The 10 Best Yoga Moves for Inflexible People

Once Barbie and GI Joe started doing yoga, we could pretty much call it: Yoga is officially everywhere these days. But all that stretching and balancing is just for bendy people who can flop over their legs effortlessly—the rest of us non-bendy people who already exercise plenty don’t really need it, right?

Not so fast: While being fit and being flexible don’t always go hand-in-hand, being injured and being inflexible often does. But there are ways to get the full benefit from yoga—even if you can’t touch your toes—and without the special studios and the special pants. These 10 starter poses are for people at all flexibility levels, plus you don’t even need a mat!

What you need: a kitchen counter or a chair; a towel; a milk crate, stool, or a small trashcan; an open doorway; and a blank expanse of wall.

With the following poses, keep these five general principles in mind.

1. You should always be able to breathe evenly, so find your edge but don’t go past it! Allow your body to open up and adjust over the space of about five or six breaths in each pose.
2. Keep your core muscles active but not to the point of holding your breath.
3. Keep a neutral spine; no “swayback donkeys” or sunken chests.
4. Twisting happens at the waist, not at the shoulders.
5. When bending forward, hinge from the hips, not the middle of your back.

CHEST, SHOULDERS & UPPER BACK

1. Upper Chest and Back Opener
Do this move anywhere, standing or sitting. And definitely bust it out at the end of a long flight to release that “cabin pressure” in your upper body.

With bent elbows, raise arms to shoulder height. Make hands into loose fists facing each other. Open chest by drawing elbows back like they’re going to meet behind your back.

As you return to the starting position, continue the motion, wrapping hands around opposite shoulders and stacking elbows on top of one another. To get a nice stretch along upper back and the back of your neck, tuck your face into the triangular space created by your elbows. Repeat the motion a second time, switching which elbow is on top. Do at least 2 to 3 sets.

2. Chest and Shoulder Opener

Here’s a move to get those chest and shoulders to open up. It’s the antidote to long stints hunched over a desk. Do this standing or sitting.

Hold a towel in front of you with one end in each hand. Raise arms up in a wide V overhead to locate the edge of the stretch. (You should feel an expansion in upper chest and the front of shoulders. If you aren’t finding that sweet spot, try moving hands farther apart or closer together on the towel.) Also try this snazzy variation: Hold the towel in both hands behind you. Spread feet out a bit wider than hip distance, toes pointing forward. Bend forward from the hips, dropping torso over legs. Raise arms with the towel overhead from behind.

3. Seated Spinal Twist

Keep this spinal twist handy as you work toward that corner office. It’s great for de-stressing and undoing the damage of a full afternoon of slouchy sitting. Remember: The twist happens at the waistline; resist using the chair’s back to wrench your body around further into the twist.

Seated on a chair, swing legs to the left side. Twist to the left so torso is facing the chair back and grasp it with hands. If neck will permit it, complete the full spinal twist by looking over left shoulder. (Don’t force it. Just look ahead if neck twinges in protest.) Swing round to the right and repeat.

4. Standing Twist

Let’s invite more of your body to this yoga party. As with the seated version, the twisting should come at the waist and your hands should help hold you in the pose, rather than cranking your spine past the limit.

With hips squared to the front of the chair, place right foot on the seat (thigh should be parallel with the floor). Put right hand on hip and left hand on right knee, and twist to the right. For a nice counter twist, come back to center and continue twisting to the left, placing left hand on hip and right hand on right knee. Repeat the twist and counter twist with left foot on the chair.

5. Standing Wall Twist

C’mon baby, let’s do more twists! To get deeper in this pose, bring the wall into action.

Place a chair next to a wall. Bend the leg closest to the wall and place it on the chair. This time when you twist, place hands on the wall to hold yourself in a deeper position—but walk them back toward center if your back starts to protest! Repeat on the opposite side.

 

HAMSTRINGS & CALVES

6. Half Dog

Let’s put a few more smudges on that wall! If you’ve ever tried a downward dog pose but couldn’t straighten your legs, a “half dog” against the wall is a great gateway pose that’ll help to open up the entire backside of your body.

Stand a few feet in front of a wall and place hands flat against it a bit above waist height. As you bend forward from the hips, walk feet back and continue to straighten out arms. Try not to let an arch creep into lower back; keep tailbone neutral. Also, keep eyes gazing down, dawg! If that 90-degree angle is too much, start a little closer to the wall and place hands higher up. (Ain’t no shame in keeping things more vertical.)

7. Chair-Assisted Half Dog

Cluttered wall? Here’s your workaround: the chair version of that forward bend.

Stand a few feet from a chair, wrapping hands around the back of it. Bend forward from the hips, keeping back in a neutral position. Tip: You can also do this stretch while holding on to a kitchen counter. Consider it the ultimate in microwave multitasking and do it while waiting for food to heat up.

If you’re getting in a forward-bend groove and feel yourself opening up, try flipping the chair round and using the seat for balance. It’ll deepen the stretch and get you closer to toe-touching distance. Likewise, you can sub in an old milk crate or flip over your bathroom garbage can to limbo a little lower. (But as always, don’t push it to the point of pain!)

8. Seated Forward Bend Variation

This pose is the tried-and-true way to gain flexibility in your lower body. That said, it can be discouraging to watch others rest their heads on their knees while you go red in the face trying to graze your toes with a fingertip. Towels to the rescue! Lasso your foot with one, and you’ll increase your reach and do the pose in good form.

Loop a towel around left foot and sit up straight. Bend right knee and rest right foot as far up left leg as right knee will allow. Bend forward from the hips. If your hamstring is tight, hold the pose sitting upright.

Not enough of a stretch? Try bending elbows a bit to go a bit deeper into the bend. Repeat on the right leg.

9. Reclining One Legged Stretch

If stretching is an ongoing strugglefest, this pose will be a welcome way to make peace with your hamstrings. A doorframe provides solid support here. The corner of a wall works, too.

Lie faceup on the floor, positioning body in a doorframe so right leg is on the ground through the doorway and left heel is positioned on the wall. Relax, breathe normally, and let the wall do all the work! The closer your butt is to the wall, the more intense the stretch—so if you’re stiff, move your butt farther away from the wall and position left heel lower on the wall. Scoot over to the opposite side of the doorframe to repeat on the right leg.

10. Easy Balance Sequence

Yoga isn’t just a stretch-a-palooza. It also involves strength and balance. These simple standing poses are great for people who want to improve their balancing skills. Try them first with one or both hands on the chair back for support, and if you’re feeling like a boss, ditch the chair and hold your arms loosely out to either side for balance. If you start to topple, tap your raised foot down to the ground and try again: Your joints and muscles still have the challenge of keeping you upright and balanced, but you can bail out of the pose any time.

Standing with a chair on left side, do a posture check: Eyes on the horizon? Ears positioned over relaxed shoulders? Shoulders over hips? Core engaged? Weight evenly distributed on both feet? Good. Now, with one or both hands resting on the chair back, raise right foot in front of you a few inches off the ground and hold it for three to five breaths (not shown). Bring foot back in to center, then send it out to the side for three to five breaths. Bring foot back in to center, then send it back behind you for three to five breaths. Repeat on the left leg.

Images Courtesy of Greatist.

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Is Workout Music Worth The Distraction?

Thinking critically and working out don’t mix well. Maybe it’s because they’re so often at odds: one action requires focus, the other relaxation. Combined, they’re a draining slog. If you don’t believe me, try listening to an audiobook while running on a treadmill.

Lately, the same conceit of overcommitting our attention has got me thinking about music and how we use it during workouts.

Do we actually listen, or do we more often just… rely on it?

A cursory Google search will turn up dozens of studies arguing that music can improve both your endurance and performance, either by numbing you to pain or distracting you from it. I don’t disagree with this notion — it’s practically undeniable that the more you mentally remove yourself from the experience at hand, the longer you’ll be able to keep it up.

But is that what we want from exercise?

If you’re on board with my latest post, you’ll agree that part of making a healthy routine repeatable is keeping your motivation intrinsic — running because it makes you feel good, not simply because you want to be healthier.

Ask yourself: How does music factor into that philosophy?

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This isn’t a plea to outlaw playlists. It’s an attempt to change how we think about them. Too often I’ve found myself only partly experiencing music during my runs and more likely instead to develop subconscious associations between certain songs and physical exhaustion.

This summer is a chance to change that. Take that music you love, that album you’ve been waiting to explore — and save it for a time you can fully devote your attention. Separate your activities and pay attention to them, rather than imagining you are somewhere else. Listen to Tame Impala’s “Currents” (if you haven’t yet, do it now) without counting strides in your head.

Here’s an experiment to set this all in motion:

1. Make a jump-starter playlist, with the focus on establishing your rhythm during a workout. I like hook-heavy, percussive songs for this (dubstep and trap are favorites, but do you).
2. Go for a run or workout of your choice. Anything that keeps your breathing quick and regular.
3. Don’t leave the task at hand as you find your tempo. Stay focused on where you are and what you’re doing. Tap into that electric feeling of dopamine slowly seeping in and activating your whole body. Feel your breath begin to double up as you hit the ceiling of a sustainable, comfortable rhythm.
4. Let the music fade to the background. If it doesn’t happen naturally, try turning the volume down. When you find yourself thinking of other things, only occasionally checking in on what song is playing, do yourself a favor.
5. Hit the stop button. Your playlist has done its job — you’re in the zone. Now just let that feeling run its course, and enjoy the hissing of summer lawns.

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Take Your Fitness Info Beyond the App with Our New Premium Feature

Over the next few months, we’ll be releasing multiple new features that will be available as part of our MyFitnessPal Premium subscription. We can’t wait to show you everything we’ve been busy cooking up — and we don’t just mean our Chunky Monkey Trail Mix.

If you haven’t already joined Premium, now is a great time so you have access to all of our new Premium features as soon as they’re released. We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but we can say that our Premium updates are designed to make it easier than ever to reach your health goals. Start your Premium membership today by clicking here.

Premium Just Got Even Better

If you’re a Premium member, you can now export the following information from your account:

• Progress History
• Meal Level Nutrition Details
• Exercise History

You have the option to choose a custom date range for the information you’d like to export. We’ll email you a set of CSV files that you’ll be able to use in whatever way you find most helpful.

Exporting Your Information Is Easy

You can find the Export button on both the Progress and Nutrition screens in the app.

Here’s how the feature works on iOS:

And here’s how it works on Android:

Next Step: Check Your Email

You should find an email from MyFitnessPal that looks like this in your inbox:

Your information will arrive as a set of CSV files that you can download by clicking the button in the email. We recommend downloading the files on a computer instead of a mobile device.

Now, The Fun Begins!

You’ll receive three files: Progress Summary, Exercise Summary and Nutrition Summary.

You can open the files in Excel or another data program and do a deep dive into your habits by creating custom graphs. You may want to try combining your progress history with your exercise and meal history. Or, calculate your calorie and macronutrient ratio changes over time to understand your nutrition at a deeper level. The possibilities are endless.

You can also print your files and share them with your personal trainer, nutritionist, registered dietician, friends or family members.

For more details on about getting the most out of your information, click here.

Explore MyFitnessPal Premium

MyFitnessPal Premium members can enjoy this feature on both Android and iOS. If you’d like to sign up for MyFitnessPal Premium, click here.

Upgrade to the latest version of the app (if you haven’t already) to start using this feature today!

Be sure to look out for more exciting Premium features coming soon.

We hope you enjoy and happy tracking!

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So You Want to Stop… Craving Junk Food

I love ice cream. I love ice cream the way most people love their next breath of air. And I would eat ice cream morning, noon, and night if it weren’t for those pesky tens of thousands of accumulated calories. Even though I know it’s not the best food choice, I often get cravings for it that will last for days. Which is why I was probably thinking about ice cream when I read this story:

Two monks were walking down a muddy road after a heavy rainstorm. As they walked, they came upon a beautiful woman who was unable to cross the deep puddles to the other side of the road. The elder monk lifted her up and bore the beautiful woman across the road before continuing on his way to the monastery. Later that evening, the younger monk asked the elder monk, “Sir, isn’t it true that we monks may not touch a woman?” The elder monk responded, “Yes, that is true.” “Sir, then why did you carry that woman across the road?” The elder monk smiled, “I left her on the side of the road, but you are still carrying her.”

Luckily, ice cream is not a moral issue and I am not a monk. But as this ancient story illustrates, cravings are a part of life. They do not indicate that you’re weak or doing something wrong, instead cravings are simply proof that you’re human. And luckily, there is a very simple strategy to deal with what my mom calls, “wanting what you don’t want”—Give into it (a little). This works for three reasons:

1. Willpower is a limited resource According to the research of psychologist Roy Baumeister,we don’t have an endless supply of willpower. In the story, instead of obsessing over the woman, the younger monk could have spent all day in prayer and doing good for others. Similarly, the brain power you spend denying yourself ice cream is brain power you could be using to make lots of better food and lifestyle choices. In fact, experiments have shown willpower is linked to available glucose. So you might simply be low on willpower because your blood sugar is low, and giving into the craving (a little) will make it easier to resist and make better food choices in the long run.

2. Not doing something is harder than doing it Another major neurological factor in the success of giving in (a little) is that humans are really bad at not doing things. For example, don’t think of a pink elephant. Now don’t eat ice cream. See? If you tell yourself you can’t ever have something, you’re far more likely to want it—in psychology this is called “reactance.” Telling yourself you can have something, even just a little bit, actually makes us feel less controlled by the craving, and we’re more likely to be able to avoid it in the future.

3. Giving in a little bit trains your willpower By having a taste of what we want, we are teaching our brains that what we want is not a scarce resource and that there will be ice cream in the future. In 2012, scientists at the University of Rochester revisited the famous 1972 “marshmallow experiments,” and demonstrated that children who were given reliable access to marshmallows could actually resist eating marshmallows 4 times longer than children who were given irregular access to marshmallows. Which means giving into cravings every now and then actually improves your ability to resist cravings in the future.

On a practical level, I have 3 tips:

1. Portion it out.
2. Enjoy it.
3. Put it away.

When I am desperate for ice cream, I make my patented “Stevo Sundae,” vanilla ice cream with a shot of bourbon poured on top. I sit down and do nothing else but eat my sundae so I can enjoy it more. And when I’m done, I go through the ritual of cleaning my bowl and putting the pint away, which tells my brain, “Hey, I’m done!” And if I want more, I remind myself that if I really, really want it, I can have a little bit tomorrow.

What do you do when a craving hits? Share your strategies in the comments below.

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Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

A sweet and healthy twist on chips and salsa, this fruit salad with cinnamon chips from Food Fanatic is a quick and easy way to add fruit into your diet. What’s more, this snack is great to take on the go!

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Ingredients

For the chips

• 12 wonton wrappers, cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Cooking spray

For the salsa

• 2 apples, diced
• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, and spread the wonton wrappers on it. Spritz the tops of the wonton wrappers with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle it over the wonton wrappers.

Bake for 9–10 minutes until they are browned and crispy. Cool completely; they will crisp up a bit more as they cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the apples, strawberries, lime juice, onion and cilantro.

Cover tightly, and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serve with the cinnamon wonton chips.

Nutrition Information

Serves: 4 |  Serving Size: 3/4 cup salsa + 12 chips

Per serving: Calories: 130; Total Fat: 1g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 4mg; Sodium: 141mg; Carbohydrate: 30g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Sugar: 13g; Protein: 3g

Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 170mg; Iron: 6%; Vitamin A: 2%; Vitamin C: 52%; Calcium: 3% 

We’re Food Fanatic – a gathering of the best food bloggers the internet has to offer in one tasty spot. If you love food? We’re your people. For more delicious recipes, connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Original recipe created by Stacey of Bake. Eat. Repeat. and published on Food Fanatic.

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Ask the Dietitian: What’s the Deal with Starvation Mode?

Ever skipped a lunch break only to be warned by a well-meaning buddy that it could put your body into “starvation mode” and damage your metabolism? Before you dash off to stuff a dollar into that vending machine, it’s important to understand the different ways that people define starvation mode and how it differs from actual starvation.

What is starvation mode?

“Starvation mode” is a slippery term. While one camp wishes that the starvation mode myth would die already, another staunchly defends its existence. Unsurprisingly, this boils down to the differences in definition. The two most common definitions are:

1. Starvation mode is a phenomenon where metabolism slows down because you’re not eating often enough.
2.  Starvation mode is a phenomenon where your metabolism slows down because you’re not eating enough calories.

“Starvation mode” is not eating often enough.

The implied horror of being in starvation mode is that your weight loss stalls because your metabolism is broken. Where did this idea come from? It came from the popular weight-loss tip that you should eat six small meals per day instead of three square meals. Because digestion requires you to burn calories to get calories from food, eating six small meals was supposed to keep you at an elevated metabolism for weight loss. Conversely, not eating frequently enough means you burn fewer calories and your metabolism slows down (aka starvation mode).

By this definition, “starvation mode” is a myth. You don’t need to constantly eat to keep your metabolism elevated. Your metabolism doesn’t break just because you decide to skip a meal every so often. Additionally, when it comes to weight loss, the overall calories consumed matter more than how often you eat.

“Starvation mode” is not eating enough calories.

If you regularly slash a reasonable number of calories (e.g., 250–500 calories per day) to lose weight, you may run into the dreaded weight-loss plateau after a streak of scale victories. It’s a very real and normal consequence of losing weight. Here, starvation mode and weight-loss plateaus are two sides of the same coin. Both refer to what happens when you weigh less — you consequently have a lower metabolism and burn fewer calories. While it’s a bummer to be handed this reality in a calorie-rich environment, the adaptation was useful in the past when food shortages were common.

If you drastically slash calories and are eating a very low-calorie diet (Think: less than 1,000 calories for women and less than 1,200 calories for men), “starvation mode” can actually be starvation. Starvation from chronic undereating can be counterproductive to weight loss and dangerous to your health. Eating very low-calorie diets for extended amounts of time puts you at risk for malnutrition because it makes it very difficult for you to obtain all the vitamins and minerals through food alone. Additionally, your metabolism drops way down to conserve energy, and your body breaks down valuable muscles and organs in a futile effort to maintain adequate fuel for your brain. (If you want to learn more, read Why Undereating Won’t Actually Help You Lose Weight.)

The Takeaway

In both definitions, the hallmark characteristic of starvation mode is a slower resting metabolism and increased hunger — both of which threaten to boot people off the weight-loss horse. This is more likely to happen when you use calorie restriction as the only tool in your weight-loss kit. If your goal is to lose weight and to keep it off, you have to focus on changing your lifestyle. No two bodies are the same, so be open to different strategies, find the ones that work for you and stick with it! Need some inspiration? Check out these 67 science-backed weight loss strategies to get you started!

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3 Signs You Might Have Low Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is the attention-grabbing diva in medical checkups, but it turns out that low blood pressure—known as hypotension—can cause its own reality-show-level damage, too.

Typically, your blood pressure should be around 120/80, though there’s variation, and those numbers (which represent, respectively, the pressure in your arteries when your heart is pumping and when it’s between beats) might be a little higher or lower for you on a normal day. When BP is less than 90/60, it’s considered low.

Though low blood pressure tends to develop later in life, many of the young women that Erika Schwartz, M.D., a physician and author of patient advocacy guide, Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You, sees in her practice have it. A lot of them don’t realize it, but then fret that it’s unhealthy when they find out.

“Low blood pressure by itself is not a cause for concern, particularly in young women,” says Schwartz. “But when symptoms start occurring, then that’s when you should look at ways to counteract it.”

There are three main signs that you might be battling some low blood pressure ills:

1. Dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when standing up suddenly

You’re looking at the bottom row of books and you pop up to continue your search, and suddenly: whoa, head rush. This is the most common symptom of low blood pressure, and if it happens only occasionally, then it’s no big. Schwartz notes that this one can often get corrected by making sure you’re not dehydrated.

2. Brain fog, complete with crappy memory about things that just happened

Multitasking sucks for everyone (seriously, everyone), but if you’re usually on top of your to-do list and you suddenly start feeling foggy, it could be hypotension. You’ll feel disconnected or spaced out, and then your short-term memory gets glitchy. Fun!

3. Feeling super low energy, even when you’ve had enough sleep

You got your 8 hours, and your butt is still dragging. Even combatting it with venti-sized, multi-shot beverages only works temporarily. Low blood pressure can cause fatigue, and some experts have suggested that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and low blood pressure may be linked.

Less-common symptoms of low blood pressure might be blurred vision, general weakness, and nausea. Sometimes it can cause fainting, and rapid, shallow breathing, and has even been linked to depression, according to the American Heart Association.

The best treatment for low blood pressure is in your lifestyle—and on your kitchen counter.

Although high blood pressure is often addressed with medication, physicians are very reluctant to go that route with hypotension, Schwartz says. That’s because making some tweaks to your everyday habits can yield much better results than popping meds.

What works? The tried-and-true efforts that you may be doing anyway: trouncing stress with activities like yoga, getting enough sleep, ditching the smokes, staying hydrated, and maintaining a moderate-to-kickass level of fitness.

Also, stop being so stingy with the salt.

“Culturally, we have the mentality that salt isn’t good for you,” says Schwartz. “But we need it to maintain normal blood pressure and to support the adrenal system. Women, particularly, require salt because it helps address physical changes during their periods.”

Playing around with good-for-you habits will likely vanquish all those annoying low blood pressure symptoms. But if they persist for more than a few days, then check with your doc, because some conditions can cause low blood pressure, like heart issues, endocrine problems, and pregnancy, especially during the first 24 weeks. So, make an appointment, and maybe have a salt-crusted pretzel on the way.

—By Elizabeth Millard

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