Schooled in Hot Yoga

I was Valedictorian of PS 42 Elementary School in Queens, NY (not telling what year).

I skipped 8th Grade in the 2 Year SP - Specialized Program of accelerated learning.

I graduated in the Top 10 percentile of my high school class of over 1250 graduating students. Yes, 1250 seniors; the Far Rockaway High School student body was so huge that freshmen and sophomores went in the morning, juniors and seniors in the afternoons.

I missed out on the most important education of my life.

What I really learned in school was how to be a People Pleaser. I was never asked to consider what was important to me; what I wanted for myself. Were you?

Why is outside approval and acknowledgement so important?

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Better Health, through Happiness

So you're looking in the mirror and thinking how you suck in hot yoga today.

You're off balance in Tree. You can't bend in Half Moon. You can barely breathe in Pranayama. You're getting hot and bothered thinking, "What's wrong with me?"

My answer to you: Fahgeddaboudit.

Even if you figure out "why," by your next class things will be different - you'll be different - so how will it help to dwell on today?

I'm done feeling bad about myself...

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Why Hot Yoga will outlast us all

Will hot yoga outlast Peak Fitness and other crazes from aerobics to step-class?

For years I experimented with different forms of physical conditioning - everything from swimming at the Y to weight training at home (an exercise physiologist friend prepared a personalized weight training regimen tailored for my size, shape and age.) 

What they all had in common: I was bored.

I dreaded doing it. I played music, put on the TV, anything to distract me from the drudgery (now I see people riding stationary bikes or treadmilling-it at the gym while watching little personal-sized TV screens. I feel their pain).

I was tuning out while I was trying to tune up. Something about this just didn't fit my idea of whole-self health...

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Is Hot Yoga today's Peak Fitness?

The latest fitness secret that's piqued everyone's interest is Peak Fitness.

Peak Fitness is a form of exercise that works you as hard as possible for a short burst of time, and is followed up with slower, more relaxing movement. It's all the rage.

Which just proves that everything old is new again.

Hot yoga had this system down to a science over 50 years ago. Hot yoga is finally being proven by modern day science, but we hot yogis already have our proof,  in our results...

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Morning, Noon or Night: when's the best time for hot yoga?

Could doing hot yoga at a new time of day boost your benefits?

Do you feel sluggish afew hours after lunch?

Do you have trouble sleeping at night?

Do you need a coffee the size of your head before you can function in the morning?

It could be that your circadian rhythms are confused. In this 24/7, globally awake, in your Facebook, tweet-tweet-news-flash, no interest in Pinterest, attention medicated world, we're all a bit confused.

Blogging all night can leave you feeling blah. Even when you finally fall asleep over email, sleeping in a lit room when your body expects darkness can wreak havoc. Jet lag, for those who think a vacation will fix you, is another common culprit.

Everyone knows yoga can help your body, mind and spirit; but try yoga at a time of day that syncs with your own natural rhythms and you might you might just open up a whole new world of benefits. Here's how yoga affects you morning, noon and night...

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