The Health Benefits of Yoga

Photo: Real Simple &

Tamara Schlesinger

In the world of public concern over antioxidants, body toxins, and the word "cleansing," hot yoga - yoga performed in rooms with temperatures between 85 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit - is definitely in. While there are many different styles, the basic health benefits revolve around the belief that the body sweats out toxins when exposed to heat, which then boosts metabolism and one's immune system. Here's just a few more benefits people claim from hot yoga:

Muscle flexibility

Except for a handful of synthetic compounds designed specifically not to break under cold temperatures, most things are considerably less flexible in cold environments, muscles included. As a result, in hot yoga, one's muscles are hypothetically more flexible as they're literally warmed up, potentially boosting one's range of motion, aiding injury recovery, and helping to prevent accidental injuries when exercising.

Weight loss

The heat from hot yoga makes the body increase its pulse without heavy joint impact. It also helps to bring down chemicals in the body that help a body retain fat that are related to stress, and may help to boost metabolism through thyroid stimulation. This combination of factors makes it potentially easy for the body to shed pounds faster when doing hot yoga than when not.

Joint lubrication

As one ages, the body becomes less flexible and able to recover from injuries. By doing yoga, one activates groups of muscles and moves bones that might otherwise go ignored, which can help fight and delay the onset of arthritis, muscle, and joint pain brought on by the natural processes of aging and joint impacts brought on by work and life in general.

Immune system performance

By participating in hot yoga one brings up their core temperature beyond what the body normally self-regulates, which then makes the body act as if it's undergoing fever conditions when perfectly healthy. This, then brings up white blood cell counts and stimulates the immune system, which in turn makes it harder for the body to undergo actual illness, which is obviously a good thing and an easy way for hot yoga to extend one's general well-being and life expectancy.

Stress reduction

It's been said for decades that exercise and meditation can help one reduce the amount of stress in one's life; in fact, meditation has often been practiced to help alleviate stress in and of itself. Hot yoga requires that the mind put stress factors out of the way in order to pose successfully, and this in turn helps the body to lose weight (or not gain it, as the chemicals that retain fat move less quickly and at lower levels), sleep better, lower the heart rate and blood pressure, and possibly benefit one's mood. While high stress can occasionally make the body perform better, it often proves much tighter and harder to work well, making lower stress (with all its many, many benefits upon one's mental and physical function) something worth pursuing for just about everyone and a definite reason to consider hot yoga.

Written by Andres Halloway Find his other work on schools for forensic science and online accounting degrees

The Benefits of Seeing A Nutritionist

This post was guest written by Sean Ramily, also known for his work on sites like this site and cosmetologyschool.net."

We all try to eat healthy, but in this day and age the amount of information available to us can be downright overwhelming. The list of must-eat and do-not-touch items can be contradictory, confusing, and misleading. On top of that, if you’re eating a diet high in processed foods, you may actually be undernourished. That is where a nutritionist comes in.

A nutritionist, or nutritional therapist, has a degree in nutrition and nutritional education. This highly qualified individual will be able to determine what exactly your diet needs, what nutrients you might be lacking, and how to improve your eating habits.

One of the biggest benefits in seeing a nutritionist is, obviously, if you’re looking to lose weight. Whether you have a slow metabolism, need calorie adjustments, or need more information on what makes a food “healthy,” a nutritionist is able to help you. Reading labels can be a good step in the right direction, but a nutritionist has expert training that can show you details you may have overlooked.

Hand-in-hand with weight loss come vegetarian diets. Many people choose to cut out unhealthy foods by simply focusing on eating only vegetarians and plant-based proteins. Celebrities tout this style of diet, but what they’re not telling you is that they have a team of nutritionists and chefs keeping their nutritional needs balanced. If you’re looking into becoming a vegetarian, you may want to schedule an appointment with a nutritionist to make sure you aren’t overlooking any important diet supplements or health issues.

A good diet can boost your immune system, cut down on sickness, and even ease PMS symptoms. Nutritionists can do a variety of tests to see what nutrients you need to bring about these changes. Diet changes can bring about a huge change for a variety of maladies, like anemia, heart disease, or digestion problems.

If you are an athlete, trying to become more active, or training for any sort of activity, a nutritionist might be able to give you the energy boost you need to reach your next goal. As you become more active, your dietary needs will change – you’ll need more calories, more protein, and maybe even more fat in your diet. A nutritionist can show you exactly how to keep up with your body’s needs.

Allergies seem like the realm of pollen and cat dander. Over-the-counter remedies abound, so why drag a nutritionist into the mix? You may not be aware that food allergies also exist, and come with symptoms far beyond sniffling and sneezing. A nutritionist will be able to improve your health and daily life simply by pointing out remedies you didn’t even know you needed. If you have any unexplainable symptoms, it might be time to see a nutritionist.

Nutritionists can also point out medicine interactions that you didn’t even know existed. Did you know that hormonal birth control can interfere with caffeine metabolism? That cranberry juice can inhibit certain kinds of infections? If you’re looking for some natural remedies, or worried about the efficacy of your prescriptions, a nutritionist can point you in the right direction for the best health.

Most of all, a nutritionist acts as a coach. They are available to teach you how to make healthy decisions, learn how to cook healthy meals, and discover healthy alternatives to old favorites. Even if you don’t have any special health or diet concerns, a nutritionist is able to provide you with great recipes that might really shake up your family meals. If you are trying to make a change in your life, using a nutritionist – in addition to seeing your doctor and even a personal trainer – can be the boost you need to really see results.

Have you ever consulted with a nutrionist? What was your experience?

Fit Moms: Back to WeightWatchers.com

I have a confession to make. I had a major fall-off-the-wagon couple of weeks. Have you ever gone through something similar? A few parties, a miserable illness that had me down for the count for a good day and a half (you'd think that would've taken off a few pounds), PMS, stressful work projects...I could go on and on. With that, I've completely lost my diet mojo!! Argh!! I had hit a plateau about 2-3 weeks ago, and suddenly I gained 5 lbs. Needless to say, it blows, but I'm not deterred. Whenever I hit a diet roadblock, I always turn to Weight Watchers.

Are you surprised? Here's a little background... I was able to lose 40+ pounds after each of my pregnancies, and I lost that weight in 4-5 months. While I had great success, the one part of WeightWatchers.com that always bothered me was the fact that the Points system didn't account for healthy protein appropriately. For example, if I had an entire chicken breast, I wiped out a good portion of my daily Points. Plus, you could eat cake all day and as long as you were within the Points you were allotted, everything was good. But that's finally changed.

If you've seen the recent Weight Watchers advertising with Jennifer Hudson (from American Idol), you may have noticed a new PointsPlus system. It's my dream come true! Now Points are calculated by accounting for fat, carbohydrates, protein and fiber. It's not just based on calories, fat and fiber. Woohoo!! Also, the PointsPlus system gives you way more points! I was shocked at the daily and weekly allotment. I just finished my first week and I have 16 points left! (Granted, I worked out a good 17 Points-worth, so I may have been left with less if I was lazier.)

I signed up for the 3-month plan, which should do the trick since I want to lose approx. 12 pounds. With one week under my belt, I've already lost at least 2-3 pounds (my official weigh-in is tomorrow). I'll also be interested to see if my fat percentage goes down. (You know how obsessed I am with bodyfat. LOL!)

Stay tuned and please let me know if you're a current or past Weight Watchers fan and what your experience has been.

What to Look for in Your Fitness Center Child Care

When you're looking for a fitness center to be a member of, there are many things that you want to consider. What kinds of machines does the gym have for you to use? Are they in good working condition? Does the fitness center have a pool or other activities that the entire family would enjoy? And then there's a big part of choosing a gym: the child care that's offered.


If you're a mom (and chances are that if you're reading this blog post, you are), then you certainly want to do your best to find a fitness center that offers child care. But what exactly should you look for? Follow these tips to find the absolute best child care available in a fitness center.


The Staff
The first thing you want to consider is the type of staff that your gym's child care employs. Does the staff include at least one person that has been trained in first aid care and CPR? Is the staff filled with young teenagers whose only experience is some babysitting? Or is the staff filled with people that are highly experienced and qualified to care for your children? Don't be afraid to ask these types of questions when interviewing various child care centers.


Time Limits
One thing that all moms should be sure to ask fitness center child care is if there is a time limit for watching their children. Many gym child care centers have a particular amount of time that they will watch each child while their mothers work out or hit the pool. Be sure to ask this ahead of time so that you are fully aware of how long your workouts will be able to last sans children. Depending on how long you plan on exercising for, this could be a make-it or break-it factor.


Number of Kids Allowed
Wouldn't it be a pain in the you-know-what to bring your children with you to the gym and arrive only to find out that the child center is over capacity? Be sure to ask the gym's child care center if there is a maximum capacity for their center. If the cap-off limit is fairly low, you may want to consider finding a gym child care center that allows more children. Otherwise, you can consider asking the gym's child care employees when they are busiest and when they are slowest, and then you can plan your workouts accordingly.


Finding a child care program can be challenging—particularly if you're looking for one that's in a fitness center. By addressing these three areas, you can help to ensure that you find the gym child care center that's best for you and your needs.

Katrina Robinson is a freelance writer, providing high quality content to Viamedic.com, a US located medication facilitator, selling only FDA approved medications and providing comprehensive research, such as the Skin Resource Center.

(Picture Credit: Fitness21, Almighty Dad)

Product Review: Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein - Chocolate

I'm trying to build muscle while losing fat. What better way to do that than adding some protein shakes? They make a great snack...especially when those late-night cravings kick in.

A friend recently  recommended Beverly International's Ultimate Muscle Protein in chocolate. Normally, I don't particularly care for chocolate-flavored protein powder...plus I'm already up to my eyeballs in vanilla. LOL! So I figured I'd give it a try. Boy, am I glad that I did!

First, it doesn't have that nasty after-taste that many protein powders do. It mixes very easily and it tastes fabulous! Here's the best part of all, if you take some skim milk (1 cup), mix it with 2 scoops of powder and put it in the fridge, you'll be in for a yummy treat. The mixture takes on a mousse consistency and can be eaten with a spoon. It's delicious, filling and helps you get your daily dose of protein. What's better than that?

Do you currently use protein powders? Are there any in particular that you like or dislike? I'd love to hear your recommendations.