Up and Beyond Regular Yoga: Partner Yoga with Ning

Sometimes in your practise you get to a point where you feel like you can't push yourself any further; you come to a stalemate between your mind and your asanas. At Ning's studio she utilizes both people's bodies to deepen poses more than before and encourages you to go into poses that you normally wouldn't challenge yourself to do on your own. Partner yoga helps you trust and build confidence in others, while at the same time lifting your own confidence as you move farther into your practise. Yoga with Ning is exciting and fun! Ning also offers other types of yoga at her studio Beyond Yoga in Kensington. Drop in is 20$ but there is also a Karma class offered for 2 to 5$!!!

http://yogaandbeyond.ca/

Holiday Spirit

Hey sorry everyone I have not posted this past week! I will start up again this week! I was taking a Christmas Break!
I thought I would post these great Christmas spirit photos! This is a small-town local who decorates his house every single year for Christmas. It's amazing the kinds of goals people can set for themselves and accomplish!! If you visit this house any given night in December while it's up, it is absolutely packed!

Photos are complimentary of @KristanMorin. 


Happy Holidays!!!

Still Going: Shay Dodds with AthLEAN-X Update after Week 3

As week 3 ends, Shay is still staying true to AthLEAN-X. Here is his latest update:

This week started to introduce a lot of plyometric style exercises using a physio ball.  The best ones on the ball this week were Physioball side plank drops which are basic side plank lifts while balancing your one arm on the ball.  Very difficult and it starts to incorporate a lot of stabilizer type muscles.  Physioball corkscrews were pretty intense as well and lifting the ball really makes you focus on the mechanics of the exercise versus just rushing through.

Twisting pistons kicked my butt and I had to cut the exercise short because I thought my abs were going to erupt in a flame similar to Jimi Hendrix's guitar.  For this you start in a plank and jump to each side with your knees tucked in, returning to plank before each twist.  These burst type exercises are essential to burning the fat around your trunk and by incorporating twists, not only are you balancing while doing the exercise but activating the lateral sides of your abdomin area.  Lastly, the canoe crunches seem to finish each day off and I'm ready to puke by that time so these are least enjoyable (which means they are the most difficult haha). 

As for the meal plan it's really the first 2 weeks repeated because I need to go through some of the leftover bulk food I bought.  With finals I haven't had time to go out and buy/prepare any new meals according to the diet, although each week is a healthy balance of different foods so repeating a week isn't a big deal.

Inspirational Health & Fitness Enthusiast of the Week

Would you care for a moist lemon towel sir? For The Pampered Yogi

It seems there is a reputation surrounding yoga as something only hippies and free-spirited flower children are a part of-- and many studios reflect this dogma. The atmosphere at Hot Yoga on Crowfoot however invokes quite a new experience for a yogi. When you enter the studio, hot tea is awaiting you and cool lemon water. The changing rooms are quite spacious and have large swimming-pool style showers. The decorations and atmosphere is very modern and sophisticated. No where will you find a hanging wire or unpainted piece of ceiling as it is at many fitness facilities.
The classes I have attended are a mix between Standard Hot/ Bikram's and Baptiste's Vinyasa Flow as well as a "BV with Music" or Baptiste Flow. It was a nice change to merge the two classes and get the best from both worlds. The studio had surround sound and played quiet music throughout the class in both.
The best part by far though is the cool, wet, lemon face cloth that the teacher gives you in your Savasana AND the little chocolates at the end!
The one problem I had was not being able to see myself in the mirror as the actual studio is a bit small and cramped. However, many studios do not have mirrors and don't promote watching yourself in the mirror during yoga practices.
I found the teachers informative and helpful for achieving correctness in the poses.
Check out a class at their Crowfoot location or on 17th. Drop in is 16$ or buy a pass!

http://hotyogaoncrowfoot.com/

Short Update with Shay Dodd's AthLEAN-X Challenge

Short update from Shay with the AthLEAN-X diet and workout plan. Shay says:

The Russian "V" tuck twists, Frog crunches and drunken mountain climbers are fantastic!  As for meals, eat a lot of fish and meats for dinner to get that protein in!  Lots of chicken salads and stuff too.  Don't be afraid to experiment.

Exams are here but Shay is persevering through! Stay tuned next week to see more pictures! Remember to check the left side of the page for his older and updated pictures!!

Inspirational Health & Fitness Enthusiast of the Week

What is the single best thing we can do for our health?

Challenge Your Strength; Challenge Your Fear

Running on the treadmill, lifting weights at the gym, and breathing through your yoga poses all challenge your strength, endurance and physical abilities- but does it challenge your level of audacity? Indoor climbing not only puts your physical abilities to the test, but it pushes you to overcome fear and accomplish goals you once thought unattainable. Indoor climbing is simple enough for most people to do and have fun at it, but at STRONGHOLD there is various walls, 70 different routes. and a bouldering area to challenge any climber.
If you are a new climber, signup for the 2 hour training course. Like I said it's simple and goes by fast. It's about 25$ per time you go (rentals included) and that is for the whole day. If it is something you really love, equipment is cheap and you are looking at less than 15$ every-time you go or there are package deals.
Indoor climbing is a great way to bond with someone and overcome obstacles together. Challenging yourself and accomplishing goals is an amazing feeling at the end of the climbs!

http://www.calgaryclimbing.com/stronghold/index.php

Why "Apple Nirvana"?

After being live for a couple of weeks now, I have had a few readers ask, why is it called 'apple nirvana'? So I thought I would let you all in on the name.
Firstly, apples are notorious for health- (an apple a day keeps the doctor away). As this IS a health related blog- it was only fitting. However it goes much beyond this.
Apple Nirvana is about goals, accomplishment and ambition as you have seen from the I.H.F.E videos posted each week. An apple tree perseveres through the year with not so much as a few leaves and branches. When spring rolls around it pushes harder than ever before and blossoms into beautiful flowers. Like a human who finds their passion in life and blossoms as a result, the tree then yields a delicious fruit. When one finds their true passion in life and pursues it, they give what they have to the world in such a magnificent way as the apple tree gives it fruit.
Apples have notoriously been used in many cultures and religions as a symbol of the sacredness and forbiddances.  However, history has shown that that which has been forbidden and deemed evil in one generation is often worshipped and brings life to the next. The apple is that which is unattainable and unimaginable, but once obtained is magical and unbelievably blissful- like a nirvana.
If Eve never reached for the apple, mankind would never have experienced sex, or so goes the story. Plato and Greek myths of Aphrodite claim throwing an apple is the act of confessing a true love- or in other words, pursuing something seen as insurmountable.

Nirvana is a state of being free; free from any nagging emotions or stresses. It is just being. It is an ideal of many religions to achieve a state of nirvana. To be able to live with satisfaction and without the hound of greed, jealously, and rage.

Together, 'apple' and 'nirvana' create a phrase that characterizes a place in one's life when he/she has followed his/her dreams and passions. In doing so, achieved happiness and satisfaction in one's life. This in turn has affected every person he/she has come in contact with because such positive thinking and happiness radiates from an individual like rays of sun, lighting up the dreary and dullness that so many choose to live in. Apple Nirvana is a place to be achieved of health and meditation; mindfulness and compassion, and above all total and complete bliss with one's state of being.
This blog reflects my passion in life and Apple Nirvana is the beginning of my Apple Nirvana. Have you found your Apple Nirvana?

Inspirational Health & Fitness Enthusiast of the Week

Shay Dodds with AthLEAN-X Update after Week 1

For this week the food was a lot of protein and carbs and pretty much no sugars or fats. Lots of the dinners were fish or steak served with brown rice or some sort of salad. One recipe I made up was this...http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/spinach_steak_and_mushroom_salad.php and it was awesome. Just used Mrs. Dash for the steak seasoning and portobello mushrooms and for the dressing I subbed light mayo and skim milk. It was still very delicious! Served it with some mashed sweet potatoes and it was excellent.

The key to this meal plan is snacking. I found I was dying of hunger if I didn't snack. These could range from apples with peanut butter (my favorite snack) to home made trail mix (Kashi lean cereal, sliced almonds, walnuts, craisins, a few chocolate chips and dried coconut. Protein shakes are 1-2 times a day also! I just used skim milk, mixed berries, half a banana, 2 strawberries and one scoop of powder. Or sub berries for mangoes and sliced pineapple!

As for the exercises...well I can definitely tell it's working. I can feel it in my core the next day and I found myself having to take a couple second breather in some of the exercises. It seems that the workouts get progressively harder each week, but there were definitely some good ones in there this round. Mountain climbers for 60 sec were challenging but very rewarding. I also really liked the jackknifes and seated ball twists ("any ball" BTB pass as he calls it). Each work offers new exciting and challenging exercises that make me look forward to more core workout each session.

-Shay Dodds

*See left side for updated photos!