Hatha, Ashtanga, Kripalu, Sivananda, Iyengar…while these may sound forgein to most people, they are actually different yoga styles. Yoga originated in India centuries ago, and due to the vast documented health benefits, which the practice promotes, yoga’s popularity has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Yoga has now become as mainstream as step aerobics and has a following of 20 million people practicing it in North America alone. 

Today, we are so fortunate that so many different yoga styles are being actively taught in the United States, the down side is that it is often very confusing for the beginner to choose a yoga style that would be best for them.

Hatha yoga is the yoga style that is mainly practiced here in the States, and within it are many variations, including the “Hollywood fad”- Bikram school and more traditional practice of Iyengar. Although these variations differ, each practice—no matter the school of thought is basically based on the same basic principles.

The most basic philosophy of yoga is that it focuses on the combination of body, mind and spirit connecting on a very personal level. Yoga is about quieting the mind and relaxing - rejuvenating the body. At the start of my personal yoga practice, I quickly noticed the same significant health benefits I experienced in my martial arts practices, which was a powerful feeling of peacefulness, well-being and that my mind and body were greatly energized. 

Physically doing the “asanas” (the yoga poses) is translated as that which is steady and with ease. So there is stability within the poses and within your mind. Yoga will not only make you extremely physically fit, yoga will strengthen your muscles, improve your flexibility and balance. It helps you breathe freely, think more clearly, sleep more soundly, make you happier as it brings you a more positive outlook on life, it will also help to greatly improve serious health issues such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and chronic back-pain, just to name a few.

The Hatha Yoga Styles
The variations of Hatha yoga range from the physically challenging to the meditatively transcending. According to the Yoga Research and Education Center website, they include:

Iyengar yoga, which is the most widely recognized approach to Hatha yoga, is characterized by precision performance and the aid of various props, such as cushions, benches, wood blocks, straps and even sand bags.

"Iyengar is more focused on alignment and even though it's not always moving quickly, it's very intense and adapted for beginners," says Miller.

Ashtanga yoga involves synchronizing the breath with a fast-paced series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body and a calm mind.

Bikram yoga is a system of 26 postures that are performed in a standard sequence in a room heated to 100–110 degrees Fahrenheit. This approach is fairly vigorous and requires a certain level of fitness on the part of students. Unfortunately there is less focus on alignment, and more on sweating and getting a good workout. Not what I would call a true yoga experience and it’s a bit on the trendy side. Not my cup of tea, but maybe it’s yours.

Viniyoga focuses on practicing a posture according to one's individual needs and capacity. Regulated breathing is an important aspect of Viniyoga and the breath is carefully coordinated with the postural movements.

Kripalu yoga is a three-stage yoga. In the first stage, postural alignment and coordination of breath and movement are emphasized and the postures are held for a short duration only. In the second stage, meditation is included into the practice and postures are held for prolonged periods. In the final stage, the practice of postures becomes a spontaneous "meditation in motion."

Integral yoga made a debut at the Woodstock festival in 1969, where yoga expert Swami Satchidananda taught thousands to chant, "om." This style aims to integrate the various aspects of the body and mind through a combination of postures, breathing techniques, deep relaxation, and meditation and function is more important than form. In this style of yoga, breathing and meditation are emphasized as much as the postures.

Sivananda yoga includes a series of 12 postures, breathing exercises, relaxation and mantra chanting.

Ananda yoga is a gentle style that is designed to prepare the student for meditation, involving consciously directing the body's energy to different organs and limbs.

There is no better time to start a yoga program than today. Why not? Whether you are starting a new fitness program, or wanting to supplement your current program, the health benefits of yoga are great. Yoga will enhance your body and enrich your mind and life.
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America’s Unhealthiest  Restaurants
* Research Courtesy of Men’s Health Magazine 

Your favorite fast food restaurant is often like your favorite city: Visit some neighborhoods and you live the high life. Visit others and you’re just plain asking for trouble. And Eat This, Not That comes in: They’ve analyzed and graded 66 different chain restaurants—fast food and sit-down—to determine which ones have healthy options, and which could turn out to be diet disasters.

What they've found will surprise you. Specifically, some of the fast food joints you’ve come to think of as terrible for you actually ranked alright—McDonald’s scored a C+, for example, so the Micky D’s drive-thru, although might not be your fast-lane to weight loss, it ranks higher than some. Something even more shocking, though: more than half of the sit-down restaurants we graded ended up with our lowest scores! To separate the commendable from the deplorable, we calculated the total number of calories per entrée. This gave us a snapshot of how each restaurant compared in average serving size—a key indicator of unhealthy portion distortion. Then we rewarded establishments with fruit and vegetable side-dish choices, as well as offering whole-wheat bread. Finally, we penalized places for excessive amounts of trans fats and menus that tempt you with fat-laden desserts. Hey, if the neighborhood is crowded with shady characters, sooner or later, one of them will jump you. Here’s our restaurant report card for some of the unhealthiest restaurants in America. It’ll help you stay on the safer side of town.

D+ > Baskin-Robbins - We thought we'd see some improvements after we identified Baskin's Heath Shake as the Worst Drink on the Plane. All they did was lower it from 2,300 to 1,900 calories, leaving an almost equally egregious drinkable disaster to set back unsuspecting sippers. It’s typical of the menu there; B-R’s soft serve is among the most caloric in the country, the smoothies contain more sugar than fruit, and most of what Baskin sticks into a cup winds up with more fat than what'll end up on your plate at a steakhouse buffet. If you learn how to make smart choices when you sip, you can lose a few pounds a month—without giving up your favorite foods, or ever dieting again.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: With frozen yogurt, sherbet, and no-sugar-added ice cream, Baskin's lighter menu is the one bright spot. Just be sure to ask for your ice cream in a sugar or cake cone—the waffle cone will swaddle your treat in an extra 160 calories.

D+ > Carl’s Jr. -
Most fast-food restaurants today are making at least some attempt to offset their bulging burgers and deep-fried sides with healthier options such as lean sandwiches or yogurt parfaits. But Carl's Jr. is swimming against the nutritional tide, trying to attract those with hearty appetites and less concern about fat, salt and calories. The lightest item on the breakfast menu, for instance, is the Hash Brown Nuggets—but even they have 21 grams of fat, and 5.5 of them are trans fats. (As a rule, you should try to get 2 grams or fewer of the stuff in an entire day!) The burgers are worse, and there's not a side on the menu that hasn't been given a long, bubbling bath in their trans-fatty frying oil.    

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Find another place to grab lunch. Failing that, you should settle on either the Charbroiled Chicken Salad with Low-Fat Balsamic Dressing or the Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich - the only sandwich on the menu with fewer than 400 calories.

D+ >  Denny’s - Too bad the adult menu at Denny's doesn't adhere to the same standard as the kids' menu. The famous Slam breakfasts all top 800 calories, and the burgers are even worse. The Double Cheeseburger is one of the worst in the country, with 116 grams of fat, 7 of which are trans fats! Make sure you try to avoid whenever possible.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The Fit Fare menu gathers together all the best options on the menu. Outside of that, stick to the sirloin, grilled chicken, or soups. For breakfast, order a Veggie Cheese Omelet or create your own meal from a la carte options such as fruit, oatmeal, toast, and eggs.

D+ > Dairy Queen - Dairy Queen’s taste for excess rivals that of other fast-food failures such as Carl's Jr. and Hardees. But unlike Carl's, DQ offers an avalanche of ice cream creations to follow up its sodium-spiked, trans-fatty foods. Here's a look at one hypothetical meal: a Bacon Cheddar Grill-Burger with Onion Rings and a Small Snickers Blizzard is a staggering 1,740-calorie meal with 2,640 mg sodium and 83 grams of fat—2 grams of which are trans fats.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Play solid defense. Skip elaborate burgers, fried sides, and specialty ice cream concoctions entirely. Order a Grilled Chicken Sandwich or an Original Burger, and if you must have a treat, stick to a small soft-serve or a small sundae.

D+ > Ruby Tuesday - The chain earned its fame from a hearty selection of hamburgers. The problem: They average 75 grams of fat a piece—more than enough to exceed the USDA's recommended limit for the day. Even the veggie and turkey burgers have more than 850 calories! The chain rounds out its menu with a selection of appetizers that hover around 1,000 calories (supposedly to be split 4-ways), a smattering of high-impact entrées like potpie and ribs, and a sloppy selection of salads that is just as bad.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Solace lies in the three Ss: steak, seafood, and sides. Sirloins, salmon, and shrimp all make for relatively innocuous eating, especially when paired with one of Ruby Tuesday's half dozen healthy sides such as mashed cauliflower and baby green beans. Other than that, impersonate Mick Jagger and think about occasionally saying goodbye to Ruby Tuesday!

D > Chili’s - From burgers to baby back ribs, Chili's serves up some of the saltiest and fattiest fare on fast-food row. In fact, with 3,810 mg of sodium and 122 grams of fat, Chili's Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger earns the distinction as being one of the worst burgers in America. The Guiltless Grill menu is Chili's attempt to offer healthier options, but with only eight items and an average sodium count of 1,320 mg, there’s meager hope for nutritional salvation.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: There's not too much to choose from after you omit the ribs, burgers, fajitas, chicken, and salads. You're better off with a Classic Sirloin and steamed vegetables or broccoli. Another decent option is the Chicken Fajita Pita with Black Beans and Pico de Gallo. A lot of the appetizers, while delicious, are worrisome too—one from Chili’s made it on our list Worst Appetizers in America.

D > Uno Chicago Grill - Uno has some serious strikes against it: The chain invented the deep-dish pizza, they encouraged gluttony with their Bigger and Better menu, and in 1997 they faced false-advertising charges for erroneously claiming that some of their pizzas were low in fat. They've cleaned up some of the more conspicuous health hazards and have increased nutritional transparency at all of their stores, but from appetizers to desserts, this menu is still riddled with belt-busting fat.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: First off, cast aside the bloated breadstick that Uno tries to sneak onto most plates. Next, choose flatbread over deep-dish pizzas—it could save you more than 1,000 calories. Beyond that, stick to soups or entree items served with Mango Salsa.

D > Chevy’s - Don't let the made-fresh-daily shtick distract you; Chevy's massive portions push many of the meals beyond the 1,000-calorie threshold. The taco trader’s menu has three strikes against it: 1.) the consistently high amount of fat in its entrees (the average salad has 67 grams); 2.) the outrageous salt levels that make it difficult to find a meal with fewer than 2,000 mg of sodium (you should get around that amount in an entire day of eating); and 3.) the chain earns its poor score by failing to offer complete nutritional disclosure. It provides no information for its appetizers or quesadillas, for instance, and although it maintains it uses trans-fat free oils, there's no trans-fat data for the full entrees.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The best items on the menu are the Homemade Tortilla Soup, with just 393 calories and a full 26 grams of protein, and the Santa Fe Chopped Salad, which has only 470 calories when you order it without cheese. If you can't resist an entrée, order it without all the fixin's - tamalito, rice, sour cream, and cheese. That should knock more than 300 calories off your meal.

D- > On the Border - On the Border is a subsidiary of Brinker International, the same parent company that owns Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill. It should come as no surprise then that this chain is just as threatening to your health as its corporate cohorts. The overloaded menu offers appetizers with 120 grams of fat, salads with a full day's worth of sodium, and taco entrées with an horrific 960 calories—and that’s the calculation without rice and beans. Border crossing is a decidedly dangerous enterprise. 

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: The Border Smart Menu highlights four items with fewer than 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. Those aren't great numbers considering they average 1,800 mg of sodium apiece, but that's all you've got to work with.

D- > Romano’s Macaroni Grill - For years now we've been on Romano's case to clean up the menu at the beloved Macaroni Grill. So far we've had no luck. This Italian grease spot serves some of the worst appetizers in the country, offers not one dinner entrée with fewer than 800 calories, and hosts no fewer than 60 menu items with more than 2,000 mg of sodium—almost an entire day’s worth of the salt! A select few menu items earn the restaurant's Sensible Fare logo- a fork with a halo over it—but unfortunately these items can still carry up to 640 calories and 25 grams of fat.

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Macaroni Grill will let you build your own dish. Ask for the marinara over a bed of the restaurant's whole-wheat penne, and then top it with grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. Just beware their salads—one of them made our list of America’s Worst Salads.

D- > Baja Fresh - It's a surprise Baja Fresh's menu has yet to collapse under the weight of its own fatty fare. About a third of the items on the menu have more than 1,000 calories, and most of them are spiked with enough sodium to melt a polar icecap. Order the Shrimp Burrito Dos Manos Enchilado-Style, for instance, and you're looking at 5,130 mg sodium—that's more than 2 days' worth in one sitting!

SURVIVAL STRATEGY: Unless you're comfortable stuffing 110 grams of fat into your arteries, avoid the nachos at all costs. In fact, avoid almost everything on this menu. The only safe options are the tacos, or a salad topped with salsa verde and served without the belly-busting tortilla bowl.

F+ > Applebee’s, IHOP, Outback, T.G.I. Friday’s - These titans of the restaurant industry are among the last national chains that don’t offer nutritional information on their dishes. Even after years of badgering their representatives, we still hear the same old excuses: it’s too pricey, it’s too time-consuming, it’s impossible to do accurately because their food is so fresh, or we have too much variety. Our response is simple: If nearly every other chain restaurant in the country can do it, then why can’t they?

Strategy: Write letters, make phone calls, beg, scream, and plead for these restaurants to provide nutritional information on all of their products.

By definition, Visualization refers to the practice of seeking to affect the outer world via changing one’s thoughts. Visualization is a technique of using your imagination or thoughts to visualize specific behaviors or events occurring in one’s life. The concept of visualization is thought to have surfaced in the United States in the 19th century’s “New Thought Movement,” which can be considered a spiritual movement (not to be confused with a religious movement) that stressed beliefs in the metaphysical world. This group promoted the ideas and concepts of positive thinking, the law of attraction, life forces, personal power, meditation and visualization.

Note, there is a difference between visualization and daydreaming. Visualization is done in the present tense, where as daydreaming is done in the future tense. Visualization techniques are practiced by a wide range of people, for a variety of reasons. Buddhists use visualization as a way of achieving enlightenment, elite athletes use it to improve sports performance and everyday people can use the power of visualization to create or obtain want they want in life (the law of attraction) and the power of positive thinking.

I’ve discussed the subject of visualization in depth with many high level competitive athletes and a friend of mine who is an Olympic athlete really helped open my mind to its incredible power. I’ve applied the techniques throughout my amateur and professional sports career with great success. Visualization could very well be called a form of meditation. Visualization can just as easily be applied to everyday life, not just the sports arena.

As an athlete will start thinking about a race, game or match weeks ahead of time, a businessman can use the same techniques the athlete uses to prepare for a business presentation or meeting. Let’s use a golfer for example. As the golfer prepares for a big tournament he (or she) will start visualizing about every aspect of the event. They will spend hours thinking (almost meditating) about each hole and how they are going to play it. They visualize standing at each tee box, fairway or green. They will play the course continuously in their head. In their mind they will think about which clubs they will use, they will smell the grass, feel the wind on their skin, hear the crowd cheering. They will use their imagination to envision sinking the winning putt, holding up the trophy etc. They have played the event over and over in their head, down to the smallest detail, so when it comes to the actual day of the event they are more relaxed, have nerves under control and can clearly focus on their game plan. To the golfer, it’s seems like they’ve been there and done it all before because they have been visualizing.

The power of positive thinking is pretty intense. I think at times the concept seems rather cosmic, strange or weird to most people, but there has been so much documentation on the subject, that one cannot dispute the concept. According to the Law of Attraction, thoughts have energy and this energy attracts like energy. The practice suggests for you to observe four things: Know what you want, Ask the Universe for it, Feel and behave as if the object of your desire is on it’s way, Be open to receiving it. Thinking about what you don’t have manifests itself in not having, while if one applies positive thinking through visualization, by avoiding negative thinking, the Universe will manifest the person’s desire. Positive thoughts attract positive things. Creative visualization and positive thinking has the power to alter our environment, our circumstances and cause events to actually happen. It can attract money, love, success and improve health and well being. It’s not voodoo or magic; simply put, it’s the natural process of the power of thought. Whether done consciously or unconsciously, most truly successful people have used visualization to reach their highest goals. Approach and handle daily situations positively and positive effects will be the result. By changing our thoughts, we change our reality. Trust that if you utilize the power of visualization, even if you don’t quite believe it and totally accept it, understanding and accepting it even in just theory will help you achieve.

The power if visualization is limitless, anything is possible. The secret is no secret. All you have to do is apply it and put it into motion.

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The Unhealthiest Burgers in America

* Research Courtesy of Men’s Health Magazine

The burger industry in America is looking more and more like an arms race these days. Every few months, we watch in horror as another bacon-enhanced, cheese-embalmed, ranch-riddled weapon of mass inflation hits menu boards at the country’s largest restaurant chains. The Baconator, the Monster Thickburger, the FlameThrower- they sound like weapons, not something you’d order for dinner.

What makes our hamburger habit particularly scary is the Super Size Phenomenon, which for years has been mutating our burgers into double burgers and our double burgers into 1,250-calorie Triple Whoppers with Cheese. A 1957 burger contained little more than one ounce of meat, but by 1997 that same meat wad had grown to six ounces. Stack one of the bloated burgers out there next to a beverage like a large soda or shake and you’re risking two days' worth of calories in a single, misguided meal.

Each year Americans eat about 40 billion burgers, which means that each of us downs nearly 150 of them. Choose better burgers, and you can save 15 or 25 pounds over the course of a year.

Chili's
Smokehouse Bacon Triple-The-Cheese Big Mouth Burger with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
2,040 calories
150 g fat (53 g saturated)
4,900 mg sodium

You know this burger's in trouble when it takes more than 20 syllables just to identify it. If you think the name’s a mouthful, just wait until the burger hits the table. You’ll be face to face with two-and-a-half day’s worth of fat — a full third of which is saturated. To do that much damage with roasted sirloin, you’d have to eat about eight 6-ounce steaks. It’s nearly three days’ worth of saturated fat and over two days worth of sodium.

T.G.I. Friday's
Friday’s Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger
1,590 calories
unknown g fat (Company will not release this info to the public. Wonder why?)
unknown mg sodium

Although Friday’s is mum on the fat and sodium, it takes only one number to realize that this burger suffers from bigger-is-better syndrome. T.G.I. Friday's average burger has 1,250 calories, and their appetizers are some of the toughest in the country to swallow, calorie and health wise.

Denny's
Double Cheeseburger
1,540 calories
116 g fat (52 g saturated, 7 g trans)
3,880 mg sodium

Add this to our ever-expanding list of the Trans-Fattiest Foods in America.
 (This burger has more than three days' worth of the stuff.) In fact, with as much saturated fat as 52 strips of bacon and more sodium than 21 small bags of Lay’s potato chips, this burger also belongs on the salt-packed list of 20 Foods Your Cardiologist Wouldn’t Dare to Eat.

Dairy Queen
½ lb. FlameThrower GrillBurger
1,140 calories
82 g fat (27 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
1,940 mg sodium

Regular consumption of the FlameThrower will torch any hopes you have of losing weight. This potential aortic uh-oh contains 60 percent more calories than the Bacon Cheddar Grillburger and more than twice as many calories as DQ’s own Double Hamburger.

Ruby Tuesday
Bella Turkey Burger
1,057 calories
65 g fat

The scariest part about this burger is how completely harmless it sounds: a slice of Swiss melted over sautéed mushrooms and ground turkey. Yet somehow Ruby Tuesday manages to slick it up with as much fat as five Baby Ruth bars. The kid’s version of this - the Turkey Mini - has an astounding 893 calories, yikes!

Hardee's
Two-Third Pound Monster Thickburger
1,420 calories
108 g fat (43 g saturated)
2,770 mg sodium

Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. take a misplaced pride in their shamelessly caloric approach to everything they put under a heat lamp, which is probably reason enough for some to find another place to eat.
Need more motivation? Many of their burgers break the perilous 1,000-calorie barrier; their worst bun-buster has nearly 75 percent of your entire day’s calories and as much fat as a dozen Taco Bell soft tacos.

The following is a list of “somewhat” acceptable burgers if you really have to satisfy that burger craving and eat out. Be careful these are still pretty dangerous if you are counting your calories, trying to loose weight or wanting to eat health.

As you can see, not only is the calorie count high, the fat and sodium levels are as well, and don’t eat more than one. Yes, ditch the fries and soda too.

DQ Original Burger
350 calories
14 g fat (7 g saturated)
680 mg sodium

Wendy’s Quarter-Pound Single
430 calories
20 g fat (7 g saturated)
870 mg sodium

Burger King Whopper Jr. w/o mayo
370 calories
21 g fat (6 g saturated)
570 mg sodium

McDonald’s Quarter Pounder
410 calories
19 g fat (7 g saturated)
730 mg sodium

In-N-Out Protein-Style Protein-Style Cheeseburger
330 calories
25 g fat (9 g saturated)
720 mg sodium

With March being "National Nutrition Month" I thought I would close out the month with a few "Nutrition" related articles in hopes you will make a conscious effort to make some important changes in your present diet in order to start living a healthier life.

Our first topic is: "A Few of the Unhealthiest Drinks in America (and Maybe the Planet)." I think you will find this information very interesting as well as, eye opening! The information provided will help you make more informed and healthier choices the next time you grab for something to drink.

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A Few The Unhealthiest Drinks in America, Maybe the Planet

(Research Courtesy of Men’s Health Magazine)

* Worst “Energy” Drink
Rockstar Original (16 oz can)

280 calories
62 g sugar

Energy drink makers might feign a level of health by fortifying their products with a cocktail of vitamins and minerals, but don't be fooled: Any minimal benefit they might provide is snuffed out by the blanket of sugar and calories each can contains. Don’t even think you will loose any weight drinking these, the diet versions are even worse, packed with a host harmful chemicals one can’t even pronounce. With 62 grams of sugar talk about “crashing and burning.”

To be honest none of these so-called Energy Drinks are healthy!
Want energy? Try a cup of homebrewed black tea. It’s nearly zero calories and contains a deluge of disease-fighting antioxidants.

* Worst "Healthy" Drink
Glaceau VitaminWater (20 oz bottle)

130 calories
33 g sugar

Talk about great marketing! Vitamins and water might sound like the ultimate nutritional tag team, but what the label doesn't say is that a bottle of this stuff carries nearly as much sugar and calories as a can of Coke. Makes sense, though, since this so-called functional beverage is produced by our often-sugar-crazy friends, at The Coca-Cola Company.

* Worst “Juice” Imposter
Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (23.5 oz can)

360 calories
84 grams of sugar

These hulking calorie cannons (5 percent juice, 95 percent sugar water) are sold at gas stations and convenience stores across America for the low, low price of 99 cents, making this quite possibly the cheapest source of empty calories in the country.

* The #1 Worst Drink in America
Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake

2,310 calories
266 g fat (64 g saturated)

Let's look at America's Worst Drink in numbers:

73: The number of ingredients that go into this milkshake.
66: The number of teaspoons of sugar this drink contains.
11: The number of Heath Bars you would have to eat to equal the number of calories found in one Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake.
12: The average number of minutes it takes to consume this drink.

260: The number of minutes you'd need to spend on a treadmill, running at a moderate pace, to burn it off. 

* Worst Milkshake
Baskin-Robbins Large York Peppermint Pattie Shake (32 oz)

2,210 calories
103 g fat (57 g saturated)
281 g sugar

The freakish brother of the Heath monster, the York shake earns its title as
the most sugar-saturated product in America. To put it in perspective, you'd have to down 17 Twinkies to match the sugar content in this Baskin-Robbins blunder.

* Worst Smoothie
Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo'd Power Smoothie (30 oz)

1,170 calories
169 g sugars

Jamba Juice calls it a smoothie; we call it a sugar bomb milkshake, with more sugar than an entire bag of chocolate chips. (Note: We're pretty sure this is the drink Hollywood actors rely on when looking to put on 20 pounds for the role as a heavy!)

* Worst Frozen Coffee Drink
Cosi Gigante Double OH! Arctic (24 oz)

1,033 calories
35 g fat
177 g carbohydrates

Frozen coffee amalgamations pollute the antioxidant powers of a simple cup of joe with a huge hit of whole milk, sugary syrups, and whipped cream. What you end up with, in worst-case scenarios like this, is half a day's worth of calories, ready to be sipped down in a matter of minutes. Want a cold caffeine kick? Try good old fashion iced coffee, but watch the sugar and artificial sweeteners.

* Worst Blended Fruit Drink
Baskin-Robbins Pomegranate Banana Fruit Blast Smoothie (32 oz)

1,020 calories
232 g sugar

Sounds healthy but there is nothing further from the truth year! With three of the five worst drinks in America, you have to wonder if Baskin-Robbins is in bed with the sugar cane industry or just simply don’t care about people’s health.

One thing is for sure: People ordering this "smoothie" expecting a healthy afternoon snack have something else coming to them. The second ingredient, after water, is sugar. 

If you must sip on something at Baskin- Robbins, make it a small low-fat Cappuccino Blast, which has just 220 calories and one-fifth of the sugar of this Fruit Blast, but in reality- not much better, 220 calories-ouch!

* Worst Hot Coffee
Starbucks Venti 2% Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha

660 calories
22 g fat (14 g saturated)

95 g sugar

Important Rule of Thumb: Avoid holiday-themed items from coffee shops at all costs. From peppermint to egg nog to pumpkin, these are often the most sugar- and fat-packed drinks you'll find at places like Starbucks. Make your own flavored drinks instead, using skim milk, sugar-free syrups, and, of course, skipping the whip.

* Worst Coffee Alternative
Starbucks Venti White Hot Chocolate

640 calories
23 g fat (15 g saturated)
76 g sugar

Caffeine abstainers will find little nutritional refuge in Starbucks' hot chocolate concoctions. This one packs an entire day's worth of saturated fat, with more than enough sugar to set you up for a dramatic mid-afternoon energy crash. Stick with the Steamed Apple Juice instead.

* Worst Summer Cocktail
Pina Colada

625 calories
75 g sugars

Made from a blend of sickly-sweet pineapple juice and fat-riddled coconut milk, pina coladas may be this summer's biggest beach-body saboteurs. In fact, the only redeeming part of this drink is the garnish - that lonely chunk of pineapple hanging from the rim.

Try a lime daiquiri or a mojito instead and save up to 400 calories, but keep in mind that all alcoholic beverages are empty calories and add up very quickly.

* Worst Iced Tea
Lipton Iced Brisk Lemon Iced Tea (20 oz bottle)

325 calories
81 g sugar

Iced tea is loaded with metabolism-boosting, cancer-fighting compounds called polyphenols, but Lipton does its best to undo any potential healthy benefit you might derive from the tea's antioxidants by drowning them in 20 teaspoons of sugar. Your tea of choice should carry no more than 10-15 grams of sugar per 20-ounce serving, but better yet, drink your tea unsweetened and really enjoy the taste of quality tea. Try Tejava brand tea, it’s excellent.

* Worst Tea-Like Substance
SoBe Zen Tea (20 oz bottle)

275 calories
70 g sugar

Though the name might scream "healthy" to the unsuspecting drinker, there is little to celebrate about this beverage. SoBe can cram their drinks full of healthy-sounding extracts and vitamin supplements, but they can't escape the fact that high-fructose corn syrup outranks tea on the ingredients list.

* Worst Chocolate Milk
Nesquik (16 oz bottle)

400 calories
10 g fat (6 g saturated)
60 g sugar

Quik and other chocolate milk manufacturers try to sell parents on the bone-building calcium found in their product, but what they don't talk about is the fact that a single bottle of this stuff contains as much sugar as three Haagen Dazs Vanilla and Almond ice cream bars. Yikes. Make it yourself at home with 2 percent milk and a scoop of real powdered cocoa-you'll save about 150 calories, plus get the antioxidant benefits of cacao without the high-fructose corn syrup.

* Worst Lemonade
Minute Maid Lemonade (20 oz bottle)

250 calories
68 g sugar

This is little more than glorified sugar water, with only a trace amount of real juice. Lemonade in general is a dubious drink, but if you can't stand the thought of summer without it, try Santa Cruz-brand lemonade. When you bring the bottle home, dump it into a pitcher and add 4 ounces of water for every 8 ounces of lemonade. Otherwise, you may as well drink a Coke with a squeeze of lemon.

* Worst Beer
Sierra Nevada Stout (12 oz bottle)

210 calories
20 g carbohydrates

A full-flavored beer, no doubt, but one that packs a hefty caloric wallop. Switching out a sixer a week for a lighter beer would save you 9 pounds of extra flab this year. Cheers to that! 
Better yet cut back on your beer intake if you want to loose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

* Worst Soda
Sunkist (12 oz can)

190 calories
52 g sugar

Sweetened soft drinks account for about 10 percent of the average American's calorie consumption-about 200 completely unnecessary calories a day (more if you drink more than one soda a day). For someone looking to lose 10 pounds fast, there is no simpler, quicker way to do it than by giving up the unhealthy soda habit. Diet sodas are not better and have a host of health issues attached to them.

_________________________

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Athletes from a wide range of sports use plyometric training to help them reach peak physical condition. Used correctly, plyometric training can be a highly effective form of power training, especially when combined with a suitable strength training program.
Plyometrics refers to exercise that enables a muscle to reach maximum force in the shortest possible time. The muscle is loaded with an eccentric (lengthening) action, followed immediately by a concentric (shortening) action.

A muscle that is stretched before a concentric contraction, will contract more forcefully and more rapidly. A classic example is a “dip" just prior to a vertical jump. By lowering the center of gravity quickly, the muscles involved in the jump are momentarily stretched producing a more powerful movement. But why does this occur? Two models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon.

Mechanical Model:
In this model, elastic energy is created in the muscles and tendons and stored as a result of a rapid stretch. This stored energy is then released when the stretch is followed immediately by a concentric muscle action. The effect is like that of stretching a spring, which wants to return to its natural length. The spring is this case a component of the muscles and tendons called the series elastic component.

Neurophysical Model:
When a quick stretch is detected in the muscles, an involuntary, protective response occurs to prevent overstretching and injury. This response is known as the stretch reflex. The stretch reflex increases the activity in the muscles undergoing the stretch or eccentric muscle action, allowing it to act much more forcefully. The result is a powerful braking effect and the potential for a powerful concentric muscle action.
If the concentric muscle action does not occur immediately after the pre-stretch, the potential energy produced by the stretch reflex response is lost. (i.e. if there is a delay between dipping down and then jumping up, the effect of the counter-dip is lost). It is thought that both the mechanical model (series elastic component) and the neurophysical model (stretch reflex) increase the rate of force production during plyometrics exercises.

All plyometric movements involve three phases.

The first phase is the pre-stretch or eccentric muscle action. Here, elastic energy is generated and stored.

The second phase is the time between the end of the pre-stretch and the start of the concentric muscle action. This brief transition period from stretching to contracting is known as the amortization phase. The shorter this phase is, the more powerful the subsequent muscle contraction will be.

The third and final phase is the actual muscle contraction. In practice, this is the movement the athlete desires – the powerful jump or throw.
This sequence of three phases is called the stretch-shortening cycle. In fact, plyometrics could also be called stretch-shortening cycle exercises .

How to Increase Your Vertical Jump:

One very quick and simple way to demonstrate the effect of the stretch-shortening cycle is to perform two vertical jumps. During the first vertical jump the athlete bends the knees and hips (eccentric muscle action or pre-stretch) and holds the semi-squat position for 3-5 seconds before jumping up vertically (concentric contraction) as high as possible. The 3-5 second delay increases the amortization phase.
On the second jump the athlete bends the knees and hips to the same degree but immediately jumps up without a delay. This keeps the amortization phase to a minimum and makes best use of the stored elastic energy. The second jump will be higher.

Is Plyometric Training Really That Effective?

By making use of the stretch-shortening cycle, movements can be made more powerful and explosive. Plyometrics is simply a set of drills designed to stimulate the series elastic component over and over again, preferably during movements that mimic those is the athlete’s sport. But what long-term effect does practising plyometrics have on the body and performance?

A wide variety of training studies shows that plyometrics can improve performance in vertical jumping, long jumping, sprinting and sprint cycling. It appears also that a relatively small amount of plyometric training is required to improve performance in these tasks. Just one or two types of plyometric exercise completed 1-3 times a week for 6-12 weeks can significantly improve motor performance. Additionally, only a small amount of volume is required to bring about these positive changes i.e. 2-4 sets of 10 repetitions per session or 4 sets of 8 repetitions.

While upper body plyometrics has received less attention, three sessions of plyometric push ups a week has been shown to increase upper body power as measured by medicine ball throws.

Using a variety of plyo exercises such as depth jumps, counter-movement jumps, leg bounding and hopping etc., can improve motor performance. While the majority of studies have focused on untrained subjects, trained athletes such as soccer, volleyball and basketball players have improved their performance with plyometrics.

Not all plyometric exercises are equal in intensity. Skipping exercises for example, are relatively light while single leg bounds and depth jumps are the most intense. A program should progress gradually from lower intensity drills to more advanced plyometric exercises – particularly in an individual with less strength training experience.

The number of plyometric exercises is typically kept to a minimum also. A typical session may contain only two or three lower body plyometric exercises interspersed with upper body plyo drills upper body plyometric drills, if they’re appropriate for that sport. Correct exercise selection is essential.

Plyometrics & Concurrent Strength Training:

A conditioning program consisting of both plyometric training and  resistance training can improve power performance in the vertical jump and 40yard sprint time.

It appears that concurrent resistance and plyometrics training can actually improve power to a greater extent than either one alone. However, the overall program should be carefully planned as heavy weight training and plyometric training are not recommended on the same day. One way around this is to alternate upper body workouts.

Example: Intergrating Plyometric with Concurrent Strength Training

Mon: Strength Workout  / Upper body (high intensity)  + Plyometric Workout / Lower body (low intensity)
Tues: Strength Workout  / Lower body (low  intensity) + Plyometric Workout / Upper body (high intensity)
Wed: REST
Thu: Strength Workout / Upper body (low intensity) + Plyometric Workout Lower body (high intensity)
Fri: Strength Workout / Upper body (high intensity) + Plyometric Workout Lower body (low intensity)

Plyometrics and Injury:

Strength and conditioning specialists are often cautious intheir prescription of plyometrics due to what they believe is an inherent risk of injury. However, there is limited data to either confirm or reject this claim.
Several researchers have explicitly stated that no injuries occurred during their plyometric studies. Most do not mention whether injuries occurred or not or to what extent.

As a precaution it has been suggested that athletes have a substantial strength training background. The criteria often cited is that the athlete should be able to back squat 1.5-2x bodyweight for lower body plyometrics and bench press 1x bodyweight for upper body plyometrics.

If injuries are more likely to occur with this form of training it may be due to improper landing, landing surface or depth jumps from too great a height. Several studies have measured the height of depth jumps on vertical jump performance. Depth jumps from both 50cm (19.7) and 80cm (31.5in) both improved power to the same extent . The same results were found between jumps of 75cm and 110cm and between jumps of 50cm and 100cm. This suggests that there may be little or no added benefits of jumping from heights above 50cm (19.7in) even though the risk of injury is likely to rise.

Finally, landing surface is an important component of the plyometrics session. It should posses adequate shock absorbing properties such as grass, rubber mats and a suspended floor. Concrete, tiles, hardwood and crash mats are not suitable.

Upper and Lower body Plyometric training is one of the best ways to develop sport-specific power. But keep in mind that you must have a well-designed program structure for plyometrics to be truely effective.

Hatha, Ashtanga, Kripalu, Sivananda, Iyengar…while these may sound forgein to most people, they are actually different yoga styles. Yoga originated in India centuries ago, and due to the vast documented health benefits, which the practice promotes, yoga’s popularity has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Yoga has now become as mainstream as step aerobics and has a following of 20 million people practicing it in North America alone. 

Today, we are so fortunate that so many different yoga styles are being actively taught in the United States, the down side is that it is often very confusing for the beginner to choose a yoga style that would be best for them.

Hatha yoga is the yoga style that is mainly practiced here in the States, and within it are many variations, including the “Hollywood fad”- Bikram school and more traditional practice of Iyengar. Although these variations differ, each practice—no matter the school of thought is basically based on the same basic principles.

The most basic philosophy of yoga is that it focuses on the combination of body, mind and spirit connecting on a very personal level. Yoga is about quieting the mind and relaxing - rejuvenating the body. At the start of my personal yoga practice, I quickly noticed the same significant health benefits I experienced in my martial arts practices, which was a powerful feeling of peacefulness, well-being and that my mind and body were greatly energized. 

Physically doing the “asanas” (the yoga poses) is translated as that which is steady and with ease. So there is stability within the poses and within your mind. Yoga will not only make you extremely physically fit, yoga will strengthen your muscles, improve your flexibility and balance. It helps you breathe freely, think more clearly, sleep more soundly, make you happier as it brings you a more positive outlook on life, it will also help to greatly improve serious health issues such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and chronic back-pain, just to name a few.

The Hatha Yoga Styles

The variations of Hatha yoga range from the physically challenging to the meditatively transcending. According to the Yoga Research and Education Center website, they include:

Iyengar yoga, which is the most widely recognized approach to Hatha yoga, is characterized by precision performance and the aid of various props, such as cushions, benches, wood blocks, straps and even sand bags.

"Iyengar is more focused on alignment and even though it's not always moving quickly, it's very intense and adapted for beginners," says Miller.

Ashtanga yoga involves synchronizing the breath with a fast-paced series of postures—a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, a light and strong body and a calm mind.

Bikram yoga is a system of 26 postures that are performed in a standard sequence in a room heated to 100–110 degrees Fahrenheit. This approach is fairly vigorous and requires a certain level of fitness on the part of students. Unfortunately there is less focus on alignment, and more on sweating and getting a good workout. Not what I would call a true yoga experience and it’s a bit on the trendy side. Not my cup of tea, but maybe it’s yours.

Viniyoga focuses on practicing a posture according to one's individual needs and capacity. Regulated breathing is an important aspect of Viniyoga and the breath is carefully coordinated with the postural movements.

Kripalu yoga is a three-stage yoga. In the first stage, postural alignment and coordination of breath and movement are emphasized and the postures are held for a short duration only. In the second stage, meditation is included into the practice and postures are held for prolonged periods. In the final stage, the practice of postures becomes a spontaneous "meditation in motion."

Integral yoga made a debut at the Woodstock festival in 1969, where yoga expert Swami Satchidananda taught thousands to chant, "om." This style aims to integrate the various aspects of the body and mind through a combination of postures, breathing techniques, deep relaxation, and meditation and function is more important than form. In this style of yoga, breathing and meditation are emphasized as much as the postures.

Sivananda yoga includes a series of 12 postures, breathing exercises, relaxation and mantra chanting.

Ananda yoga is a gentle style that is designed to prepare the student for meditation, involving consciously directing the body's energy to different organs and limbs.

There is no better time to start a yoga program than today. Why not? Whether you are starting a new fitness program, or wanting to supplement your current program, the health benefits of yoga are great. Yoga will enhance your body and enrich your mind and life.

__________________________________________

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It's March 18th and we are more than halfway through "National Nutrition Month", so hopefully, you all are working hard on making some imporant changes in your diet and making a conscious effort to eat at least five servings of fruits and veggies daily.

Well, to kick it into over-drive: Try to eat five different colors of fruits and veggies daily.

It is important to eat a colorful palate since disease fighting antioxidants also give foods their brilliant color. The wider the color palate you eat, the greater the spectrum of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals you will be eating.

Please note, that downing just goji berries, drinking pomegranate juice or adding some magic powder to your smoothie is really not enough to be considered healthy eating.

As an example of how you can easily add "five colors" into your meals;

Breakfast: Blue — Throw a half of cup of fresh blueberries onto your morning oatmeal or favorite cereal. (I should say healthy cereal, Captain Crunch doesn't count, sorry.)

Snack: Yellow — Eat a banana or slice up a mango, peach or nectarine.

Lunch: Green — A healthy spinach salad can cover all shades of green or some steamed broccoli over brown rice. 

Dinner: Orange — Roasted yams has the color orange covered and sweet potatoes have amazing health benefits too.

Dessert: Red — Strawberries, Cherries, Apples and Raspberries sliced or whole make a tasty, sweet and satisfying dessert.

It is way easiler than you may think to add a variety of color to your daily diet and eat healthier.

* Healthy Living/Eat Well: Fresh Broccoli Salad

This is a tasty and very healthy salad that uses an interesting combination of fruits, vegetables and meats. Before you decide you won't like it, try it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

PREP TIME  15 Min 
COOK TIME  15 Min 
READY IN  30 Min

INGREDIENTS:

2 heads fresh broccoli
1 red onion
1/2 pound bacon
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1.Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble.

2. Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and cut the onion into thin bite-size slices. Combine with the bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix    well.

3.To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve.

4. Enjoy with some ice cold water with a slice of lemon.

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* Healthy Living/Eat Well: Cool & Creamy Cucumber Salad  

This cool, creamy salad is lighter than other versions made with sour cream. It's a great addition to any weekend cookouts.

PREP TIME  15 Min 
READY IN  16 Min 

INGREDIENTS:

1 large English cucumber, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, diced
2 cups nonfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1.Arrange cucumber slices in a single layer in the bottom of a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add a layer of onions, and top with a layer of yogurt. Continue layering all the remaining cucumbers,
onions, and yogurt this order. Top off with a final layer of yogurt. Sprinkle with garlic powder,
and parmesan cheese.

2.Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

3. Enjoy with some well chilled sparkling water.

How sweet it is….. to eat sweet potatoes! Not only are they delicious - they are versatile, full of fiber and nutritious.

While sweet potatoes may be part of your holiday tradition, be sure to add these wonderful naturally sweet vegetables to your meals throughout the year - they are some of the most nutritious vegetables around.

The sweet potato has yellow or orange flesh, and its thin skin may either be white, yellow, orange, red or purple. Sometimes this root vegetable will be shaped like a potato, being short and blocky with rounded ends, while other times it will be longer with tapered ends. There is often much confusion between sweet potatoes and yams; the moist-fleshed, orange-colored root vegetable that is often called a "yam" is actually a sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes are one of the unsung heroes of a balanced diet. For a reasonable number of calories, you get loads of nutrients.

Sweet potatoes contain carotenoids that appear to help stabilize blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance, making cells more responsive to insulin. This can ultimately help with your metabolism.

If a beta-carotene contest were held, sweet potatoes would tie carrots for first place. That may make them top-notch for fighting chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.

A sweet potato has four times the RDA for beta-carotene, which your body can convert to vitamin A, 42% of the RDA for vitamin C and if you eat the skin, more fiber than oatmeal. Other sweet potato health benefits include having the lowest glycemic index among root veggies because it digests very slowly, which helps you feel full longer.

Sweet potatoes contain unique root storage proteins that have been observed to have significant antioxidant capacities. As an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and a very good source of vitamin C, sweet potatoes have healing properties as an antioxidant food. Both beta-carotene and vitamin C are very powerful antioxidants that work in the body to eliminate free radicals.

*Free radicals are chemicals that damage cells and cell membranes and are associated with the development of conditions like atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, and colon cancer. This may explain why beta-carotene and vitamin C have both been shown to be helpful for preventing these conditions.
 
Since these nutrients are also anti-inflammatory, they can be helpful in reducing the severity of conditions in which inflammation plays a role, such as asthma, ulcers, inflammatory colon conditions, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The problem is that most of us grew up linking sweet potatoes to mounds of brown sugar, marshmallows and butter. That candied version may be okay once a year, but sweet potatoes should find a home on your weekly menu. Consider mashed sweet potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries coated lightly with olive oil and baked, and sweet potato casseroles.

 __________________________________________

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