Hello, Friends! Welcome to the February 2020 Newsletter!

There’s a WHOLE lotta love in the air this month, but how much love do you show yourself throughout the year? This month we’re going to teach you tips on self-care in spite of busy work and life schedules.

1. Make an appointment with your body. Schedule it into your day when it’s most convenient for you but treat it like a work meeting.

2.Take a group fitness class. Working out with other people is more motivational bc everyone else is probably just as tired as you are. Plus it can help boost your social life!

3.Change it up: we fall off the exercise bandwagon when we lose interest, so mixing it up can be incredibly motivational and inspiirng

4..A little is better than none - it doesn’t have to be a one hour class. Even ten minutes of cardio a day, 15 min of yoga before bedtime, can make it more manageable.

5.Use your weekends: make your exercises more social, whether it’s doing a fun activity with your kids, working out with your friends and family, or going on a hike or walk. Use that time you have off from work to your advantage and it can also build healthy relationships.

All it really means is taking care of yourself so you don’t fall apart under the pressures and stresses of life. Here are some advantages to performing self-care

1.Avoid burnout

2.Decrease stress: both at home and work

3.Learn to prioritize importance of tasks for the day

4.Recognize your job isn’t your identity. Who you are when all your titles are stripped is what defines you. Jobs change, but your character is how people remember you.

5.Value what’s most important in life - your mental and physical health.

6.Avoids depression: you find ways to take care of yourself spiritually, emotionally and mentally on the inside when the outside world is chaotic and things aren’t going your way

7.Cultivate the relationships that matter the most in life - the ones with your family, the people who have been in your life long before you ever had a job, and will be there for you long after you stop working.

8.Improve productivity at work and home: you learn to control your breathing in stressful situations and remember that all problems can be solved with a calm and clear head.

You can have muscles that are tight and strong, but more often than not, your muscles are tight because they are compensating for another group of muscles that are weak. Muscles never act alone, they function as a force couple system with other muscles. So when a muscle is tight, you have to examine the strength of all the muscles it works with to see which muscle isn’t doing its job.

Take, for example, your hamstrings. No matter how much or how often you stretch them, they never seem to loosen up as much as you want. But if you look closer, tight hamstrings are actually a compensation for weak glutes! So if your glutes aren’t doing their job, another muscle has to pick up that role to lend that extra stability around your pelvis. Hence, the hamstrings! Once you start STRENGTHENING the glutes, the hamstring tightness will start to loosen up as well. If you’re unsure of how to address any of your tight muscles, give us a call so we can assess your imbalances.

Warrior I pose is in line with our red chakra, that of our root and spine. Since February is symbolized by the color red, just like your root chakra, the Warrior I pose will make you feel rooted and grounded to yourself while also providing a sense of inner strength and empowerment. Here are some tips to get into the pose:

1.Start in a high lunge position with your stronger leg in front, back leg behind you about 3-5 feet.

2.Back leg stays straight while front knee is bent in line with your ankle at a 90deg angle so that it doesn’t go past your toes.

3.Sit deep (maintaining the knee position) and sweep your arms up overhead. If comfortable, look up.

4. Keep your belly button tucked in while keeping your hips squared to the front of the mat

5.Hold for several breaths, then switch sides.