Bending backward is not just about the spine — you must use your arms and legs to support it. As you practice this pose, remember to point your tailbone down toward your heels to keep your lower back safe. A common mistake is to squeeze your buttocks forward, which pinches your lower back.
Kneel on a padded level surface with a yoga block positioned near the outside of each foot. Place your hands on your waist. Draw your tailbone down, and lift your chest and rib cage up.
Inhale as you arch up and back, placing your hands on the yoga blocks. Be sure to maintain the lift of your chest as you draw your tailbone down and deepen your back arch. Stay in this pose for six breaths. Your breathing should remain normal and comfortable. By Karen Voight
Voight is the creator of a line of fitness DVDs, including “Full Body Stretch” and “Ballet BodySculpt.”
Daily Archives: February 3, 2012
New Vaccine Recommendations for Boys and Diabetics
Federal health experts are now recommending that all boys be routinely vaccinated against human papillomavirus, or HPV.
The vaccine already has been recommended for girls and young women since 2006 largely to prevent cervical cancer. But health authorities never expressly encouraged the vaccine for young boys, saying only that they “could” receive it to protect against genital warts and certain cancers and to help prevent the spread of HPV. Continue reading
Recent Study Shows Molecular Benefits of Massage Therapy Following Exercise (Video)
Do you actually need anymore reasons to book a massage appointment?
A new study published in Science Translational Medicine found that a short, 10-minute Swedish-style massage session can reduce inflammation, which can help your muscles recover after a hard workout.
“What massage seems to do is … it reduces the inflammatory response as a function of the damage you incurred while you’re exercising,” explained one of the study’s authors Simon Melov, a molecular biologist at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Continue reading
Author of “The Complete Guide to Happiness for Gay Men…” Dead from Suicide
WAKE UP CALL
This hits the nail on the head and drives home the very reason why this site spawned, mental health issues hiding behind the mask of a beautiful body. Dying young and beautiful because of a hidden mental illness is unacceptable. The stigma and shame that is attached to mental illnesses overrides the education and knowledge of those knee deep in the illness themselves. “Bob Bergeron, a handsome, successful, intelligent, well-liked, physically fit gay New Yorker committed suicide recently. Ironically, and sadly, the psychotherapist was about to publish The Right Side of Forty: The Complete Guide to Happiness for Gay Men at Midlife and Beyond.”
“Colleague and associate Christopher Murray eulogizes Bob in a provocative article that touches on the complexity of why people commit suicide and why (in particular) gay men who might appear to be doing well may not be, not really. Check it out here.” (boyculture)
Inside First 