Wai Lana Yoga

Breast cancer

2009-10-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

I know two people who've had breast cancer. The other one has moved on, and the other is recovering. Going Wai lana green

You cannot control some things that put you at risk for breast cancer, such as your age and being female. But you can make personal choices that lower your risk of breast cancer. If you are at high risk for getting breast cancer, your doctor may also offer you certain medical treatments that can help prevent breast cancer.

Female hormones

Hormones change the way cells within the breast grow and divide. The years when you have a menstrual cycle are your high-estrogen years. Experts think that the longer you have higher estrogen, the more risk you have for breast cancer.4 This includes taking hormones after menopause.1, 26

* Avoid long-term, high-dose hormones after menopause. If you use hormone therapy for menopause symptoms, use a low dose for as short a time as possible. This includes estrogen-progestin and estrogen-testosterone.1, 3 Using estrogen by itself may slightly raise breast cancer risk.1
* Breast-feed. Breast-feeding may lower your breast cancer risk. The benefit appears to be greatest in women who breast-fed for longer than 12 months or who breast-fed several children.27
* Strive for a healthy weight. Extra fat cells make extra estrogen, which raises your breast cancer risk.4 Getting regular exercise and watching what you eat can help.

Having a full-term pregnancy before age 30 also lowers your breast cancer risk.10

Healthy food and exercise

* Eat a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. A low-fat diet with limited red meat may lower your breast cancer risk.28, 29, 30
* Be active. Try to do at least 2Â½ hours a week of moderate exercise. One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week.5, 31 Staying active may lower your breast cancer risk.32
* Drink no more than one alcoholic drink a day.4 Using alcohol leads to extra estrogen in the body, which raises your breast cancer risk.10

"Anti-estrogen" medicine

If you are at high risk for breast cancer, talk to your doctor about taking medicine that helps prevent it. This is sometimes called hormone therapy for breast cancer. It blocks the effects of hormones on breast cancer cells.

* Tamoxifen is a medicine that blocks the effect of estrogen on breast cancer cells and normal breast cells. Among high-risk women, tamoxifen lowers their risk of breast cancer about the same as raloxifene does.33 But this medicine may also increase other risks, such as for endometrial cancer, stroke, and blood clots in veins and in the lungs.
* Raloxifene is widely used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. It works like estrogen on bone, but it works like an "anti-estrogen" on breast tissue.34 Among high-risk women, raloxifene lowers their breast cancer risk about the same as tamoxifen does. Compared to tamoxifen, raloxifene's endometrial cancer risk is lower.33

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raloxifene for use in reducing the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who have osteoporosis. The FDA has also approved raloxifene for use in postmenopausal women at high risk for breast cancer.
If you are at high risk for breast cancer

If you are concerned that you may have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, talk with your doctor about whether you should take tamoxifen or raloxifene to prevent breast cancer. It is important to consider both their benefits and risks.

If you have a strong family history of early breast cancer or breast and ovarian cancer, talk to your doctor about BRCA testing. For more information, see:

Click here to view a Decision Point. Should I have a gene test for breast cancer?
Click here to view a Decision Point. What should I do if I'm at high risk for breast cancer?

Surgery to remove the breasts. Some women with a strong family history of breast cancer decide to have surgery to remove their breasts. This called a preventive or prophylactic mastectomy. It reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by approximately 90% in women who have a strong family history of breast cancer. A cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and psychological counseling are recommended for women who may be considering this treatment option.35

Surgery to remove the ovaries. Genetic mutations (called BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes) raise the risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Hormones made by the ovaries increase the risk of breast cancer. Removal of the ovaries (prophylactic oophorectomy) reduces the risk of breast or ovarian cancer in women with a genetic mutation. Such a decision is best made after a cancer risk assessment, genetic test, and counseling.36

Do some yoga exercises to help balance the hormones too. It's a great feeling way to prevent cancer or make you feel better if you already have cancer

Cooking & more

2009-10-21T02:58:00.000-07:00

Every parent knows that cooking for kids can be a real challenge. One thing I'm glad about is that my kids are actually quite fond of different types of food and are easy to feed. They particularly love the thick soups I've been trying out from Wai Lana's soup book.

I've been reading a bit about cooking:

Tsukemono: The Art of Japanese Pickles

One of my favorite, often-overlooked parts of Japanese cuisine is the colorful pickles that add a punch of flavor and textural interest to nearly every meal--breakfast included. Called tsukemono (soo-keh-MOH-noh), they come in a variety of colors and flavors, but are often very salty* or sweet-and-tart.

Tsukemono plays an important role in Japanese cuisine: adding a big kick of flavor (with no fat and few calories) to otherwise mild-tasting food. Traditional Japanese cooking focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients that are typically seasoned minimally to let each food's pure flavors shine through. This makes for mild and subtle dishes that shine with a Zen-like simplicity. Aside from the pungent kick of wasabi, which is typically eaten only with sushi, Japanese cooking does not employ the zing and spice of other cuisines, such as Korean. But that's where the under-appreciated pickle comes in.

Tsukemono refers to a broad category of pickles, many of which can be bought at an Asian market or made at home. Serve them in small portions (like those above) on the side of any meal, and try the parings I've suggested below. These are a few that I regularly buy. You can find them in the refrigerated section of most Asian markets that carry Japanese foods. In the picture, clockwise from top left:

1. Beni shoga (aka pickled ginger): This bright-red pickled ginger root is quite different from gari, the sweet, pale-pink slices of pickled ginger that accompany sushi. Colored with red perilla leaves (called shiso), beni shoga has a strong, salty, almost spicy flavor that adds a wonderful kick of flavor to dishes such as beef noodle bowls, stir fries, and yakisoba (stir-fried noodles). Ginger is widely purported to help quell nausea, so when I'm feeling under the weather, I often eat this type with ochazuke (o-CHA-zu-kay), which is simply green tea poured over rice (kind of like milk on cereal). Look for it in plastic tubs about the size of a tuna can.

2.Takuan (pickled daikon): Though the version above is dyed yellow, this pickle sometims looks paper-white or beige. Made from daikon, a mild white radish that can grow to the size of your forearm, it has many uses besides pickles: grated in dipping sauces, shredded into a mound of ribbons that go well with sashimi, and boiled in soups, to name a few. Takuan has a pleasant crunch and mild brininess, and it is eaten at the end of a meal, as it is believed to aid in digestion. You can buy it sliced, or as a whole radish immersed in a bag of brine.

3. Rakkyo (RAH-kyoh; aka pickled shallot): Similar in appearance to a cocktail onion, these crisp, mild, sweet-and-sour shallots, pickled in a light seasoned vinegar, are like candy to me. Often served with grilled fish or meats, they provide a crisp, bright note that's palate-cleansing between savory bites. Rakkyo is often labeled "pickled scallions" and sold in little plastic bags or small glass jars.

4. Umeboshi (ooh-meh-BOH-she; pickled Japanese plum): This is the quintessential Japanese pickle. One of my favorites, umeboshi is colored red with shiso and has a startling tartness that almost makes your eyes water (in a good way). It's an acquired taste for some. They are sometimes pale pink, and sometimes bright red, and they range from cranberry-sized, crunchy fruits to olive-sized fruits with a squishier texture. They are served with many meals, including breakfast, and are often placed in the center of onigiri (seasoned rice balls). Look for them in small plastic containers.

Make your own: I have never tried this, but from what I understand, some types of tsukemono are relatively quick and easy to make (while others aren't worth the effort). The quick-and-easy variety have a limited shelf life, while the ones that require more time to ripen tend to last a bit longer in the fridge. Check out Just Hungry's tsukemono post for more detailed descriptions, and make sure to see her quick-tsukemono pickle recipes. (I know I keep linking to this blog, but it's the best resource I've found on authentic Japanese food. If you know of others, please share!)

Don't you just love how Japanese food looks?

On a side note, I let my sister try out Wai Lana's Ujjayi Pranayam, I read that it's good for people with heart problems. She said she's never felt so relaxed in her life. :)

Exercise for diabetes

2009-10-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

My aunt was diagnosed with diabetes sometime recently. I think that it was somewhat unexpected. I've been researching about it a bit. I copied one of the articles I found informative below. I got her Wailana's yoga dvds. I know yoga helps people get healthy again, so I think this will help her get back to exercising.

Diabetes Plus Stress Can Equal High Blood Sugar

For most people, stress is simply annoying or unpleasant; for people with diabetes, it can have a direct impact on health. Stress hormones can cause blood sugar to rise and you may need more insulin or other medications to control blood sugar when you are under stress (being sick or physically injured can also do the same).

Your response to stress, however, can exacerbate the problem. If you skip meals, neglect exercise, or tend to eat poorly, your blood sugar may become too high or too low.

"There is a myth out there that it's all about food as to why the blood sugar rises," says Richard Hellman, MD, former president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The truth is that other factors play a role, he explains, including stress.

For example, if you're a schoolteacher who takes insulin at breakfast, a morning meeting with a difficult co-worker can affect the insulin's ability to control your blood sugar.

"That person will have, in many cases, a higher than normal glucose level at that time. Only part of it is due to what they ate," Dr. Hellman says. "(Another) part of it is due to the fact that their hormones are churning out adrenaline and other stress hormones."

If you're under stress, you may need to take more insulin to correct for extra-high blood sugar, or less if you change your behavior.

Stress can also affect lifestyle
While stress can cause blood sugar to go up it can also cause people to skip a workout or make poor food choices, notes Susan Guzman, PhD, senior psychologist with the Behavioral Diabetes Institute in San Diego.

"I think the bigger problem with stress is that you stop making time for exercise, you stop making time to test your blood sugar regularly, you stop making time for meal planning," Guzman says.

The best way to break that cycle, she explains, is to get back on track with your diabetes care—even if it's taking small steps, such as a 15-minute walk in the middle of the day.

Even if you're stressed and on a deadline crunch, it's not the time to "run to Denny's or to run to McDonald's," she says.

Guzman, who teaches a class on diabetes and depression, says being part of a group also helps alleviate anxiety for some people. "Just having a place to come and talk and feel supported and to know you're not alone in what you're feeling is so therapeutic," she says.

It's also a good reason to do yoga meditation with Wai Lana- as yoga meditation is one of the best, if not the best way to relieve stress.

Helpful tips for caring for someone with flu

2009-10-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

Now that one of the kids are sick, I've been using Wai Lana's daydream cd to keep them from feeling too sorry for themselves. I also found this article about how to take care of someone with flu very useful:

Red Cross Offers Important Tips for Caring for Someone With the Flu
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that the H1N1 (swine flu) virus has now
spread throughout the United States, the American Red Cross has a set of tips
for people who are sick or are taking care of someone who has the flu

Flu viruses spread from person to person in droplets of coughs or sneezes, and
can also spread if a person touches droplets on another person or object and
then touches their own mouth or nose before washing their hands. To prevent
the spread of the flu, it is important to remember to wash your hands and
cover your cough or sneeze.

"It's important to know what to do to protect yourself and others when you are
taking care of someone who has the flu," said Sharon Stanley, chief nurse and
director, Red Cross Disaster Health and Mental Health Services. Recent survey
results conducted by the Red Cross reveal that six in ten Americans feel that
they need more information about how to care for someone with the flu*. The
following tips can be helpful:

If you are ill:
-- Stay in a room separate from common areas of the home and avoid
contact with others as much as possible.
-- Stay at home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone without
using medicine to reduce the fever.
-- Get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids.
-- Consider wearing a facemask, if available and tolerable, when sharing
common spaces with household members.
-- Check with your healthcare provider about whether to take antiviral
medication, or if fever persists, whether antibiotics are needed.

When caring for someone who has the flu:
-- Disinfect door knobs, switches, handles, toys and other surfaces that
everyone touches.
-- Use detergent and very hot water to do dishes and wash clothes. It's
okay to wash everyone's dishes and clothes together. Wash your hands
after handling dirty laundry.
-- Designate only one adult as the caregiver. People at increased risk of
severe illness from the flu should not be caregivers.
-- Deal with crisis situations calmly and confidently to give the best
support to the person being cared for.
-- Remember your own needs as well.
-- Practice healthy habits. Eat a balanced diet. Drink plenty of water.

Get regular exercise.

-- Get enough sleep and rest.

Caring for someone else can be stressful. Common symptoms of stress include
sleep disturbances, headaches, muscle tension or aches, a change in appetite,
skin problems, anxiety, depression, frustration and overreacting. If someone
is dealing with a lot of stress, it's important to ask for help. If a
caregiver is in a stressful situation, they should express their feelings to
people they trust, get into a regular schedule of seven to eight hours of
sleep, exercise, and take some time to relax.

According to the CDC, most people who have become ill with the H1N1 virus are
moderately ill, similar to the illness that occurs during the regular flu
season. H1N1 is affecting many young adults and children, people ages five to
24. The majority of people sick with H1N1 don't need testing or treatment.
However if someone is severely ill and is pregnant, and has trouble breathing
or has an underlying condition like heart disease, lung disease (such as
asthma) or diabetes, it is important to get treated promptly within the first
48 hours.

Thank the Lord for Wai Lana's Goji Juice.

What yoga exercises must you do for a flatter tummy?

2009-10-11T05:19:00.000-07:00

So here I am, flat tummy and all, and I'd say, it's all the Wailana yoga I've been doing. Sarah at Health.com has been talking about just how certain yoga exercises can definitely help you firm and flatten your stomach.

Get a Flat, Toned Tummy With the Yoga Bicycle
By Sara Ivanhoe

I love combining the physical benefits of classic exercise with historic yogic tradition. One of my favorite hybrids is the yogic bicycle. Usually reserved for ab classes, bicycle crunches are a nice complement to the typical yoga session. Yoga has very few abdominal strengthening poses, other than the dreaded Boat Pose—and even that doesn’t do much for the obliques, or side abdominal muscles. And bicycle is actually a Vinyasa, or “breath and movement sequence.”

Just because you may have done bicycle before doesn’t mean you can just throw it in a yoga sequence without thinking twice. You want to be very conscious of your breath—something you may not normally do when you do bicycle crunches at the gym. When you practice yoga, your energy is open, and the way you breathe really affects your level of energy. How you breathe in any given sequence can have some pretty dramatic effects!

Begin on your back with your knees bent together and touching your chest. Keep the knees here as you interlace your fingers behind your head and sit up slightly. This is the inhale position. As you exhale, squeeze the outside of your right arm to the outside of your left thigh and straighten your right leg. Inhale to come back to center with the knees into the chest and sitting up straight. Exhale to twist to the other side. Repeat for at least a minute, up to 5 minutes for best results. This can be practiced every day.

Yogis have a system of energy channels, called nadis, and they believe that the right side of the body represents the sun channel, or the masculine, extroverted side of the body, while the left side is the moon channel, the feminine or receptive side. It may sound incredible, but if you are always inhaling on the left and exhaling on the right, you’ll drain yourself of energy—this can leave you introverted and depressed. On the contrary, if you are always inhaling on the right, you can agitate your system and develop a nervous condition.

The bicycle sequence not only helps balance your energy, but regular practice also will leave your tummy toned and taut. Plus, paying attention to your breathing will help you reap the rewards.

Oh and hey, Wai Lana supplements are on 50% off sale!! :) Great stuff for flu season! Stay healthy everyone.

Natural Supplements vs Antibiotics

2009-10-08T01:26:00.000-07:00

With one of the kids sick, here's our argument over antibiotics and natural supplements. First of all, I love Wai Lana's Natural supplements. I have been using the immune boosters for my whole family in preparation for the flu season.

I've just been keeping the other kid busy with this:
Wailana Little Yogis Daydream Kit. It's working wonders so far. :D

Are Antibiotics Needed?
The dos and don'ts of antibiotic use.
by Dr. Rob for MSN Health & Fitness
Dr. Rob

Can you identify with this scenario? You have a runny nose and it's getting sore. Your throat hurts and you ache all over. So you may think, hey, what harm would it do to take an antibiotic? Before you run to your doctor for a prescription, read on.

According to the American College of Physicians, "Antibiotic treatment of colds, bronchitis and other upper respiratory infections is almost always inappropriate." In fact, most of these problems can be better managed by our bodies own immune defense system, with additional help for symptoms from home remedies such as chicken soup, warm tea with honey (not for children less than one year of age) or gargling with salt water. Sounds like Dr. Mom's advice, huh?

It's important to know that antibiotics only work against bacterial infections. Yet, many individuals take these medications for infections caused by viruses with symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, clogged ear and irritated throat. And, since we are not using the antibiotics properly, they become less effective against the very infections they were designed to treat.

Because of this concern, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to add a warning label stating that the "inappropriate use of antibiotics will make them less effective in the war against bacterial infections." And, the potential overuse of antibiotics is so important that the American Society of Internal Medicine has issued guidelines for physicians on the proper use of these medications.

However, we all need to work together, so here are some suggestions to help in our battle against antibiotic resistant infections:

* Don't demand an antibiotic from your doctor. (Remember, you are going to your physician for their professional opinion, so it's important to have one you trust.)
* Do finish your prescription as directed. (If you stop taking your antibiotic as soon as you are feeling better but before the prescription is finished, the infection may come back with a vengeance.)
* Do follow the directions. (Take on an empty stomach, one or more times per day, not with milk products, etc.)
* Don't take leftover medications.
* Do get vaccinated to decrease your risk of becoming infected with a vaccine preventable illness.
* Do exercise, eat right and get proper rest to build up your immune system.
* Do wash your hands regularly throughout the day. (Antibacterial soap is NOT necessary as rubbing your hands together for 15 seconds with regular soap and water will do just fine). Hand sanitizers are also an effective alternative if water is not within easy access.

While instructions to wash your hands may seem like a no-brainer, apparently many individuals skip this important infection fighter. A 2007 study sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association observed hand-washing behaviors at selected locations in the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. The results found that 88 percent of women washed their hands after visiting a public restroom, while only 66 percent of men did. Needless to say, hand washing is extremely important and there is no reason the figures shouldn't reach 100 percent.

So, the next time you have a cough or cold, don't insist on getting an antibiotic. Even though it may not seem like it, your physician is actually looking out for your best interests when suggesting you do not need that particular medication. If your condition doesn't improve in a few days or begin to get worse, let your doctor know, as a new examination may be necessary.

The 11 Kinds of Insomnia

2009-10-06T00:51:00.000-07:00

I was reading a little about how there are 11 different types of insomnia! That fact in itself might keep you awake all night.

The 11 Kinds of Insomnia
Insomnia may be caused by a drug, a medical condition, stress, or an unknown factor.
(COLIN ANDERSON/BRAND X/CORBIS/HEALTH)
You don't have to lie awake for hours past your bedtime to have insomnia. The condition manifests itself in several ways: trouble falling asleep (known as sleep-onset insomnia), staying asleep (sleep-maintaining insomnia), or waking up too early (early morning awakening).

Sleep specialists may also describe a sleep problem based on its underlying cause, such as a medical condition or a psychological issue. To do this they use the 11 classifications of insomnia below, developed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Insomnia
General insomnia is a classification of sleep disorders in which a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early. These disorders may also be defined by an overall poor quality of sleep.

Adjustment insomnia
This disorder, also called acute insomnia or short-term insomnia, disturbs your sleep and usually stems from stress. The sleep problem ends when the source of stress is gone or when you adapt to the stress. The stress does not always come from a negative experience. Something positive can make you too excited to sleep well.

Behavioral insomnia of childhood
This disorder occurs when children don't go to bed on time unless a parent or guardian enforces a bedtime. If the children are made to go to bed at a specified time, then they tend to fall asleep at a normal hour. If they are not given strict bedtimes, then they may linger awake for hours at night.

I used to have insomnia, but just do yoga. Wai Lana yoga has helped me say goodbye to insomnia. I mean just try out some of her yoga meditation and tell me if you won't feel rested and sleepy.

Natural beauty secrets

2009-10-02T02:09:00.000-07:00

My sister and I had a fun time trying these today:

The Secret to All-Natural Beauty Is in Your Kitchen

Consider this food for thought: Great skin is as much about what you put in your body as what you put on it. But what if the same food you put in your body for healthy hair and skin could do the same good on your outside too? Celebrity makeup artist Shalini Vadhera says if you want to get gorgeous, hit the fridge. Inspired by her global travels, the founder of Global Goddess Beauty shares her top 4 all-natural beauty secrets from women around the globe.

Go bananas for healthy hair
If your hair is starting to show signs of damage from heat styling or color treatments, try this Hawaiian secret for super-shiny tresses: Use a fork to mash one banana in a bowl, then slather the mixture from root to tip. Leave the treatment on for 15 minutes, then wash with shampoo. Bananas help improve the health and natural elasticity of your hair thanks to their high levels of potassium.

Smooth skin with this sweetener
Take a cue from fresh-faced Polish women, who apply honey on their faces as an intensive moisturizer. Just a thin layer does the trick. The sweet golden goo’s firming and moisture-retaining properties make it a popular anti-aging ingredient, too. An added bonus? It helps protect the skin from the damage of UV rays.

Warm a small pot of honey in a double boiler over low heat. After testing a small dab on the inside of your elbow for a safe temperature, apply the honey generously over your entire face. Leave the mask on for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with warm, then cool water.

Go with garlic for stronger nails
Add chopped garlic to a bottle of clear nail polish. Let it sit for 7 to 10 days, then paint the mixture onto your nails. It’s a little secret Dominican women use to strengthen their nails—and it makes them feel stronger than acrylic tips!

Dry, dull skin is the pits
Skip expensive body scrubs or spa treatments in favor of a natural, budget-friendly body treatment. Next time you snack on Greek olives or whip up a tapenade, hold on to the pits—they are a great natural remedy for dry skin. Grind them up in a food processor and use them as a body scrub to remove dry, dead skin cells.

Good to have the eco yoga tote kits from Wai Lana come in the mail today. The kids are excited. I'm off to do some yoga now. Wailana Yoga's showing!

My favorites..

2009-09-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have some pictures of my Wai Lana favorite juices and some of Wai Lana's yogi bars:

Cooking for the season

2009-09-28T04:40:00.001-07:00

My grandmother always emphasized the need to eat according to season. Now that fall is here, I have gotten out my new Wai Lana Favorite Soups book I got from Amazon. I love the colors, aromas, and flavors so far. I am excited to try everything.

I've always been a soup person, and this is just the book for me. I've tried many other soup recipes before, in fact, at least a third of all my recipe books are soup books! I do love variety too, and that's one thing that I love so much with Wailana yoga's favorite soups. It's like, all in one type of recipes. There are over 300 recipes in this book, making it worth every penny. Besides, you know how there are some books which are just no good? Like you can try and try the recipes but they come out horribly. That's one thing I don't have to worry about with Wai Lana's books, and, just like any other buyer, I want to get what I am paying for. This is what I call a deal.

Happy Yoga Month!

2009-09-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

September has always been one of my favorite months. Minus the starting of flu season- I just love seeing all the beautiful colors coming in... and now that it's been declared national yoga month, all the more I love it!

Wai lana is offering free shipping for all CDs, Dvds, and yoga mats until the 30th. Great stuff!

This morning I went to the park to join about 300 other yoga practitioners. It was fun and a nice way to meet other like-minded people. We plan to do it at least once a month now!

I ordered another bunch of Wai Lana yoga dvds for gifts and for myself. :)

Happy yoga practice everyone!

Baking out of debt

2009-09-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

Great work Angela Logan!

I'd like to send her a gift from Wai Lana. I wonder if I can get her address somewhere...

She baked her way out of foreclosure
‘Mortgage Apple Cake’ and a not-for-profit bakery helped her save home

July 28: TODAY’s Ann Curry talks to Angela Logan about how her cake, known as the “Mortgage Apple Cake,” helped her keep her home.

During the Great Depression, people sold apples in the streets to get enough money for their next meal. Fast-forward 80 years to another recession and meet Angela Logan, who is selling apple cakes to friends, neighbors and total strangers over the Internet to get enough money to save her home from foreclosure.

Like so many great ideas, it was born of sheer desperation, Logan told TODAY’s Ann Curry Tuesday in New York. After 20 years of living in her home in Teaneck, N.J., a double financial whammy pushed her to the brink of losing it.

Double whammy
The first hit was a home construction project to repair storm damage and make other improvements. The contractor turned out to be less than honest and hit Logan with thousands of dollars in overcharges she hadn’t planned on. Then an agency that represented Logan in her work as an actor went under, taking thousands of dollars she had coming to her with it.

Logan’s fiance and one of her three sons exhausted their savings trying to help keep her afloat. Finally, she applied for help under President Obama’s Making Home Affordable plan. After three months of waiting for a response from the holder of her mortgage, she learned just two weeks ago that she had 10 days to make a $2,500 mortgage payment that would begin to qualify her for the federal program.

“We were in limbo for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, bam, we had to have this amount of money three months in a row in order to have our mortgage,” Logan told Curry. “I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity to come out of foreclosure.”

Logan, the 55-year-old mother of three sons, is also a substitute teacher and is studying at Bergen Community College in New Jersey to become a nurse. She hit on the idea of selling the scrumptious apple cake her grandmother taught her to bake when she was a child in Atlanta.

“I asked the kids, ‘What do you think about me selling this cake to pay the mortgage?’ ” Logan related to Curry. “The kids — who usually say, ‘Nah, that’s a bad idea ’cause Mom said it’ — said, ‘Yeah, we love your cake. We think it would be a great idea.’

“So we said, ‘What will we call it? We’ll call it Mortgage Apple Cake.’ ”

Selling like (hot) cakes
The cake is made with organic ingredients, and after some research, Logan decided that $40 was a reasonable price. She figured if she could sell 100 cakes, she could keep her home.

TODAY
Angela Logan was in imminent danger of losing this home before her Mortgage Apple Cake helped her bake her way out of foreclosure.
The next day, Thursday, July 16, Logan started spreading the word. “I set out to ask family and friends. I stood up in class and asked my classmates. I told them about the situation and they just gave me money for cakes. I went to my church; they gave me money for cakes. My friends from organizations I have worked for doing nonprofit fundraising events — they told all their friends. And between the Wednesday when I started and the next Thursday, I sold 42 cakes from my home with four pans, one bowl and one mixer.”

Her local newspaper, The Record of Hackensack, N.J., heard about Logan’s efforts to bake herself out of foreclosure and wrote a story about her. Other newspapers followed up, along with local television stations. Before Logan knew what had hit her, she had orders for 500 cakes.

She was getting up at 3 a.m. to bake the cakes one at a time in her own kitchen, but there was no way she could fill so many orders. She also didn’t know how she could deliver cakes to addresses all over the United States as well as overseas.

Angels to the rescue
Into the breach stepped two angels. The Hilton Hotel in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., read about her efforts and offered her the use of its kitchen, free of charge. That was vital, because health officials in her hometown had decided she couldn’t run a commercial bakery from her home.

The second angel showed up on her doorstep, also after reading about Logan’s story. He is Josh Kaye, founder and president of Bake Me A Wish, a not-for-profit bakery that sells delicious goodies for charitable causes. He volunteered his organization’s kitchens to take over the bulk baking, as well as to deliver the cakes.
“She was staying up all hours of the night trying to bake cakes,” said Kaye, who joined Logan on TODAY. “I said, ‘Bake Me A Wish is going to come here and we’re going to bail you out. We’re going to help you pay your mortgage.’ And we started to bake cakes for her.”

Logan delivered her first mortgage payment on time, and expects to make the next two payments, which will make her eligible for a renegotiated loan that will knock $1,000 off her monthly mortgage payment.
Meanwhile, she and Kaye are working to make her success help others.

“We’re going to give a portion of all the sales we have to giving back to other people in need,” Kaye said. “We’re negotiating with a charity right now to enable them to do that.”

Said Logan as Curry dug a fork into a big wedge of the moist and delectable Mortgage Apple Cake, “It’s all so fast, I cannot believe it. It’s like a dream come true. It’s surreal.”

On side note, Wai Lana's asana of the week is out!

Natural cough and flu cures

2009-09-20T01:28:00.001-07:00

With all the sick people around here these days, I've been making everyone in the house take extra loads of Wai Lana's immune system boosters. I've also been reading more about natural flu and cold remedies:

Top 7 Natural Cold Remedies: Do They Work?
herbal-remedies-cold
Americans spent $1.5 billion on cold and flu supplements and other "immunity boosters" in 2007.
(ISTOCKPHOTO)
Bob Martin says he hasn't caught a cold in years, not since he discovered echinacea and goldenseal. For the past decade, the 60-year-old teacher from Placitas, N.M., has taken the herbal supplements in megadoses three times a day at the first sign of a sniffle. Now he only gets sick if he doesn't dose himself in time, he says.

"It's been years since I've had a cold," says Martin. "I take the herbs, climb under the blanket, and I'm fine the next day. They nip it in the bud."

Martin is not alone in his faith in herbal remedies, which he also takes for toothaches, earaches, and other ailments. According to the Nutrition Business Journal, Americans spent $1.5 billion on cold and flu supplements and other "immunity boosters" in 2007, and the market is growing at twice the rate as that of the standard, over-the-counter, cough-and-cold-remedy market.

But do these alternative treatments actually work?

Martin and plenty of other consumers answer a resounding "yes," but experts say that, overall, there's little evidence-based scientific literature on the subject. In fact, the makers of Airborne, the ubiquitous "effervescent health formula," settled a class-action lawsuit to the tune of $23.3 million in 2008. The charge? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which helped litigate the suit, and the Federal Trade Commission, which filed a separate complaint against the manufacturer, said the company made false and unsubstantiated claims when it said its product could fight germs or prevent colds.

"Only a very, very small number of compounds have undergone peer review," says Frank Esper, MD, member of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, in Cleveland. "What you see is anecdotal."

And the ones that have undergone peer review generally come back with mixed reviews.

The evidence is often not strong, and it can be conflicting. "But there is some good evidence that some of these things can be effective," says David Leopold, MD, director of integrative medical education at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine and a faculty member with the Scripps Natural Supplement Conference, in La Jolla, Calif.

Herbal remedies don't seem to prevent colds, but they may help curb symptoms or shorten their duration, he says. "The things I talk about will reduce duration 24 or 36 hours, which is significant if you're out doing things," Dr. Leopold says. "They also seem to decrease severity of symptomology."

Here's what's known about the efficacy of some of the most well-known alternative cold remedies, in alphabetical order: View slideshow of natural remedies.

Good news is Wai Lana yoga's got all these sales now! I'm going to get some halloween gifts together!

Great brain foods

2009-09-17T04:04:00.000-07:00

My aunt was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. I've been researching a lot about brain-friendly foods. I got out Wai Lana Yoga's juice book. I'm going to make my aunt drink a lot of fruit juices.

SuperFoods for Your Brain
Posted Thu, Sep 03, 2009
September means that many of us are getting back to school or back to work or back to looking for work -- all of which require a whole lot of braininess. To support this big brain storm, I checked in with our friends at EatingWell, to see what they suggest for smart eating. They got back to me with the best brain food to eat during each stage of life...

The Best Brain Food for Infants and Babies:

Iron. By 5 or 6 months, babies have used up the iron stores they're born with and need to get iron from food or supplements to support brain development.
Food solutions: Iron-fortified cereals. Try these iron-rich recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Children and Teens:

School-aged children should start their day with low-glycemic-index breakfast foods. (They need morning fuel.)
Food solutions: Bran cereals, oatmeal or whole-wheat bagels. Try these oat-filled recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Young Adults:

Got iron? 10 percent of women are anemic, and new studies show that being even mildly iron-deficient affects learning, memory, and attention. Luckily, restoring iron levels to normal also restores cognitive function.
Food solutions: Dark leafy greens, beans, meat or soy. Try these leafy green recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Older Adults:

Eat your antioxidants. People who eat more brightly colored fruits and leafy vegetables have less cognitive decline than those who don't; antioxidants in produce may mop up free radicals and protect neurons from damage.
Food solutions: Berries and other fruits, greens and turmeric (which contains curcumin). Try these antioxidant-rich recipes.

The Best Brain Food for Pregnant Women:

Pregnant women who eat fatty fish, such as salmon, during their third trimester of pregnancy have babies who tend to perform better on cognitive tasks. Researchers think the omega-3 fatty acid DHA is needed during this time to build neurons and their connections.
Food solutions: Salmon and other fatty fish, DHA-fortified eggs and yogurt. Try these healthy salmon recipes.

-Check out these brain-boosting recipes to incorporate all the foods above into your diet.

-But smarts are not everything. Here are some of Wai Lana easy rules on how eat for happiness.

Chiwalking?

2009-09-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

After doing my daily Wai Lana Yoga session today, I was reading about Chiwalking and chirunning this morning. Pretty interesting stuff!

Health magazine’s story “Walk a Little, Live a Lot (Longer)” proves that you don’t need to run a marathon (or even a half marathon) to stay fit. In fact, you don’t need to run at all: Squeezing in some extra walking every day is a great way to burn calories, boost mood, and lower your risk of disease.

One type of walking, called ChiWalking, can even cut down on aches and pains by incorporating elements of tai chi, yoga, and pilates. By emphasizing good posture, loosening joints, engaging core muscles, and relaxing the arms and legs, this approach makes walking easier on the body and helps eliminate the discomfort of moving incorrectly.

According to ChiWalking.com, you can learn (and then mix and match) 12 different types of ChiWalks depending on your goals, including a Cardio Walk, an Aerobic Walk, a Flexibility Walk, a Loosening Walk, a Focusing Walk, an Energizing Walk, a Walking Meditation, and more. These walks focus on the body-mind component inherent by incorporating what the folks at this site call the Five Mindful Steps.

1. Get aligned: physically with your posture, mentally with your intentions

2. Engage your core: physically with your lower abdominals, mentally by using your will power

3. Create balance: physically between your upper and lower body and also between the right side and the left side of your body, mentally by creating a balanced fitness program

4. Make a choice: physically to walk in a new way, mentally to create health

5. Move forward: physically with grace and ease, mentally by focusing your mind on the next mindful step

ChiWalking originated from ChiRunning, a practice invented by ultramarathoner Danny Dreyer to help runners learn to land on their mid-foot (the most efficient way to run long distances) and prevent shin splints and overuse injuries by putting less strain on their lower legs and toes. A recent survey conducted by West Virginia University showed that 90% of ChiRunning students reported that the technique prevented injuries and improved ease of running.

With ChiWalking and ChiRunning gaining popularity, New Balance has unveiled a running shoe (both men’s and women’s versions, created with Dreyer’s help) specifically for mid-foot strike runners.

ChiRunning and ChiWalking clubs and workshops are springing up around the country, and of course, the website offers books and DVDs as well. Give this a try and let us know what you think.

When it comes down to it though, I think I'll just stick to Wai Lana. She's got something for the whole family, and that's a major plus in my household.

Cell phone radiation

2009-09-11T04:47:00.000-07:00

With the death of Sen. Kennedy recently, the brain cancer and cell phone issue has been brought up front again. While surely the cell phone companies are behind the fact that the real statistics and effects of radiation are not openly published, it's something each of us should be aware of. No matter how much Wailana yoga we do, if we aren't aware of the effects of this on our health, there's only so much we can do.

Here's a helpful article from yahoo news on it:

Cell phones and radiation: 10 best and 10 worst
By Lori Bongiorno
Posted Tue Sep 8, 2009 10:14pm PDT
Related topics: Health, Safety, Cell Phones
More from The Conscious Consumer blog

95 votes
Buzz up!

How much radiation does your cell phone emit? It's easy to find out the answer thanks to the Environmental Working Group's new online guide to cell phone emissions.

The non-profit research and advocacy group ranked over 1,000 different cell phones according to radiation levels. It looked at the publicly available, but difficult to find, specific absorption rate (SAR) for each phone. SAR is a measure of how much radiation is absorbed by the body when the phone is sending a signal to the network. (Your phone only emits radiation when you talk or text.)

The jury is still out on whether cell phone radiation is harmful to human health, but it certainly won't hurt to limit your exposure to cell phone radiation when you can. Several research teams from different countries report a higher risk of developing brain and salivary gland cancer among high-volume, long-term cell phone users compared to people who use cell phones less often, according to EWG. For example, a 2009 scientific analysis of studies done in Sweden and several other European countries found a consistent pattern of an increased cancer risk after more than 10 years of mobile phone use.

"The data is still conflicting and the science isn't settled," says Jane Houlihan, research director at EWG. "But there is enough evidence now that it makes sense for people to take personal action while the teams of scientists and health agencies sort through the data." Houlihan also points out that health agencies in six different countries are warning people to cut their exposure to cell phone radiation, particularly when it comes to children.

Taking personal action can be as simple as adding radiation emissions to the list of criteria you use when purchasing a new cell phone, especially when it's for your child.

How much of a difference can choosing a low-radiation phone make? High-radiation cell phones on EWG's list emit eight times more radiation than those on the low end of the spectrum.
cell phones

10 best phones (lowest radiation)

1. Samsung Impression (SGH-a877)
2. Motorola RAZR V8
3. Samsung SGH-t229
4. Samsung Rugby (SGH-a837)
5. Samsung Propel Pro (SGH-i627)
6. Samsung Gravity (SGH-t459)
7. T-Mobile Sidekick
8. LG Xenon (GR500)
9. Motorola Karma QA1
10. Sanyo Katana II

10 worst phones (highest radiation)

1. Motorola MOTO VU204
2. T-Mobile myTouch 3G
3. Kyocera Jax S1300
4. Blackberry Curve 8330
5. Motorola W385
6. T-Mobile Shadow
7. Motorola C290
8. Motorola i335
9. Motorola MOTO VE240
10. Blackberry Bold 9000

Can't find your phone? Check the entire list of 1,000 phones or search for your model. If your cell phone isn't on EWG's list, then search the Federal Communications Commission website to get your phone's SAR value. You can then compare it to the models in EWG's guide to see how it stacks up against the competition.

Buying a new cell phone isn't your only option for limiting your exposure to cell phone radiation. Keeping your phone away from your head and body is the best thing you can do.

Here are some tips adapted from EWG's guide to reducing cell phone radiation exposure:

* Use speakerphone or a headset. There's no consensus on whether it's safer to go with a wired or wireless headset, but headsets emit less radiation than cell phones.

* Send text messages instead of talking. Phones use less power and therefore emit less radiation to send text than voice. It also keeps radiation away from your head.

* Stay off the phone when you have a poor signal. Your phone will emit more radiation to get the signal to the tower when there are fewer signal bars on your phone.

Exercise!!

2009-09-08T04:32:00.000-07:00

I read an article today about how the greatest risk factor is the lack of exercise. It has only just fueled my passion for getting kids started on exercise early. We do a mix of Wai Lana Little yogis with soccer, swimming, tennis, and hopefully some martial arts soon.

I'm so glad I started practicing yoga exercise. Had I not been so depressed and willing to try out anything back then - a couch potato and TV freak with weight problems who happened to stumble upon Wai Lana Yoga's PBS series, I'm sure I would have way worse health problems today and in the future. How thankful am I? You can't even imagine. It is absolutely horrible to be in a situation of feeling so utterly helpless, - as if unable to stop yourself from the downward spiral of depression, over eating, and lethargy. I credit Wai Lana fully for having given me the motivation and help to actually get out of that situation I was in before.

We are constantly bombarded with gloom and doom news stories warning us that heart disease is America's number one killer, followed closely by cancer. What's more, there's a worldwide epidemic of diabetes and fear mongers are also warning that swine flu, H1N1, is lurking around every corner about to plunge us into a pandemic. But what is really the biggest threat to your health? According to epidemiologist and researcher Steven Blair, the gravest public health problem of the 21st century is Americans' physical inactivity and it poses the greatest risk of ill health to Americans. Simply put, sitting on your butt instead of moving your body in your daily life and exercising can be deadly.

Unfortunately, an enormous number of Americans, around 50 million, are living sedentary lives. That puts these coach potatoes at increased risk of health problems and early death, Blair recently said in an address to the American Psychological Association's (APA) 117th Annual Convention held in Toronto. "Over the past few decades, we have largely engineered the need for physical activity out of the daily lives of most people in industrialized societies," he stated.

Blair pointed to research showing that around 25 to 35 percent of American adults are inactive. They work sedentary jobs, engage in no regular physical activity program, are generally inactive around the house and most don't even do their own yard work. "Given that these individuals are doubling their risk of developing numerous health conditions compared with those who are even moderately active and fit, we're looking at a major public health problem," Blair said in a statement to the media.

A professor of exercise science and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, he is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on exercise and its health benefits. Blair was the senior scientific editor of the 1996 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health.

His extensive research comes involves the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study (ACLS), an ongoing study started in 1970 which includes more than 80,000 people. In addition to keeping track of the participants medical histories, scientists periodically have measured the participants' body composition and body mass index (BMI). Each volunteer in the study also underwent a stress test.

The results, Blair told the APA, show that the fitness level of the research subjects has turned out to be a significant predictor of life span. For example, a follow-up study of 40,842 ACLS participants concluded a poor fitness level accounted for about 16 percent of all deaths in both men and women -- and these are deaths that most likely would have been avoided if these people had simply spent about half an hour a day walking. What's more, this percentage of deaths was significantly higher than when other risk factors were considered, including obesity, smoking, high cholesterol and diabetes. The ACLS also found that men who were only moderately fit lived six years longer than men who would qualify as sedentary couch potatoes.

Blair revealed that exercise can help beat breast cancer, too. An examination of 14,811 women patients in the ACLS showed that those who very fit were 55 percent less likely to die from breast cancer than women who were not in good shape. This huge reduction in breast cancer deaths was calculated after the researchers controlled for BMI, smoking, family history of breast cancer and other possible risk factors. Blair also explained in his APA presentation that recent emerging evidence shows exercise is good for brain health and can delay the mind's decline.

"We need numerous changes to promote more physical activity for all, including public policies, changes in the health care system, promoting activity in educational settings and worksites, and social and physical environmental changes. We need more communities where people feel comfortable walking," Blair said in a statement to the press. "I believe psychologists can help develop better lifestyle change interventions to help people be more active via the Internet and other technological methods."

Awesome moms

2009-09-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

I was reading about these mothers who became medalists after having children. It gave me a glimmer of hope. Or maybe I should just stop being silly and face the music with this one. Hatha Yoga is already my favorite exercise, and I'll be happy if I ever look half as good as Wai Lana Easy does.

It was rain-raining here all day. My hands are all cracked and dry from all the cleaning I've been doing. I have these silly cleaning binges every now and then. I just get totally obsessed with cleaning and can't stop until my hands are all cracked and painful. Needless to say, everything and everyone is sparkling clean. Except for me. Shower time now! I'll do a tape of Wai Lana Yoga Products after.

Love to all

Flu prevention tips

2009-09-06T01:47:00.000-07:00

I've been getting the kids used to a less-hot version of the ginger tea recipe from Wai lana.

I like this little article from Sanjay Gupta to parents on the swine flu too:

Now, over the past eight years, I have grown accustomed to being engaged in these sort of discussions where I am asked about everything the "media" have reported over the past few months, and asked to defend things point by point. It can be a challenging task.

This time, however, the topic was H1N1, or swine flu.

I spent the weekend thinking about what I was being told, and realized there was a larger point here.

People were scared, more than I had seen in a long time. And, health care professionals were blaming the media -- accusing them of being alarmist.

So, I decided to get away from the studio, away from the talking heads discussing mortality rates, and away from the hypothetical discussions about what might or might not happen. I wanted to see for myself what was happening in emergency rooms right now.

I was most curious about pediatric ERs, because young people seem to be most affected by this, and selfishly, I was curious about my own three girls and how I should react if they become ill this fall.

What would I do without these day dream cds from Wai Lana? They're so helpful. :)

Not much else happening here these days.

Kindness

2009-09-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

It is too bad that kindness is such a rare thing these days. People have become so caught up in themselves and their own lives that they are unable to tolerate the hardships of others. Like that story recently, of the man who slapped a stranger's two year old child. It is an embarrassing yet through provoking event. It reminds me of the saying, "Be extra kind to others, for everyone is fighting their own battle."

Anyhow, speaking of kindness, Labor day is a must to celebrate! I take every excuse to celebrate, and this is another one of those celebrations. I'm happy too because Wai Lana Supplements are on sale, 50% off on all supplements until September 14th. I want to get more of the ayurveda products of Wai Lana Coupons. I need to try out that "Female Balance" in particular.

Earth friendly, kid friendly: fun toys

2009-09-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

I've been looking more into eco-friendly toys. That's why I have ordered one of Wai Lana Day Dream Cd's to pair up the Eco tote kit for kids from Wai Lana.

Green Toys: Eco-Friendly Fun for Kids

Toy recalls have been in the news a great deal in recent years, first for lead-based paint and later, for PVC plastic (a.k.a., polyvinyl chloride). With millions of toys being recalled to protect children from these unsafe materials, what's a parent to do? How can we satisfy a child's desire for fun while ensuring that unsafe toys don't inadvertently find their way into the playroom? Green Toys Inc., an innovative new company launched in 2008, provides the perfect solution.

The San Francisco-based Green Toys Inc. was created to satisfy the overwhelming demand from consumers and retailers for toys that are not only safe for children but good for the environment, too. All of the company's classic eco-friendly toys for tykes are made from curbside-collected plastic milk jugs that are then recycled into one of the sturdiest, most nontoxic materials available. Even better, every pound of recycled milk jugs used to make Green Toys products saves enough electricity to power a television set for three weeks, or saves energy equal to 3,000 AAA batteries.

In keeping with Green Toys company mission to provide eco-friendly toys that promote recycling and save energy, their packaging is also designed with the environment in mind. Green Toys products are minimally packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastic, cellophane or twist-ties. And it's all recyclable to boot!

Green Toys planet-friendly products are 100% made in America -- in California to be exact, a state well-known for strict toy safety standards. Additionally, all Green Toys products are rigorously tested by independent labs (also in the U.S.A) and contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates, BPA or lead-based paint.

Their introductory products included a cookware and dining play set, an indoor gardening kit, a (green) tea set, and a sand play set. For the spring of 2009, Green Toys added a dump truck, recycling truck, tool kit, jump rope and EcoSaucer™ flying disc to their award-winning line of eco-friendly toys.

Allergies

2009-09-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

I've had this bad case of allergies for the past few days. It might be because I cleaned out my shed outside and it was rather dusty and moldy. I've been taking Wailana bolsters and goji juice to keep my immune system up. The last thing I need now is to get sick.

Pollen has never really been a problem for me either. I used to get very bad allergies, but when I started doing neti with Wailana sands neti pots, it just became so much better. I swear my allergies could have disappeared, until now anyway. :p

Allergies are a pain. But do look into natural ways to get rid of allergies. Here's a little excerpt on allergy control:

There are also aromatherapy treatments, herbal tea treatments, hydrotherapy, and healing touch therapy that has been used as alternative treatments for allergies. It’s inevitable that you will find some of the less than conventional methods out there are not for you, it is still vital that you keep searching. When you find the alternative treatment that works wonders for you, you will wonder what took you so long to begin your search.

All of those years suffering with allergies were for nothing when there was a treatment just sitting there waiting for you. If you are currently taking medication or if your allergies are extremely severe, you must make sure that you are seeking consultation with your medical professional before stopping any prescribed treatment or medication.

Only with your doctor’s permission should you stop taking your medication. Allow your doctor to work you off the medication or take the advice of using the alternative treatments along with the prescription medication. In due time, when you find what works, you will be able to stop the traditional medication all together.

Yoga kids

2009-08-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Susan Kramer's website is so cute!!
Kids are definitely good with yoga though. I've been having the kids do Wai Lana Little Yogi DVDs for ages now and they still love it.

* Presented are 15 poses that stretch and strengthen while promoting balance, coordination, the ability to concentrate and an increase in vitality through energetic practice.

* The axial movements (moves with the body in place) include forward bending, backward bending, twisting and sitting erect, all of which should be done gently without straining.

* Practiced in order, each one leads smoothly into the next.

* All poses and meditations can be done on carpet. Alternately, practice outdoors on a grassy spot on a blanket or mat. It is best to exercise before, rather than right after eating.

* Breathe in to begin the pose, and breathe out to finish the pose. In between, breathe evenly.

* Children should remain quiet during practice to maintain personal concentration.

Note:
Yoga practices are non-competitive.
Each person begins at their current level of fitness and ability,
and progresses at their own rate.
This makes these gentle yoga poses and exercises,
with adaptations as needed,
appropriate for those challenged.

I guess it's just like how I still love doing Wai Lana hello fitness after over 3 years of doing it.

Practicing yoga outdoors

2009-08-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

The environment in which we do our yoga is very important. The science of yoga teaches that what we see, hear, smell, and feel all have an effect on the body, mind, and soul. It is counterproductive to practice yoga asanas in an environment where the air is dead, stuffy, smelly, or low in oxygen or where there's distracting noise or chatter.

That’s why Wai Lana yoga mats loves to practice outside, especially by the ocean. It is an atmosphere that is noncompetitive and spiritually inspiring.

Wai Lana even practices outdoors when it’s cold. “I like to practice outside in the fresh air. I just layer my clothes. I wear tights under my sweatpants when it's really cold, and a turtleneck under a sweater with a light jacket I can take off once I get warmed up. And that doesn't usually take very long! Out in the fresh air, the asanas and breathing techniques quickly oxygenate and warm my entire body,” says Wai Lana.

There's another element at work outside, too—negative ions. These negatively charged particles in the air are found in great numbers in forests and around oceans, rivers, or streams. Negative ions make you feel alert and invigorated and reduce anxiety and depression. According to researchers, this is because they increase our capacity to absorb and utilize oxygen so that it reaches our cells and tissues more quickly. That's a remarkably similar effect to that of yoga asanas, so why not combine the two for a double dose of feel-good energy!

Getting your Isoflavones in foods

2009-08-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

So.. need some recipes with Isofalvones? Wai Lana Yoga has a big bunch of really delicious ones.

Isoflavones in foods
Isoflavones are a group of molecules that are similar in chemical structure. Isoflavones are produced only by plants in the Fabaceae (also known as Leguminosae) family, frequently called the legume or bean family. Foods that contain high amounts of isoflavones include soy, peanuts, chick peas, alfalfa, fava beans, and kudzu. When consumed by humans, isoflavones may behave like estrogen in the body.
Estrogen is a hormone that is present in males and females, but women produce much more of it. In women, estrogen is responsible for many of the physical changes that occur when girls begin puberty. It also has many effects related to the monthly menstrual cycle in women as well as in pregnancy. In men, one type of estrogen is important in the development of sperm. Estrogen is present in all people to help maintain normal brain function, to help bones grow, and to contribute to the development of new nerve cells in the brain. The amount of estrogen in the body determines how well this hormone is able to perform its bodily functions.
Australians first began to investigate that isoflavones may have properties similar to estrogen when they noticed high levels of infertility among sheep who ate large amounts of clover.
Consuming isoflavones as food or as a supplement may behave as if the amount of estrogen in the body is increased. This is because isoflavones may behave in a way that is very similar to estrogen in the body. Some cancers and other health problems, such as bone loss, may be prevented by consuming a diet that is rich in isoflavone-containing foods.
However, some experts believe that isoflavones may actually behave as an anti-estrogen. This means that the isoflavones may impair the ability of estrogen to perform its roles in the body. In this case, consuming larger amounts of isoflavones may actually increase the chance of developing some diseases. Isoflavones are sometimes eaten for breast cancer prevention and as a cancer treatment.
Ultimately, it is unclear if isoflavones have estrogenic or anti-estrogenic properties in the body. Though some experts have concluded that isoflavones may reduce a person's likelihood of developing some health problems, this idea is based on the prevalence of these diseases in cultures where these chemicals are a regular part of the foods in the diet. However, there is not agreement among how much isoflavones may help or harm a patient, because not enough well designed studies in humans have been conducted.
The potential health risks and benefits of consuming isoflavones is currently under investigation. The isoflavones daidzein, genistein, and glycitein have been the subject of the most research, and are included on the table below.
Daidzein is more abundant than glycitein, but less abundant than genistein. Daidzein has demonstrated estrogenic properties, but may also be useful in preventing cancer, some forms of heart disease, and osteoporosis. Daidzein has weaker estrogenic properties than glycitein and genistein.
Glycitein constitutes up to about five to 10 percent of the total isoflavones in most foods. Glycitein has been shown to have estrogenic properties, and may also have antioxidant properties as well. Some researchers believe that glycitein may be useful in treating cancer, some heart diseases, and osteoporosis. Though glycitein is not usually the most abundant isoflavone, it has been demonstrated to have estrogenic properties up to three times greater than genistein and up to twelve times greater than daidzein. Scientists are not sure exactly how glycitein interacts with the body to produce its demonstrated effects.
Genistein is the most abundant isoflavone in legumes. Similar to daidzein and glycitein, it has been shown to have estrogenic and antioxidant properties. Genistein may also behave as an anti-estrogenic, and decrease the effects of estrogen naturally produced by the body. Genistein may have properties that may make it useful for treating cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Genistein has estrogenic properties that are one third as powerful as glycitein, but four times more powerful than daidzein. Scientists have proposed a number of ways that genistein may behave in the body, but the details are not known at this time.
AMOUNTS OF ISOFLAVONES IN FOODS
The following table is a summary of information on the amounts of isoflavones in foods. This database was created through a joint effort between the University of Iowa and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The column on the left is a description of the food. Meatless foods are those that are vegetarian but manufactured to imitate the feel and taste of actual meat products. For instance, "Bacon, meatless" contains no pork, and is imitation bacon made entirely from vegetarian sources.
The other columns of the table list the milligrams of isoflavones that may be found in 100 grams of food. The three most abundant types of isoflavones, Daidzen, Genistein, and Glycitein, are included. The "total isoflavones" includes a count of all of the isoflavones, often ones other than the three most abundant, in the food.
After evaluating many samples of food, the researchers averaged the values for each of the four isoflavone categories for each food. The scientific word for this process for finding the average is called "mean."
Governmental agencies have not agreed on the amount of soy a person should consume every day. However, patients should always talk to their doctor before beginning a new diet.
ISOFLAVONES IN FOODS
SYNONYMS
Daidzein, fabaceae, flavones, flavonoids, genistein, glycitein, kudzu, legumes, leguminosae, phytoestrogens, selective estrogen receptor modulators, SERMs, soy, soy isoflavones, soybeans, tempeh, tofu.

On a side note, I just bought a Wailana Yoga Mat Bag. It's beautiful! It's one of her green products.

Yoga and me

2009-08-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

I've been doing yoga for quite a while now. Some of my favorite tapes are Wai Lana's toning series. Why? Because they're simple, easy, and yet challenging still.

I've toned up a bit since I've started practicing yoga with her. I also love Wailana Yoga Mats. There are so many designs now and I love the green yoga mats she's come up with.

Currently I've been learning some other exercises as well, such as rowing, bowling, and walking. I hope to slowly increase my strength and start jogging. I'd say two more weeks or so and I'll be out going jogging. Health is such a nice thing to have. :)

Toning your body

2009-08-25T04:49:00.001-07:00

So today is the first time I let my mother try out Wai Lana Yoga's Toning workout with me. She's been practicing a bit of yoga with me now that she's been around. I was pleasantly surprised at how much she loved it. She said, "My I haven't been challenged like this in so long." It's hard to think of her as the gymnast that she was as a young girl now! The funny (or sad) thing is that her back, at her age, is still more flexible than mine.

After these few days of her trying out yoga, she's asked me to get her a Wai Lana Yoga Mat. How could I refuse such a healthy request, right?

In the meantime, I have all these beautiful summer flowers just like these ones growing so wonderfully in my garden:

Yoga for kids

2009-08-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

Kids and yoga is a great mix. Actually, anyone and yoga is a surely compatible mix.

Wai Lana yoga's little yogis is so beneficial in so many ways.

Wai Lana's yoga DVD program has something for all age yoga kids, starting with her "Little Yogis" yoga DVD. Parents will love this safe, fun and challenging yoga DVD. Her yoga DVD, "Little Yogis" is full of healthful activities that are good for all the yoga kids in your life. Yoga kids will get such a kick out of doing yoga with Wai Lana. She is and inspiration to yoga kids everywhere. Wai Lana makes yoga into a fun game where yoga kids are entertained and delighted. The yoga DVD "Little Yogis" will teach your yoga kids how to improve their balance and coordination. They won't even know that this playful and exciting yoga DVD is just what the doctor ordered.

A wonderful yoga DVD to watch would be Wai Lana's "Daydream". This yoga DVD is based on an ancient yoga technique known as Yoga Nidra. Her yoga DVD is good for naptime.

Do also try some yoga to stay healthy!

Release that tension headache

2009-08-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

I used to suffer from head-splitting headaches. Since I started practicing Wai Lana Yoga regularly, my headaches have disappeared. Apparently one big cause of headaches is tension. Tension from the neck and shoulders caused by poor posture and bad sitting posture can cause this tension.

When you do yoga, the muscle groups in the shoulders and neck are relieved and relaxed. And that helps you get rid of the headache! It's even better when you do Wai Lana Yoga sound meditation because it's just so good for relieving stress! It's scientifically proven to help calm your mind and nervous system too.

On a side note, here's a helpful article on what you should know about viruses.

Wonder basil

2009-08-21T19:41:00.001-07:00

I've been reading about different herbs and the like and how good they are for us. One of the herbs was basil. I am already a huge fan of basil, but this makes it even better.

Benefits of Basil

Basil is beneficial in any form for well being of body. You can opt for having basil leaves on daily basis; it helps to strengthen your immune system.

You can also add basil in your daily diet plan. You can also add basil as a form of natural remedy to cure health problems.

Here are some benefits of basil you can keep in mind:

Basil is very effective for curing any type of headache. For curing your headache, you can opt for juice of basil leaves on daily basis. You can also make a paste of few basil leaves. When you have severe headache, you can directly apply this paste. You can also mix basil leave paste along with sandalwood. It effectively helps to reduce the pain caused by headache.

Basil is very effective in curing various types of skin problems. This can include different types of allergies and skin infection. Basil can also cure skin infections like ringworm. You can make a paste of few basil leaves along with some neem water.

Daily application of this paste can help to provide respite from the condition of skin infection. It can cure your skin allergy in a week’s time. Many people also opt for neem powder along with basil leaves.

Having basil on daily basis can also help to improve your breathing pattern. People suffering from breathing difficulties can opt for chewing of basil leaves on regular basis. It helps to increase the oxygen level of your body. Even people suffering from asthma can opt for having basil juice or leaves on daily basis.

Basil juice is effective in curing common cold in an effective manner. You can opt for having basil juice along with some honey for curing the condition of cold. You can opt for some basil leaves along with warm water and have it twice in a day. You can mix some ginger juice along with basil juice.

Basil can also be opted in the form of herbal tea. You can have herbal basil tea on daily basis. It helps to prevent against various types of diseases.

These are some of the main health benefits of basil.

Try some of Wai Lana's wonderful fresh fruit juices. Some of them have basil thrown in there and they are simply wonderful.

Beat depression with yoga

2009-08-20T02:37:00.000-07:00

Depression is all too common in the world today. I always knew that Wai Lana Yoga helped me get through depression. Today I saw an article on how yoga has helped other people beat depression.

Here are some excerpts:

Take a holistic approach to beating depression

Authors urge holistic approach combining yoga and meditation

Kimberly Hayes Taylor / Detroit News Health Writer

Depression was always a part of Elle Garfield's life.
Her depressed moods came and went like waves through her 20s, enduring tough times such as losing both parents between ages 19 and 22. But soon after the birth of her third child in her early 30s, depression came to stay. She felt so bad, she checked herself into a hospital for a few days.
"I was crying a lot and feeling hopeless," Garfield says. "I had very low energy. I had trouble sleeping, or I would sleep all the time. My appetite left, and I didn't have a desire to eat. I was losing weight and isolating more. Every area of my life was affected by it."

It makes me happy to know that more people are becoming aware of the fact that yoga really helps depression. It really is a great way to get out of that very sad life. Depression is never a very nice thing to be experiencing. I very much have loved this: Wai Lana Yoga Dance and give much credit to her and to all that fun - to helping me out of depression.

Love to all

Thinking of Thanksgiving

2009-08-19T03:57:00.000-07:00

With time running right out the window, I've gotten thinking about Thanksgiving presents already. I plan to get a bunch of Wai Lana Yoga Products to give my family and friends. One of the things I'd like to get is this Yoga starter's kit:
Of course, I wouldn't really be so keep about doing this if I didn't have all those Wai Lana Coupons I got not too long ago.

Aren't these thanksgiving cookies just adorable?

That's all for today. If you're feeling a bit stressed, just relax and enjoy. Sing and dance along with Wai Lana's Yoga dancing:

Breastfeeding

2009-08-08T21:07:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine is giving birth soon, and she is still not convinced about breastfeeding. She wanted me to put together info about it for her, and so here it is.

For one, from Wailana:

If you're having a baby, nature has arranged the perfect food for your child—breast milk. I breastfed my three strong and healthy children, much to the dismay of my family and friends. Even my mother, who breastfed me, was influenced by the times to believe that breastfeeding was old-fashioned. But I'm glad I followed my heart. Yoga has woken me up to nature's wisdom and the many benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child, which I'd like to share with you.

First, here are some of the benefits for your baby:

• Breast milk protects baby from disease. Colostrum, the first substance to come from the breast, is rich in infection-fighting antibodies. It also contains living immune cells. The milk itself provides effective immunity against a number of infectious diseases, including mumps, diphtheria, salmonella, pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases. It also decreases the incidence of ear infections, diarrhea, and chronic diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

• Breast milk contains all the nutrients a baby needs during its first months, including iron and vitamins C and E.

• Mother's milk is easy for baby to digest and utilize. On the other hand, about 50% of cow's milk passes through the body unused, creating extra work for the child's immature excretory system.

• Breast milk does not cause allergic reactions as cow's milk and infant formulas can. It is believed that early exposure to allergens can lead to more severe allergies later in life. This is especially important if you or your spouse have allergies, as your child can inherit this tendency.

• Breastfed babies have an almost pure culture of Lactobacillus in their intestinal tracts. These beneficial bacteria quickly multiply, helping to break down food, make vitamin K, and dispose of harmful bacteria. The breastfed baby's stools are small and sweet-smelling, sometimes occurring only every few days. On the other hand, bottle-fed babies have mostly putrefactive bacteria such as E. coli in their intestinal tracts. As such, their stools are usually large and have a stronger smell. These infants are more likely to come down with gastrointestinal diseases.

Now, some of the benefits for you:

• Mothers who breastfeed are less likely to get breast cancer. Nursing your child also protects against osteoporosis and ovarian cancer later in life.

• Breastfeeding makes it easier to lose the weight gained during pregnancy because milk production burns calories.

• In the first days after birth, baby's sucking at the breast causes the uterus to contract, which protects mothers from hemorrhaging and returns the uterus to its pre-pregnancy shape more quickly.

• Breastfeeding releases a natural tranquilizing hormone, prolactin, that helps keep you relaxed and calm—your baby will like that.

And last (but certainly not least) for both of you:

• Breastfeeding provides an important bond between mother and child that provides great emotional satisfaction for both. This satisfaction cannot be measured in scientific terms. It simply offers a close, intimate, peaceful, and relaxed time with the baby. It is a model of love—of one giving generously of oneself with no expectation of something in return.

If you're not convinced, Breast Feeding for New Mom's has great stuff, as does Breastfeeding . Enjoy :)

Ps. Has anyone gone to Wailana coffee house? My classmate's inviting me for a lunch there.

Wai Lana on Twitter

2009-08-08T03:36:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to see Wai Lana on Twitter!

She's obviously just starting out, but it's great news!

Here are some of her tweets:

Wai Lana Yoga: Our eyes are one of our most valuable possessions, yet we often abuse them. Gaze at a distance and rest to rest your eyes every now and then18 minutes ago from web

Your consciousness affects your yoga practice http://tinyurl.com/mahbgy

On another note, I just bought myself some exercise bands and a nice pair of asics for walking.

Tip top health tips

2009-08-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

I've still got my raves from the health group. So, for tip top health tips today, I'd say, don't starve yourself, exercise, eat healthy, and sleep well. If you're out of ideas, Wai Lana has got some fantastic vegetarian recipes which are fantastic. In fact, she just posted one of her soup recipes on her blog, Wai Lana Yoga on Wordpress. Teriyaki tofu- I'm going to try this tonight. I'm a huge fan of teriyaki, so I'm sure I'll love this soup.

In the meantime, my second health tip would be, sleep well. But to sleep well, you've got to exercise well to. Drink fresh milk, eat nuts, and do yoga. Wai Lana just had a nice blog entry about the importance of sleep and yoga. I sure enjoyed reading it, and sleeping that night!

Health Groups

2009-08-06T01:27:00.000-07:00

I recently joined a health group. There are about 40 other adults in the group. We had a little meeting tonight and I let them try out some of the blueberry yogurt I've been making. Everyone loved it. It started out a conversation about food, and the relationship between food and health. There were a few people who started to get rather edgy because some other people mentioned that being a vegetarian is so much healthier. Of course, most of us in the group agree, as we've tried it out and all. The two groups- those who agreed vegetarianism is healthier- and those who think it's not necessary to go vegetarian- have a deal now. We're going to have a 3 month cook fest. The only rule is: bias should be left at the door whenever we meet.

I'm planning to do cook a bunch of meals from Wai Lana Yoga's website. I think those recipes that use seitan will be a hit. Her desserts are also wonderful. I think Wai Lana has some of the best eggless cakes I've ever had. Come to think of it, had I not tried out the vegetarian recipes of Wai Lana and several other great recipes, I don't think I would've been convinced that vegetarianism is the way to go.

Yo-yo yogurt!

2009-08-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

I've been on this yogurt craze for the past few weeks. In fact, this is what I had for breakfast:

I also made some blueberry yogurt drinks:

And am contemplating on making blueberry yogurt pecan ice cream:

Have I mentioned how thrilled I am that Wailana just posted her first "Wailana's Juice of the week" on her wordpress blog? I want to try her "Sweet Relaxation" with some yogurt in it. I'm sure it would be absolutely perfect!

Swine Flu Vaccine

2009-07-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

This article is quite alarming and helpful I'd say. It makes me wonder about swine flu just being a global scam.

Ten Things You Don't Know About the Flu Vaccine
The swine flu vaccines now being prepared for mass injection into infants, children, teens and adults have never been tested and won't be tested before the injections begin. In Europe, where flu vaccines are typically tested on hundreds (or thousands) of people before being unleashed on the masses, the European Medicines Agency is allowing companies to skip the testing process entirely.

And yet, amazingly, people are lining up to take the vaccine, absent any safety testing whatsoever. When the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. announced a swine flu vaccine trial beginning in early August, it was inundated with phone calls and emails from people desperate to play the role of human guinea pigs. The power of fear to herd sheeple into vaccine injections is simply amazing...

Back in Europe, of course, everybody gets to be a guinea pig since no testing will be done on the vaccine at all. Even worse, the European vaccines will be using adjuvants -- chemicals used to multiply the potency of the active ingredients in vaccines.

Notably, there is absolutely no safety data on the use of adjuvants in infants and expectant mothers -- the two groups being most aggressively targeted by the swine flu vaccine pushers. The leads us to the disturbing conclusion that the swine flu vaccine could be a modern medical disaster. It's untested and un-tried. Its ingredients are potentially quite dangerous, and the adjuvants being used in the European vaccines are suspected of causing neurological disorders.

Paralyzed by vaccines
I probably don't need to remind you that in 1976, a failed swine flu vaccine caused irreparable damage to the nervous systems of hundreds of people, paralyzing many. Medical doctors gave the problem a name, of course, to make it sound like they knew what they were talking about: Guillain-Barre syndrome. (Notably, they never called it "Toxic Vaccine Syndrome" because that would be too informative.)

But the fact remains that doctors never knew how the vaccines caused these severe problems, and if the same event played out today, all the doctors and vaccine pushers would undoubtedly deny any link between the vaccines and paralysis altogether. (That's what's happening today with the debate over vaccines and autism: Complete denial.)

In fact, there are a whole lot of things you'll never be told by health authorities about the upcoming swine flu vaccine. For your amusement, I've written down the ten most obvious ones and published them below.

Ten things you're not supposed to know about the swine flu vaccine
(At least, not by anyone in authority...)

#1 - The vaccine production was "rushed" and the vaccine has never been tested on humans. Do you like to play guinea pig for Big Pharma? If so, line up for your swine flu vaccine this fall...

#2 - Swine flu vaccines contain dangerous adjuvants that cause an inflammatory response in the body. This is why they are suspected of causing autism and other neurological disorders.

Wai Lana's Fat Burning tips

2009-07-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

I've been trying out Wai Lana's "fat burner" juice to help get rid of the few extra pounds I've gained in the past few months. I must say, it's worked! Of course I've also started exercising again and am rather embarrassed that I let myself go a little bit too much these past few months. I guess it only also just points to the fact that doing hatha yoga or some sort of exercise everyday or at least every other day is so helpful and necessary to help keep tabs of how much weight you're actually gaining.

Here's another little note on Citrus fruit flavonoids and how they control weight gain.

Obesity Breakthrough: Citrus Fruit Flavonoid Controls Weight, Causes Fat Loss

Flavonoids are compounds found in fruits, vegetables, and certain beverages (including tea, coffee, fruit juices and wine) that have aroused scientific interest in recent years because they seem to benefit the human body in a host of ways -- from fighting viruses to preventing inflammation and infections. Research has found certain flavonoids have anti-tumor and anti-stroke properties, too. Now weight control can be added to the list of remarkable ways flavonoids can help promote good health naturally. A new study just published in the journal Diabetes concludes a citrus fruit flavonoid can cause the liver to burn fat and control weight.

A team of scientists headed by Murray Huff of the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario, investigated a citrus fruit flavonoid called naringenin. They fed one group of mice a typical Western style high-fat diet in order to induce the symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome, a frequent precursor to diabetes, is defined by a cluster of physical signs such as abdominal fat, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels and insulin resistance. Then another matched group of mice ate the same diet with the addition of naringenin.

The results? Naringenin brought down the high triglyceride and cholesterol levels to normal and prevented the development of insulin resistance. In fact, the flavonoid totally normalized glucose metabolism. "These studies show naringenin, through its insulin-like properties, corrects many of the metabolic disturbances linked to insulin resistance and represents a promising therapeutic approach for metabolic syndrome," Huff said in a statement to the media.

But the natural, grapefruit-derived compound was found to do even more. It brought the fat mice down to a healthy, slim weight by genetically reprogramming their livers to burn up excess fat. The result was a lack of stored fat. The mice were cured of obesity.

"What was unique about the study was that the effects were independent of caloric intake, meaning the mice ate exactly the same amount of food and the same amount of fat. There was no suppression of appetite or decreased food intake, which are often the basis of strategies to reduce weight gain and its metabolic consequences," stated Huff, Director of the Vascular Biology Research Group at Robarts and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Does naringenin have the same impact on people? The research team wants to explore that possibility by conducting clinical trials with humans to see if the natural compound can treat obesity and other metabolic problems. The researchers are also planning additional animal studies to see if the flavonoid can prevent heart disease.

Author's note: NaturalNews is opposed to the use of animals in medical experiments that expose them to harm. We present these findings in protest of the way in which they were acquired.

Tickle Your Tastebuds with Wai Lana Bars!

2009-07-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

Must I say how delighted I am that Wai Lana now has bars? "Nana Banana", apricot, apple, macadamia- all my favorites!

These will surely find a welcome spot in my cupboards. I've been a sucker for energy bars and never fail to be going through one brand after another, trying to settle with a permanent "favorite".

I think I may just be able to stop looking now.

Foods that help you lose weight

2009-07-22T02:46:00.000-07:00

Great info here:

http://www.delish.com/recipes/cooking-recipes/foods-help-lose-fat?gt1=47001

Yogurt
Provided By:
Dairy has a bad rep for high calories, but yogurt, both the low-fat and regular kinds, contains probiotics: "friendly" bacteria that preliminary research suggests may actually help reduce the amount of fat your body absorbs.

Add Yogurt to Your Diet:
Piña Colada Yogurt Parfait
Fruit Salad with Lime Yogurt
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Ginger

2009-07-19T04:39:00.000-07:00

With all the flu going around, I thought this would be a good tip from Wai Lana's weekly message to share:

Ginger for Winter Ills
Ginger is well known for its spicy bite in Asian cooking, but not everyone knows it's also an effective remedy for a number of ailments, including colds and flu. Ginger is a stimulant that helps increase agni, the internal fire that regulates the digestive and circulatory systems. Low agni causes blockage and constipation, allowing toxins to accumulate, which creates a breeding ground for disease. Ginger helps by increasing the agni, which, in turn, burns away toxins and waste matter, improves digestion, and paves the way to recovery. Ginger even helps eliminate harmful bacteria and parasites.

Ginger is especially good during cold and flu season. It helps clear the sinuses, relieves congestion headaches, and reduces fever. It's also an expectorant that expels mucus from the lungs and throat. The most effective way to take it for colds and flu is ginger tea. Here's a simple recipe:

2 cups water
¼ cup diced fresh ginger
2 tsp. honey

Boil the water, then add the ginger and simmer for about 20 minutes. Strain into a cup and add 2 teaspoons of honey (or to taste). If you like, you can add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the pot to increase the stimulating, heating effect. Let me forewarn you now, though: This tea is fiery! Sip it—don't gulp it down.

Father's day

2009-06-21T03:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's day to all the great dads out there! :)

As the saying goes, it takes a lot more to be a "father" than just the biological sense.

If you still haven't gotten your dad a gift, take advantage of Wai Lana's Father's day sale and show your dad love, the healthy way ;)

I love you dad. Thanks for everything.

Refresh Yourself

2009-05-23T02:49:00.000-07:00

Refresh
price:$35

Refresh

Gift Basket includes:

* Yogaroma™ Soap
* Yogaroma™ Body Scrub
* Goji Veggie Capsules

Wai Lana's advice on fasting

2009-05-21T05:23:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to write to Wai lana's fan speak for a while now..
I admire these people who've written already:

Wai Lana's Response:

Thank you for your recent request for advice. Before we reply, please note that the comments we give you may or may not apply for your personal (medical) condition, of which we have no knowledge. As with all exercise programs, please contact your doctor or licensed health professional for specific recommendations and treatment.

Dear Christen,

Thank you very much for your e-mail and your kind words.

I hope you're feeling better and are able to exercise a little more now. As you've seen, yoga has so much to offer that even if you can't do the poses, you can always practice meditation.

Fasting is part of the hatha yoga process and can be helpful if done correctly. Many yogis fast one day a week to give the digestive system a rest. You can do a one-day fast drinking only water, or you may prefer to do a juice fast. Water fasts are more intense, and sometimes the cleansing process occurs too quickly. For example, you may experience headaches when toxins are released. If you fast on juice, which is less intense, it's generally safe to fast for up to three days. If you're planning a longer fast, consult your doctor first. Also, fasting may be harmful and dangerous if you're taking medication, so be sure to talk to your doctor if that's the case.

If you do decide to fast, drink plenty of liquids. Eat light, natural foods both before and after the fast to ease your body into and out of the fasting condition. That way, even if the actual fast lasts only a day or two, a light and healthy diet both before and after will enhance the benefits of the fast and make you feel cleaner inside. During the fast, don't do any heavy workouts. Light stretching or walking is fine.

Kind regards,

Wai Lana

P.S. I have a cookbook coming out shortly. I'll add you to our mailing list and we'll send you an e-mail when it's available in case you're interested.

Asana Video of the week: Toes and Palms Balance Pose

2009-05-20T04:38:00.000-07:00

Toes and Palms Balance Pose

Everyone knows that push-ups make your arms strong. In this push-up-like yoga pose, you'll strengthen your arms without even moving.

1. Kneel down and sit on your heels.

2. Lean forward and fully extend your arms.

3. Lift your buttocks and come onto all fours.

4. Inhale and lift your knees from the floor, straightening your legs. Lower your buttocks until your body forms a straight line. Raise your head and look forward. Press your hands firmly down and lift away from them. Hold the pose for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing slowly and deeply.

5. Lower your knees to the floor, then sit on your heels to rest.

Focus in the Pose...
Make sure your buttocks are neither too high nor too low. Your body should be as straight as a plank from your heels to your shoulders.

To Intensify the Pose...
Contract your buttocks and thighs, squeezing them together and up toward the waist. Hold as long as you can, then release and repeat.

Benefits
•Strengthens the wrists, arms, and shoulders
•Firms the abs and buttocks
•Tones the nervous system

Asana of the week: Toes and Palms Balance Pose

2009-05-15T03:38:00.000-07:00

Toes and Palms Balance Pose
Everyone knows that push-ups make your arms strong. In this push-up-like yoga pose, you'll strengthen your arms without even moving.

1. Kneel down and sit on your heels.

2. Lean forward and fully extend your arms.

3. Lift your buttocks and come onto all fours.

4. Inhale and lift your knees from the floor, straightening your legs. Lower your buttocks until your body forms a straight line. Raise your head and look forward. Press your hands firmly down and lift away from them. Hold the pose for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing slowly and deeply.

5. Lower your knees to the floor, then sit on your heels to rest.

Focus in the Pose...
Make sure your buttocks are neither too high nor too low. Your body should be as straight as a plank from your heels to your shoulders.

To Intensify the Pose...
Contract your buttocks and thighs, squeezing them together and up toward the waist. Hold as long as you can, then release and repeat.

Benefits
•Strengthens the wrists, arms, and shoulders
•Firms the abs and buttocks
•Tones the nervous system

Click here to watch the video

Wonder berry: Goji

2009-05-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Just recently there was yet another study on how healthy goji berries are for you.

Goji Berries - These berries first rose to prominence here in the west when it was discovered that the goji berry contained 500 times more vitamin C per ounce than oranges; more than any other fruit. They are also rich sources of vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and E as well as having a complete protein profile including 18 amino acids and 21 trace minerals. Goji berries are also potent antioxidants.

These different gift baskets are for sale at Wailana's store now.
These are truly beautiful and healthy ways to say "Thank you" and "I love you" to mom!

Yoga Chips!

2009-05-04T00:10:00.001-07:00

These Yoga Chips are just making me hungry! You have no idea how much I miss eating my chips. Since I've been a bit more conscious of my health, I've quit eating all the chips and chocolates and it's made such a huge impact on my health, but that doesn't mean I don't miss chips! Now that I have a healthy excuse, haha!!

Mother's day

2009-05-03T05:49:00.000-07:00

Mother's day is just around the corner. A good friend and teacher of mine said to me once, "Generally mothers are very unappreciated people." And the unfortunate thing is that is so true! Mothers have to go through so much just to carry babies in the first place, and the rest of it.. my, ask any mother.

This year Wai lana's got a whole new batch of gift baskets which are 30% off.

Show your mom love and appreciation, with these beautiful gift baskets. I'm getting the Yoga Serenity for my mom, and the Rejuvinate one for my mother in law.

Red Cross Offers Flu-Prevention Tips for Kids

2009-04-30T18:24:00.001-07:00

Red Cross Offers Flu-Prevention Tips for Kids

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 —

As parents and teachers know, children have a way of picking up colds and other illnesses at school. As the number of swine flu (H1N1 Flu Outbreak) cases increases in the U.S., it becomes even more important to teach kids how to stay healthy.

Teach Good Health Habits
Proper and consistent hand washing is one of the easiest ways to prevent the spread of flu. Teach kids by example by showing them proper hand washing technique:

* Wet hands with water and apply an amount of soap recommended by the manufacturer to hands.
* Rub hands together vigorously for at least 20 seconds, covering all surfaces of the hands and giving added attention to fingernails and surfaces where jewelry is worn.
* Rinse hands with water.
* Dry thoroughly with a disposable towel.
* Use towel to turn off faucet.

For younger children who may rush their hand washing, have them sing a short song such as "Row Row Row Your Boat," or the "Happy Birthday"song, which will ensure they wash for at least 20 seconds. Placing hand-washing reminders at children's eye level will also help them become consistent hand washers.

Teach kids to adopt these other healthy habits in order to prevent the spread of germs:

* Avoid sharing objects such as utensils, cups, and bottles.
* Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and wash your hands afterwards. If tissue-less, cough or sneeze into your elbow or upper arm, not your hands.
* Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth to keep germs from entering your body.

Parents should also prepare for the potential spread of swine flu by talking with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick. Also ask your child's school or day care if there are plans to encourage sick children to stay home to reduce the spread of the disease.
The Scrub Club

Educational Tools
Parents and teachers can reinforce kids' hand-washing habits by using tools such as The Scrub Club®, an interactive Web site that offers free materials to raise awareness about the benefits of hand washing to fight germs and prevent illness. The fun, Web-based experience is complete with educational materials, music, games and cartoon "Webisodes."

The Scrub Club® is being used by hundreds of schools nationwide, and teachers continue to integrate the Scrub Club educational activities into their daily curriculum. These educational materials are currently available in French, English and Spanish.

The American Red Cross and NSF International (NSF) have collaborated to help protect public health. Collectively, NSF, the Red Cross and seven "soaper-heroes"are teaching children the importance of proper and consistent hand washing through the Scrub Club®. Through this partnership, the two organizations are helping educate communities across the nation about the benefits of handwashing to fight germs and prevent illness.

Keep Hydrated!

2009-04-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

With swine flu worries all over the world, we are all reminded of the importance to keep healthy. Keeping hydrated is one extremely important aspect of staying healthy. For the past few days it has been cold and rainy where I live, and I unfortunately became lazy about drinking. I woke up rather nauseous today and remembered again that- I need water!

It's funny how sometimes we tend to overlook the importance of water and tend to just go for the "tastier" (and more fattening!) alternatives which are not necessarily better than water.

Keep Hydrated
If you've been doing yoga asanas, you've probably noticed that they can cause you to perspire a lot, especially in hot climates. But don't worry, sweating is good for your health. It cools down the body and eliminates toxins. However, if you perspire a lot without drinking enough fluids, your body can dehydrate, and this can cause both minor and major health problems.

In general, you should drink between 6 to 10 glasses of water each day. If it's hot and you plan to exercise vigorously, you can drink more. Some yoga asanas should not be done too soon after drinking. But an hour or two before you exercise, you can drink a couple of large glasses of water. Then, around 20 minutes before you begin your session, you can have another small drink. For example, if you drive to a class or to a park to do yoga, it's more sensible to drink well before you leave so you're not thirsty when you arrive. If you forget, though, a few sips of water right before you start won't hurt.

If you do yoga outside, the best times are in the morning and late afternoon when it's not too hot. Practicing in the hot midday sun may dehydrate your body and drain your energy.

Just remember that before you do asanas, you should empty your bladder. And if while practicing you feel the urge to go, go right away. Otherwise, you'll feel uncomfortable and won't be able to relax.

Be Beautiful Naturally with Wai lana

2009-04-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

There are countless tips and advice from health and beauty experts all around the world. Some people say, wash your face a few hours before bed, go to sleep with conditioner in your hair, sleep on your back to prevent extra wrinkles on one side of your face, etc. But one thing that is important is also to make sure that your attempts to be beautiful physically will not be a cause of cancer or other diseases later on in your life. That's why I, a long time fan of Wai Lana, am absolutely thrilled that she has come out with a line of beauty products. I've been using her shampoos and soaps, and it's definitely helped get rid of some of my stubborn skin allergies!

Do try Wai Lana's natural beauty products to stay beautiful and healthy.

Japan's 'Exam Hell' Hits Preschool

2009-04-26T01:22:00.000-07:00

Wen ids are this stressed out, they should also balance out the pressure and the fun. The best way to let them loosen up and relax - which in turn, will help them do better in their studies, is through Wai lana's Little Yogis Daydream kit. Happy learning! Happy resting!

Japan's 'Exam Hell' Hits Preschool

By YURIKO NAGANO
TOKYO, April 26, 2009

It's a quiet afternoon in suburban Tokyo as a well-dressed boy and his mother enter Nikken, a cram school for kindergartners and preschoolers. The mother bows to staff, confirms a pickup time, and drives off in her Mercedes as the boy hunkers down at that most iconic of Japanese institutions: the cram school.
Japan's 'exam hell' now reaches into preschool
In Japan, the pressure to get onto the right path in life now extends all the way down to preschools. Parents and kids stress over exams and suit up to make a good impression and get onto the right track early.

Japan's juken, or "exam hell," has long evoked images of stressed kids competing for slots at top universities in an all-or-nothing exam. But this approach has increasingly moved down the ladder.

Now, in what is known as ojuken, nursery-schoolers are doing worksheets and attending special classes to secure a seat in primary school that their parents hope will ensure their long-term success.

The reasons for the shift are complex. Japan's youth population is declining, and many colleges are scrambling to fill seats -- something that should make it easier to get into all but the most exclusive schools.

Instead, many parents are ever more relentlessly seeking competitive advantages, especially as the economic downturn makes competition for jobs more intense.

"The low birthrate does seem to be pushing parents to give all they can to the one child," says Makoto Kobari, an associate professor at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto. "It's an act of selective extravagance."

"There's definitely an ojuken craze heating up," says Naoki Ogi, head of the Practical Education Research Institute in Tokyo. But, he adds, "we're talking about a very limited part of society that this is happening in."

No formal data exist on the ojuken population. But the competition for the schools parents are targeting can be fierce: For the class entering Tokyo's Keio Gijuku Yochisha elementary school in 2008, for example, there were 2,468 applicants for 144 spots. In recent years, applicant numbers at Keio have steadily increased, up 10 percent over 2006.

The examination process itself takes place between November and December, with the school year starting in April. But ojuken is a year-round business. At Nikken, most families enroll children for two years and typically spend $22,000 on tuition.

Continue reading

Jet lag

2009-04-24T23:41:00.001-07:00

It is always nice to jump into the ocean after a long flight. It just brings balance to your whole body and helps negate the effects of radiation and etc that occurs in your body during a flight.

Here's an interesting blog post on how jet lag affects the brain:

How jet lag affects our brains

It’s funny sometimes how our work content crosses over into our real lives. A case of art imitating life? For the last several weeks, I have been jet lagged, big time. It started when I was in India a few weeks ago. The trip there wasn’t bad and I managed to get on a schedule pretty quickly once I hit the ground. Once I got back, though, I had a very hard time shaking it. About a week later, I was still lying awake at 3 a.m. feeling as if I had been run over by a Mack truck. Right when I getting back on track, I flew to the West Coast and started the whole process all over again. And, I just got in from LA late last night. No question, I do travel a lot, but I was always curious: What is really happening in my brain when I am jet lagged?

The area of the brain that is most crucial to all of this is the hypothalamus. It is a key area of the brain, and most specifically the suprachiasmatic nucleus (that’s a name to remember…) contains tens of thousands of neurons whose main function is to regulate our circadian rhythms, our body clocks. (read jet lag study) In neurosurgical terms, this area is completely “out of whack” when we travel. But, it is more than that.

There are two types of neurons that individually represent our deep sleep and REM sleep. The deep sleep neurons do synch up within a day, even after a significant overseas trip but it is those neurons overseeing REM sleep that take much longer. Without REM sleep, which is the type of sleep that allows you to dream, you are going to feel more fatigued, have lapses in memory and general decreased performance.

Now, as you might imagine, researchers who figured this out in rats have already told us they are looking into the possibility of a “jet lag” drug to target the suprachiasmatic neurons in the hypothalamus regulating REM sleep patterns (I feel smart just writing that). Yes, I am convinced that one day there will be a pill for everything, but I am not a big fan of pills, so here are some techniques I have learned over the years. (watch Sanjay’s personal tips)

I immediately change my clock to the new time zone when getting on the plane. If possible, I will try to go to bed an hour earlier each night for a couple of nights prior to the trip. As you might imagine, starting off sleep deprived is not a good idea. I take eye blinders and a heavy sweater on all flights, so I can sleep even during daylight. As I mentioned, sleeping pills aren’t really my thing, though I have a few frequent traveler friends who swear by melatonin. In case you can’t remember how to take this supplement, think of it as the “darkness hormone.” It is made when it is dark outside and suppressed by light. You take it about an hour before bedtime – of your new location.

Please excuse all typos – I was jet lagged when I wrote this. And, I was wondering if you had any more tips to ward off jet lag to help me and other travelers?

A Tropical Alternative to Almonds

2009-04-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

This is interesting news aside from the fact that Macadamias are actually native to Australia, and not Hawaii:

A Tropical Alternative to Almonds

Have you grown tired of walnuts and almonds? Try this tasty nut Hawaii is known for: macadamia nuts.

Turns out they’re on the heart-healthy list -- even though they contain saturated fat. In a study, a diet enhanced with macadamias significantly lowered both total and LDL cholesterol.

Heart-Friendly Fats
The fact that macadamias are so rich in unsaturated fats -- more than almost any other nut -- appears to make up for the fact that they also contain some saturated fat. And here’s the heart-healthy proof: When people with moderately high cholesterol ate an average American diet for 5 weeks, then a diet with a handful of macadamia nuts mixed in daily for another 5 weeks, the nut diet lowered total and LDL cholesterol about 9 percent more than the nut-free fare. Check out how macadamias rank among other nuts when it comes to heart-healthy fats.

The Nuts and Bolts
But keep in mind that although the study diets were controlled so that they both had the same amount of total fat, the nut diet had less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fat. So if you eat macadamias, use them to kick out a source of unhealthy fat in your diet -- don't just add them to what you already eat. For example, use them in a healthier version of the classic shortcake dessert -- like Roasted Pineapple Shortcakes.

I LOVE macadamias.

Celebrate Earth Day with Wai lana

2009-04-23T04:23:00.000-07:00

Earth Day – April 22nd
Wai Lana

Earth Day is a special day for me. It gives me a chance to remember Mother Earth and the wonderful gifts she constantly provides for us—glorious landscapes, majestic bodies of water, fresh air, immense beauty, and a wonderful and vast variety of fresh herbs, plants, and foods. It also gives me the perfect opportunity to introduce you to these new natural products that I have developed specifically with Mother Earth in mind.

Stretch and Play- Yoga Eco Ball

2009-04-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

This looks like great fun! I wish this had all been around when I was a kid.

:)

Coming Soon: Wai Lana's Little Yogis™
Stretch n Play Eco ball

Kids can roll, bounce, and balance on the ball to get fit, strong, and flexible

* Suitable for children aged 3 and up
* Exercising on the ball enhances strength, focus, and balance
* Fun games develop eye-hand coordination
* More than 20 exercises and 4 games on one colorful poster

Kit includes:

* Yellow kid-sized yoga ball made from phthalate-free PVC
* Easy foot pump for quick inflation
* Cute illustrated poster with exercises and games
$24.95

The New Allergy Zones

2009-04-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

This is very useful information for people with allergies- myself included!

The New Allergy Zones

Surprising Places Where Irritants Lurk, and Easy Ways to Get Rid of Them
By JENNY STAMOS KOVACS
April 17, 2009

The spring allergy season has sprung -- and wrought plenty of discomfort for the approximately 35 million Americans with seasonal allergies. Pollen may not be all that's making your eyes water and nose run, though. Surprising allergens lurk in unexpected places in your home and make you feel even worse. In fact, the list of sneeze-inducing culprits is long: animal dander, mold, dust, and dust mites (tiny insects that thrive on organic matter, primarily flakes of skin), as well as pollen carried into the house from outside. But these irritants are manageable--and getting a handle on them will help reduce your symptoms. We went to four top experts for the unexpected sources of your sneezes and some room-by-room tips for eliminating them.

Abc Health News

Surprise Nutritionist No-Nos

2009-04-18T00:55:00.000-07:00

Surprise Nutritionist No-Nos

JOY BAUER'S 5 PICKS-TO-SKIP...

2% Milk
The FDA allows 2% milk to be labeled reduced-fat, but that's a relative term (whole milk is 3.25% fat). Calorically speaking, the difference between whole and 2% milk isn't all that impressive: 150 calories for a cup of whole milk vs. 120 for a cup of 2%. Skim milk, on the other hand, has the same protein and calcium content as whole and 2%, but weighs in at 80 fat-free calories per cup. Assuming you drink a cup a day, switching to skim will save you more than 14,000 calories in a year's time. That simple substitution translates to a four-pound yearly weight loss!

Whole Wheat Bagels
While it's true that whole grains, and products made from whole grains, are much healthier than their refined flour counterparts, some whole grain foods are not worth the calories. Take bagels, for instance. A big, New York-style whole wheat bagel has just as many calories (350 or more) as one made with white flour. Definitely stick with whole grains when it comes to bread products, but instead of your Sunday morning bagel and lox ritual, try a toasted whole grain English muffin (130 calories) and lox instead. You'll save at least 200 calories, and who doesn't love all those nooks and crannies?!

Chicken Caesar Salad
It's easy to see why our next trickster, Chicken Caesar salad, leads people astray. After all, aren't we constantly being told to eat more vegetables, and to choose lean sources of protein? But McDonald's Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken contains 410 calories and 24 grams of fat, while their Quarter Pounder has the same number of calories, and even less fat. And that's nothing compared to the classic Chicken Caesar salad recipes you'll find at local restaurants and chains, which contain approximately 1,100 calories and 96 grams of fat.

The culprits, of course, are the creamy Caesar dressing and oil-soaked croutons. Nearly half the calories in McDonald's salad comes from the dressing, so if you switch to their low-fat balsamic vinaigrette, you save 150 calories, as well as 15 grams of fat. The calories in a classic Chicken Caesar almost anywhere can be nearly slashed in half if you lose the croutons and substitute a teaspoon of olive oil (two dashes) and unlimited vinegar for the dressing. Can't live without the Caesar dressing? Request it on the side and go easy!

Granola
This cereal was invented in 1863, and then revived 100 years later in the "crunchy granola" 1960's. Originally a simple mixture of rolled oats, nuts, and honey, granola has morphed into a product its 19th century creator would hardly recognize. Bear Naked's latest "all natural" flavor contains 21 ingredients, including four types of sweeteners, chocolate, and peanut butter. It's also 140 calories per ¼ cup (that's a whopping 280 per serving!). Even low-fat granola packs a caloric punch. One serving of Health Valley's Real Oat Bran Almond Crunch clocks in at 200 calories. Consider that the average breakfast bowl holds about two cups of cereal, and you see why granola spells "trouble."

TIP: If you really like starting your day with granola, stick with ¼ cup, and mix it with a less caloric cereal, like Bran Flakes or plain Cheerios. Another option is to sprinkle one to two tablespoons on low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese.

Fruit Smoothies
Sure, all that fruit makes smoothies healthier than a milk shake, but your waist doesn't know the difference between the calories in berries, bananas, soy milk, and antioxidant "boosts," and those in ice cream, whole milk, and chocolate syrup. In fact, Jamba Juice's original size Peanut Butter Moo'd® smoothie contains an astounding 840 calories. That's 160 calories more than a medium chocolate shake at Burger King!

You can still enjoy smoothies, just order smart or make your own. "Jamba Light" options contain 150-160 calories per 16-ounce serving, and the same size "All Fruit" selections are 200-220 calories. If you have a blender, try pureeing a sliced banana, one cup of strawberries, one cup of skim milk, and ice to taste. This healthy homemade concoction contains about 230 calories, and will save you lots of dough (smoothies can be pricey!).

Yahoo Health News.

Noni Capsules, for life

2009-04-17T02:38:00.001-07:00

I just got a gift of these. I think they're a great gift for health, for life! :)

Noni Capsules

Healing, Pure & Simple
A healthy, easy-to-swallow dose of noni made from 100% pure, dehydrated noni in vegetarian capsules. We use a patented dehydration process to preserve the noni's nutritional value in this dry capsule form. Our capsules are made from sun-ripened, hand-picked noni fruit grown year-round in Hawaii’s rich volcanic soils.

Provides Antioxidant Power
Contains potent antioxidants, such as vitamin C and polysaccharides, to help protect your body at a cellular level from premature aging, heart disease, and many other disorders.

Improves Immune Function
Helps boost and regulate your immune system so that it functions more efficiently and you’re better able to ward off colds, flus, infections, and disease.

Enhances Digestion
Supplies a wealth of digestive enzymes that improve digestive function, letting you absorb and assimilate more nutrients and experience increased health, energy, and vitality.

Cleanses and Detoxifies
Cleanses and protects the liver and helps your body neutralize and eliminate toxins.

Eases Inflammation
Has both analgesic (painkilling) and anti-inflammatory properties.

Suggested use: As a whole-food dietary supplement, take 2 capsules daily or as directed by your healthcare professional. May be dissolved in water or fruit juice.

This product does not contain animal byproducts and has not been tested on animals. Dietary supplement guaranteed to be FREE of corn, milk, soy, salt, sugar, wheat, yeast, artificial flavors, and preservatives.

Contains 60 veggie caps (620 mg)

Fun Songs for the Kid in All of Us

2009-04-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

Fun Songs for the Kid in All of Us

November 18, 2005

Get ready to dance, laugh, and sing your way through each day. This week, Wai Lana, popular host of the long-running PBS series Wai Lana Yoga, gives us her Little Yogis Fun Songs. The perfect Christmas present, this charming CD offers 12 catchy tunes with intelligent, playful lyrics that will warm everyone’s hearts. This gem of an album is a stocking stuffer you can truly feel good about giving.

Perfect for kids aged 3 to 99, Fun Songs combines Wai Lana’s beautiful, inspiring vocals with some of the world’s finest musicians. You’ll bounce, giggle, and roar through a musical adventure that takes everyone through the mighty jungle, stormy mountains, and fabulous yoga fun. These engaging, imaginative tunes really do create a healthy, happy world for kids to thrive in.

“Kids always want to have fun, so I really wanted to give them entertainment that moves them in a positive direction,” says Wai Lana. “But as I worked on this CD, I realized it was something special—that it wasn’t limited to just children but was for anyone who wants more laughter and energy in their life.”

Fun Songs comes with a delightfully illustrated songbook filled with favorite Little Yogis characters and complete song lyrics. The Fun Songs CD is the latest addition to Wai Lana’s growing Little Yogis line, which already includes exercise and relaxation DVDs, music CDs, books, mats, kits, and games. She’ll follow her CD release with a slew of Fun Songs goodies, including puzzles, game cards, activity books, paper dolls, cartoons, and more.
Press Contact:
Angie Smith
angie@wailana.com
Tel. 800-624-9163
Fax 805-986-5447

Consumer Orders:
Tel. 800-228-5145
Wholesale Orders:
Tel. 800-624-9163
www.wailana.com

How to Help Your Child Enjoy the Benefits of Yoga

2009-04-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

How to Help Your Child Enjoy the Benefits of Yoga
Anna Montage, Health and Wellness Editor

With the new school year underway, many kids are experiencing new teachers, new classes, and new friends. This is also a great time to start your child on a healthy new habit—yoga. Children today often face the same obstacle to health and happiness that all of us face: stress. Yoga not only helps relieve stress, it provides so many other benefits for children:

* Strengthen, stretch and tone muscles
* Improve balance and coordination
* Increase bodily awareness
* Learn to listen and follow directions
* Laugh and have fun.

This month we’d like to offer some helpful tips for starting your child off on the energizing, calming, and fun path of yoga.
The Younger, the Better

Children are just like little sponges, soaking up everything around them. The earlier you’re able to influence them to engage in healthy activities, the more likely they are to enjoy and stick with them over a lifetime.

Even children as young as one year can learn simple poses like Stretching Dog. Kids naturally stretch, twist, and bend. If you see your tot doing something that resembles yoga, you can tell them, “Yoga!” It becomes a fun thing that’s easy and natural for them to do.

The Wai Lana Little Yogis videos and DVDs were made just for the purpose of getting kids into yoga; the bright colors, fun songs, and yoga cartoons act like a magnet for your child’s attention.

In the beginning, children may enjoy just watching the video. As they become more familiar with the poses, they’ll gradually begin to attempt them on their own.
Set an Example

If you practice yoga, even if only occasionally, your child will be that much more likely to practice yoga too. As your child comes to love yoga, it will also make it easier for you to do your own yoga practice; you may quickly find that your child is doing yoga right alongside you. You may also find that your desire to set a nice example increases your motivation to practice yoga regularly.
Make Yoga a Social Activity

Children, especially those age 5 and up, love being with their friends. You can encourage your child to invite friends over to do yoga together. They’ll laugh and giggle as they watch each other learn new fun poses.

The Wai Lana Little Yogis coloring books, Fun Songs CD, stickers, and other fun stuff provide more enjoyable ways for children to have fun together while promoting a lifelong love of yoga.
Give a Little Personalized Guidance

Every child learns differently. Especially if your child is very young, he or she may benefit from occasional guidance to help them master the Little Yogis yoga poses. Even attempting the yoga poses offers tremendous benefit for your child, so there’s no need to worry about whether he or she gets them just right or not. However, all children love encouragement and their parents’ attention.
A Healthy Yoga Diet Makes It Easier to Do Yoga

Most of us have such hectic and busy schedules that it’s hard to eat as healthy a diet as we would like. However, especially for children, a balanced yoga diet, with emphasis on fruits and vegetables, dairy products, legumes and whole grains, will make it easier for your child to have the energy and enthusiasm for regular yoga practice.

Practicing yoga will naturally make your child more attracted to eating healthy foods, and the opposite is also true—eating a healthy diet will naturally help increase your child’s attraction for yoga.

Our mission at Wai Lana Yoga is to help you and your little ones enjoy the wonderful lifelong benefits of yoga.

Wai Lana Yoga

2009-04-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

Wai Lana, children’s yoga teacher and host of the long-running PBS television series Wai Lana Yoga, makes the world of children’s yoga greener this month with her new Little Yogis Eco Mat.

The Little Yogis Eco Mat is designed to provide children with a safe, stable foundation for building a yoga practice that will start them on a lifelong path of health and well-being. At the same time, it uses nontoxic, ecologically sustainable materials that are kid-friendly and planet-friendly too.

"As a parent, I’ve enjoyed watching my own children grow up to embrace healthy lifestyles," says Wai Lana, "and I know that a little encouragement when they’re young goes a long way. That is why I’m pleased to be able to offer parents fun and healthy products for children that are also good for the planet."

Wai Lana’s Little Yogis Eco Mat has a sticky, nonslip surface that helps kids keep their footing while they practice yoga and is decorated with a cute cartoon print of Wai Lana and her Little Yogis friends. It is free from phthalates, phenols, dioxins, and furans, making it safer for the planet and for children.

Order now!
1-800-228-5145
www.wailana.com

Celebrating the New Year with Health and Happiness

2009-04-11T03:06:00.001-07:00

Celebrating the New Year with Health and Happiness

Anna Montage, Health and Wellness Editor

By now you’ve probably already pondered your New Year’s resolutions for this year. Of course, fitness and weight loss goals are right at the top of the list for most of us. But unfortunately, most people who make these resolutions year after year find that they just don’t have the determination to stick with them.

What’s the solution? Well, think of it like this: A resolution is something you have to be determined to do because it’s hard—you don’t naturally want to do it. So instead of making health and fitness resolutions this year, why not make it a year of health and fitness celebrations? After all, a celebration is not only a lot more fun, but it also brings about a sense of gratitude for what we already have, not just dissatisfaction with what we lack.

Sound crazy? Not at all! Yoga is a timeless, ancient method for inducing a relaxation response in the body and mind. This relaxation response can bring about lowered blood pressure, a decreased heart rate and an increase in those “feel good” hormones called endorphins. And of course, we always feel better when we are relaxed, fit and looking our best. Yoga is like a spa vacation that you can enjoy anytime, anywhere. Even when you’re not able to practice yoga asanas, you can always listen to one of Wai Lana’s beautiful and soothing yoga soundtracks, such as Yoga Sound or Yoga Music of the Heart.

Wai Lana has made it her specialty to help people enjoy the full benefits of yoga while simultaneously enjoying beautiful scenery, beautiful music and a lighthearted approach to health and exercise. (By the way, if you’ve never checked out Wai Lana’s Smile video on her website, take a look anytime you’re feeling a little down or discouraged!)

So here are some practical suggestions for celebrating health and happiness this New Year:

* Spread the word. It’s so much more fun to live and eat healthfully when you’re helping others enjoy the same benefits. We can do plenty to encourage our friends and family members without being at all pushy. For example, invite friends or family over for a delicious meal that’s packed with flavor and nutrition. Everybody loves to eat, but many people just haven’t experienced how delicious healthy food can be. For recipe ideas, check out some of Wai Lana’s favorite recipes on her website.

* If you have children, have fun teaching them to be healthy. It’s never too early to start teaching children how “yummy” and “delicious” healthy foods are and how “yucky” processed junk foods are. Your kids will laugh as you make funny faces to illustrate just how undesirable this stuff is. Kids naturally love bright, colorful foods—which makes fresh fruits and vegetables perfect for a happy and healthy diet. Although kids are bombarded with advertising almost from birth, the truth is that you are the most important authority in their lives. With the right blend of persistence and humor, you may be surprised at how quickly your child becomes immune to that inconveniently placed display of candy bars at the grocery store checkout.

* Make every meal a celebration of your health. Rather than making healthful foods the exception, make them the rule. Soon you’ll be so attracted to the vibrant, fresh flavors of fresh fruits and vegetables that you’ll find yourself drawn to the produce section of the grocery store and happy to avoid the foods that are devoid of nutrition and vitality.

* Yoga, yoga, yoga. Practice yoga by yourself, practice yoga with friends and family members and help introduce the children in your life to yoga with Wai Lana’s Little Yogis videos and DVDs. Your enthusiasm will be contagious, and you’ll soon find that you’re not the only one celebrating health and fitness this year!

Source

Mango Chutney

2009-04-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful and tasty dish! It's mango season now in Asian countries. Really beautiful pictures and wonderful recipes in this the Veggie Belly blog as well!

Green Mango Pickle
makes about 2 cups

1 large firm, green mango
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
2 pinches asafoetida
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili/cayenne powder. Use paprika for less heat.
¼ tsp fenugreek powder, see below for method
¾ tbsp salt

Green (raw) Mango Pickle

How to make fenugreek powder: toast fenugreek seeds in a skillet on a low flame. Once they are fragrant, about 2 minutes, turn off heat and let the fenugreek cool. Then grind in a food processor to a fine powder. Store in an air tight container.

Using a sharp knife, cut the mango and discard the core. Chop the mango into very tiny pieces. Or you could zip it through a food chopper.

Place the chopped mango in a bowl. Place the turmeric, chili powder and fenugreek powder in a little mound on top of the chopped mango.

Green (raw) Mango Pickle

Heat the oil in a small skillet and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the asafoetida and turn off the heat. Pour the hot oil with the mustard seeds and asafoetida over the mound of turmeric, chili powder and fenugreek. Add the salt. Stir till everything is well combined.

When the pickle is cool, put it in an airtight container and refrigerate.

This pickle is great as a condiment with Indian food. I also enjoy it with pita bread and hummus or stirred into pasta or couscous.

from: Veggie Belly

Noni care

2009-04-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

I am very satisfied with these two products:

Noni Shampoo

Noni Soap

I was born with bad skin and have had to constantly switch shampoos and soaps through the years. In the end I would always have to use baby shampoos and soaps. Now that I'm using Wai lana's natural shampoos and soaps, I think I'm pretty much sold! My skin's been great, and the white spots on my face that come as an allergic reaction to many different types of shampoos- are gone. :)

This is pretty awesome. I definitely recommend these products to anyone and everyone.

Fun Songs CD & Lyrics Book

2009-04-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

This remains to be the favorite book and cd combo of my two nieces, who- at ages 5 and 2, have memorized every song and can sing along in perfect pitch. Their parents are both professional musicians, hence their great ear. When my 2 year old niece was hospitalized, she sang herself to sleep, singing songs from this wonderful combo.

yoga music
fun songs
Fun Songs CD & Lyrics Book
Running time: 50 minutes
Price: $18.95

Wai Lana’s latest fun-filled music fest will have the whole family singing, dancing, humming, and tapping! Unlike anything you’ve ever heard before, this inspiring album unites Wai Lana with some of the world’s finest musicians to bring you 12 educational songs that are uplifting, inspirational, and wonderful fun for the young, old, and everyone in between! Fun Songs comes with an adorable cartoon songbook filled with favorite funny characters and complete song lyrics. A bundle of wholesome entertainment, this is one CD the whole family will agree on.

• Inspires and motivates kids
• Encourages quality family time
• Enjoyable music for parents as well
• Promotes physical exercise, learning, and even relaxation
• Perfect for car rides, parties, fitness and play times
• Offers uplifting music and engaging lyrics
• Balances fun, learning, music, and yoga
• Fosters the imagination

Just try to sit still!

CD Tracks
Laugh, learn, and sing along to 12 bouncy, feel-good tunes the whole family will love!
1: Yoga Fun Play Sample
2: Balloon Belly Play Sample
3: Flutter little Butterfly Play Sample
4: Happy Dog Sleepy Cat
5: Stretch long like a Cobra Play Sample
6: King of the Jungle Play Sample
7: Strong like a Mountain Play Sample | Songs Book page sample
8: Let me be like a Tree Play Sample | Songs Book page sample
9: Building a Bridge Together Play Sample
10: Rocking Beetle
11: Daydream Adventure Play Sample
12: Seabird Lullaby

Your current audio preferences:
Player: Windows Media Player • Connection Speed: Modem

Reviews

Yoga Combo for Kids
Reviewer: New Age Retailer, June 2006

Through her wonderful products, Wai Lana makes yoga and all its benefits easy, accessible, and enjoyable for children of all ages. Wai Lana’s Little Yogis Fun Songs CD & Lyrics Book brings listeners the opportunity for entertainment and healthful movement in an easy-to-use format.

The 50-minute CD contains 12 happy and upbeat good-mood songs—perfect for dancing, doing yoga, or just plain relaxing. Parents can pop it into a car player and make a long trip a fun time. The songs are educational and provide hours of inspiration and entertainment for the whole family while promoting physical fitness and well-being.

The 84-page songbook is full of bright colors, adorable cartoon characters, joyful illustrations, and easy-to-read larger-print lyrics. The book is quite enjoyable to follow along with the CD or to read on its own.

Both pieces are packaged in a molded plastic folder, which makes displaying the book-and-CD combo a breeze. Kids will be drawn to the lively and bright product covers, while parents will be sold on the potential benefits of balancing fun with learning.

—New Age Retailer, June 2006

Yoga For Little People
Reviewer: Yoga Magazine (UK), March 2006

For the little yogis and yoginis in your life, this CD compilation contains a range of songs to help make the practice of yoga easier and fun. It’s perfect for kids aged 3 to 99.

Fun Songs combines Wai Lana’s beautiful, inspiring vocals with the finest musicians. Accompanying the CD is a beautifully illustrated songbook packed with favorite Little Yogi characters and complete song lyrics.

—Yoga Magazine (UK), March 2006

First Impressions
Reviewer: TD Monthly, February 2006

The colorful packaging attracts the eye and gives a good idea of the kind of fun, cheerful music inside. The CD of 12 catchy songs comes with a cartoon songbook filled with lyrics so children can sing along.

Playability
I took the CD to my arts classroom last week and so far it is the only CD that we have used through the whole week. The children are 4 years old and just love every single song. They don’t want to listen to any other CD. It is fun to listen to the songs while at the same time learning about animals and trees.

Recommendation
This is a great CD for teachers to use in their classrooms, or for parents to share with their children.

—TD Monthly, February 2006

New "Juice Feasting" Emerging as Phytonutrient-Rich Disease-Fighting Nutritional System

2009-04-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

New "Juice Feasting" Emerging as Phytonutrient-Rich Disease-Fighting Nutritional System

It's rare for something to come along that impresses me so much as a healing modality that it instantly changes my own life habits. But I've recently been introduced to a plant-based medicinal modality that's so incredibly effective at preventing and reversing disease that I believe it is "the" cure for cancer society has been looking for. And in this article, I'm going to share with you what I know about this system.

I believe it's not only a cure for many cancers, it's also a documented, proven cure for type-2 diabetes (a disease the American Diabetes Association laughingly claims "has no cure"). It can also completely reverse heart disease, depression, most mood disorders, liver disease, kidney stones, chronic inflammation, arthritis, gout, urinary tract infections, asthma and numerous other health conditions.

What could this amazing nutritional medicine be? I'll give you a hint: It's not one single nutrient, food or superfood. In fact, it's a combination of literally thousands of known phytochemicals (and probably thousands more that have yet to be discovered). If you're stuck with a troubling health condition and don't know how to solve it, this may be just the nutritional answer you've been looking for.

I'll give you some other clues about what this is:

• It's not a product you can buy. No supplement company makes it. In fact, it is impossible to manufacture in a factory because it has a shelf life of only a day or so.

• You make it yourself in your kitchen using simple ingredients found at any grocery store.

• The health benefits of its nutritional constituents are backed by literally thousands of scientific studies.

• It's based entirely on medicine from Mother Nature and contains absolutely nothing made by Man.

• It's not available by prescription. The FDA has no clue this even exists.

• It has absolutely no negative side effects. No one has ever been harmed or killed by using this natural source of medicine.

• It halts cancer better than chemotherapy, stabilizes blood sugar (and reverses diabetes) better than diabetes drugs, reverses heart disease better than cardiovascular drugs, and stabilizes moods and mental function better than antidepressants.

• It creates radiant skin, happy moods, clean breath and loads of natural energy.

• It's something you can start right now and continue for a life time.

• It's incredibly delicious. Once you try this, you'll want more.

• It's affordable! It's actually no more expensive than the processed foods it replaces.

Source

With this good news, it's only another reason to start taking juices! Try out Wai Lana's Juice book for it. Her juices are absolutely wonderful. I love the fat burner too. :)

Vegetable Terrine with Mushroom Sauce

2009-03-31T20:03:00.001-07:00

Triple Vegetable Terrine with Mushroom Sauce
If you are looking for something light and delicious with a beautiful visual presentation, this dish, with three brightly colored vegetable purees layered in a neat loaf, will definitely be one to consider.

20 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 + 1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 medium potatoes
1 small beet
1 small kabucha squash, peeled and cubed
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
4 tsp. fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large tomato, diced
3 Tbsp. whipping cream, whipped until slightly thickened
1/4 tsp. mild chili powder
2 cups dried whole wheat bread crumbs

Mushroom Gravy:
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
6 Tbsp. garbanzo flour
1 vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

1. Steam the spinach briefly until defrosted and bright green. Rinse under cold water to cool. Drain, then squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Place in a bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix well. Chill.

2. Boil the potatoes, beet, and squash in separate saucepans until soft. Drain and cool. Peel the potatoes, then mash until smooth with no lumps. Peel the beet and grate finely. Mix it with the mashed potatoes. Add the garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, dill, and yogurt. Mix well and chill.

3. Mash the squash. Sauté the onions in the oil until golden. Add the diced tomato and sauté for 2 minutes until tender. Combine the tomato mixture with the mashed squash. Add the whipped cream, chili powder, and remaining 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Mix well and chill.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil two 1½-qt. loaf pans. Divide the potato-beet mixture into 2 parts. Press one part each evenly into each pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of bread crumbs over each one. Divide the squash mixture into 2 parts and press one part evenly into each pan. Sprinkle each with 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Finally, divide the spinach mixture into 2 parts and press one part evenly into each pan.

5. Bake both loaves for 45 minutes, or until dry when poked with a knife. Remove from the heat and cool for 15-20 minutes. Slide a knife along the sides of the pans to loosen the loaves before turning onto a tray. Cool completely before slicing to prevent the colors merging, then cut into 1-inch slices.

6. While the loaves are cooling, prepare the gravy. In a medium saucepan melt the butter on medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and soy sauce. Mix well, cover, and cook until the mushrooms are tender, stirring frequently. Set aside.

7. In a nonstick skillet toast the garbanzo flour on medium-low heat until light golden. Remove from the heat and cool.

8. Place the bouillon into a medium saucepan on high heat. Add the 2 cups water and the salt. Gradually sprinkle the toasted garbanzo flour into this mixture, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add the mushrooms and onions. Bring to a boil and cook until the sauce is thickened, stirring frequently.

9. To serve, place the terrine slices on plates and spoon the gravy on the side or partially on top.

Makes 14 slices

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 182, Fat 7.5g (67 cal), Carbohydrate 21.4g (86 cal), Protein 7.4g (29 cal)
Added information: Saturated Fat 3g, Cholesterol 14mg, Sodium 741mg, Dietary Fiber 3.1g

Mammograms and radiation

2009-03-31T00:46:00.000-07:00

Easy Plough

2009-03-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

This week, Wai lana teaches the Easy Plough asana, click to watch the instructional video. The plough is one of those very helpful, amazing exercises that benefit the whole body. It's a must do! If you're just starting yoga or aren't too limber, this is a great variation to start with.

The Best Noni Shampoo and Conditioner

2009-03-29T04:43:00.000-07:00

Noni Shampoo and Conditioner
Noni Shampoo

Our Noni Shampoo nourishes your hair, leaving it clean, shiny, and healthy. It is perfect for all hair types, including normal, dry, oily, and even color-damaged hair.

Ingredients: Herbal Tea Infusion (Infused with Certified Organic and Natural Chamomile and Fern Stem and Leaf), Saponified Coconut Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Pure Noni, Apple Extract, Botanical Tree Essences (Natural Preservative).
12 fl oz

Noni Conditioner

Made with the finest natural ingredients, our Noni Conditioner is specially formulated to improve the health of your hair, increasing its softness, shine, and body. It is perfect for all hair types, including normal, dry, oily, and even color-damaged hair.

Ingredients: Herbal Tea Infusion (Infused with Certified Organic and Natural Chamomile and Fern Stem and Leaf), Emulsified Coconut Oil (Moisturizer and Emollient), Pure Noni Juice, Apple Extract, Pure Noni Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Botanical Tree Essences (Natural Preservative).
12 fl oz

FREE Shipping to U.S. delivery addresses in 50 states (including Alaska and Hawaii.)

I've been using these, and they're wonderful. Very nice smell and the best thing is my hair feels great!

Wai Lana's Noni Soap

2009-03-27T06:08:00.001-07:00

Noni Soap (Unscented)
Lovingly made by hand, our Noni Soap is specially formulated to soothe, tone, and protect your skin, leaving it clean, smooth, radiant, and positively rejuvenated.

Ingredients: Saponified oils of coconut, palm, rice bran, and macadamia nut, shea butter, noni (Morinda citrifolia), palm stearic acid, and distilled water.
Net wt.: 3 oz

This is my soap now. I just got it today and I'm going to test it tonight. I'll tell you about it tomorrow :)

Three-Stage Perseverance

2009-03-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

Three-Stage Perseverance

Some yoga poses are easy for us; we like doing them and practice them regularly. Sometimes, however, we try a new pose that stretches muscles we don't often use or requires us to muster up strength. That's when our resistance kicks in.

Let's say you learned a new pose yesterday that was quite hard for you. When it comes time to do it today, you're reluctant. You know how stiff you were in that pose, how little movement you got, and it felt uncomfortable. So you're inclined to skip that one. But those are just the poses your body needs.

If you persevere, you'll go through different stages as you work with the pose. The first stage of reluctance usually lasts about a month. But as your body loosens up, you'll move into the second stage. The pose becomes tolerable and your body and mind no longer resist so much. This stage may last another six weeks or so, getting better and better. Finally, you'll get to stage three; the pose will be quite pleasant and enjoyable. At that point, when the pose becomes easy for you, it's time to find another pose that you're reluctant to do.

Source

Eco friendly

2009-03-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Wai Lana Green™ Organic Cotton Yoga Tote

* 100% organic cotton
* Colored with natural, eco-friendly dyes
* Stylish and attractive
* Convenient drawstring closure
* Sturdy and durable

28”L x 6.5” diameter (fits most mats)

Simply beautiful, simply organic, simply wonderful= Wai lana yoga, the best yoga for you

Healthy Yoga Fun For Kids

2009-03-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

oooh!! My neices will be sure to love this one!

Coming Soon: Wai Lana's Little Yogis™
Eco Tote Kit

Healthy yoga fun your kids will love!
Kit includes:

* Little Yogis™ DVD: Award-winning DVD delights the whole family!
* Little Yogis™ Eco Mat: Fun, colorful, durable, and completely free from phthalates, phenols, dioxins, and furans
* Cartoon Yoga Poster with 21 poses
* Handy Tote Bag made from recycled materials
* Silly Cartoon Stickers

Wai Lana's Yoga Store

Asana of the Week: Leg lifts with ankle exercise

2009-03-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

Easy Leg Lift with Ankle Exercise

Flexible ankles help prevent injuries while walking, running, skiing, or playing sports. We don't usually pay much attention to these joints until we hurt them. Then we realize how important they are to our health. For example, if you sprain an ankle and can't even walk, let alone run or play tennis, your body will get out of shape quite quickly. This exercise also stretches out calf muscles often contracted during sports, so it's especially beneficial for athletes.

1. Lie on your back with your hands by your sides, palms down.

2. Bend your left knee and place your heel close to your buttock.

3. Raise your right leg, keeping your knee straight throughout the exercise.

4. Point your toes as far as you can. Be aware of the stretching sensation in the front of your shin, over the ankle, and into the top of your foot.

5. Now flex your foot by pressing your heel away and pulling your toes toward you. Notice the stretch in your calf muscles and hamstrings. Repeat these two movements 15 to 20 times. Lower your right leg and extend the left. Change legs and repeat.

Focus in the Pose...
Point and flex your feet evenly. In other words, when you point your toes, focus on pressing the big toe side of your foot forward. When you flex, focus on drawing the little toe side of your foot toward you. This flexing movement stretches the Achilles tendon at the back of the ankle.

Hints...
To strengthen your thighs as well, bring the extended leg as close to your trunk as you can and hold it there as you point and flex your foot. This will also gently strengthen your abdominal muscles.

Click here to watch the video

Overcome Fear with Yoga!

2009-03-21T00:29:00.001-07:00

Overcome Fear with Yoga

Terrorist attacks in America have left many people anxious and fearful. They are experiencing emotions ranging from sadness and grief to anger and outrage. Life is full of stress and tension, much of it arising from the fear of future danger.

At times like these, we should increase our yoga practice as it can help us release stress and achieve inner peace. Letting fear and other negative emotions take hold is disturbing to both body and mind and can affect our health. By helping you maintain your physical, mental, and emotional equilibrium, yoga will make you stronger and help you cope during these stressful times. Yoga sound meditation is particularly valuable, giving you a sense of tranquility, peace, and strength.

Now is also a good time to practice karma yoga. Karma yoga has nothing to do with postures; it means acting selflessly to help others. When you serve others, your heart becomes gradually purified, and this brings you inner satisfaction. There are currently many opportunities to practice karma yoga. You can donate to charities involved in the recovery effort or to those providing aid for the families of the victims. You may be able to donate your time in some way to help those in your community deal with the aftermath of the recent events.

Of course, the most effective way to help others is by being a pillar of inner peace, strength, and fearlessness. So help yourself and others by practicing yoga.

Source

YOGA TIPS for Easing the Chill of Winter

2009-02-17T03:19:00.000-08:00

YOGA TIPS for Easing the Chill of Winter

Anna Montage, Health and Wellness Editor

Extra Tips for Dressing Warmly

Legs are often neglected in our outdoor clothing. If you’re planning to be outside for more than a short while, it’s important to keep your legs protected from the cold and wind. Nylon athletic pants with zippers on the side can be easily slipped on over your regular pants and aren’t too expensive. If you live in a cold climate or spend a lot of time outdoors, it may be worth the investment to buy outer pants that also provide some extra insulation. A sporting goods store or outdoor store can help you with this.

In many climates, a fleece jacket provides plenty of warmth if you layer a wind-proof shell on top of it. Outdoor companies make specially treated fabrics that keep the wind at bay. You will be surprised at how warm this simple and comfortable combination will keep you! If it’s very cold outside, a warm hat and fleece neck gator or scarf are essential, otherwise your vital body heat may slip right out the top of your jacket

Brrrr! While the winter season brings fun outdoor sports, family gatherings and toasty fires, the chill of winter can really take a toll on your physical and even mental health. Some people are more vulnerable to the effects of cold weather than others, but everyone can benefit from some simple strategies to stay balanced and healthy during the chilly season.

Keep bundled up! It may seem obvious, but one of the best remedies for warding off the winter chills is dressing properly. Keeping your feet and head warm is an absolute must—whether you’re inside or outside. Don’t let fashion make you a slave to the cold! There’s plenty of attractive outdoor apparel that looks great and keeps you snuggly even in the chilliest of temperatures. Your shoes or boots are crucial to your warmth and comfort and are worth the investment for a top-quality brand. Don’t forget to make sure they are water-resistant as well! Wet feet will chill your whole body.

Keep munching on fresh fruits and veggies, but also add warming soups, teas and spices to your yoga diet. Warm soup on a cold winter day helps soothe the body and mind. It can also help you stay hydrated and nourished. Don’t neglect fresh raw fruits and vegetables, but try to accompany them with other foods that help to counteract the effects of winter, such as soups, casseroles and other cooked dishes.

Warm liquids also tend to make you feel full, helping ward off the tendency to eat too many sweets and other rich foods in the winter. For example, hot herb tea is another great way to stay warm and hydrated without adding too many calories. A little honey or other natural sweetener added to your tea can help stave off wintertime cravings for unhealthy sweets. Fresh juices, especially when jazzed up with some ginger or other warming spices, will speed up your metabolism and provide potent enzymes and antioxidants to help keep fatigue and sickness away. Check out Wai Lana’s Favorite Juices for recipe ideas.

In your cooking, focus on warming spices such as ginger, cumin, and cinnamon. The Indian spice blend garam masala is a tasty and very warming addition to many vegetable dishes. It can be used by itself or along with ginger, cumin, turmeric or other Indian spices.

Maintain a healthy weight by staying in balance and keeping warm. If your body becomes too imbalanced from the cold, you will crave rich, oily food to counteract the effects of the weather, thus sabotaging your weight loss or maintenance goals. The warming herbs and foods (along with warm clothing mentioned above) will help you avoid these health pitfalls. So stay warm with teas, soups and spices and you’ll enjoy the winter weather without gaining extra weight.

Get Plenty of Exercise! Don’t avoid the outdoors! Embrace the cold by dressing the way I describe above. By dressing properly, you can be comfortable outside in even the most frigid climates. It’s crucial for your physical and mental health to get plenty of outdoor time during the cold season. The crisp cold air will oxygenate your body and invigorate your mind and sense of well-being. A little sunshine (even through the clouds) helps to keep your biological clock in balance and produce necessary vitamin D for the body. Getting outdoors also helps stave off “cabin fever” from spending too much time indoors!

Practice Yoga. Yoga is the most ancient, time-tested method for keeping the body and mind healthy and balanced. Yoga brings fresh oxygen to your cells, helping keep your energy and spirits up. Yoga also helps improve muscle strength and flexibility. Yoga helps you stay in a peaceful state of mind so that you are happier and less affected by stress.

Source

Relax into Yoga

2009-02-16T00:57:00.000-08:00

I find that relaxing into yoga is one of the most important things that Wai lana has taught me. Being able to relax into it has just helped my life have a complete turn around. I'm able to relax more in so many ways. I am much more relaxed as a person, and the people I live with can testify for this!

Relax into Yoga
Want to make your asana session more enjoyable and more beneficial? Then relax as you practice. Whether you do yoga for exercise, to relieve stress, or both, you'll get more out of it if you relax. Don't stress about how stiff you are; don't strain to get into a pose. Just do your best and enjoy it.

If you're always thinking about where you "should" be, you'll miss what's going on in your body at the moment. But that awareness is the key to practicing asanas correctly. So instead of worrying about how inflexible you are, just notice your tight spots. Watch your breath; notice how it affects your body, and let it help you open and release into the pose. Observe your mind—keep it focused on the pose and the breath. Don't let it bully you into pushing too far. It's best to hold a pose just this side of your limit. As you breathe and relax into the pose, you'll be able to hold it longer and gradually extend your boundaries.

You can even relax in strengthening poses. While contracting certain muscles, relax those that don't need to work. Don't hold unnecessary tension in your face or jaw, in your neck or shoulders. This tension blocks the flow of energy in the body that yoga is designed to enhance. And it's that free-flowing energy that makes you feel good. So relax into yoga and yoga will help you relax.

Wai lana's Weekly Message

Watch your sugar, for baby's sake

2009-02-15T03:34:00.000-08:00

Do your yoga and drink to health with Wai Lana's Juice Book through pregnancy to keep problems like this far away!

Watch your sugar, for baby's sake

When 33-year-old Anita conceived, she was overjoyed. But the joy was tempered when, in the seventh month of pregnancy, diagnostic tests revealed
that she had diabetes. Both her parents were diabetic but this had not prepared her for her own condition.

“When I was carrying, I felt weak and heavy. That is when doctors discovered I had gestational diabetes,” she says.

Anita is hardly unusual. The incidence of gestational diabetes, caused by the hormones produced during pregnancy, has shot up in India from a mere 2% in 1980 to 17% today. This diabetes usually occurs between the 24th and 27th weeks. The pregnancy hormones reduce a woman’s sensitivity to insulin, sending blood sugar levels soaring.

What’s particularly alarming is that babies of affected mothers are more likely to be obese, both as children and adults. They are also more prone to diabetes later in life. The mother is at risk too because 30% of women who get gestational diabetes also develop maturity-onset or Type 2 diabetes seven to 10 years after the pregnancy.

Experts say that the spike in gestational diabetes parallels the recent rise in diabetes cases. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that India may see a rise in diabetes from 135 million cases in 1995 to 300 million in 2025 — a whopping 120% increase.

Asians are already regarded a high-risk group and have 11% more prevalence of gestational diabetes than the rest of the world, say experts. The global average is between 4-8%; in the US, it is 6%.
The rise of gestational diabetes cases in India was confirmed during a diabetes and pregnancy awareness project by Apollo Hospital, Chennai, in 2004.

The four-year project, which screened some 13,000 people in Tamil Nadu, revealed startling statistics, says Dr V Balaji, senior diabetologist at Apollo Hospitals. The results led to mandatory screening for glucose intolerance in pregnant women at all state government centres.

So what happens to a woman with gestational diabetes? Doctors say it affects the mother in late pregnancy. It could strike earlier if a woman has a family history of diabetes, polycystic ovarian disease or obesity. The mother’s increased blood sugar levels are transferred to the baby.

This, in turn, causes the baby’s pancreas, which start working within 11 weeks of conception, to produce extra insulin to get rid of this sugar.

“Insulin, incidentally, is a growth hormone. As the baby starts getting more energy than it needs, this gets stored as fat, leading to an abnormal weight gain, usually over 3.5 kg,” says Dr Ambrish Mithal, president-elect, Endocrine Society of India. “This may require delivery by caesarean section and cause breathing and shoulder problems at birth for the baby.”

Although gestational diabetes is only a temporary phase and it disappears after pregnancy, there is a 65-70% chance of it recurring. Therefore, it is vital for the mother to control her sugar intake and monitor blood sugar levels.

Mithal says gestational diabetes is often treated with insulin and dietary control rather than drugs. If treated in time, no complications ensue. Mithal says that many people don’t know that pregnant women have lower blood sugar levels than those who aren’t.

The baby absorbs nutrition from the mother, causing blood sugar levels to fall. So the pre-diabetic phase in a normal person becomes gestational diabetes in a pregnant woman. Testing is done an hour after fasting in pregnant women as sugar levels are highest at the time. Normally, this would be done two hours after fasting.

One of the important tests to get mean glucose value for the last 90-120 days of pregnancy is the HbA1c test. A woman with an HbA1c level lower than 5.3 does not indicate gestational diabetes, while one above 6 would.

Source

Wai Lana's Supplements, Go Natural!!

2009-02-14T03:30:00.001-08:00

Watch Wai Lana's new supplement ad my, my I had a great laugh over this. It's perfect timing today too!

Happy Valentines day. :) Don't get too heart broken.

Eating Meat Boosts Risk of Prostate Cancer by 40 Percent

2009-02-08T04:24:00.000-08:00

Eating Meat Boosts Risk of Prostate Cancer by 40 Percent

Eating a diet higher in meat and dairy products may significantly boost a man's risk of prostate cancer, researchers have discovered.

"There is a need to identify risk factors for prostate cancer, especially those which can be targeted by therapy and/or lifestyle changes," said lead researcher Andrew Roddam of Oxford University. "Now we know this factor is associated with the disease we can start to examine how diet and lifestyle factors can affect its levels and whether changes could reduce a man's risk."

In a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Roddam and colleagues compiled the results of 12 prior studies on the connection between prostate cancer and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), including a total of 3,700 men with prostate cancer and 5,200 without it.

Prior research has shown a strong relationship between meat and dairy consumption and levels of IGF-1, and strict vegetarians are known to have far lower levels of the hormone circulating in their blood.

In the current study, the researchers divided participants into five groups, based on their blood levels of IGF-1. The average participant age was 62 at the time of testing, and the average age of cancer diagnosis was 67.

Men in the group with the highest IGF-1 levels were 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than men with the lowest levels. Among men who did develop cancer, higher IGF-1 levels were also associated with a significantly greater rate of tumor spread.

These relationships were independent of age, weight, alcohol consumption or smoking status. There did appear to be a stronger relationship between IGF-1 levels and cancer risk among men who developed less aggressive cancers, but the researchers noted that this could be a statistical fluke.

Roddam noted that a diet high in meat and dairy could probably increase IGF-1 levels by as much as 15 percent.

Researchers have suspected for some time that IGF-1 might be linked to the development of prostate cancer, but this is one of the first studies to supply convincing evidence. The hormone plays a critical role in cell growth and death, regulating child growth and development in particular. In adults, researchers have found that it can sometimes inhibit regular programmed cell death, leading to the abnormal cascade of cell reproduction without death that is characteristic of cancer. Laboratory studies have also found that cells grow more quickly when dosed with IGF-1.

Roddam cautioned that IGF-1 levels cannot currently be used as a tool for cancer screening, however, since all 3,700 men who developed cancer still had IGF-1 levels in the normal range. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) test currently used, he said, is much more effective.

Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK greeted the study as a welcome addition to the fight to prevent prostate cancer.

"While there are established risk factors associated with prostate cancer of age, family history, and ethnicity, there are no clear data on modifiable risk factors," Walker said. "Research like this is vital to further the work on prevention and treatment of the disease."

Prostate cancer is the second most lethal cancer among men in both the United States and United Kingdom. An estimated 186,320 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year, leading to approximately 28,660 fatalities annually. It is the most common cancer among men in the United States, which has the highest prostate cancer rates in the world.

Evidence continues to emerge that diet may play a significant role in the development of prostate cancer. A recent study from researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University, published in The Lancet Oncology, for example, found that men who were overweight or obese at the time of prostate cancer diagnosis were significantly more likely to die from the disease than men with normal body weight. Men with higher insulin levels were also more likely to die than men with normal levels. The combination of high insulin and high body mass index led to a fourfold increase in the risk of dying from the disease. These correlations were found to be independent of any other risk factors, including the stage at which cancer was diagnosed.

Many prostate cancers are slow growing and detected so late in life that there is not much point in treating them, while others can be aggressive and highly lethal. It increasingly appears as if diet may play a role in this distinction.

"Roughly about 10 percent of [diagnosed] men will eventually die of the cancer," researcher Jing Ma said. "The crucial question now facing urologists, oncologists and prostate cancer patients is 'what are the risk factors that can predict the bad cancers?'"

Source

Yet another reason to check out and try Wai lana's great tasting healthy recipes

Wai Lana's got some special sales now!

2009-02-03T03:13:00.000-08:00

Noni Shampoo and Conditioner

Noni Shampoo

Our Noni Shampoo nourishes your hair, leaving it clean, shiny, and healthy. It is perfect for all hair types, including normal, dry, oily, and even color-damaged hair.

Ingredients: Herbal Tea Infusion (Infused with Certified Organic and Natural Chamomile and Fern Stem and Leaf), Saponified Coconut Oil, Vegetable Glycerin, Pure Noni, Apple Extract, Botanical Tree Essences (Natural Preservative).
12 fl oz

Noni Conditioner

Made with the finest natural ingredients, our Noni Conditioner is specially formulated to improve the health of your hair, increasing its softness, shine, and body. It is perfect for all hair types, including normal, dry, oily, and even color-damaged hair.

Ingredients: Herbal Tea Infusion (Infused with Certified Organic and Natural Chamomile and Fern Stem and Leaf), Emulsified Coconut Oil (Moisturizer and Emollient), Pure Noni Juice, Apple Extract, Pure Noni Oil, Organic Olive Oil, Botanical Tree Essences (Natural Preservative).
12 fl oz

This sale ends on Feb 11, 2009

Source

Easy Yoga Weight Loss Tips, Part 1

2009-01-31T00:40:00.000-08:00

Easy Yoga Weight Loss Tips, Part 1

Anna Montage, Health and Wellness Editor

Weight loss—sometimes we hear, read, and talk about weight loss so much we just don’t even want to think about it anymore! But, of course, there’s a big reason why this issue “weighs” so heavily on people’s minds. Maintaining a healthy body weight not only helps us to look and feel better, it’s also important for reducing risk for a broad range of diseases.

However, many weight loss programs are difficult to follow over the long term and have a poor success rate. That’s why it’s so important to focus on simple changes to your diet and lifestyle that make it easy and enjoyable for you to maintain a healthy body weight.

The ancient principles of yoga encompass not only hatha yoga exercises, but also include many helpful suggestions for losing excess weight and keeping it off—without a big struggle. Here are a few of the most important yoga weight loss tips:
Try to emphasize whole, natural foods in your diet, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, etc. Simply adding lots of these wonderful foods to your diet will make it that much easier for you to give up the junky stuff. Fruits and veggies fill you up without making you fat, and if you eat them regularly you’ll gradually find yourself reaching for an apple instead of a candy bar when you have the urge to munch. It’s important to realize that taste is a learned thing, and you can train your tongue to crave healthy food.

Focus on the positive—make the effort to eat balanced, nutritious meals. It’s easy when you’re trying to lose weight to become so calorie, carb or fat conscious that you forget about the important stuff—like nutrition! Nutritious meals taste the best and they help you feel satisfied longer. Balanced snacks and meals also ward off the blood sugar swings that can have you running for the nearest soda or snack machine. So instead of thinking about all the foods you “can’t” have, focus on enjoying the delicious, healthy types of meals and snacks that make weight loss almost effortless. (Stay tuned for specific healthy meal and snack ideas in next month’s newsletter…)

A plant-based diet (vegetarian if possible!) is optimal for weight loss. Modern science has proven again and again that the vegetarian diet recommended in the ancient yoga texts really is the best for losing unwanted pounds and staying within your ideal weight range. Why is this the case? Well there are many reasons why a plant-based diet is so conducive for weight loss, but the most important thing is that it works. Unless you eat ice cream and pizza all the time, the vast majority of people find they readily lose weight on a vegetarian diet.

This isn’t exactly an ancient yoga tip, but try weighing yourself every day, at least while you’re actively trying to lose weight. Recent research has shown that daily weigh-ins can help people lose weight and avoid weight gain. Of course, you don’t want to become obsessed with your weight, but as you learn to eat healthfully according to your body’s need for fuel, it’s a good idea to see how your intake matches up with the numbers on the scale. That way you know when you’re on the right track and you can make adjustments as needed if you find you’re going a bit in the wrong direction. One exception to this is if you’re following an unbalanced diet, such as the numerous high-protein diets out there. High-protein diets trigger a substantial amount of water weight loss, so don’t be deceived by the falling numbers on the scale. Slow, steady weight loss is the easiest and healthiest to maintain.

Practice yoga on a regular basis. Yoga has so many weight loss benefits, it’s difficult to list them all. The stretching, toning and breathing exercises of yoga help your body mobilize and burn stored fat. The stress-reduction benefits of yoga help you stay calm and peaceful so that you don’t turn to food in times of stress. Yoga also helps you become more aware of your body, so that you know when and what to eat. Yoga exercises are very important for balancing the hormones and endocrine system, which may be helpful in weight loss and maintenance. The best way to experience all the benefits of yoga is to practice it often! Wai Lana’s yoga videos and DVDs make it easy to make yoga a regular part of your healthy lifestyle.

Wai Lana's Messages

Getting Vegetarian Protein Is Easy

2009-01-30T00:22:00.001-08:00

Getting Vegetarian Protein Is Easy

When shifting to a vegetarian diet, one of the biggest concerns for some people is protein. They may worry when concerned friends ask, “Where are you going to get your protein?” But rest assured, you can always answer, “From everything I eat.” After all, when nearly all plant foods contain some protein, it’s quite simple to go vegetarian with little to no protein planning at all. I have been vegetarian since my teens. My children, now grown and lifelong athletes, have been vegetarian their entire lives, as are their children. All of us are busy, active, and energetic, and none of us has ever been protein-deficient. In fact, a well-rounded plant-based diet gives you not only ample protein, but also superior protein to animal sources.

How Much Protein Do We Eat?

Most North Americans consume more protein than they need. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends about 50 to 60 grams per day for the average adult, yet many people are consuming close to 100 grams a day—nearly double. The reason for this is overconsumption of animal foods—mainly meat, poultry, fish, and eggs—which typically contain 20% to 50% protein. The FDA recommends that only 10% of our calories come from protein.

Studies have linked prolonged protein overconsumption to common modern-day health issues such as arthritis, osteoporosis, and liver and kidney problems—to name a few. These conditions may also be the result of nutritional deficiencies since many high-protein animal foods come in poor nutritional “packages.” In other words, these foods often come hand in hand with unhealthy saturated fats and cholesterol. They also commonly lack fiber and many vitamins, minerals, and other key nutrients. So when we choose such “poor packages” to increase our protein intake, we may inadvertently contribute to a range of health problems, including an increased risk of colon cancer.

How Much Do We Really Need?

Protein is necessary for tissue growth, repair, and maintenance, but how much of it do we really need? Perhaps the greatest indicator of the human body’s protein requirements is human breast milk. Breast milk nurtures the body throughout its most concentrated stage of growth and development—for which protein is essential. Breast milk, however, is only about 7% protein—much less than the 30% comprising many Western diets. As fully grown adults, it’s unlikely that our protein needs would exceed that of an infant who more than doubles his or her body weight in one year.

The US FDA’s recommendation for protein has been cut in half over the past twenty years as scientists continue to debate how much we need. Right now, North American experts recommend 0.8 grams per 1 kilogram of body weight (1 kilogram equals approximately 2.2 pounds). For the average adult, this would translate to about 50 to 60 grams a day, or 10% of our daily caloric intake.

Protein requirements can vary somewhat according to body type, age, level of activity, stress, pregnancy or lactation, injury, or illness, but it is still very easy to meet these requirements with a well-balanced plant-based diet. In fact, it is very difficult to eat well and be deficient in protein. To be deficient in protein, you’d have to be deficient in many, many other nutrients as well.

Which Plant Foods Contain Protein?

All of them. Some plant foods contain just a trace amount while others have an abundance. Protein is comprised of amino acids, eight of which are not created by the human body. These eight “essential” amino acids, therefore, must come from our food, and they can easily be obtained from a wholesome, varied vegetarian diet. Examples include dhal with rice and veggies, nut butter on whole grain bread, muesli or cereal with milk or yogurt, cheese with healthy crackers, and black beans with tortilla and salad. Tempeh, tofu, sprouts, amaranth, quinoa, broccoli, collard greens, and shiitake and oyster mushrooms are also excellent sources, with a range of 10% to 50% protein—well over the 10% recommended by the FDA.

Variety and Nutrition

So now that your protein concerns are gone, focus on choosing foods that offer a good nutritional “package.” Protein is important, but no more important than other key nutrients. Plants are by far the most nutrient-rich foods on earth. In fact, the American Cancer Society’s top 30 foods for cancer prevention are all plants. So take advantage of the wide variety of plant foods available to you and eat different beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Some easy ways to get extra nutrition (and protein) to your diet are to add chickpeas and toasted pumpkin seeds to salads, soy veggie “ground beef” to pasta sauce, tofu or shiitakes to stir-fries, or lentils to hearty vegetable soup. Lightly steamed or sautéed dark leafy greens like collards, chard, spinach, and kale make a great side dish, packed with nutrition and protein, or add them at the last minute to stir-fries or soups. Make barbecue tofu sandwiches, portobello mushroom burgers, or TLTs (tempeh, lettuce, and tomato). Opt for whole grain bread and pasta, which contain about 50% more protein (and other nutrients) than their refined counterparts.

Remember, if you’re eating enough healthy food, you’re eating enough protein. So relax and enjoy your veggies, including this delicious, nutritious soup.

Recipe

Wasabi Green Pea Soup

The peppery flavor of wasabi, or Japanese horseradish, subtly permeates this flavorful pea soup, gently stimulating your metabolism and invigorating your lungs. Light yet sustaining, this protein-rich soup will energize you without making you feel heavy. It’s perfect for weight-watchers—though you wouldn’t know it upon tasting.

Ingredients

Tips/Variations

6 cups water

2 cups chopped parsnip (3-4 parsnips)

Oil spray

1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari

4-1/2 cups frozen peas (defrosted, 20 ounces)*

2 tsp wasabi powder or paste or to taste

1 tsp salt or to taste

*If using frozen fresh peas (not pre-cooked), add them in step 1 along with the parsnip.

Procedure

1. Place the water and parsnip in a 4-quart pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat, spray with cooking oil, and add the tofu cubes. Pan-fry for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most sides are golden. Spray more cooking oil when necessary. Add 2 tablespoons of the Braggs or tamari, stir, and cook for another minute or so until dry. Remove from heat.

3. Remove the soup from the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons Braggs or tamari along with the peas, wasabi, and salt. Allow the peas to blanch until tender.

4. In batches, place the soup in a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, add the tofu, and stir through. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Hands-on prep time: 5-10 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Total time: About 25 minutes

Makes about 8 cups

Wai Lana's Weekly Message

Do Yoga

2009-01-26T05:11:00.001-08:00

Be happy, and be healthy! :)

Wai Lana Yoga

Wai Lana's Eco Spa!

2009-01-24T21:13:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine just sent me this delightful Eco Spa pack as a gift. She knows how much I love Wai Lana's merchandise and everything else. :)

I have yet to try it, but I love the looks and smells of it.

Equestrian Pose

2009-01-24T04:21:00.000-08:00

Equestrian Pose

Part of the Salute to the Sun, this lunge gives you a powerful thigh, groin, and hip stretch while loosening the spine.

1. Come onto your hands and knees with your knees and feet together. Your hands are a few inches in front of your shoulders.

2. Lift your knees and straighten your legs. Balance here a moment. Exhale completely.

3. Inhale and step your left foot forward between your hands. Rest your right knee on the floor.

4. Continue to inhale as you lift your head and shoulders, stretching your neck back. Let your palms come up so just your fingertips rest on the floor. Breathe normally as you hold for 10 to 20 seconds. As you arch upward, feel the stretch in your breastbone. Try to keep your left heel on the floor.

5. Exhale as you straighten your chest and bring it forward.

6. Push down on your palms, lift your hips, and step your left foot back. Repeat on the other side.

Focus in the Pose...
To increase the thigh and groin stretch, sink your weight into your hips while lifting your chest. Try to increase the arch in your upper back.

Benefits...
• Massages the abdominal organs
• Harmonizes the nervous system

Click here to watch the video

Today's Gem of Wisdom

2009-01-23T06:04:00.001-08:00

If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
Chinese proverb

Wai Lana's Gem of Wisdom

Tips to Improve Your Health by Juicing

2009-01-18T01:21:00.000-08:00

Below is a short article about how to improve your health with juicing:

Tips to Improve Your Health by Juicing
When trying to incorporate raw foods into one's diet, juicing is a very effective way to add in large amounts of different raw foods. Many people have a large build-up of mucoid plaque within the intestines because of poor diets. When this happens, the body is severely limited in its ability to absorb necessary nutrients from foods eaten. Juicing will encourage and improve this absorption; and juicing is a very easy way to accomplish this.

Vegetable juicing is preferable over fruit juicing because fruit juice often increases insulin levels. Carrot and beet juices are an exception to this, however, because these vegetables juice similarly to fruit juices.

Another advantage of vegetable juicing is that by juicing the vegetables instead of eating them normally, one can consume many more vegetables than would ordinarily be possible. It is possible to consume one pound of raw vegetables per fifty pounds of body weight when consumed by juicing.

Tips for Optimal Juicing:

- Mix the pulp back into the juice because it is very high in fiber. This fiber will help with elimination and helps promote beneficial bacteria levels within the colon.
- The best juice is fresh juice. The ideal situation is to drink vegetable juice immediately after juicing. If carefully stored, however, vegetable juice can be stored for up to 24 hours with only a moderate nutritional loss.
- To store vegetable juice, pour into a clean, glass jar (opaque if possible) and cover with an airtight lid. Avoid as much airspace as possible in the container because oxygen will oxidize the juice and diminish the nutritional content.
- When consuming stored vegetable juice, allow it to sit at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes prior to drinking.

Source

Be sure to check out Wai Lana's Juice book for the most tasty and healthy juice recipes!

Music of the heart

2009-01-17T03:36:00.000-08:00

Some days, when I'm just feeling really down and sad, I play Wai Lana's Yoga Sound and it just makes me feel so much better. I can testify to the wonders it works on me!

Channel yoga

2009-01-16T05:17:00.001-08:00

Channel yoga

The Arizona Republic
January 2009

If the idea of doing yoga in front of others has you quaking in your stretchy pants, try it in the privacy of your living room with Wai Lana, host of the long-running PBS series Wai Lana Yoga. Turn to Channel 8 (KAET) at 6 a.m. every weekday to learn how to do a sun salutation without anyone watching.

Wai Lana In the Media

Eat your herbs and do yoga, ease menopause

2009-01-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

Hatha yoga does wonders to stabilize the levels of hormones your body produces, so in tricky times like menopause, - for your sake, and for the sake of all the people you love, do your hatha yoga and eat these herbs everyday!

Four Herbs to Ease the Symptoms of Menopause
Menopause can cause a number of mild to severe symptoms such as mood disturbances, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances and hot flashes. Yet many people don`t realize that these symptoms are a result of a physical imbalance. Herbs, along with plenty of exercise and a healthy diet can bring the body into balance and ease the symptoms durng this time of life. Here are 4 herbs that can effectively alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Black Cohosh

Black cohosh grows in Eastern North America. It contains phytochemicals that have been shown to help with menopause. It is believed that Black cohosh may contain phytoestrogens that work very much like natural estrogen. Black cohosh may work directly on the hypothalamus, which is located at the base of the brain and regulates body temperature, hormone production, and other functions associated with menopause.

Black cohosh can relieve symptoms including night sweats, hot flashes, anxiety, and depression. In a recent study, 80% of women taking a black cohosh supplement experienced an improvement in their hot flashes, sweating, and heart palpitations.

Dong Quai

Dong quai, also known as Chinese Angelica, is a Chinese herb and is one of the most well known herbs for treating the symptoms of menopause. Dong quai contains phytoestrogens that bind to the estrogen receptors in our body, increasing the levels of estrogen. Benefits include a reduction in hot flashes, mood swings, anxiety, and vaginal dryness. In clinical studies, women taking dong quai reported a 25% decrease in the severity of their symptoms.

Maca Root

Maca comes from South America, and has been used for centuries to treat menopause and other sexual health complaints. It helps to balance out estrogen and progesterone, as well as other hormones to relieve symptoms and promote optimum health. It is known to be highly effective at reducing hot flashes and vaginal dryness. It can also restore sex drive that was lost during menopause, boost memory and decrease the effects of osteoporosis.

Red Clover

Red clover grows naturally in Europe and Asia. It is well known as a powerful herb for all menopausal symptoms. Red clover is one of the primary sources of phytoestrogens, which are plant estrogens that mimic the female sex hormone. These phytoestrogens help to increase the levels of estrogen in the body, thus relieving menopausal symptoms.

Studies on red clover have verified that it does reduce menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and mood swings. In a recent study in the Netherlands, women taking a red clover reported a 44% decrease in their hot flashes over 8 weeks. Red clover is also believed to fight osteoporosis, and increase the amount of high-density lipoprotein, or "good" cholesterol, in the bloodstream. This has been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease in menopausal women.

Source

Do yoga, warm up

2009-01-13T03:21:00.000-08:00

It's been very cold up here for the past few days. I've been doing extra yoga to try to keep warm and stop myself from eating too much. I've been tempted to just gorge myself, for the most part.

Wai Lana Yoga's TV schedule

I'm just delighted about how the soups I've tried from Wai Lana's new soup book have turned out. There are few things better than a delicious, warming soup when it's so bitterly cold.

Gem of wisdom

2009-01-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
Chinese proverb

Wai Lana's Gem of Wisdom

Ommmm Baby

2009-01-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

Ommmm Baby

Playthings Magazine
April 2006

Yoga's mental and physical benefits are a healthy selling point

New products in the Little Yogis line from Wai Lana (Malibu, Calif.) include the EnviroMat, a chloride-free, biodegradable soft mat for yogis of all sizes (a Little Yogis-themed mat is also available). The Daydream DVD features Wai Lana's naptime cartoon, which utilizes an ancient yoga relaxation technique, Yoga Nidra, to help small children calm down and sleep. The DVD guides kids through meditation activities, as well as entertaining them with animated waterfalls, balloons and dancing butterflies. Exercise kits, a Teacher's Yoga Kit, and a Fun Songs book and CD.

Spiritual sales
For toy retailers, the company offers point-of-sale floor displays for Little Yogi mats, and kits and promotional flyers that list the health benefits of each product. Currently, the products' consumer base includes parents, as well as daycare centers and schools that use the product as part of their fitness and naptime programs.

“The Little Yogis line is a great fit for many retailers—especially toy stores,” says Wai Lana, founder and president of Wai Lana. “The line has fun and exciting activities for children that will help them grow mentally and physically, so parents really appreciate it. Little Yogis is unique, because it has excellent entertainment value, as well as a positive influence on child development. By helping [parents] understand the incredible difference these products can make, it becomes easy for them to pass along that enthusiasm to their customers.”

Lana initially started the company to offer products that help combat obesity, but yoga's relaxation and meditation exercises are also helpful for children with sleep problems, or for calming young children. “With such high rates of childhood obesity, ADD, and ADHD, there is a real need for children to have tools for achieving health, happiness, and balance naturally,” says Lana. “My children practiced yoga as they grew up, and it helped them tremendously. I wanted to make the benefits of yoga available to other children as well. So I created the Little Yogis—a product line that's fun and entertaining while taking children in a positive, healthy direction. The Little Yogis makes these yoga techniques fun and appealing.”

Lana adds that parents should consider yoga to help balance a child physically, mentally, and emotionally. “As children have fun doing yoga asanas (postures), they develop flexibility, coordination, balance, strength, and body awareness. Such qualities help them perform better in sports and make them less prone to injury. Performing yoga asanas also increases their determination and ability to focus. This really gives kids a learning advantage when it comes to schoolwork, music lessons, martial arts, and other pursuits. Yoga also regulates hormones and calms the mind, making its techniques valuable tools when kids feel angry, frustrated, fearful, or stressed.”

“Yoga is great fun for kids,” says Lana. “Children love pretending to be different animals in poses like Lion, Cobra, and Seabird. They get to use their imagination to be windmills, bridges, and boomerangs. I look around and I see children growing up so fast and dealing with all kinds of stress—whether it's because their families are breaking up or they feel peer pressure to act older than they are. Yoga lets them relax and have fun getting familiar with their bodies through movement, balance, and even music. Yoga lets kids be kids.”

Wailana In the Media

Wai Lana Equestrian Pose

2009-01-08T03:55:00.000-08:00

Equestrian Pose

Part of the Salute to the Sun, this lunge gives you a powerful thigh, groin, and hip stretch while loosening the spine.

1. Come onto your hands and knees with your knees and feet together. Your hands are a few inches in front of your shoulders.

2. Lift your knees and straighten your legs. Balance here a moment. Exhale completely.

3. Inhale and step your left foot forward between your hands. Rest your right knee on the floor.

4. Continue to inhale as you lift your head and shoulders, stretching your neck back. Let your palms come up so just your fingertips rest on the floor. Breathe normally as you hold for 10 to 20 seconds. As you arch upward, feel the stretch in your breastbone. Try to keep your left heel on the floor.

5. Exhale as you straighten your chest and bring it forward.

6. Push down on your palms, lift your hips, and step your left foot back. Repeat on the other side.

Focus in the Pose...
To increase the thigh and groin stretch, sink your weight into your hips while lifting your chest. Try to increase the arch in your upper back.

Benefits...
• Massages the abdominal organs
• Harmonizes the nervous system

Wai Lana Yoga- Weekly Yoga Asana

End Neck Pain, Do Yoga

2009-01-06T01:33:00.000-08:00

Just do Yoga. As you can see in the MSN Fitness article below, it's all the same exercises as Wai Lana does. :)
Nothing loosens up my body- not just my neck- my whole body- like Wai Lana Yoga.

End Neck Pain in 3 Moves

Three strength-building sessions per week can reduce neck pain by a whopping 80 percent in less than three months, according to Denmark's National Research Centre for the Working Environment, which studied 42 women ages 36 to 52.

Researchers believe that strength-training—they used the three moves below—may help generate new muscle in place of injured tissue.

For each, keep knees slightly bent. Using 2- to 5-pound dumbbells, do three sets of eight to 12 reps, three times a week on nonconsecutive days.

* Shoulder shrugs: Hold arms at sides, palms facing in. Keeping arms straight, pull shoulders up to ears, pause for a second, and lower.
* Reverse flies: Bend forward so chest faces floor, arms hanging down, palms in. With elbows slightly bent, squeeze shoulder blades and raise arms to sides, parallel to floor; pause, then lower.
* Upright row: Start with palms in front of thighs and facing legs. Bend elbows out to sides, and pull weights up to about collarbone level. Pause, then lower.

MSN