You are Here

Year: 2019

2019 Health Fashion Relaxation Yoga

Yoga teachers see the same mistake every day—because forward fold is so easy to mess up

3 min read

June 23, 2019 at 04:02AM by CWC Nobody feels neutral about a forward fold. You either crave the the release it gives your hamstrings and low back, or tense up just thinking about reaching for your toes. And while the pose (also known as uttanasana), seems self-explanatory in name, it’s one that’s so easy to mess up. “Whether seated or standing, a forward fold incorporates forward flexion of the spine which decreases the space between your belly and thighs,” says Kat Sand, PhD, senior Director of operations at CorePower Yoga. “A forward fold is a forward tilt of your pelvis meaning your hip bones rotate and tip slightly forward and down.” A forward fold also combines flexibility and range of motion in your hamstrings, says Jeffrey Villanueva, a New York City-based instructor at Yoga Vida. ad_intervals[‘402696_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘402696_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); With a combined 20 years of experience, these yoga teachers always see the same mistakes with uttanasana, or forward fold. Rounding your shoulders “There should never be a rounding of the shoulders,” says Villanueva. “We want to relax the shoulders and draw them away form the ears, hence relieve space in the neck and shoulder area.” A forward fold misconception is that your head has to touch your shins, he explains “If that was the goal, one may be more inclined to round in the spine, which we would not want to encourage,” Villanueva says. “Rather, we lead from the heart center,

Read More

2019 Health

The best way to avoid post-workout neck and back pain? Nail scapula stability

3 min read

June 22, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC Typically, a Barry’s Bootcamp class is 60 minutes of nonstop (very, very) intense movement. From running to sprinting to the weight training (and back and forth between them over and over again), you don’t get much of a chance to stop and breathe. But this morning, instructor Sarah Otey had the part of the class on the floor take a couple of minutes to focus on scapula stability—because if you’re working with your shoulder area incorrectly, you’re going to mess up a whole lot of things. Your scapula plays a pretty major role in your workouts, particularly when doing upper body stuff. “It’s your shoulder blades, where all the back muscles connect,” Otey tells me. “So scapula stability is all about stabilizing the shoulder blade for us to do planks or overhead pressing—or basically solidifying it in a range of motion where we need our shoulder joint to be stable.” ad_intervals[‘402277_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘402277_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); When you’re doing rows, for example, and you don’t push and press with your shoulder correctly, you can really mess with your neck and upper back area… which is already screwed over when you’re sitting at your desk all day. “When we row, we’re working to retract and depress the scapula to its greatest range of motion, which is different for everyone,” says Otey. “Unfortunately if people aren’t aware of how to do this—most raise their shoulders up to their ears

Read More

2019 Health Beauty Relaxation

Four things a facialist would never, ever do before a skin-care treatment

4 min read

June 22, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC There’s nothing quite like the anticipation of going in to get a facial. If you’re anything like me, you spend the hours leading up to the big event staring into your selfie camera like a parakeet in front of a mirror, imaging how positively radiant you’re going to look when your treatment is over. But in addition to checking yourself out and imagining all of the ways a facial is going to better your skin, there are a few other things you need to do—or more importantly not do—before you hop on the table and get your glow on. “With the rise of technology, facial treatments have gotten so much more advanced—gone are the days of simple step treatments where you just, ‘lay back and relax,’” says Saime Demirovic, founder of GLO Spa NY, adding that the days leading up to your facial are just as important as the treatment itself. “When you’re getting a facial at a high tech spa, what you do in the days before can have an affect on your skin.” ad_intervals[‘402238_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘402238_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); Here, she lays out four things you should never, ever do before a facial. But snapping a “before” photo (to compare with the after shot, natch), is highly encouraged. 1. Get injections: If injectables like Botox and filler are a part of your beauty routine (#itme!), it’s important that you space out the appointment with your

Read More

1 … 356 357 358 359 360 … 789