December 13, 2018 at 11:47AM Confession: I’d never set foot inside a Costco until 2013. I’d never lived near one (the closest location when I was growing up was like, an hour away), so I’d only heard stories from other people about how you could find literally everything there, from books to jewelry to 24-packs of boneless, skinless chicken breast. But when I went there for the first time with a friend of mine while visiting her family, never in my wildest dreams would I have anticipated finding the world’s best yoga pants. And these aren’t even like, Lululemon yoga pants sold at a discount or anything. These are Costco’s own store brand—Kirkland—and I have never had a better, more comfortable, longer-lasting pair of yoga pants. The boot-cut, full-length yoga pants are made out of a nylon-and-Spandex blend, with a mid-rise waistband that contains a hidden pocket. And while they look a little basic IRL, the pant fabric is thick and durable (no see-through booty here), meaning that I have had my current pair since 2015 and they have yet to rip or tear, despite wearing them multiple times per week. They stretch with you during your yoga workout, but work just as well for any person’s Thanksgiving or Christmas wardrobe. (Stretchy pants = all the more room for that second piece of pie, amirite?) But the best part, in my opinion: They come in tall sizes. And not the usual “Visit us online for extended sizing!” nonsense that us
Category: Yoga
Timber! Your yoga mat could be actively sabotaging your balancing poses
December 07, 2018 at 11:36AM You’ve had your downward dog and warrior poses mastered for years, but when you put yourself into trickier situations that require some serious balancing skills, it only takes a second to fall out. So what gives? Well, according to a podiatrist, you might be able to blame your yoga mat. In a recent episode of the Urban Wellness Clinic’s Muscle Medicine podcast, Emily Splichal, DPM, reveals the prime yoga accessory could actually be why balancing is so hard. “When you go onto a yoga mat, you’re dampening or blocking the small nerves in the bottom of the feet,” she says. And those nerves are crucial for mastering one-legged poses: They have quicker reaction times, making them better at sensing tiny movement changes to help keep you balanced. Unfortunately, due to the texture and thickness of mats, those nerves are often suppressed, forcing you to rely on the large nerves on the outside of the ankle that don’t do nearly as good of a job at keeping you stable. “When you go onto a yoga mat, you’re dampening or blocking the small nerves in the bottom of the feet.” —Emily Pplichal, podiatrist Since all soft surfaces in general are culprits—and there’s no way you’re doing yoga on a hardwood floor—there’s really no quick fix besides Dr. Splichal’s go-to mat: the Naboso ($110), a proprioceptive mat that’s specifically designed to stimulate the nerves in the bottom of the feet for better control and stability during exercise. “There are tiny little
Peloton yoga is here, which means you can finally practice crow pose in peace
December 05, 2018 at 08:58AM Forget trekking to your favorite yoga class before the sun comes up: Thanks to Peloton‘s new yoga classes, it’s now easier than ever to bring the yoga studio to you. And, bonus (at least, if your practice looks anything like mine does)—there will be no one around to see you tumble out of tree pose in the wee hours of the morning. On Wednesday, the brand, which is currently valued at $4 billion, announced that it would be launching its first-ever yoga studio alongside its West Village Tread studio in New York City. Like Peloton’s game-changing spin and running programs, the classes will be available to live-stream across the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada—which means your living room is now basically a boutique fitness studio in and of itself. “As we did with the addition of Bootcamp, Running, Walking and Outdoor [classes] earlier this year, we are continuing to expand,” says Fred Klein, chief content officer of Peloton. “As with our other tentpole lines of programming, our focus will remain on providing the energy and authenticity of live studio production while providing the ultimate convenience of anywhere, anytime access via our On Demand platform.” Starting December 26, Peloton Bike and Tread owners and Peloton Digital subscribers will be able to practice their crow pose from the comfort of their living rooms with classes led by three instructors: Kristin McGee, Anna Greenberg, and Aditi Shah. Peloton is offering five different styles of yoga: flow, power yoga, restorative,
How to nail crow pose without face planting on your mat, according to a yoga instructor
November 28, 2018 at 06:41AM Crow pose (AKA bakasana) is a hard-to-nail arm balance that’s on many yogis’ bucket lists. Those who’ve mastered it swear that it’s all about perfecting your form, but for the rest of us, the pose often serves as a call to go splat right on the mat. However, with some simple tweaks, you don’t have to expect to face plant every time you try the pose. Like all tricky yoga poses, crow pose requires a little extra finagling and some serious technique. According to obé yoga instructor Francesca Valarezo, who’s leading the next Well+Good Retreat in Miami, anyone from yoga-nubes to bendy Insta-yogis can fall victim to improper form. Valarezo’s good-form solution is to incorporate two yoga blocks into your bakasana training: one for your forehead and one for your feet. How exactly do you do crow pose with two blocks? First, place one block horizontally on the ground and stand on it, feet one to two inches apart, with the palms of your toes resting comfortably on the block. Then, place the second block at its highest setting three feet from the block you’re standing on, so that it’s about two feet from your head. Place both hands down on the ground so you’re creating an equilateral triangle between your hands and the tall block, making sure that your wrists are in line with your elbows. Then lift your hips (if you’re tight, you’ll feel this stretch in your hamstrings) and bend your arms straight back at the
Coming to a complexion near you: a yoga glow without ever hopping on a mat
November 26, 2018 at 11:42AM If you’ve ever caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror after 60 minutes of vinyasa flow and thought “damn, girl,” (in a Ryan Reynolds voice, of course) you know that the “yoga glow” is more than just a myth. And the latest beauty trend to hit our Instagram explore pages involves recreating the elusive post-savasana skin with makeup—no actual yoga required. The hashtag #yogaskin has recently racked up hundreds of posts on the ‘gram, with women swapping their head and shoulder stands for a mixture of foundation and highlighter to achieve that faux yoga glowy complexion. “Immediately after a yoga class, the blood flow to your skin is optimized, especially skin of the face when downward and forward poses are practiced,” explains Dr. Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, MD medical director of Mudgil Dermatology, of why your skin tends to look so good when you step off the mat. To mimic this down-dog dewiness, British makeup artist Sara Hill created the “Yoga Skin Technique,” which according to her Instagram feed, promises “healthy, glowing, hydrated, radiant, sheer and natural [skin]” and “skin that looks like skin at its very best.” View this post on Instagram The Yogaskin Technique I created to make the skin look lit from within. Healthy, glowing, hydrated, radiant, sheer and natural. Skin that looks like skin at its very best. ︎Step One – Cleanse and prep your skin as normal. Let your skincare absorb fully before adding the next step. ︎Step Two – Apply a small amount of primer (silicone free).
Looking to make your yoga practice *even* more challenging? Ditch your mat
November 20, 2018 at 08:51AM I’ve gone to enough yoga classes that the urge to compare myself to the uber bendy, or those whose bodies seem to defy the laws of gravity has subsided. I’ve come to appreciate what my body can do (hint: it isn’t the splits). But the other day as I looked around the studio I noticed another disparity. Not only was the instructor practicing yoga without a mat, but a handful of the seemingly more advanced students were also contorting their bodies right on the wood floor. I wondered if going mat-less is a more authentic way to practice, and if so, was I ready to move beyond the comfort of my squishy rectangle. “There is absolutely nothing more advanced about not practicing yoga without a mat, but there are a lot of reasons why you might want to give yours up,” says Mandy Kruger, a yoga instructor in Portland, Oregon. While the straight lines of one’s mat can be a way to gauge alignment in certain poses, in others they can be restrictive. “In shadow yoga for example, we move in a lot of circular or non-linear flows. You want these movements to be fluid, and if you have a mat bunching up under your feet you don’t get that experience,” says Kruger. If you’ve ever done downward dog on sand or grass, you know that keeping your hands and feet from slipping takes more muscle strength than it does on a mat. There are
How to avoid over-stretching in yoga and Pilates—because yes, it happens
November 15, 2018 at 03:05AM As far as workouts are concerned, yoga and Pilates are typically thought of as restorative, gentle ways to get your sweat on. It’s not like you’re swinging around heavy kettlebells or throwing jabs at a punching bag. But as it turns out, they also have their own extremes: over-stretching is real. Over-stretching happens when you work a muscle or joint too hard. “It’s the difference between soreness, which is okay, and sharp pain,” says Heather Peterson, the chief yoga officer at CorePower Yoga. “When you’re stretching, you’re always supposed to push yourself a little bit—which isn’t the most comfortable feeling—but it should never be actually hurting you,” adds Tianna Strateman, the vice president of education at Club Pilates. “There’s a fine line between getting in somewhere that’s a little tight and actually causing a tear in a ligament or something of that nature.” Uhh, I’d say so. Here, both experts share their tips for avoiding over-stretching—and offer advice on how to recover if (eek!) it’s a little too late. Photo: Getty Images/ jacoblund Ease into the poses and exercises Both experts say there are a few key reasons why over-stretching can happen. One: Not warming up properly. Peterson says this can occur particularly in a heated yoga class because the high temps get you sweating before your muscles are fully warmed up. “If you’re taking a heated yoga class, don’t go your full-depth in the moves,” she advises. “For the first half of the class, only stretch
How to fix the most common yoga mistakes, according to an instructor
November 09, 2018 at 11:34AM As you glide quickly from one asana to another in yoga, it can start to feel like you’re a human pretzel, who may or may not be doing everything exactly right. The thing is, while you don’t necessarily have to look just like your instructor perfectly executing every move, certain mistakes can take a slight toll on your body (or just not feel as good as doing the move properly). At Well+Good’s last retreat, which took place at the Cedar Lakes Estate, co-leader and New York City-based yoga instructor Beth Cooke revealed the three moves that people most commonly don’t get just right. “These are common things that people get wrong,” she says as she makes hands-on adjustments. “Okay, maybe not wrong—but there are better ways of doing them.” Whether it’s just an alignment that’s out of wack or a downward dog that could use some improvement, here are Cooke’s simple alterations to the most common yoga mistakes that she sees in her classes. “They’re little corrections, but they make a big difference,” says Cooke. “It’s hard work but it’s better for the body, and it’ll give you a stronger practice.” Namaste. Photos: Elena Mudd Downward facing dog “Take your regular down dog with your middle fingers facing forward so you have better traction to lift the hips up and back,” says Cooke. “Now bend your knees and stick your tailbone even higher. Now you’ll have more strength in the spine and the side body, which is
10 wellness horror stories, straight from Well+Good readers (two words: yoga queef)
October 30, 2018 at 02:02PM Halloween is upon us, which means you’ve probably been getting your healthy candy stash ready for Trick-or-Treaters (or, you know, just for yourself!) and preparing your list of scary flicks for a movie marathon. But while the holiday is certainly spooky (oooOOOOooo), not all horror stories make you jump. In fact, when it comes to wellness gone wrong, some are more likely to make you LOL. After polling Well+Good readers on Instagram about their wellness-related scary stories—if you’re not already following us, you’re missing out!—plenty of awful-slash-hilarious situations came piling in. And, TBH, most of them are things you’ll totally relate to, which is a beautiful reminder that we’re all in this crazy world together—and you’re hardly the first to suffer from a bout of flatulence in yoga class or a face mask that doubles as a pumpkin costume. These 10 reader-submitted wellness gaffes will make you shriek…with laughter. Yogi dominos “After attempting to do a headstand after a few month hiatus to yoga in a packed room, I gracefully toppling over, dominoing my entire row. I literally knocked over 7 people…” Going green “I’ve always dyed my own hair, except one time it turned out green—it was supposed to be blonde.” Treadmill topple “I fell off a treadmill in a fully-crowded gym. And no one helped me!” Oompa loompa “I turned my face orange with a DIY turmeric face mask.” Namaste here until the shame passes “I queefed…in yoga class.” S**ts and giggles “During my
These yoga moves pretty much feel like a massage
October 29, 2018 at 09:30AM In the same way that you can do less and get more out of your yoga class, so too, can you master moves on your mat that feel like a massage. I repeat: there are yoga moves that feel like a massage…for free. And according to Beth Cooke, a New York City yoga instructor and the co-leader of the Well+Good Retreat at the Cedar Lakes Estate in Upstate New York, these unicorn sequences are an excellent restorative practice that’ll aid in prehab and recovery, two fitness trends currently on the rise. “It’s a really cheap way of self-soothing the body—you don’t have to go spend millions of dollars at the spa; you can do it on your own,” she says. By knowing just a few go-to moves (three to be exact, which Cooke shares below), you can get started today. Keep scrolling to find out the yoga moves that are so good, you might be able to break up with your masseuse. Yoga move to massage: armpits “Step your right foot forward into your low lunge, and stack your right armpit on top of your right knee—it fits like a ball in a mitt,” says Cooke. “Then make a fist with your right hand and just start to roll the armpit on top of the knee. I know that sounds pretty funny but there’s actually qigong pressure points in your armpit so as you roll your knee into your armpit, you’re reducing anxiety—it helps to relieve stress.