hope so since that's what it says it is... The female monk explained further that the method is only passed onto a chosen few and that she was not one of them. She said that he (venerable Tendar) would know what type of healing I would need. I was tempted but sessions were booked out until later in the afternoon. Maybe I'll be back on the weekend to get some tantric healing.

Good quote

For the life of me, I cannot recall where I read this quote but it struck a chord with me. Maybe because I grew tired of trying to help friends with their issues but seeing no real action on their part.
The thing I don't understand about most people is that they have issues that they think about, talk about, complain about, become angry and frustrated about but these same people don't action anything.
Is life really that long that one can ponder and be action-less for god-knows-how-long? Isn't time (and life) too precious to be wasted on non-events? If you're not happy, aren't you ultimately responsible for creating your own happiness?
Whether I just have a really strong character, I'm emotionless or I'm a go-getting fire sign, it's inconceivable for me when people don't take matters into their own hands.

Anyway, the quote is: "When you meet someone, show a little kindness. For they probably are going through their own struggles in life too". It's not verbatim but you get the idea!

PS: Still deciding whether I should check out this Tibetan healing business! MBS festival is until this coming Sunday....

Tibetan Healing

I don't know if anyone has heard of this but it's got me intrigued. My yoga instructor, Vicky, spoke about it excitedly after our session today. It is a part of the Mind, Body, Spirit festival held bi-annually in Sydney. This is where all things weird and wonderful are showcased in the exhibition centre.

We were told to visit this "Tibetan tent" if we go to the festival saying that last time she went, she was crying for 30 minutes after the chanting. Apparently, she is very intuitive (and maybe even psychic) and therefore there is a lot of energy on the crown chakra but that her heart chakra was blocked. After this tibetan healing, apparently it was all released.

Whether the instructor was exaggerating or telling fibs, only she knows that. But it got me thinking: "Is this stuff for real? And if people need healing, how do they know they need healing? Do you just know after you are spiritually enlightened that you require more healing elsewhere? Can one really feel a blocked energy? Is this stuff for real (yes, I am repeating myself)?"

So I looked up on trusty old google and found this! The only Tibetan healer who will be present at the MBS festival!
Venerable Lobsang Tendar

I wonder if I have to pay?! And if so, will I just get turned off that everything there just seems to be some scam! Are the ones who attend just people who need some fulfillment of a void within themselves?! If we are truly content and happy and at ease with our situation and environment, do we really need to search for enlightenment?

So many questions and not one solid answer. No wonder I get headaches! (It's actually caffeine withdrawal symptoms)

For those of you who are interested in attending MBS festival:
Mind Body Spirit Festival

Let us all have unblocked chakras! ohmm

Body sculpting yoga poses

Here is a site to inspire all those who want to sculpt their bods with yoga. There are only 7 slides with photos of fit ladies to inspire the laziest of people.

My body has certainly changed through regular practice. I have basically no fat on my back and is rock hard, my arms are leaner and toned etc etc..

I'd encourage anyone to try yoga if they want to see physical changes. But like any types of exercise, if you don't enjoy it, you won't keep up with it.

My advice? If physical changes are the only thing you're after but you don't like slow paced movements, look elsewhere.

Body sculpting yoga poses

Little me vs Big me

Val, our lovely Russian yoga instructor, took us through a tough beginner's session today. The reason why a beginner's session is tough is because she spends a lot of time re-aligning the students during this class. And as she should. Bad yoga postures can easily result in injury. So, as she walked around adjusting students' postures, I was left there holding onto the asanas. It is good to build strength this way but can be torturous for students like myself who prefer short bursts of energetic asanas.

After our recovery pose (savasana) we sat cross legged to re-enegize ourselves. This is usually the time where the instructors will share some insight or philosophies of yoga. With our hands in prayer infront of our hearts, Val spoke of two sides of each person. "A little me and a big me". The little me, she said, is the part of us who is angery, jealous, bitter and frustrated whereas the "big me" is happiness, calm, purity and light. As she so wisely put it: "Let us all achieve the big me every day".

two month hiatus

For those who have known me for a long time will know that I have been a lover of alcohol since I turned 18. Not to sound like a person who desperately needs an intervention or AA meetings but I think alcohol can be enormous help in many ways. Controlled consumption leads to stress reduction, decreased shyness, joy and the list goes on.

However, when one loses control all hell can break loose. When things in your life is stable, control is easy. When life isn't so stable, alcohol becomes an escape for many tortured souls. Perhaps the key in knowing how your life is going is understanding your emotional state.

Things were going fine in my life and having my friend and her son stay with me was fine too (or so I thought). It was not until I went over to a friend's house one night that I realised perhaps I wasn't as "at ease" as I thought. After downing about 6 apple martinis in less than 3 hours I woke up then next morning with the worst hangover of my life. I had a flight to catch at 7pm so the whole day was spent literally crawling to the toilet then crawling back to bed to shake off the nastiness. The poor godson was concerned and asked why I had a headache. How do you answer such things to a five year old without the explanation becoming constant 'why's'?

The disappointment in myself was utterly heartbreaking. I had made plans to spend the day with my godson before my flight to Hawaii to ensure he wasn't left feeling abandoned. The poor boy was already going through a hard time with the parents' separation. So, having let him down made me feel as though I, the godparent, was another passing phase in his life. That incident took place on the 16th of March and hence it is coming up to two months. It is the longest I have gone without alcohol and although I do miss it occasionally, I cannot bring myself to have alcohol without the resurgence of the disappointment and regret I feel within myself.

Why does this justify a blog entry?
After many yoga sessions, I still haven't mastered accepting things for what they are. And I have not felt any more healthier than when I was drinking.

Where is a miracle when you need one!