Category: Fitness

Diary of A Happy Yogi: Different Times Of Day for Yoga

By: Ashley Whimpey

Pajamas on, face freshly washed, blankets fluffed and waiting for a tired body to sink into them… This is ready-for-bed. Although, sometimes even when I climb into the welcoming cushion of my mattress, I cannot find any comfort. My mind zips left and right categorizing tasks I need to do and double checking if there are only 100 or 1,000 things I forgot to do that day. Even when there aren’t tasks in my head, I often find myself unable to fall asleep due to the incredibly distracting evaluations of life going on inside my brain. For example, how do baby turtles know how to get to the ocean?

Unfortunately for you, I didn’t look up the answer to the turtle question. Instead I dug up how to slow the racing thoughts. I found a study of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder patients and yoga practices. Yoga was proven to significantly increase their ability to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep. The focus and mind exploration learned and practiced in a yoga class are the reasons so many of the patients found success. They reported being more able to freely experience their bad emotions and then let them pass. Instead of fighting the racing thoughts, they allowed them to just pass by and lead them deeper into dreamland.

However, a national survey of yoga participants (4,307 randomly selected across the country) all frequently mentioned the benefits of yoga including “energizing their day,” when practiced in the morning. Yoga taps into the human body’s energy current, which is referred to as prana by many yoga practitioners. Our prana is a life force, which comes from food, oxygen, proximity to other living things, etc. When there is a blockage in the flow of prana through the body, prana is inefficient. Yoga works to restore flow, and if the practitioner’s day is just beginning, can promote energy.

The effects of a yoga class depend greatly upon the content of the class. Too intense or vigorous of a class late in the evening can turn the energy dial too high and make it just as hard to sleep as before. Remove just enough blockades to silence a racing mind, however, and you’ll be out like a light.

References:

Haddad, B. (2013). Energy Release And The Art Of Self-Protection. Massage & Bodywork, 28(6), 90-97.

Ross National survey of yoga practitioners: Mental and physical health benefits. Complementary therapies in medicine. (08/2013)

Hertenstein, E., Rose, N., Voderholzer, U., Heidenreich, T., Nissen, C., Thiel, N., … Külz, A. (n.d.). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in obsessive-compulsive disorder – A qualitative study on patients’ experiences. BMC Psychiatry, 185-185.

Masters Graduate Leah Wheeling

As a child, Leah loved being active. She participated in volleyball, tennis, basketball, gymnastics, and cheerleading throughout school. She says her favorite time of the day was always “gym class” although she doesn’t call it that anymore. Her love of “gym class” was one reason why she decided to go into PE and coaching at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania.

Leah credits her high school volleyball coach, Rod Sheffer as being her biggest inspiration. She says as captain of her team, she was acutely aware of Coach Sheffer’s efforts to be at every practice and game, on time, and with a good attitude – even though he was battling leukemia. She says he made a big impression on her and helped her to understand her innate leadership qualities.

While attending Slippery Rock University, Leah was able to maintain a connection with Coach Sheffer and her high school volleyball team by assuming the position of assistant coach both sophomore and junior years. Since Slippery Rock is only a 30 minute commute to her old high school, she was able to squeeze coaching into her busy academic schedule. She coached both the girl’s and boy’s teams and says, “It was hard, but I loved it.”

Because she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after graduation, Leah discussed her options with her professors and visited universities she was interested in. Eventually she decided to pursue a master’s degree in a fitness related field and applied to several universities. Mason was the first to accept her into their Master’s program and offered her a graduate assistantship. She says, “I felt like it was a sign that I needed to go to Mason, so I accepted.”

She admits she wasn’t sure what to expect from her graduate assistantship, but after two full years with Mason Recreation, she feels like it’s prepared her for her future. Her responsibilities included supervising fitness attendants, including trainers and group exercise instructors, overseeing risk management, performing equipment maintenance, running several fitness events including a Power Meet and an Indoor Triathlon, and representing Fitness at various campus committee meetings.

Leah says she’s enjoyed being able to help the fitness attendants grow professionally. In addition to making sure the staff provides excellent customer service and gives knowledgeable information to customers, she also ensures that all staff have appropriate certifications and react properly to regularly scheduled “red shirt” emergency drills. She explains, “I’m an introvert so I’m not typically comfortable in front of groups. But I got my group exercise certification and find I really like teaching. Plus I’ve been able to teach a personal training prep course for Rec, so I’m getting used to being in front of groups now.”

Something that Leah wasn’t necessarily expecting to do, and didn’t expect to enjoy so much, was equipment maintenance. She had the opportunity to work with equipment technicians for a full semester and summer to learn how to do minor repairs on fitness equipment. She says, “When I was young I worked with my dad when he was making repairs around the house. I really enjoyed it then and I find I really enjoy it now.”

Leah also had additional experience doing repairs on the nine mission trips she took to the Appalachia’s with her church mission group. Starting at the age of 14, she and a large group of volunteers from Grace United Methodist Church acquired materials and tools and travelled to different towns throughout the Appalachia’s to help those less fortunate. Leah says, “It felt good to help people who couldn’t do it for themselves.”

The combination of professional development she’s obtained through Mason Recreation and the experiences she’s had over the years with her coaching and mission trips have provided Leah with a secure foundation to move into the working world.

Leah’s goal is to become a Fitness Director for a University. She loves working in a university setting where she can help to professionally develop students. “Having the assistantship for Mason Rec has made the most impact on me.” It’s opened my eyes to the big, huge world of recreation. There are so many possibilities.” She says, “I want people to look at me and say, “Because of you I didn’t give up.””

Leah graduates in May with a Master’s in Exercise, Fitness and Health Promotions.

By Jennifer Lehman, MS RYT

Diary Of A Happy Yogi: Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic

By: Ashley Whimpey

To the majority, exercise is an extrinsic goal satisfier. While you may not enjoy the feeling of the bar producing callouses on your hands or the actual movement of pushing yourself from the ground over and over in a pushup, you have a goal in mind that makes it necessary. Sit ups may be your least favorite exercise, but you’ll do it because you want a stronger core more than you want to stop.

Yoga often begins the same way. New addicts are obsessed with being able to touch their toes to their heads or pull their legs up behind their necks. Slowly though, the “present mindset” begins to set in, and there is a shift to intrinsic motivation. The hour seems shorter and goes by much quicker. The sustained humming on your happy strings makes the time flow along, and your “Goal Reached” feeling set off like mad. The feeling lasts longer than the two seconds you spend in front of some streaky mirror somewhere noting how you finally have notable biceps when you twist your wrist up and hold your breath.

In a science context, this shift is attributed to a few things inherently great about yoga. Though many asanas (poses) and variations make up a yoga class, many of the same asanas are used again and again across all different yoga genres. This repeated practice of the same, or at least similar, poses and movements allows the practitioner to enhance his or her competence when it comes to exercising, agreeing with statements like, “I think I am pretty good at exercising” (Schneider & Kwain, 2013).

Other domains described by Schneider & Kwan include autonomy, or feeling like you have control over the way the exercise happens or like the activities are pleasant. Almost every asana has more than one variation, making it extremely autonomous in that respect. However, there is also a saying to, “Honor your practice,” and pause (or stop altogether) in a yoga class in order to give the body what it is asking for. To practice without attachment, meaning there is a silence to the voice usually saying we are not enough, is a tradition in yoga classes that puts regular practitioners in the line of fire to become more intrinsically motivated.

Further, exercising in order to be with others (relatedness), and exercising because of an understanding of the value of it (regulation), promote the intrinsic motivation that takes you to a state of thorough and complete satisfaction.

The movement of yoga, the breathing and being, all create a continuous meeting of a goal. Instead of a split second recognition of reaching a goal weight, which quickly diminishes into another goal to be set and worked toward, it’s being that you’re after. It’s being on the mat, or in the state of mind, or in the present moment as you bend and breathe and be.

Reference:

Schneider, M., & Kwan, B. (2013). Psychological need satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and affective response to exercise in adolescents. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 776-785.

Diary of a Happy Yogi: Yoga Lingo

By Ashley Whimpey

Despite any significant amount of hours spent in a yoga class, even the most practiced individuals can be halted right in the middle of their Sun Salutation at some unfamiliar jargon getting thrown around. Hopefully this revelation allows for a little less time spent deciphering the language and more time spent deciphering how your teacher gets their toes all the way up there.

Yogi: a male yoga practitioner.

Yogini: a female yoga practitioner. Obviously this means the title of this running log should be changed, since I am a female and thus would be a yogini, not a yogi. Nonetheless, yogi works all the same and is typically interchangeable.

Yoga Sutra: a guide book of 195 statements (which are rather philosophical). The statements outline 8 “limbs” of yoga, the third of which is known as Asana.

Asana: physical shapes and poses of yoga.

Om: a sound/vibration meant to be like the “sound of the universe” because it represents the way the universe is always moving. The leaves rustling, the sun rising or setting—om is a sound of movement continuous in the world around us.

Namaste: “The light in me honors the light in you.” Namaste is an acknowledgement of “thank you” from one soul to another.

Savasana: the best pose in the history of yoga. It’s also known as Corpse Pose, or the final resting. Not meant to be morbid, Savasana is the closing posture of a yoga class where yogis and yoginis alike allow their bodies to be supported by the Earth as they reflect on their class, hearts, souls, and lives for a few brief moments while laying supine (face up) on their mat.

Gaim, Lulu, Teeva, WerkShop, YogiToes, HardTail: all of these are yoga brands. Even YogiToes, which are actually just socks with little grippies to prevent sliding all over a sweaty mat. From mats, to bags, to ridiculously expensive leggings, these are just a few of the most commonly referenced yoga brands dominating the markets right now.

The final word I’d like to define here (especially for any unfamiliar yoga goers) is the word flexibility. Claiming not having enough flexibility to join in a yoga class is ludacris. It’s the same as explaining you cannot take tennis lessons because you don’t already play tennis. All humans have flexibility. Albeit, some possess a seemingly inhuman amount of it, but it’s in everyone all the same. The stretching of any inch of muscle or the soul, is flexibility.Hopefully the demystification of these words prove useful as you venture on to another level of yoga-dom. Namaste.

Diary Of A Happy Yogi: Progressions and Regressions

By: Ashley Whimpey

Modify is to change. Modification can take, “Now scratch your nose with your toes,” and change it into something more “all-levels” friendly. It could also take a mastered pose into a new and exciting place. As a personal journey, it’s important to personalize classes. Yoga is for the individual, and comes to that individual in the way they need it. Formal yoga classes (surprisingly) can move a little too quickly for an instructor to offer up variations of the poses for all participants. Luckily, I’ve collected some for you to either take the asana up a notch or down to a different level!

Mountain Pose: The standing and beginning pose of many yoga classes.

Take it down: The purpose of Mountain Pose is to feel grounded. If putting your feet wider creates a more comfortable (and stable) position, that’s okay. There isn’t a law.

Level up: keeping the core engaged, bring palms together above your head, shoulders down, and rotate at the hips drawing a large circle. Do both sides, and feel the warmth in your center.

Warrior three: the table top balance pose.

Take it down: Place both hands on a block and focus on the balance with the legs instead of both arms and legs. Try removing one hand, then the other. Try placing the arms behind you like a cape, or in Eagle Pose Arms, instead of above your head in the traditional Superman-esk position.

Forward fold: Half bent from the hips to stretch the hamstrings.

Take it down: Place the hands on the thighs or shins into a flat-back extension pose. Try placing the hands on a block to bring the ground closer.

Level up: Keeping the heels together, move the toes apart into a V shape. Try placing the hands on the calves to deepen the fold.

Sun God: Essentially a wide legged squat, the feet are also turned out and the chest is lifted.

Take it down: Try keeping the elbows on the thighs and pressing up the chest. Rising slightly from the deeper squat is also appropriate. The pose should only be performed if the chest can remain more perpendicular than parallel to the floor.

Level up: Raise onto the balls of the feet.

Pigeon pose: This half-split is a great preparation for full split, as well as a great stretch to the hip flexor, hamstring, and lower back.

Take it down: Bend the back leg and bring it in toward the front foot, creating a diamond shape.

Level up: Try to move the front foot forward until the shin is parallel to the wall in front of you while keeping the knee and upper thigh on the ground.

Side plank: from a hands-under-shoulders full plank, balance on one side with the chest turned to the wall.

Take it down: Drop the inner leg and use the knee to assist you. Stagger the feet.

Level up: Raise the top foot off the ground. Try and reach for the foot with your top hand, further extending the leg up or bending it behind you into Raindrop Drinking Bird.

Triangle: Hamstring side stretch. To get specific and offer the best solutions, imagine a right-sided triangle pose, meaning you are leaning toward the right leg. The left foot should be pointed forward to the front of the room, and the right foot should be pointing to the right.

Take it down: Triangle only works its magic if it is performed with an “uncompromised line” in the torso. Compromised lines turn into C’s. When the upper body is tipping toward the leg, drop the lower ribs and at the moment the line begins to curve, drop the arm. The arm should balance on the leg and offer support.

Level up: Keeping a straight torso, in line with the leg, open the chest and sink the leading hand all the way to the ankle, or the floor.

Fitness At Home

By: Alison Hall

The Aquatic and Fitness Center, RAC, and Skyline Fitness Centers offer a variety of fitness activities. You can take group fitness classes, lift weights, train your balance, stretch, play basketball—the possibilities are endless. But what do you do when you’re home for spring break? Maybe you are traveling for work, or snowed in? There are many options for home workouts, and they can be just as effective as your workout at the gym.

You don’t need a room full of expensive equipment to work out at home. You can train both cardio and strength without any equipment. You just need enough space to safely move around. It’s not a good idea to think “I won’t trip on that magazine rack.” Move it out of the way, and make use of the space you have. One option is to alternate circuits of body-weight strength exercises with circuits of cardio drills. Start off by doing 30 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest for each exercise. Always warm up with light cardio 5-7 minutes before you increase your intensity, and stretch the muscles you worked after.

If you do want to add equipment to your home workout, resistance tubing is one of the least expensive and most portable options. Tubing comes in a variety of resistances, and you can always adjust an exercise by changing how you hold the tube. The negative side to tubing is that it can be hard to be consistent with your resistance based on where you hold the tubing. It takes a good mind-body connection to feel that you have the proper resistance. Always inspect your tubing before each workout. If your tubing is torn. Replace it so it does not snap while you are using it.

Many home exercisers invest in a set of dumbbells. They are more expensive than resistance tubing, but you always know what resistance level you are using. Purchase 2-3 different weights of dumbbells, and realize that when they are too light, you will want to buy heavier sets. If you are using heavy dumbbells, be sure to have a spotter. Other good home gym purchases are a yoga mat, stability ball, BOSU, Gliding Discs, and pull-up bar. Most equipment can be purchased at sporting goods stores, discount stores, or online.

ACE fitness (www.acefitness.org) gives a complete library of exercises and stretches for each of the above categories with video demonstrations. The library can help you design a complete workout with or without equipment. StudentHealth101.com also presents workout ideas. However, what if you like having the group fitness instructor or personal trainer telling you what to do? Exercise DVDs are a great option. There are exercise videos for every style of working out. Instructors such as Cathe Freidrich, who is a pioneer in advanced level-home workouts, Tony Horton of P90X fame, and Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser offer advanced strength training and cardio DVDs. If you like indoor cycling and have a bike or trainer at home, Spinervals coach Troy Jacobson has workouts for general fitness or elite cycling. Zumba has a line of workouts with the same party feel of a live class. There also are many yoga and Pilates DVDs on the market for every level. Many instructors are transitioning into downloadable workouts as well. Videofitness.com is a great resource for exercise DVD reviews. The reviews are written by consumers, not the instructors or producers of the workouts. Collagevideo.com and totalfitnessdvds.com have clips of all the DVDs they sell, so you can get a taste of the workout before buying it. Some instructors post videos of full workouts for free online, so if you find one you like, you can search for that.

Now “I can’t get to the gym” is not an excuse. Use the space and equipment you have, and have a great next workout.

Eat, Sleep, Train – A Day in the Life of John Baldwin

John Baldwin is not your average college senior. In addition to preparing for graduation in Applied Information Technologies in May, and working up to 20 hours per week as head guard for the Aquatic and Fitness Center, he’s also preparing for his 5^th ½ Iron Man. So how does he fit everything into a 24 hour day?

John grew up in a family of swimmers. From the age of 6 until 18, he swam as much as 23 hours per week. Growing up with swimming being a part of his family life, this lifestyle just seemed natural to him. But at the age of 18, John decided to find a more total body way of competing and decided to pursue triathlons: swimming, cycling and running.

That same year, John competed in his first ½ triathlon as well as his first marathon and that’s when he fell in love with the competition of swimming, cycling and running. By his 21^st birthday, he’d prepared for his first full Iron Man held in Lake Placid. He admits he didn’t train or diet properly for the race and after a grueling 23 mile run, he decided he was going to finish for his family who was waiting for him at the finish line. That’s when he decided to get serious about his training and nutrition.

John acquired a running coach to increase his speed and to work on his nutrition. He says he’s very futuristic, “Everything I do one day affects what happens in the next few days. Every workout I skip affects my results. I basically eat, sleep, and train.” To prepare for his upcoming ½ Iron Man in Puerto Rico, most of John’s workouts are indoors since the climate is very warm in Puerto Rico in March. To prepare for the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run, he works out where he can and when he can.

John’s routine consists of lots of planning and scheduling to fit everything in. The following is an example of his daily routine:

Early morning workout
Schoolwork
Mid-day workout
Classes
Evening workout
One hour of “fun”

Depending on what his workouts consist of determines what his daily food intake is. He says his diet is “clean” and is usually around 3500 – 4500 calories. He says he prefers to drink his calories since chewing that many “clean” calories is hard to do. He has homemade smoothies throughout his day to maintain his energy.

His current training focuses on getting his speed up for ½ Iron Man’s so he can eventually move back into full ones. Since 2012, he’s achieved is own personal records in all the races he’s competed in. He says he uses the competition to make him faster. Instead of zoning out, which many competitors do, John stays focused on who’s around him and maintains a certain amount of pain he knows he can tolerate.

During the World Championships in Canada last year, John placed 46^th overall in his age group of 2600 competitors and placed 13^th in the swim. He hopes to compete again this year in the 2015 World Championships being held in Austria.

John says this is a lifestyle for him. His family members and friends are all athletically active. But since training can be somewhat isolating, he’s trying to spend more time with people. He says he’s seeing an increase in his energy levels since adding more face time with friends and family to his busy schedule.

John sees himself doing this forever. “I don’t mind winning or losing. I just like to know I’ve given it all I can.”

John’s Puerto Rico 1/2 Iron Man will be March 15. Wish him luck!

By Jennifer Lehman, MS RYT