Free Yoga Classes
How To Clean Your Yoga Mat
Yoga mats don’t need daily cleaning, but a weekly wipe-down will help reduce odor and bacteria. If you increase the frequency of your workouts, wash your mat more often.
Spray the mat with a mixture of about 2 cups warm water and a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid.
Wipe the mat down with a clean, wet sponge or soft cloth. Repeat if any soap remains.
Lay a dry towel on the mat. Roll them together to squeeze water out. Hang the mat over a shower rod or clothes drying rack, to dry.
GO WALKING
A 30 minute brisk walk helps lift your mood and it’s cost-free! Fresh air does wonders for improving alertness. Japanese scientists studying Shinrin Yoku (translated as “forest bathing”) have found evidence that a simple trip to greener pastures boosts blood flow to the brain, improves mental state, thwarts fatigue and lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol. But some believe it comes from smelling the essential oils in the trees, called phytoncides.
What do you think? How often do you go for walks? LOLA would love to know about you!
Read in DailyWorth: http://www.
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Go Biking Go Hiking Go Walking
Hit the trails set up by the Train to Trails Conservancy! They have been setting up a network of beautiful trails from former repurposed rail lines. Wasted spaces turned into healthy places everyone can enjoy and for free sounds good to me!
Minnie Driver has partnered up with Claritin in support of Train To Trails Conservancy, to encourage people like her who suffer from allergies, to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors, no matter where you live.
To find a trail near you or/and get the trails app:http://www.traillink.com
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Ride a bike whenever you can.
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Exercise is known to combat anxiety, but scientists have long been puzzled by what that’s so. Physical activity creates excitable new neurons in the hippocampus–a part of the brain that regulates emotion, thinking, and memory–and in theory, having more of these neurons should make people more anxious. But when Princeton researchers compared the neurons grown in the brains of mice that regularly ran on a wheel with those in sedentary mice, they found that the active mice gained more of a particular type of neuron that releases the neurotransmitter GABA, which keeps other young neurons from becoming overactive. When both groups of mice were exposed to stress–in the form of a cold bath–their excitable neurons lit up as expected. But unlike the sedentary mice, the fit mice also released a large amount of GABA, which quickly quelled their anxiety. Researchers think routine exercise changes human brains similarly, helping us relax in the face of stress.
Read more in this NYTimes article, here and at Your Brain at Work.
photo by Cheyenne Ellis.