From the hottest celebs to the mom-next-door, it seems like everyone is buzzing about the benefits of cleansing. For some it’s a quick fix before a special event, or a detox after a period of overindulgence. But those “in the know” know that cleansing the body a few times a year is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle.

When the body’s organ systems are burdened by an accumulation of toxins and environmental pollutants, or are neglected by inadequate exercise and a standard American diet, this directly affects how we look, think, and feel.

Cleansing Feel Good World style is not about “fasting” and deprivation. No way! Rather, it’s a golden opportunity to give yourself the gifts of self-care, healing, rest, rejuvenation, deep nourishment, and cellular cleansing.

Our signature programs are customizable and can help anyone lose weight and/or inches, sleep better, increase energy and truly FEEL GOOD from the inside out. Maybe you generally feel fine but really want to kick it up a notch and look and feel as fabulous as possible. Cleansing is a perfect opportunity to help reverse and prevent illness and to recharge your body.

Definitely give cleansing a try if you:

• Have trouble losing weight
• Feel tired, sluggish, bloated, or “heavy”
• Experience insomnia, trouble sleeping, or wake feeling unrested
• Have allergies, asthma, chemical or food sensitivities
• Suffer from constipation, irregular bowel movements or other digestive problems
• Have been eating a standard American diet
• Frequently get colds or seem to catch every bug that goes around
• Have hormonal problems or frequently feel moody, grouchy or fuzzy headed

So what’s unique about cleansing Feel Good World Style?

• Supplements
• Infrared Sauna
• Colon Hydrotherapy
• Movement Classes
  

Beyond the Cleanse

August Posture Profile: Standing Bow

Standing Bow posture, or dandayamana-dhanurasana is among the most dynamic and beautiful  yoga postures to behold. In the fullest expression of Standing Bow, also sometimes called dancer’s pose, the legs are in standing splits — or heading in that direction.

Some yogis manage to make it look effortless (hint: they’re using some serious core strength and have a strong foundation in the standing foot) but no matter how light and graceful it appears, this challenging posture is a powerful builder of strength and flexibility, plus a host of other mental, emotional and physical benefits.

Set it up
Setting up a posture correctly is where it all begins. Remember: even if your posture is far from the “ultimate expression”, by properly aligning the body for that posture and setting the intention to get there – or as close as possible – one day, you are already reaping as much benefit for your own body as a yoga championship winner is in theirs.

In Standing Bow, as you lift the leg that is going to kick out, take care to keep the knees and hips in line with each other. Then, kick up and out with the intention of creating more space between the heel and the back of the body.

Standing Bow requires an equality between the force of the kick and the stretch of the arm reaching toward the mirror. Maintaining “50/50 equal, and simultaneous” force between the kick and the arm stretching forward makes it much easier to keep your balance. Synchronize your breath to this action – as you inhale, stretch the arm forward, and as you exhale, power up the kick.

Benefits for mind, body, and spirit
This challenging posture is a supreme builder of patience, determination and concentration. During that first 60-second set it’s common to fall out of the posture — don’t give up! Get back in!

Standing Bow opens up the shoulders and sides, as well as the chest, hamstrings, ribcage, solar plexus and spine. It also firms the abdominal wall and upper thighs, strengthens and sculpts the hips and buttocks, making it a great posture for slimming, toning, strengthening and improving lung capacity.

It is also stimulating to several organs and systems. Bringing the chest parallel to the ground stimulates the cardiovascular system and exercises the heart. The digestive, reproductive, endocrine and urinary systems also benefit and the kidneys get a nice flush.

By twisting and repeating on both sides this transfers blood flow from one side of the body to the other, which has a cleansing and stimulating effect which help keeps blood flowing smoothly.

In Standing Bow the body is in a position of both vulnerability and pride. This “hugely expressive” posture releases emotions and stress stored in the tissues, and is known to help with the release of shame and resolving issues with abandonment, self-worth, and fear of betrayal.

What’s your favorite posture? What postures do you most struggle with? Comment below to let us know which postures you want to see profiled next.

Tips & Tricks to Deepen Your Practice: Hydration

Staying well hydrated is one of the best things you can do to feel energized and up to the task of practicing yoga in a 105+ degree room for 90 minutes. Most people do not drink enough water on a daily basis but as a hot yoga practitioner, staying well hydrated is essential to not just making it through class, but to being in a state to receive maximum detoxification benefits from your practice.

If you’re drained and exhausted after class and you’ve been practicing for at least a few weeks, dehydration is a likely culprit.

H2O is your body’s primary chemical component and makes up about 60% of your body weight. Every bodily system depends on enough water to function properly. Water flushes toxins from the vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells, and keeps skin and mucous membranes healthy and hydrated.

Mild dehydration leads to fatigue but more severe dehydration can inhibit essential functions of the body such as metabolism, digestion and more. We lose water through breathing, perspiring and going to the bathroom. Hot yogis certainly perspire more than the average person, so just how much water should we aim to consume?

Daily water needs are as individual as each person and their unique lifestyle, health and environment.

The Institute of Medicine recommends an adequate intake of roughly 3 liters, or 13 cups, for men and 2.2 liters or 9 cups of water per day for women living in a temperate climate like Portland. For a more customized formula, another recommendation is to drink half your bodyweight in ounces each day. For instance, if you weigh 140 pounds, aim for 70 ounces of fresh, pure water each day. Adding a pinch of high-quality mineral or sea salt can improve your body’s ability to absorb the water into each cell.

Not all of your daily water intake needs to come from water alone. Consuming pure juices and fresh foods is another way to stay well hydrated. Many fruits and vegetables are 90% or more water. Some of the “juiciest” options are melon, grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and strawberries.

Smart hydration for hot yogis
On the days you practice aim to drink 3-4 liters of water, drinking a significant amount at least 2 hours before class. But try to stop there. Drinking too much before or during class can fill the belly and inhibit your ability to do the postures in proper alignment.

The opening breathing exercise and first few postures in the sequence are designed to build heat in the body. “Party time” or the first water break of class is encouraged after Eagle Pose.

Constantly reaching for water during class can become a distraction from the practice itself. Small sips between postures are recommended, as needed.

Once you’ve been practicing for a while and you are staying properly hydrated outside of class, you may notice you go through an entire class without a sip. If this doesn’t happen spontaneously, try challenging yourself to not drink during class and see how it goes.

TIP: If you find yourself overheating, rather than chugging water, try not to wipe all the sweat from your skin, as it is the sweat evaporating from the skin that cools the body. If there is no sweat to evaporate, heat will be retained.

After practice be sure to rehydrate with water or a tasty elixir or juice from the cooler – you can sweat out up to 1.5 liters in a 90 minute hot yoga class!

-You can’t seem to shake off those last 10lbs (or more) no matter what you have tried or how much you exercise or do yoga

-You’re concentration, clarity or mood are off and you find yourself not remembering things, being “down” at times or experiencing different levels of anxiety throughout the day/month

-You feel tired throughout your day OR your yoga practice/workout wipes you out rather than provides you with energy 

- You have a hard time falling a sleep at night OR do not sleep soundly/deep enough which leaves you waking up tired

-You drink tons and tons of water in  hopes to hydrate your system but find yourself going to the bathroom much more with a little increase in your hydration  

-You try to eat a clean diet but you get bored with what’s out there in healthy foods and you are looking to experience something new in terms of flavors, variety and fresh options

-Your digestion is just not co-operating and you may have issues with food comas( lack of energy after you eat), bloatiness, and/OR you have one or less bowel movements a day

-Your inflammation persists and it is affecting your joints, muscles and may even cause pain or swelling

-Your cravings for sugar/flour/alcohol and more have got the best of you  and you’re looking to re-set your system to minimize these foods in your daily diet  

Just as yin has yang, yoga is a practice all about finding a healthy balance between opposing forces. We all know and love that yoga is such a calming, centering practice. But right now we’re going to talk about yoga’s fire power!

Summer is here and endless are the motivations to look your best. So how awesome is it that yoga offers calorie burning, fat blasting benefits both on and off the mat?

Burn Baby, Burn
Yoga builds lean muscle tissue which is “metabolically active”. The more lean muscle tissue your body has, the higher your resting metabolism is so you burn more calories overall.

The actual number of calories each pound of lean muscle burns is variable. It could amount to less than 100 calories a day, but over time this is significant. Even if that single pound of lean muscle only burns about 5 or 10 calories a day, that alone can lead to a three pound fat loss throughout the year.

Makes sense to add more pounds of lean muscle, no? There’s your motivation when the legs start to quiver and your shoulders are crying out, “put your arms down, already!” It’s at that point of shaking, burning, about to give out that the magic happens.

Tradition and Science
At 5,000 years old, yoga has an ancient art down to a science. Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of yoga on metabolic syndrome. Yogi and scientist Kim Innes has gathered evidence that yoga could increase insulin sensitivity, lower cholesterol and promote fat loss.

In 2005 Innes published her findings in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine which included evidence that regular yoga practice can reduce body weight by as much as 13.6%! How’s that for motivation?

Fire it up!
It’s true that every exercise burns calories and strengthens or conditions multiple aspects of the body. But yoga has been very consciously created as a system to strengthen and condition ALL aspects of the body, mind, and spirit.

Unique to yoga is Pranayama, a Sanskrit word meaning “extension of the life force” or breath. By controlling the breath in certain ways and synchronizing it to specific movements, improvements can be made to circulation and oxygen intake – both of which play a vital role in the efficiency of one’s metabolism.

In the hot yoga sequence we practice at The Feel Good World we open and close class with a pranayama breathing exercise. Both exercises raise the metabolic rate and stimulate the digestive system, which when running smoothly, efficiently processes what we eat with little metabolic “waste” i.e. extra pounds looking for a home on your body.

Everything has an interrelated function that can affect stubborn pounds, but certain organs, such as the liver, pancreas, and kidneys, have a spotlight role in proper metabolism. Those pretzel-like postures don’t just look impressive, they do impressive work stimulating organs and glands and refreshing areas of stagnation.

Locust, Floor Bow, Eagle and Spinal Twist are all good metabolism boosters, as are postures that stimulate the thyroid such as Head to Knee and Rabbit. From start to finish, your metabolism is getting fired up in class!

Beyond Calorie Counting
Being committed to a practice and watching results over time can provide outstanding mental benefits that also impact your figure. In addition to burning fat and supporting efficient metabolism, yoga builds patience and fortitude so you have a better chance of riding out cravings for foods that wreak havoc on your metabolism (hello chips, soda, anything with flour or from a package).

For a extra metabolic fire eat FRESH! Maybe you just slip in and out for yoga a few times a week. Stick around for a second to grab a juice, smoothie or snack, or check out one of our easy packages and give fresh food a whirl.  Also, check out our recent blog post Why Fresh? for “the skinny” on eating fresh.

14 Days to Feel Good LIVE-

A Fully-Guided & All-Inclusive Group Cleanse

‘Jumpstart Your New Year’ Program- NOW open for registration

Jan. 13th – Jan. 27th*

*The above dates do not work for you? See our 2013 cleanse schedule & choose the best option for you!

Looking to jumpstart FEELING BETTER in your life right now?

Desire a SIMPLE PLAN that allows you to just plug in & be guided all the way through?

Interested in a whole body CLEANSE that provides everything you need all in one program?

Don’t wait to Feel Good…

• have more ENERGY daily (no more ‘I’m exhausted’ excuse)
• SHED a few pounds (or more) naturally (without counting anything!)
• experience better DIGESTION (major energy sucker)
• get glowing SKIN (that’s right, the skin is the body’s tell all)
• be more HAPPY (no more mood swings or anxiety-ridden days)
• reduce INFLAMMATION (yes, you can lose that puffiness)
• gain more CLARITY and FOCUS (have more concentration at work & in life)

…cleansing allows you the opportunity to jumpstart a healthier way of living and feeling now!

What’s Included:

-14 Days of Prepared Food & Juice- Organized in a way that supports healthy cleansing

-14 Days of Superfoods/Supplements- For additional cleansing benefits, elimination & energy throughout the cleanse

-3 Group Meetings- For group support & expert guidance through you entire experience

BONUS: perks to keep you supported during & after the cleanse

-One-on-One Personalized Nutritional/Supplement Testing/Assessment- Customize a program for you going forward & ensure your supplements are working for you

-Lifestyle Guide with healthy tips, recipes & more- Designed for you to implement after the cleanse to create sustainable results

Extra BONUS: (optional)

Two weeks complimentary yoga classes in our movement studio- An opportunity to try new classes & purify the body through our HOT classes

Here’s How it Works-

Meetings are held on Sunday Evenings from 7pm-9pm:

1^st Meeting-Kick-off & Getting Started-

Jan 13th

2^nd Meeting-Preparing for the Juice Cleanse/Coming off the Cleanse details-

Jan 20th

3^rd Meeting- Healthy Lifestyle Choices after the Cleanse-

Jan 27th

Food/Juice Support:

Jumpstart feeling good by eating living foods & drinks for 14 Days. Cleanse the body by eliminating bad food choices & adding in the good with nutrient-dense foods & detox drinks.

Your food and drink is picked up every 3-4 days for a total of 4 pick-ups.

The support menu has been customized for this program & specifically designed to cleanse, hydrate, re-build your body during this process.

The 14 Days is a progression that begins with healthy, solid nutrient dense foods that allow the body to pre-cleanse.

Each pick-up, one solid meal will be replaced with a detox drink building up to 3 days of fresh pressed green juices and detox drinks.

This give your body the time to prepare for the deepest aspect of the program, the juice” feast”,  all while cleansing your body during the entire process.

The last part of the program is dedicated to ‘coming off the cleanse’ by incorporating the right foods to transition your body back into solid foods and jumpstarting healthier eating patterns.

This is the best process for cleansing to receive maximum and sustainable results.

Superfoods/Supplements:

Each week, we’ll distribute ‘goodies’ that will support you through the process. We will walk through each item, how to use at home & provide you with a step-by-step guide that will give you the road map for incorporating them into your life.

We will layer on a few each week so it does not get overwhelming and just as the food is a progression, the superfoods and supplements are as well. They will be added in slowly to compliment each part of the cleanse & beyond.

Included are both superfoods & key supplements that will provide key nutrients for more energy, extra cleansing benefits and of course, enhance elimination.

The superfoods and supplements are easy to use and most will be created into delicious smoothies that you make at home.  (Rest assured, no weird goo-ey stuff or a zillion pills you have to pop!)

One-on-One Nutritional/Supplemental Testing & Assessment now with ZYTO bio-feedback machine

We will schedule your one-on-one session at the first group meeting.

It can be done in the beginning of the program to get you set-up, anytime throughout the program or even after if you’d like to use it as a follow-up as a way to assess how you can move forward after the cleanse.

We will work with you on your preference and schedule accordingly. The session is 90 minutes with our detox expert, Christy Whitney and provides a full analysis & printout of your mineral deficiencies, supplemental absorption, what foods work for you(or don’t) and more.

Sound Good…how much, you’re thinking?

Well, we’ve made it affordable for everyone to participate.

The breakdown:

14 days of Food/Juice=$34 a day x 14=$476

14 Day Superfood/Supplement Goodie Bag=$195

One-on-One Testing=$250

3 Group Meetings=$200

Total Retail Value: $1121*

*This price doesn’t even include the lifestyle guide & 2 weeks unlimited yoga which we’ve added for extra support!

Discounted Package Price: $799

Are you In? Here’s how to claim your spot:

3 easy ways:

1)Register Here

2) Call our desk & book over the phone at 503-452-1132

3) email us at support@thefeelgoodworld.com & we’ll get back to you promptly.

NOTE: Inquire about our payment plans that allow you to place a deposit down on your space and pay the additional balance off at the end of the cleanse. To secure your spot, a deposit of $350 is required.

Tried, Tested and “Tasted” Green Smoothie Recipes

These are a sure bet to be “hits” in your household. Easy to do at home. No juicing required. And, takes just minutes.

Throw it all in the blender & voila!

Cheers!

Green Go – Yields 16-20oz

Fresh fruits, veggies & selected spices give you a version of our Green Glow fresh pressed juice but made way easier for you by preparing in the blender. The fiber will still be available in this signature green smoothie which also has it’s super powers! Great daily drink to get your nutrients, enzymes & fiber in all together!

In blender, combine:

1 apple, cored and chopped

2 leaves kale, thick stems removed

Small handful spinach

½ large cucumber

1-2 stalks celery

Juice of 1 large lemon

Optional-one of the following:

1 slice of ginger root (amazing benefits for circulation, inflammation & more)

½ tsp cinnamon (to round out flavors & to help with blood sugar levels)

¼ tsp cayenne (if you like spicy with a myriad of benefits)

Blend until smooth. Add up to 8-12oz or more of fresh water to reach desired consistency and a splash of organic apple juice to sweeten. (if needed) Top with 1/2 tb bee pollen or ¼ tsp of spirulina for extra protein and minerals.

Creamy, Dreamy Green-Appr. 16-20 oz- 1 serving

This quick easy shake taste delicious, offers a great smooth texture & gives you a ton of nutrients from the greens, good fats from the oil & fat burning properties from the lethithin plus, aloe helps with digestive issues. Kids LOVE this drink because it’s sweet, creamy and the banana is a great starter fruit to get into the smoothies. Plus, it’s a awesome way to sneak in those greens. And, you can increase the quantities of the key ingredients once you get going with this one.

16oz water

¼ cup apple juice- unfiltered(whole foods 365 brand is great!)

½ frozen banana

1 tb Udos Essential Fatty Acid Oil

1 tb lethithin

T tb Premier Greens or other green powder (can increase to get your green on!)

1 tb aloe

Place all in blender and whip till creamy and dreamy. Add more apple juice for sweeter version and/or banana for creamier texture.

Let us know how it goes at home. We’d love to hear. If you have any good ideas for enhancing these recipes or tricks that you do at home, leave  a comment below. To find out more on ‘Why Green’?, check out our latest article on the benefits on getting your green foods in here.

P.S. If you’re curious on how to get your hands on some of these specialty ingredients, which brands etc… just ask at our desk. We have them all available at The Feel Good World.

A luscious, rolling expanse of velvety lawn. Smooth, age-worn rocks that line a sunlit river bed. A beach of packed wet sand, cool and firm beneath your tread, or loose and powdery stretching on in mountainous dunes. Your feet are made to blaze all of this terrain and then some. But what have your feet been up to in the last 24 hours?

With 26 major bones, 33 joints, 19 muscles and 107 ligaments the human foot is an incredible piece of machinery. Our feet carry us through step after step, mile after mile, yet are rarely, if ever, the focus of our attention in exercise.

When you “find your feet” and really begin to use them in your yoga practice, standing postures become more stable, powerful and graceful, even punctuated by moments of effortlessness. Finding and using your feet as part of your entire body, you begin to find yourself more closely aligned to the fullest expression of all postures, seated and standing alike.

Feet are the Foundation
The feet are happiest when they are allowed to fully spread out, to flex and grip, and be in full contact with the ground we walk upon. Even when sitting, having our feet squarely on the ground keeps our legs and hips in alignment. Since everything is connected in the body, one part out of alignment means there are others. In this way our feet are like the roots of a tree – everything stems from our roots.

If you’ve taken class with Christy, you’ve probably heard her talk about the important role of the feet in yoga practice. Maybe you’ve heard her say, “How we stand on our feet and distribute the balance will set us up for success to be fluid and expansive or strained and stressed in our bodies”.

When we fully utilize our feet in yoga practice that greater level of whole-body awareness carries through to the rest of our lives. It becomes more comfortable to do standing activities like walking and cooking (or juicing veggies!). We even sit better with our feet in relaxed alignment when working at a desk.

Bare Your Soles
Christy says, “Nothing is more important to our connection to the earth and our practice than how we stand. We can be light on our feet and become open, flexible and expansive. Or we can be heavy on our feet and become tight, rigid and closed. When you find balance on the 3 points of your feet (big, little toe, and heel) you will feel strong as a tree.”

This alignment tip is the first of three for claiming the strength, balance and expansiveness available to us when we “find our feet”:

3 points of contact

• Tune into three points of contact when standing: big toe, little toe, heel.

• Play with the distribution of weight on these three points and get familiar with what balance feels like.

Press down and “bare your soles”

• In standing postures, especially when balancing on one leg, press down into the standing leg. Press all the way through the foot as if making an imprint in wet sand, or pushing the floor away.

• In postures where a foot is extended behind, such as Locust or Balancing Stick, or when the feet are out in front like in Separate Leg Stretching, keep the soles of your feet level and open. If extending out behind, the soles of your feet are either flat to the wall behind or flat to the ceiling, and if out in front the soles are bared flat to the mirror.

Whole foot

• Try settling little more weight into the heels. Most shoes pitch us forward and we’re so used to it that we often stand this way even when barefoot.

• Distribute weight all the way through to the outer edges of the foot, especially in separate leg standing postures like Triangle, for full stability.

• Allow the toes to spread wide so that each toe is open and grips outwardly like tentacles, rather than gripping closed in like a fist.

Give these tips a try in your next class and comment below to let us know what you think!

P.S. We hope these monthly articles are inspiring you to persist if you are new, and helping your practice grow if you’ve been coming for a while. We are always excited to hear from you – email us with any questions or topics you’d love to see us cover on the blog.