spreaders in no matter what...

If you have yet to try out the Joy-A-Toes toe spreaders, there is no better time than the present. At home I wear my spreaders around the house, while I make dinner, fold laundry, check emails etc... I love the spreaders so much that occasionally I will even put my socks over them and wear them to sleep (hahaha). They are great to practice yoga in, although sometimes they are a bit distracting because they come out of place, my favorite place to wear them is simply around the house. You can buy them at Downward Dog Yoga, get them in small to start, unless your feet are freakishly big.

The spreaders help widen the feet, which is key because most shoes that are worn these days have a 'toe crunching effect' meaning they squeeze the feet more than they encourage spreading. The spreaders allow total toe spreading and they encourage the natural arches of the feet to engage and strengthen. There are little exercises you can do with the spreaders as well to activate the smaller muscles in the feet.

1. Put in the spreaders and begin to squeeze the toes towards each other to activate the tiny muscles both in between the toes and around the metatarsal joints. Repeat this 10 times or more, each time squeezing the toes a bit tighter together.
2. Put the spreaders in and come to standing with the feet together so the big toes are touching and the heels are together. Then begin to rise up onto the balls of the feet (metatarsal joints). As you lift the heels keep the heels together so the ankles don't buckle out to the sides. Keep spreading the toes and keep grounding the tips of the toes into the ground. This one can be tough at first, but it really starts to awaken all the tiny muscles.
3. Put in the spreaders and lie on your back with your legs up in the air so you can see your feet. Then begin to point and flex the feet, as you point the feet squeeze the toes towards each other, as you flex the feet try to spread them as much as possible, then reverse! 

These are just a couple exercises you can do with your spreaders to begin to wake up the feet. I have been wearing mine all the time even in Mexico, some people think I'm crazy but thats ok! I have yet to break them out on the beach, I would hate to lose one in the ocean! Good thing they float hahaha. Last summer Diane Bruni was wearing them at the cottage during her epic 4 hr yoga practice, after yoga she decided to go for a dip in the lake, jumped in and next thing we knew spreaders were floating to the top. And thats how we found out that indeed spreaders float.

xoxo kby

favorite pose of the week! Drop Backs

hello from Mexico,

I have been working on dropping back into wheel for some time now, but for some reason I have been too scared to try it completely alone. I usually ask for an assist when in mysore class, which is amazing because the mysore teachers give fantastic adjustments! Even if you can do it alone, sometimes a good adjustment makes it feel even better. If you have never had David G drop you back into wheel, its worth the trip to his class, its awesome!  http://davidgyoga.com/

Its much easier on the beach because there is a slight slope, which means your hands end up a couple inches higher than your feet, and its nice and soft. The beach takes away the fear of landing on a hard surface, which is sometimes all you need. The first steps to take are working on backbends and full wheel all the time. David G taught me a little trick in one of his backbending workshops called full wheel pushups. You set yourself up for wheel but you place 2 blocks in the places where you hands will go (approx. beside your ears).

Here is how you do the full wheel pushups...

• You set yourself up as usual and place your hands on the blocks, transition to the crown of the head, re-loop your shoulders so there is lots of space around your neck and ears and from here you push into the hands and feet and lift right up. 
• Its good to do 4-5 pushups, bend the elbows and lower briefly to the crown of the head, draw the inner elbows in so the don't splay out to the sides, at the same time loop the shoulders and draw them down the back again. 
• When you press up into wheel, press into the feet a bit more to press the chest toward the back of your mat, this starts to open up the upper back big time which is important for dropping back.

Thats how you get started, this exercise helped me a lot! Once you have mastered simpler backbends then dropping back is  really fun and accessible. Another trick that helped me a lot was dropping back onto some stairs. This way you don't have as far to go, which makes it a bit easier to get back up.

Give it a try, let me know how it works...

<3 <3 kby

breakfast in mexico!

Airplane Food?.........such a nay!

King of Foods: Marine Phytoplankton

The blue whale is not only among the largest animals in the world, it is often called the king of the seas. These are two facts that are not hard to believe, just looking at this creature, you can tell it rules the ocean. The tidbit of information that is surprising to many people is the fact that the blue whale consumes all of two unique foods, marine phytoplankton and some species of krill (which consumes primarily marine phytoplankton). It is amazing to think that an animal of such gigantic size and power can survive on a primary diet of this amazing super food.

Phytoplankton not only contains all the essential minerals, it also contains all of the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein (similar to that of meat). Although you only consume a small amount of phytoplankton, the protein count is not huge, but it is completely bioavailable and digestible. There is no question of whether or not the protein from phytoplankton is easily absorbed and assimilated. This means that you can consume less of it but still enjoy the benefits of easily digested protein.

Aside from protein and all essential and trace minerals, phytoplankton contains the essential fatty acids, rare anti-oxidants, enzymes, electrolytes and much more. Phytoplankton is alkalinizing in the body and it assists the body in transporting more oxygen, which is important for regeneration and healing. 

Phytoplankton is a raw food, and therefore should not be heated or cooked with. It doesn't taste absolutely amazing, but when mixed with a bit of juice it blends right in. Oceans Alive makes a good phytoplankton product, but there are other good companies out there, I would recommend getting it in dropper form. A serving size is about 10-15 drops, which doesn't seem like much, but remember it is 100% pure nutrition. Lately I have been putting a few drops in my raw cacao smoothies, but if thats not your thing, put 15 drops in your pomegranate juice (or whatever it is that you usually have). 

Phytoplankton is safe to give kids, a know a family of very health conscious eaters who routinely give some to their three year old, and he loves it! It is fairly non-offensive and it's taste is easier to hide than say spirulina powder.  Sometimes I might even put a few drops in my salad dressing or guacamole!

Try it out, hope you love it as much as I do, at the very least you body will love you!

xoxo kby

Favorite pose of the week! Scorpion

hey everyone,

A pose that I have been working on a lot these days is scorpion pose in handstand. Check out the video and then we will talk business...

If you have decided that after this seemingly effortless display of yogic brilliance (hahaha) you want to try this pose, but maybe haven't mastered the handstand part yet, here are a few tips.

• Try to hold downward dog pose for 7-10min. A good friend once told me that if you could hold downward dog pose for 7-10min. you are ready to go upside down. After hearing this, I immediately tried to time myself and although I am extremely comfortable in a handstand, the exercise was super challenging. Take out the stop watch and give it a try.
• One of my teachers Ron Reid has been saying for years, once you can hold handstand at the wall for 20-30 breaths, you might be ready to go into the middle of the room. Holding handstand at the wall is a great way to build up strength and get comfortable going upside down. Just kick up, get a friend to spot you, and try to take as many breaths as you can. If you feel pressure building in your face come down and rest in child's pose for a few breaths. Going slow at first can be a good thing with these new and challenging poses.
• Do some quad stretches and lunges. Lunges begin to open up the front of the thighs which are tight in most people. When the front of the thighs begin to soften and release (I'm secretly still waiting for this to happen haha) backbends become easy and effortless, that is if you are integrated through the core, arms and legs. Make sure you lunge on both sides and then try to sit in virasana if it is comfortable on the knees. This will begin to open up the legs and the front of the pelvis, which are tight spots, especially if you sit in a chair for long periods of time.

Those are some tips for getting into scorpion. It has taken me a couple years of practice to get this far and I continue to practice almost every day. It probably won't happen over night (however if it does, you better credit my blog!!!) so take it slow and ease into it. Going upside down can be very therapeutic, but can also begin to stir the internal pot at the beginning. Let me know how it goes!

xo

kby