Why Barefoot Yoga?

Barefoot Fitness, Yoga and More is an in-home yoga studio which offers several services. We specialize in yoga instruction - group and private, as well as personal traning. BFF Yoga is a small class setting inclusive to all types of bodies and fitness levels. While we encourage everyone to work at their own level and to listen to their own body, we gaurantee you will get a good workout and leave feeling more confident and refreshed.

Change is a comin'

As we near the 1-year anniversary of Barefoot Fitness, Yoga and More, I have begun to evaluate everything is consists of and am always looking for ways to enhance how we can continue to inspire you to yoga, fitness, and wellness. With that, the blog address has changed to a more encompassing name. This will help all of those involved with BFF Yoga to feel more included. This also takes the focus off of "me" and onto "you," the participants and believers in our journey. Namaste, Emily, your teacher

It's cold but we still need to drink our water

How many times a day do we feel our energy falling and reach for food when we are actually in need of water? How often do we spend time and money on medical treatment for conditions that could have been prevented or alleviated through proper hydration? For many of us, too many times. Staying properly hydrated is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to stay in good health. Unfortunately our sense of thirst, especially as we age, can be a poor indicator of our needs for fluids. Experts say that we are often dehydrated before we feel thirsty. However, we can start to develop good hydration habits so that we are functioning at our best.

Benefits of Drinking Water
The body is 60-70% water and adequate water intake helps to provide the following benefits:
- Flushes out wastes, transports nutrients, regulates body
temperature, maintains acid-alkaline balance and support chemical processes.
- Keeps skin moist, energy levels up and alleviates some headaches.
- Keeping well hydrated often helps to regulate appetite.
- People often mistake thirst and hunger, and eat when their bodies are actually craving fluid.

While becoming severely and acutely dehydrated can have dire consequences, studies have shown that a low level of chronic dehydration can also have negative effects. Having an adequate fluid intake can help avoid the potential effects of chronic low level dehydration listed below:
- Increased risk of developing urinary tract infections, kidney
stones and constipation (and its potential effects, including hemorrhoids and diverticulosis).
- Increased risk of bladder, breast and colon cancer.
- Mitral Valve Prolapse, with the symptoms of MVP actually
being a sign of low blood volume.
- An increase in fluid retention, as the body tries to hold on to
water for survival purposes as hydration levels decrease.
- An array of maladies can be caused or exacerbated by
chronic dehydration including heartburn and ulcers, fatigue, diabetes, depression, allergies, asthma, rheumatoid pain, back pain, heart pain, headaches, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and leg pain according to the physician F. Batmanghlidj who authored Your Body's Many Cries for Water.
- Other symptoms of dehydration include weakness, loss of
energy, muscle cramps and dizziness.
- Women going into premature labor are often given IV fluids,
and find the labor stopping as they hydrate. Some sources cite dehydration as a contributor to morning sickness also.

How much water do you need?

Various sources including the Mayo Clinic Women’s Health Source, say that you should aim for ½ oz. of water per pound of body weight. So for example, if you weigh 120 lbs., you would be drinking 60 oz. of water, or 7.5 cups of water per day. A 200 lb. person would require 12.5 cups daily. Andrew Weil, M.D., suggests less may be sufficient if the urine is light in color. Note that mouth breathers tend to tend more fluids as they tend to become dehydrated more easily.
by Marianne Woods Cirone, M.S., R.Y.T., Certified Yoga Teacher


Let's get to driking our water RIGHT NOW! Namaste, Emily

The holiday parties begin

Assuming your schedule looks like mine, the weekends and even some weekdays are starting to fill up with holiday parties. Sometimes we even have to pick between which parties we can attend. It's a wonderful time of year to socialize, catch-up and embrace the holiday spirit. It also can become a very stressful time. Yoga is a lifestyle that can continue "off of our mats." Remembering our deep yoga breath is the best tool we have to cope with the holiday season. Take time to relax. Remember to keep up with your yoga practice. While we celebrate and bend over backwards for others (no yoga pun!), how about we also remember to listen to our own body? A season for giving, and also to our own health. Namaste, Emily

And the holiday season begins

So, let's take a look at our first upcoming holiday - Thanksgiving! A time to feast. A time we come together to share memories, exchange stories, see those that we may not see often enough, and again, EAT! This season let's eat mindfully. Let's think "Do I really need another serving?" Let's remember those that may not have enough to eat. Let's share and begin a season of giving, rather than receiving. I invite you to begin new traditions that inspire health and wellness among your family and friends. Consider a walk after Thanksgiving dinner, rather than a snooze. This is REALLY what your body wants. Our yoga twists are also amazing at aiding in digestion. This year let's listen to our body and honestly assess what we need and not what we want. Namaste, Emily

Recession-Proof Your Mood

Is the Dow getting you down? Elections have you campaigning for better news? Renee Nasajon, Psy.D. and creator of FLOW, has some inspiring (and economical) tips to get us through these rough and tumble times.

Time: Remember that things are not static. Hardship is always followed by prosperity. In times like these, try to "go with the flow" -- cut down expenses, prioritize, and appreciate what you still have until the storm is gone.

Let your warrior kill your worrier. Worrying about the future only drains us of the energy we need to build our future. Instead, fully focus on your present: do what you need to do today to ensure a better tomorrow.

Hope. Instead of doubting life, we need to give it some credit. We all have a lesson to learn behind every pain we suffer. If you believe in a "Higher Power," this is the time to put faith above fear. If things were always well, how else would we strengthen our faith? And if your faith is in your own power, this is an opportunity to put it to work.

Namaste, Emily

Running and Yoga

So, it seems like a lot of folks in class these days are runners and doing yoga. And they understand how the two mesh together; they "get it." But then I have others I have talked to here and there and they need an extra push to truly understand why they need to do yoga in addition to their running. I found a great article by a man in the Twin Cities that explains for us his experience:
"Twenty minutes into my first hour–long yoga class and I found myself looking at the clock, wondering when it would end. I was dying. My legs, butt and lower back were quaking. We weren't sitting around humming by candlelight; this was an active, fast–moving session. I could almost do those splits in high school and the first few years of college, but that was when I was running daily and stretching a lot. Now things are different. After a few injuries (the most serious from a frisky game of ultimate frisbee without any warm–up whatsoever), too many years of office jobs, and the inevitable aging process, I've tightened up. As I witness some of my elders doing the same, getting back injuries, and losing range of motion, I decided to do something about my eroding flexibility and try to reclaim some of that youthful suppleness. Although I knew that yoga was great for overall strength, improved posture, better breathing and stress reduction, I did not realize how taxing it was nor that it was great for balance." -Bill Baldus
FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE: http://www.silentsports.net/features/yoga_and_running__the_perfect_.html