Gardening is an activity that not only requires a lot of effort but it also provides a good workout for the whole body.
Yard work, such as mowing or raking, burns calories similar to jogging or skiing, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
LA’s hottest yoga spot is coming to Downtown San Francisco in July, promising to be the “hottest, cleanest and most connected yoga studio” in town.
Hot 8 Yoga, a favorite of actress Jessica Alba’s, will open its 12th U.S. location in the Financial District on July 15.
The yoga studio at 248 Sutter St. near Union Square will replace a Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar that closed down in March. The makeup and grooming studio has at least two other SF locations.
Hot 8’s opening announcement counters the roughly 20 store closures that have hit the famed shopping district since 2020. The news comes just days after Nordstrom announced plans to shutter both its Downtown SF stores, dealing a major blow to Westfield San Francisco Centre mall, and just a month after a Downtown Whole Foods announced its closure.
Courtesy Hot 8 Yoga
READ MORE: Nordstrom’s Exit From San Francisco Calls Downtown Mall’s Future Into Question
A spokesperson for the company said Hot 8 Yoga is known in SoCal as the “hottest, cleanest and most connected yoga studio,” and local news sites have spotted celebrities like Alba and Russell Simmons at the Los Angeles studio’s classes.
“I like spin classes, depending on the teacher and the playlist. I do like hot yoga classes, if it’s done at a good pace,” Alba told Byrdie in 2020. “I prefer it mixed in with light weights, so like a sculpting hot yoga class. I’ll always work out with a friend because it’s more fun.”
The Hot 8 company claims to provide the hottest of the hot yoga offerings, with classes taught in sauna-like rooms ranging from 105 to 110 degrees.
Considering the studio’s lengthy A-list and influencer clientele in Los Angeles, you might just find Steph Curry or Elon Musk sweating it out at San Francisco’s Hot 8 this summer.
Gardening and yard work may not appear strenuous but it can be hard on the body especially back muscles. It is recommended to do light stretches before starting and drink plenty of water.
The aerobic and muscular activity of gardening also helps improve and preserve cognitive functioning. It’s a great way to get some exercise without going to the gym.
Nothing makes you feel stiff and sore quite like sitting on a plane. It’s why you sometimes see the boldest of the bold performing a whole yoga routine right there next to Sbarro in front of everyone. But, as it turns out, it is actually worth it to do a few poses after flying as a way to set yourself right.
Whether you’re heading home after a business trip or touching down at a vacation spot, it never hurts to stretch after a flight to loosen up sore muscles and reinvigorate your circulation, says Kate Lombardo, a yoga director and instructor at YogaRenew Teacher Training. “Long hours of air travel leave the body feeling tight from being in the same seated position for so long,” she tells Bustle. “Yoga poses are a great way to bring movement back into the joints [and to] help reduce any inflammation that sets in.” It can also feel like hitting a reset button on your brain.
If you want, you could do a few stretches in the waiting area, and some airports even have yoga rooms you can go to if you have time during a layover, Lombardo says. “Otherwise, waiting until you’re back home or at your hotel is a great option so you have time to not only relax the body, but the mind as well, which could be difficult to do among the hustle and bustle of a busy airport,” she says. Here, Lombardo breaks down the best moves to try after a flight.
1. Legs-Up-the-Wall
YogaRenew
“This is the perfect pose for reducing swelling in the legs and ankles that can happen following a long day of travel,” Lombardo says. “Plus, it helps to quiet the mind and can help with sleep, which comes in handy if changing time zones are messing with your sleep schedule.”
– Lie on your back on the floor or on a bed.
– Prop up your legs on the wall, letting the wall fully support the weight of them.
– Bring your hands to your belly, and focus on your breath.
– Stay for three to five minutes, or longer if you have the time.
2. Downward-Facing Dog
YogaRenew
“Down dog is a great pose to open up the entire body,” she says. “It creates length in the spine and openness in the hamstrings — two areas that get very tight while sitting for hours on a plane or in a car.”
– Start on all fours.
– Walk your hands one handprint forward, and tuck your toes under.
– Lift up your hips and back, and focus on creating length from the palms of your hands all the way to your hips.
– Keep your spine straight and, if possible, straighten your legs.
– Feel free to pedal your heels up and down by bending one knee and then the other.
– Stay for five to 10 breaths or for as long as it feels good.
3. Child’s Pose With Prayer Hands
YogaRenew
“This variation of child’s pose is great for releasing tension in the neck and shoulders that can happen when sleeping in strange positions while on the go,” Lombardo says.
– Start on all fours.
– Touch your big toes together, and bring your knees out wide.
– Shift your hips toward your heels, and bring your palms together.
– Bend your elbows, and take your hands behind your head.
– Breathe into the sides of your chest, and release your chest toward the floor.
– Stay in this pose for one to two minutes.
4. Uttanasana
YogaRenew
“Forward folds are the perfect way to release tension across the whole back body,” Lombardo says. “This pose is not only great for opening the hamstrings, but also for reversing gravity to help release the neck and space across the back.”
– Stand up tall, then fold forward from your hips.
– Bring your hands toward the floor.
– Shift so your hips are directly over your ankles, and feel free to keep a slight bend in your knees if needed.
– Stay for five to 10 breaths, or for longer if it feels comfortable.
5. Lizard Lunge Twist
YogaRenew
“This pose helps to open the psoas and hip flexors, which can shorten and become tight from being stuck in a sitting position for a long period of time,” she says. “Plus, the twist aids in digestion, which is always needed when eating [new foods] on the go.”
– Come to a low lunge position.
– Keep your front knee stacked over your ankle and your back knee on the floor.
– Bring your hands inside of your front ankle, and press the inner thigh of your front leg away from you.
– Roll to the other edge of your front foot.
– Twist toward your front leg, and look toward the ceiling.
– Feel a stretch in your hips and spine.
– Stay for five to 10 breaths, then switch sides.
6. Bridge Pose
YogaRenew
“Bridge pose is one of the best poses to do post-flight because it opens up the body in all of the places,” Lombardo says. “The hip flexors, quadriceps, back, and shoulders all get opened up here.”
– Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet hips-distance apart.
– Press into your feet to lift your hips toward the ceiling.
– Clasp your fingertips together underneath you, and stretch them toward your heels.
– Hug your shoulder blades together, and lift your chest toward your chin.
– Take five to 10 breaths.
7. Seated Spinal Twist
YogaRenew
“Twists […] can aid in digestion to help keep you regular while traveling,” Lombardo says. “They also bring mobility to the spine, which helps to relieve any tension that builds up from sitting for extended periods of time.”
– Sit cross legged with a tall spine.
– Bring your right hand behind your back and your left hand across to your right knee.
– With each inhale, imagine getting taller and with each exhale twist more deeply.
Gardening is a hands-on, physical activity that can contribute to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.
Yard work like digging, weeding, pruning, raking and mowing can be great exercise for all major muscle groups. It also provides a cardiovascular workout for the heart and lungs.
There are many fantastic physical and mental health benefits of yoga. A consistent yoga practice can improve your sleep, support your heart health, keep your lymphatic drainage system (i.e. your body’s natural cellular detox pathways) flowing, as well as help you manage stress, anxiety, and depression, among other perks. It doesn’t stop there. If you’re someone who has menstrual cycles, certain yoga poses for cramps may help reduce the common symptom associated with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
How yoga can help menstrual cramps and other symptoms of PMS
Melie Purdon, a yoga teacher and prenatal expert at YogaRenew, says that while people experiencing menstrual cramps often feel compelled to lie on the couch and be inactive, doing so actually reduces the body’s ability to work through discomfort on its own. “We can decrease symptoms of period cramps by moving the body in a way that will massage the organs and make room in the abdomen for the uterus to contract and shed its lining without compromising the breath.”
Yoga simply helps you and your consciousness get out of the way and give your body the space to do what it is meant to do according to Purdon, who says that if you practice yoga consistently—especially on the days you don’t feel well—you may actually derive even more benefits from your practice.
“For example, during period cramps and PMS, the body can feel sluggish and heavy, morale may be low, and energy can feel multiple espresso shots away,” she says. “Yoga will improve blood flow and overall vitality.” Blood flow is important during a woman’s period because it helps to expel the built-up tissue and endometrial lining from the uterus. This process helps to keep the uterus clean and healthy and prevents the buildup of bacteria and other debris which can cause infection. Additionally, the blood flow helps to keep the endometrial lining of the uterus thin and elastic, which is important for healthy fertility. Cramps are your body’s way of drawing blood flow to your uterus, so doing exercises like yoga that can help the process are beneficial.
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With that said, yoga—especially when you have symptoms of PMS—doesn’t need to be an intense or vigorous workout to be beneficial. “What we want is gentle, targeted movements that will, even in a few minutes, benefit the practitioner’s mind and body simultaneously,” says Purdon.
The best yoga poses for cramps and other period symptoms
1. Supta Padangusthasana II (Reclined Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose) With a Strap
How to do it: Lie on your back with your legs extended long holding a yoga strap (or belt if you don’t have one) by the ends with both hands. Bend your right leg and place the ball of your right foot into the middle of the strap. Extend that leg up toward the ceiling, then let it open out to the right side like a book (leg can be straight or slightly bent if you have tight hamstrings), keeping your left hip heavy on the floor. You can place a pillow under your right thigh for extra support. Flex your thighs and left foot. Hold for 10 breaths, then switch sides.
In general, hip openers like Supta Padangusthasana II are great to do one your period. Find it and more in this 25-minute flow:
How to do it: Stand tall (option to have your back against a wall for extra support). Step your feet wider than your shoulders, then with your hands on your hips, fold forward, leading with your heart, allowing your head lower toward the floor—option to bring your hands to your feet or ankles if they’re accessible, or allow your palms to flatten into the floor beneath you with a soft bend in your elbows. Press the outer blades of your feet down and away from one another, as if you could rip the floor apart with your feet. Keep your legs extended fully and the sides of your torso long. Hold for 10 breaths releasing downward toward the floor. (If a full forward fold doesn’t feel good, Purdon says you can rest your arms and head on a chair in front of you.)
3. Janu Sirsasana (Head to Knee Forward Bend)
How to do it: Start seated on the floor with your open in a straddle (V) position. Bend your right knee, bringing the sole of that foot against the inner thigh of your left leg. Rotate your torso to square your left leg. As you breathe in, extend your torso upward. As you breathe out, fold over your left leg (option to place a pillow or bolster and a blanket on top of your left leg for support). Walk your hands forward on either side of your left leg, pressing into your palms and lengthening your heart forward as you breathe in. As you breathe out, relax your belly over the bolster and rest your head on the blanket.
4. Supta Sukhasana (Reclined Easy Seat)
How to do it: Start seated cross-legged on the floor (you can place pillows under your knees for extra support) with a bolster or two pillows lengthwise on the floor behind you, fold a blanket on the end to support your head. Recline back over your props and allow your arms to open out to the sides. Close your eyes and hold for 10 breaths, then switch the cross of your legs and hold for 10 more.
How often should you do yoga poses for period cramps?
Purdon says that there are no universal guidelines or expected outcomes for how quickly you can expect to notice PMS symptom relief from doing yoga poses for cramps—everyone is different, and our bodies all respond uniquely to yoga, as well as the hormonal fluctuations causing menstrual cramps and other PMS discomfort.
“The main idea here is to realize that the work is gradual and builds on itself–you wouldn’t expect to eat a full orange and the vitamin C to kick your flu symptoms right away” says Purdon. “Therapeutic yoga is very similar; if someone is brand new to the practice of yoga, it will take some time for the benefits to show, especially with such a targeted goal as to ease cramps.”
It’s the practice that you commit to every day—on the days in between your bleeds—that will make the greatest impact, Purson adds. “The wealth of the practice lies in its adaptability to different seasons of life. The key to making the practice of yoga work for you in every scenario possible is to practice consistently without interruption and over a long period of time,” she says. “You don’t need multiple hours a day, you just need to show up.”
Finally, Purdon notes that severe period cramps can sometimes be caused by endometriosis. Along with a consistent yoga practice, it is important to work with your healthcare provider and medical experts if you’re concerned or distressed by PMS symptoms or not seeing relief from home remedies.
Whether you have an extensive yard or simply a small patch, gardening can actually count as exercise.
Gardening is considered moderate exercise according to the American Heart Association1 and it burns calories.
It’s also good for your health, including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Plus, it can help slow bone loss in older adults.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS
SYDNEY, N.S. — Seated at the front of the room, Robert Zwarun is about to start his chair yoga class at the YMCA in downtown Sydney and he and his students are catching up on each other’s lives since they last met.
“We have really good conversations here, too,” said Shirley Samson, one of the students in the mostly seniors’ group.
“Is this going to be in Playboy magazine?” jokes Gordon Sheriff of Sydney to a laughter as the camera shutter clicks away.
The banter underscores the complete ease in the room as Zwarun begins the day’s instruction.
Robert Zwarun of Sydney has moved past a debilitating condition and inspires his yoga students. – Barb Sweet / Cape Breton Post
Zwarun leads the 10 students through dozens of poses that take into account any mobility issues while offering suggested alternatives to each one that might pose difficulty.
“OK, then we’re gonna sit back upright and we’re gonna take one of our legs with us. Now, you can hold it on the outside. If you need, you can also hold it on your thigh,” Zwarun instructs during one of the poses.
“Now, you know, I have blocks on the side of my feet. If for some reason you can’t touch the floor and you don’t have to, you can definitely put blocks there to put your hands on,” he says during another pose.
His smooth, soothing tone and the relaxing background music leads the group through a class that seems to melt the stress and busyness of the outside world away, even if you’re just observing it.
“He’s doing a wonderful job,” Samson said before the class got started.
Afterwards, Sheriff said it was his fourth or fifth time there.
“It’s quite easy because he makes it so simple,” said the 79-year-old one-time hockey player and referee who was a newcomer to yoga.
“That’s important to me — to get exercise, to get moving and so on because I wasn’t doing any exercise.”
As he moves through the class, there are hints of Zwarun’s own journey to this point.
“I can’t do it that way anymore,” he said of one particular task of crossing the ankles. “It is what it is.”
Parked alongside him is his mobility scooter.
Gordon Sheriff of Sydney is among the members of Robert Zwarun’s chair yoga class at the YMCA in downtown Sydney. – Barb Sweet
Tough diagnoses
After the class, Zwarun’s story ebbs and flows through the lowlights and highlights, starting with the turmoil of being diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome in the early 1990s and then an inherited degenerative condition called ataxia in 2010.
“That’s when my balance and my walking started to get really bad,” Zwarun said.
“So what it does is it affects my balance, it affects my motor control. It also affects my speech. So, in essence, it gives the experience of somebody who is drunk but they’re not.”
The Mayo Clinic website describes the condition this way: “Ataxia describes poor muscle control that causes clumsy voluntary movements. It may cause difficulty with walking and balance, hand co-ordination, speech and swallowing, and eye movements. Ataxia usually results from damage to the part of the brain that controls muscle co-ordination (cerebellum) or its connections.”
Zwarun was living in an area of Sydney where he felt isolated and had sunk into some despair. And then a friend mentioned going to the Y.
And so his journey of inspiration began.
“I was shy. Yeah, I mean, I was completely withdrawn. I was totally shelled up,” he said of life before the YMCA.
Through the Y, where he has now been a member for years, he started exercising, formed friendships, found a new apartment downtown with some help and started taking a class similar to the one he’s teaching now twice a week — at the YMCA on Charlotte Street and in Membertou.
“My self-esteem is going through the roof and not only that, (the Y has) also helped me in ways that I couldn’t have even calculated before,” he said.
“Everything that’s happened in the last 10 years is a direct result of my being here at the Y. The YMCA, for all intents and purposes, saved my life it really did.”
Zwarun began the yoga instructor course last fall and was able to find funding to take it online.
“It built up so quickly because all the time, from late September up to when I finished yoga teacher training … in February, I had people — as much as three months before I finished — they were all coming up to me and saying, ‘When are you starting your class?’ I’m going, ‘I’m not even certified yet. I’ll get there, I promise.’” Zwarun recounted.
His former instructor was his inspiration.
“It was actually through Jamie’s teaching — because when she teaches a class, she has a very calm and easygoing demeanour about her and … both of us have chronic illnesses. So we both understand each other’s struggles, you know? And I thought, ‘I’m gonna keep coming back’ and I did keep coming back and everything she taught I pretty much absorbed like a sponge.”
Jamie Crane of Leitches Creek aims to resume chair yoga with Jamie in the fall. – Contributed
Yoga for everyone
Crane, who has multiple sclerosis, Lyme disease and was most recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure, plans on resuming teaching chair yoga in the fall.
“One of the problems we have in North America is we are inundated with these images of what we think yoga is and it’s not always handstands,” she said of any notion people might have that yoga requires full mobility.
The demand for alternative classes is acute, she said.
“We could use 10 more chair yoga classes,” she said over the phone from Leitches Creek.
Crane, when she is not on hiatus, teaches Chair Yoga with Jamie all over the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
“I could teach honesty three times a day if I had the energy,” she said.
Because of her health struggles, she can only do a few classes a week, but Crane is eager to get back at as she rebuilds her strength.
“This is the thing — I was on bedrest for months. This is one of the worst things for me,” she said.
As much as she’s an inspiration to Zwarun, his enthusiasm also moves her.
It’s not that people without a mobility issue or health struggle can’t or shouldn’t teach the chair yoga classes.
But because instructors like Crane and Zwarun know their own bodies move differently, they can adapt the poses for their students, she said.
“Folks like Robert and I, for us, we can feel the difficulty (of students with physical struggles) as we are teaching it,” she said.
CHAIR YOGA Gentle seated yoga practice for anyone new to exercise or with limited mobility. Focus is on increasing flexibility, strength and balance. Level: Beginner Duration: One hour Website: capebreton.ymca.ca For information: Frank Rudderham Family YMCA, 399 Charlotte St., Sydney; phone 902-562-9622 or email front.[email protected]
Marcie Shwery-Stanley, an advocate for people with disabilities of nearly 40 years and a retired federal civil servant, learned about Zwarun through a friend from a Y aqua class he takes.
A few years ago, with others assisting, she helped him secure an accessible apartment.
In a phone interview, Shwery-Stanley said she admires his ability to move forward.
“He’s a role model for others who are about to give up,” she said.
Gardening is a hands-on hobby that supports overall health.
Yard work like digging, raking, mowing, hauling soil and mulch can burn up to 300 calories an hour.
It also gets the blood pumping, helps reduce high blood pressure and is great for bone density.
Downward dog is a popular yoga pose, but cats take center stage in this class.
DENVER — “Cats on Mats” yoga is back at Denver Animal Shelter (DAS).
DAS said certified yoga instructors will host the classes as kittens and cats playfully prowl around the room.
In addition, to be a fun way for the community to get involved at the shelter, the yoga classes also raise funds for Denver Animal Protection (DAP).
“Cats on Mats” yoga classes run every Tuesday night from May through August from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 1241 West Bayaud Avenue.
Tickets cost $20 and are available online. Classes are limited to 20 people and last about one hour. Attendees need to bring their own yoga mat.
DAS said it’s an open-admissions shelter which means the shelter never turns an animal away. The shelter helps 6,000 lost and abandoned pets each year.
The yoga event lines up with peak feline breeding season and is great exposure for homeless animals to find loving, forever homes, according to DAS.
Cat yoga in Denver
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Gardening can be a form of exercise and it’s a lot easier to keep up than going out to the gym.
Yard work can burn the same number of calories as running, jogging or cycling.
This full body workout stretches and strengthens your muscles and joints. It also improves flexibility and helps you to avoid muscle pain or injury from inactivity.
Yoga is a mind and body practice with origins in ancient Indian philosophy. It combines physical posture, breathing and meditation techniques, which have demonstrated improved mental health, sleep and quality of life outcomes for Veterans suffering from PTSD.
According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 7 out of every 100 Veterans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Some also struggle with chronic pain, depression and anxiety. These challenges can make it difficult for Veterans to transition back to civilian life and find ways to manage their symptoms.
Dr. Daniel Libby recognized the potential benefits of yoga and mindfulness while providing psychotherapy for Veterans recovering from PTSD. “One of my Veterans approached me and told me that he had stopped taking his sleep medications because now he could meditate to go to sleep. That moment was profound,” he said.
Dr. Libby began offering free yoga classes to Veterans in his community, which quickly grew into a larger organization dedicated to serving the unique needs of the Veteran population. In 2014, he founded the nonprofit organization Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) with the aim of providing accessible and effective healing practices for Veterans and their families. Today, VYP provides yoga and mindfulness resources, teacher training programs, and community building opportunities to support recovery and resilience among Veterans and their loved ones.
On the journey to recovery and building resilience, the first step can be the hardest one. VYP has several ways to help Veterans get started:
Learn about Yoga and Mindful Resilience
Access a practice library with a wide variety of resources for you to learn about yoga poses, experience a guided meditation or practice mindful movement. Explore the library to see what you could integrate into your daily routine.
Find a free online yoga class
Search the schedule of yoga classes specifically for Veterans, their families and caregivers. Classes are offered daily and cover stretching, breathwork, and stress management from beginning to advanced levels.
Attend an in-person class
Search the class locator to find free, in-person classes. Classes are taught throughout the country by graduates of VYP’s Mindful Resilience Training for Trauma Recovery program.
Get training to teach Mindful Resilience
VYP’s goal is to make mindful resilience techniques available to all Veterans. To accomplish this, they offer no-cost access to their training programs through scholarship programs for those wanting to teach in their community.
The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on the part of VA. Veterans should verify the information with the organization offering.
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