Sometimes a good workout leaves you feeling ravenous, ready to tear into a hearty meal. Other times you may just need a refuel with a chocolate milk or whatever post-workout treat suits your fancy.

Since exercise expends energy, it makes sense that you feel hungry and in need of a refill afterward. But does exercise really boost your appetite - or could it actually make you feel more full? [Read more →]

Women may avoid weight training for fear of “bulking up”. And they may also avoid dairy products for fear of “puffing up”. But new research reveals that women would do well to add a bit of both to their lives. [Read more →]

Are you having problems with runaway stress, anxiety, or depression? Take the Monty Python and the Holy Grail solution: Run away!

What? You can’t run away from your problems? Maybe not, but you sure can run your stress away. And remember: pain may be inevitable, but suffering is optional. So give yourself a better outlook – hit the bricks.

Actually, any kind of exercise will do, though half an hour is apparently more effective than five minutes, and doing it regularly is probably better than doing it sporadically. But the latest additions to the ever-growing mountain of research on the benefits of exercise show that you can “take” exercise like a prescription medication. [Read more →]

Ever tried to recall a fact hidden in your head and said, “Hmmm, I don’t know - could you jog my memory?”

While it’s not exactly like jogging, remembering is an active process. Our brain needs to get a good, firm grasp on new information and stash it in the right spot for future use. And when we want to retrieve a memory, our brain has to track it down so we can actively remember it.

So, what can we do to strengthen this active process? It’s not a muscle like the heart - but can exercise help us to build a better brain? [Read more →]

During yoga class the other night, I heard the tell-tale sounds of cold and flu season - a sniffly-snuffly nose clearing here, a barely concealed cough there, a surprising sneeze interrupting savasana.

Yoga studios can be close, sweaty quarters. Mats are spread on the wood floors only inches apart. An extended-leg pose can find your toes just under the nose of your neighbouring yogini.

You share bathrooms, tightly packed cubby holes, as well as props like blocks, bolsters, blankets, straps, and sometimes eye pillows. Some people even stow their yoga mats on a stacked mountain of mats so they don’t have to carry them back and forth from home to studio.

It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to realize that a yoga class is a potential germ zone. And with H1N1 added into the seasonal cold and flu stew, it was a relief when I received a preventative reminder from my yoga studio the very next morning!

I thought I’d share some tips I gleaned from Breathe Yoga Studio in Toronto:

- Make sure to clean your mat and the floor around your mat after class. Consider all the sweat and bodily fluids that can be dripped or flung onto the floor and you’ll know why this is just the courteous and hygienic thing to do! It’s kind of like wiping down the machines at the gym after you use them.

- You can make your own effective mat cleaning solution by mixing ¼ of a cup of rubbing alcohol with ¾ cup of water and a few drops of your preferred essential oil. Breathe recommends lavender oil, perhaps because it’s soothing. But I’d also try something invigorating, like ginger, peppermint, or lemon, to boost your energy when you’re ready to give up on upward dog.

+ here’s some insight into keeping those sticky mats sticky…

As usual, after all of the physical exertion of the previous 90 minutes, we closed off last night’s yoga class with savasana - also known as “corpse pose”. For those unfamiliar with the pose, savasana is a culminating, resting pose where you lie on your back with your legs out straight in front of you and your hands relaxed and palms-up at your sides. You close your eyes, slow your breathing, and allow all of your physical and mental effort and energy to settle into your body.

Savasana feels different for me depending on the day. Most of the time, I gradually fall into a calm, pleasurable, restful pose after some minor adjustments to my hips or my neck. Other days I struggle to calm myself down or to find a comfortable way to lay there on my back, my body a bag of unhappy bones and nerves.

My savasana serenity has also been interrupted by the rumbling of hunger pangs or a nearby restaurant’s aromas wafting through an open studio window. There have also been moments where I’ve noticed myself slipping toward the edge of sleep - you know, that spot in your consciousness where you start to feel like you’re dreaming but you could twitch out of it at any second? And I know I’ve heard people snoring during savasana, which is a no-no, since you’re supposed to stay awake!

No matter how it goes, savasana always manages to clue me in to my current state of mind. Last night’s savasana was a doozy. One of the best ever. I found myself effortlessly sinking into a still, serene, supine pose with waves and waves of good, positive energy flowing inside of me. Afterwards, as I talked to a friend about it, I recalled a quote I read on YogaJournal.com:

via YJ: “You lie there and look dead, but as you relax and sink into the feeling of the very alive energy that is being you, it literally feels like you come to life again.”

That’s what I felt like - fully restful yet humming with new energy. I’ve often wondered what savasana feels like for other people. Any yoginis out there want to share their experience of savasana? I’d love to know what you feel when you’re in the pose of the dead?  Do you just lie there distracted by your to-do list? Or do you feel like you’re about to be reborn? Share your savasana stories in the comments below!