Check out our Diet Reviews on AOL Health!

posture-related stories

Yoga Benefits

Fitness

Good news for yogis -- when you exercise, you not only get to feel great and wear cool clothes, you're also getting some great health benefits. Regular yoga practice can improve muscle strength, flexibility and balance. Yoga benefits also include stress relief.

According to one study, yoga participants had a 35 percent increase in flexibility after eight weeks of yoga. Asanas (yoga postures) such as downward dog and plank can help build upper-body strength while the Tree pose helps with balance.

Yoga practitioners say that twists can be detoxifying. Savasana is a relaxation-focused meditative pose. Studies have shown that yoga can reduce anxiety and depression.

Yoga's focus on mindful breathing can lead to increased lung capacity. Another benefit is the prevention of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and slowing the heart rate. Yoga can even relieve chronic conditions such as back pain. Devotees report better posture.

Yoga has so many positive impacts on your health the only question is -- why aren't you doing it yet?

More Yoga Terms Defined from That's Fit:
Ashtana Yoga

Kundalini Yoga

Hatha Yoga

Power Yoga
Prenatal Yoga
Vinyasa Yoga

Inversion Tables

Fitness, Alternative & Green Health

An inversion table is an apparatus that you lie down on so that you can hang upside down or at an inverted angle. Inversion therapy is a form of stretching said to help relieve back pain and stress, improve posture, strengthen the core and ligaments and increase circulation. Practitioners say that gravity's pull decompresses the joints and puts the spine in alignment, relieving pressure on the discs and nerves. Some say that by using an inversion table, they can relieve the pressure of tight muscles in a way that can't be achieved by simply lying on the back. Enthusiasts also like that the table stimulates circulation, giving them the opposite flow of blood that they would have when standing up.

Inversion therapy is a controversial practice. Many doctors believe that hanging upside down can only provide temporary back pain relief and that the possible side effects (headaches, bleeding into the retina, and worsening back pain) are not worth the risk.

An inversion table will cost you between $100-$2000. You might be able to find one in your local gym or yoga studio.

Skinny Jeans Workout

Fitness

heidi klum
We can't all have Heidi Klum's genes, but we can look just as good in our skinny jeans! Photo: Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images
Skinny jeans might be popular, but for many, they bring with them an unpopular side effect -- some extra pudge coming up over the top of those jeans.

A new workout is designed to change all that. The Skinny Jeans Workout, according to CNN, "concentrates on core muscles, balance and posture. A cross between ballet, butt-burning stretches and light weight lifting, the workout involves the entire body." Basically, everything that goes into the jeans (booty, thighs) or affects how you fit in the jeans (abs, back, shoulders) is worked, and those who attend the class regularly swear by it.

Class instructor Tracy Cherpeski Bannister told CNN, "In addition to sort of holding it in, we're also lifting and lengthening and, as we do that, we sort of set our shoulders into place." Hey, good posture makes everybody look 10 pounds slimmer, so it only makes sense that working on muscles that help posture would get you into some smaller, skinnier jeans.

Working core muscles and posture is a great way to combat the effects of rounding ones shoulders while driving or, ahem, hunching over a computer keyboard all day, even if you're not trying to fit into skinny jeans. Does your gym offer the Skinny Jeans Workout?

Cardio Workouts, Metabolife and Jemma Arterton - Week in Review - February 16 to February 22

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment

week in reviewCould you give up your cardio routine and still be fit? There are trainers who think cardio is totally unnecessary. Jacki's not giving up her cardio routine, though. Would you?

Easy button alert: Jonny's got the most effective weight loss tool ever ... and it's totally free.

Cutting calories isn't hard, says Fitz. Here are a few techniques for cutting 100 calories out of your diet.

Outdoor workouts never looked so fun -- or painful. "The Biggest Loser" contestants take their workouts outside and end up in a mud-wrestling match.

They say you can lose five pounds just by standing up straight. So check out these four exercises to improve your posture.

Metabolife mastermind Michael J. Ellis is released from prison, just as his book hits the shelves.

In Hollywood, a healthy body gets criticized for being fat. But Bond girl Jemma Arterton refuses to go the Hollywood super-skinny route.

Barbie's puts on weight in a new ad for Active Life. But we wonder: Is shame a healthy way to get people to exercise?

Once a sprinter always a sprinter? Jean Hirst, 72 and a former sprinter, chases down three teen girls who steal her purse, despite not having run a race in 50 years.

Kill your cravings with celery juice? Kristen says it just might work, but you'll have to choke down a glass of celery juice to find out. Has anyone ever tried this? Does it work?

Have a great week, everyone!

Posture - 4 Moves to Stop the Slouch

Fitness

woman doing yogaDo you have a desk job? If so, like me, you've probably found that if you do the keyboard hunch all day long, your shoulders and neck begin to ache eventually. Maintaining proper posture can help you avoid neck, shoulder and back pain. In addition, standing straight and tall helps you look more confident and put together ... some even say it makes you look thinner. Sounds good to me!

"Women's Health" has four exercises to improve your posture:

  • The X. This Pilates move will engage your abs while lifting and lengthening your upper body.
  • Port de Bras. Ballet dancers have impeccable posture; their art demands it. This ballet move focuses on form and forces you to use your abs to maintain posture.
  • Extended Side Angle Pose. This yoga move requires balance and helps lengthen your spine.
  • Kneeling Roll. This Alexander Technique moves has you keep good posture while using a Swiss ball to strengthen your back.

For more posture tips, check out this video.

Source

Posture - Change It and Change Your Life

Fitness

Poor posture can drag down your energy, emotions and self esteem. Yoga expert Stacy McCarthy provides simple instructions in this video for relieving pain, removing strain and boosting your confidence.

For yoga tips, innovative training videos and cooking demos from a welllness chef, visit SportsHealthExercise.org.

Source

Relax Your Shoulders Before Bed

Daily Fit Tip

Hunched over at a desk all day? Here's a quick and easy way to undo hours of bad posture.

Source

Katy Perry Wants You To Suck in Your Belly

Celebs & Entertainment

Ladies, I Kissed A Girl singer Katy Perry thinks you should suck it up -- your belly, that is. Holding in your Buddha belly will help you attract boys, she says. "I'm really critical of my posture, it makes a big difference," said the pop star to reporters recently, adding, "I try to suck my belly in. Everyone should do that whether you're on a red carpet or not. Even if you're just going out to dinner with your boyfriend you should try and suck it in."

The advice will come in handy -- Katy is on the market again after breaking up with her boyfriend recently.

Maintaining good posture is a quick way to look 10 pounds thinner -- but is sucking in your stomach at all times realistic? Or, more importantly, comfortable?

Wacky weight loss tricks(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Some ideas 4 youBlue by youMirror imageMinty fresh weight lossDress for success

Source

Light Lifting - Increase Your Metabolism, Improve Posture, and Lose Weight

Fitness

It doesn't take major strength training of bodybuilding proportions to benefit the body. Nope, a little light lifting can work wonders for a body in need of a little revamping.

Lifting light free weights -- think two to four pounds for starters -- not only adds variety to a stale workout routine, it also can increase your metabolism, improve your posture, and help you lose weight. Another bonus: Free weights are less expensive and more versatile than weight machines. They also work the body in ways machines can't by forcing you to focus on balance and core strength.

Ready to try some light lifting? Take a peek at these exercises, which focus on the shoulder and back muscles but also engage all sorts of other areas. Give them a try, and you'll see what I mean. Keep this in mind as you get started: Position and precision of motion are more important than how many pounds you lift.

Source

Walk Properly to Create a Better Workout

Fitness

trail walkingIf you don't have proper form when you walk for fitness, you may be missing out on some of the benefits -- you may even be setting yourself up for injury. Los Angeles-based fitness professional Lalo Fuentes has identified some common problems people have with walking form:

  • Easy gliders. Some people walk with a very relaxed/cool stride; They tend to bring their legs forward and their heels touch the ground first. This type of walk can put the body off-balance and doesn't work the hamstrings and glutes as much as it should. If this sounds like you, then straighten up -- imagine a string being pulled upward from your head -- your stride will improve and so will the effects of your walking workout.
  • Tippy toes. Many people who are into sports are used to being light on their feet. This can lead to a walking stride where the middle of the feet hit the ground first and heels immediately rise, leaving the person practically on tip-toe. The calf muscles are getting a great workout, but the hamstrings are virtually ignored. When walking, you should strike the ground first with your heel and then roll through from heel to toe.

When you have proper walking form, your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and obliques will get a better workout. In addition, you'll have better posture -- and, remember, posture has a big impact on your appearance. See AOL Health for more tips on walking workouts.

Source

Boost Your Beauty With These Foods

Nutrition & Supplements

You know good nutrition leads to better health. But did you know it can lead to a more beautiful you?

Source

Fit Gadgets - iPosture

iPostureThe first rule of looking slim is to stand up straight -- good posture can take 10 visual pounds off your frame, easily. So, it's no surprise that someone has come out with a gadget to help you maintain better posture. Allow me to introduce you to the iPosture.

This handy dandy gadget is small -- the size of a necklace pendant (and can actually be worn as one, although, as your fit fashion consultant, I have to dissuade you from doing so) -- and alerts the user with small, short vibrations when he or she begins to slouch. You're allowed three degrees of deviation from your chosen posture -- if you slouch more than that for longer than a minute, it lets you know.

According to the website, there are a multitude of reasons you should be trying to improve your posture, including:

Source

Simple stretches for perfect posture

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation

Poor posture not only causes you to look 10 pounds heavier and feel less confident ... it also hurts! Check out this video from Stacy McCarthy, the yoga expert from She's Active Health Network. Stacy offers up a few simple stretches you can do anywhere at anytime to get you standing as tall as you should.


For more fun, quick, tips and recipes from degreed experts ...

Source

The secret to strong abs: Standing up straight

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness

My grandma always told me to stand up straight. Good posture was important to her -- her rounded back made her crazy, and she never wanted me to face the same predicament. She never mentioned that good posture could strengthen my abs. Had she done that, I would have straightened up long ago.

One of the easiest ways to strengthen your abdominal muscles and support your back is through good posture. Think you've already mastered standing up straight? Probably not -- most of us feel like we're lined up properly but really, we aren't. Time for some practice. Try these five RealAge steps for perfect posture -- and a tighter tummy.

  • Pull your shoulder blades back slightly toward each other and down away from your ears.
  • Lift your chest up and out.
  • Pull your head back just enough to keep it in line with your spine.
  • Position your pelvis or hips to create or maintain a natural arch in your lower back.
  • Pull your belly button in toward your spine without changing or tilting your hips or losing the arch in your lower back.

As you may have guessed, standing up straight isn't all you need to do for strong abs -- wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy, though? Nope, you've got to work a little harder at fitness than that. But standing up straight sure is a great start.

Source

5 more tips to slim your stomach

Diet & Weight Loss

Last week, I told you five food tweaks that can make your Buddha belly less ... um .... Buddha-ish. But if changing what you eat isn't your thing, Prevention Magazine recently revealed another five tips -- no diet changes necessary. Here they are:

  • Stand -- and sit -- up straight. Good posture instantly slims your whole body, but especially your ab area.
  • Imagine there's a magnet behind your belly button drawing it to your spine. It's an old Pilates trick that works wonders. Do this often.
  • Sit like royalty. Allow your spine to curve naturally and hold your shoulders back.
  • Become a cardio queen ... or king. It's effective in burning stubborn fat.
  • Clean your house. Seriously. Vacuuming, sweeping and scrubbing uses your core muscles.

Source

Featured Writers
Bob GreeneReggie Casagrande
Bob Greene
Jonny BowdenJohn GanonJonny Bowden

Tanya ZuckerbrotFadil BerishaTanya Zuckerbrot
Liz Neporent Liz Neporent