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5 Surprising Natural Skin Care Remedies

Yikes! All the cold weather outside and the dry heat indoors can wreak havoc on our skin. Looking for some ways to fight the chapped, flaky skin that winter brings on? Welcome to the club! Part of living a healthy life, however, means choosing skin care products that will do more good than harm with no yucky chemicals and artificial additives. Although there are plenty of products out there with naturally derived ingredients, I wanted to share some completely natural remedies that will keep your skin smooth and beautiful through the winter and beyond.

Honey

I use honey to wash my face. That may sound crazy, but it has been the absolute best “face wash” I’ve ever used. Honey is antibacterial so it is a very effective cleanser and it has moisturizing powers so you’ll clean your face without drying it out. I prefer to use raw honey, but as long as your honey is 100% pure you should be good. Simply hold a warm, wet washcloth on your face for a few moments to open your pores and dampen your skin. Then slather your face with honey and let it stay for up to 10 minutes. Rinse off the honey and you’re done!

Baking Soda

Baking soda is an incredibly effective way to exfoliate your face so you don’t have to spend money on expensive scrubs. It’s like microdermabrasion is just sitting there in your fridge waiting for you. Try scrubbing your clean face with a paste made from baking soda and distilled water for up to 10 minutes before rinsing.

 

Coconut Oil

Some people get nervous about putting oil on their face, but trust me, it’s worth a try! Coconut oil is this super amazing health food that also provides amazing real, deep moisture. Bonus: coconut oil makes your hair super soft and shiny AND it makes a great shaving “cream.”

 

Milk

Milk is a great, gentle skin softener that will soothe your red, dry winter skin. Just throw a few cups of milk in the next time you draw a bath; your skin will thank you. Also, soaking your feet in milk before your self-administered pedicures will make your feet super soft.

 

Strawberries

This one isn’t for your skin but I think it’s pretty amazing…Did you know that ruby red strawberries but can actually help make your teeth white! Because of all the vitamin C in strawberries, they remove plaque and help get rid your teeth of stains. For your own all natural (and tasty) teeth whitening treatment use a toothbrush to spread mashed strawberries on your teeth and let it sit for 5 minutes. Try this once a week for the best results!

Do you have any natural skin care remedies you love? Share them with us!

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Pilates Benefits for Athletes

Photo via Pilates.Answers.Com

A client of mine recently shared with me how surprised she was to win her weekend tennis tournament. A mother of three grown children and past what many may consider the prime age for athletics, my client chalked up her win to two things; her new tennis racket and….PILATES! It is always so incredibly rewarding to hear about my clients’ progress and how Pilates has helped them feel stronger and healthier throughout their entire life. My client’s tennis success inspired me to share the many ways Pilates can help athletes of all ages and skill levels improve their performance.

Core Strength: This is the easy one. We all know Pilates increases core strength which is so important in the body’s ability to move well and stay injury-free. Having a stronger core can also directly impact the power behind movements during your athletic performance. When you have strong core muscles to help you through your movements, you can hit harder and move faster. A stronger core also helps with:

Ease of Movement: Strengthening the body’s core muscles and teaching them to activate in all movements gives our major mover muscles the freedom to do what they were meant to do! This helps our muscles be more efficient and make movements feel easier. Pilates also helps to train the right muscles to do their job so we don’t unnecessarily use energy recruiting other ones. Plus the fluid motions of a Pilates workout encourage more fluid, easy movements when you get off the mat!

Better Balance: It’s not rocket science: if you are falling all over the place, you won’t be able to hit a ball very well. A strong core will help the athlete stay centered and quick on his/her feet. Better balance equals increased stability while performing the strong, full movements required in tennis and other sports. Pilates also helps improve balance by providing a combination of strength and flexibility. Additionally, a well executed Pilates workout will help correct muscular inequities that can through off your balance. Balanced muscles + Balanced strength and flexibility = Better overall balance!

Beyond the core strength and resulting performance enhancements, Pilates can also help athletes:

Improve Use of Breath: The use of breath is an extremely important component of the Pilates workout. Focusing on breath will increase the strength and efficiency of the diaphragm (your main breathing muscles) and can even increase lung capacity and stamina. Also, training your mind and body to use your breath to aid your muscles will help with efficiency and increase power and stamina. When your body is practiced in exhaling as you exert energy can really improve performance with little to no extra effort at all.

Increase Focus and Control: There are plenty of distractions in our lives these days. Taking 30 to 60 minutes on a regular basis to really hone in and focus on a task (like your Pilates exercises) can make a big difference in your ability to focus on your game. Pilates is an exercise method that really encourages complete focus and control, ensuring your mind and body work together to maximize results. Having an increased mind/body awareness will really improve your control during athletic performance.

What do you think? Are you an athlete who has seen benefits from doing Pilates? Comment below, we’d love to hear from you!

 

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5 Steps Towards More Self-Love

I see inspirational quotes all over Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram all day long so they tend to become white noise after a while. The other day, though, I came across a quote that really stayed with me: “I workout because I love my body, not because I hate it.” I think this is a brilliant attitude to have. Way too many people are punishing themselves for those extra 5 pounds, the pizza they had for lunch, not making it to spin class…the list goes on and on. These thoughts build up to make a completely negative self-esteem and view on life. I know first hand that when you stop doubting every decision you make or hating yourself for eating a piece of pie, it becomes a lot easier to be healthy and happy. In fact, when I let go of some of the rules that were causing me to feel negative every time I broke them, I actually lost weight and developed a much healthier self-esteem and approach to wellness.

Being healthy is very, very important. I don’t advocate throwing out your apples and exchanging them for a bag of Doritos in order to be happy, I’m just saying maybe if we started practicing more self-love and let go of all the “I have to workout because I hate my thighs” talk, we’d be happier and find it a bit easier to make healthy choices. So in addition to repeating “I workout because I love my body, not because I hate it” all the time, I recommend practicing these 5 steps to develop more self-love:

1. Pick Something You Love About Your Body.

Everyone has parts of their body that they wish they could change, but we all have parts that we’re pretty happy with to (we just forget about the good parts quicker). Do you love your muscular calfs? Check them out any time you start harping on your thighs. Don’t hesitate to brag about it either. You can totally roll your sleeve up and tell your best girl friends how awesome you feel about the tone you’ve developed in your arms!

Think about the progress you’re making too! Didn’t make it to a Pilates class at all this weekend? Remember how much smoother your roll-up was last time you were there so you have some POSITIVE motivation to get you back in to class.

2. Say No to Negative.

Literally say no to negative. As soon as you start that self-hatin’, just. say. no. Say it out loud, or just in your head, but do it. Although no is by nature a negative word, giving yourself the power to say “no, there is absolutely no value in feeling negative right now” will help you make room for positive thoughts and self-love.

3. Compliment Others.

Being positive and admiring others for their healthy lifestyles, delicious looking healthy lunch, or super toned legs (and meaning it) will help you feel positive about their success, instead of jealous. Admire people and let them inspire you, they are just proof that achieving your goals is totally doable. Plus won’t helping someone feel really good about themselves make you feel pretty good about yourself, too?

4. Calories Only Count If You Feel Bad About Them.

Okay, we all know this one isn’t really true but in my mind, it totally makes sense. I used to have off-limits foods that I felt I should absolutely not eat in order to be healthy so when I inevitably ate them, I got down on myself and ate even more of it to really get it all in before I cut it out completely again tomorrow. What a terrible way to eat food! If you have a piece of amazing chocolate cake, please ENJOY IT! If you eat that cake and you love it and you enjoy it and you don’t worry about never eating it again your brain will shut up, let you eat a normal portion and move on with your life. Self-hate will make you feel crappy which will probably make you eat more crap. So love that cake and love yourself.

5. Practice Forgiveness.

Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Forgive Giselle for being perfect. Forgive that negativity for creeping in to your brain, because its sneaky and it will. Give yourself a big hug, check out that awesome part of your body that you feel confident about and say “It’s okay girl (or boy), you look good and I love you.”

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Home Equipment Favorites: The Resistance Band

Working out at home is a beautiful thing. Especially if you live somewhere like Buffalo where, as we have recently learned, snow and wind can keep us cooped up inside and all of our gyms and Pilates studios closed! Being an in-home Pilates instructor, I have found a number of really awesome pieces of equipment that greatly increase the number of exercises my clients can do in the comfort of their own homes while keeping their muscles guessing and their brains excited.

The resistance band (or Thera-band) is one of my absolute favorite pieces of home studio equipment. Not much more than a long piece of latex (they come in non-latex too), the resistance band can be tied around your legs, held in one hand, held in two hands, folded in half, stretched long from foot to head, wrapped behind your back…the possibilities are infinite. My top reasons for loving the resistance band are:

1.  Varied Resistance: Need more tension? Grab further towards the middle of the band. Too much? Just move your hands back to the ends. Manipulate the resistance band in any number of ways to change your tension: fold it in half, tie it tighter, or just move your hands along the band to change the resistance.  This allows you to progress through your workout, making exercises more challenging as you grow stronger.

2.  Durable: Resistance bands can take a lot of pulling, twisting, tying, and getting stomped on before they come anywhere close to ripping or breaking. Resistance bands are inexpensive and can last for years. The only major threat to the bands are cats. Even the best resistance bands will break more easily once they have cats scratching holes in them (yes, I know from experience). Cat scratching aside, this piece of equipment will take all the pulling you can give it!

 3.  Adds an Extra Challenge: There are resistance band specific exercises, and then there are the millions of exercises you can simply add a resistance band to in order to make it harder. I love adding resistance bands to the Pilates side-lying leg series or tying it around my clients’ legs during Hundreds to challenge the outer thigh more. There are tons of ways to make an old exercise seem new again with the extra challenge a resistance band adds.

 4.  Therapeutic Benefits: The bands are great for adding an extra challenge to a workout, but they can also be used to help rehabilitate injuries, work on muscles imbalances, or help stretch and strengthen in a gentle way. For example, the bands assist in a 3-way stretch that is typically done on the Pilates Reformer to stretch the hamstrings in 3 different directions without stressing the upper body or forcing the body in to an incorrect posture. I also use resistance bands for exercises that rehab ankle injuries, knee injuries, and shoulder injuries in a safe and effective way.

5.  E-C-C-E-N-T-R-I-C Muscle Contraction: Resistance bands are awesome because they encourage you to strengthen muscles in an elongated position through eccentric contraction. The nature of the bands forces you to control the movement as you return to the starting position of each exercise, giving you an added benefit that you can’t quite get when lifting weights. That little extra work may be all you need to find the muscle tone you’ve always coveted!

Click the links below to try some of my favorite resistance band exercises.

For the Legs and Hips

For the Shoulders (Careful not to let those shoulders inch up to your ears)

Stretch it Out

Buy your resistance bands HERE!  

*I recommend starting with a heavy resistance, you can always adjust where you hold the band to give yourself more or less tension. I like buying the 6 yard spools because the precut bands are never as long as you want them to be! Cut yours easily with scissors to a length that is about the same as your height.

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Pilates is Perfect for Pregnancy!

Pilates is a safe and effective form of exercise for everyone. Literally, every body can benefit from Pilates. No matter what your age, stage of life, body type, injury, or condition you may have, Pilates can be used to help you achieve your goals, ease your pain, and keep your body healthy.  This is even true for pregnant women, in fact Pilates can actually help women have an easier time during child birth. How’s that for incentive to exercise—EASIER CHILD BIRTH! Read on for a few reasons Pilates is amazing during pregnancy.

Pilates is SAFE: A well-educated Pilates instructor can help make sure you do not work until your flush, lie on your back, stay in one position too long, or do any of the other things that are not recommended for exercising during pregnancy. A prenatal certified Pilates instructor will help you feel good, stretch, and strengthen the correct muscles in a way that will keep you and baby safe and sound.

Pilates Provides Pelvic Floor Power: Your pelvic floor is very important for support and organ function,especially during pregnancy and labor. Pilates offers a very effective way to strengthen and stretch your pelvic floor so it performs properly. A strong and supple pelvic floor will not only help you support your growing baby and aid in bladder control, it will also help make labor a smoother process. Pelvic floor strength, as well as mobility (just as important), can be achieved through a prenatal Pilates workout.

Pilates Helps You Breathe Properly: Breathing is so, so important for the vitality of mamas and their growing babies. Pilates will help you focus on proper breathing techniques, potentially increasing diaphragm strength, increasing lung capacity, and aiding in more effective breathing. Plus, focusing on your breathing now will help you utilize breath better during labor. Get this: better breathing can even help make more room for your baby so you’re more comfortable!

Pilates builds the PROPER Core Strength:  You may not want to hear this but, doing crunches to strength your superficial abs (the six pack muscles) can actually make labor and recovery MORE difficult for you. The good news? Strengthening your deep core muscles can actually help support your baby and make your labor easier. Pilates can help you strengthen those deep core muscles, and a prenatal specific workout will avoid overworking your more superficial abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis. This core strength will also help you walk, stand, and move better during pregnancy and help ward off back pain and other aches.

Pilates Can Make You Feel GOOD: Pregnancy is a beautiful miracle, but sometimes it makes you feel like crap, yea? Doing exercise regularly will help you build confidence and just feel good about yourself. Plus the core strength, breathing, and stretching that Pilates focuses on help to alleviate aches and pains, improve posture, and…well…make you feel better!

 

Note: Hayley Sunshine of Buffalo In-Home Pilates is a prenatal certified instructor.  Contact hayley@betterbodybuffalo.com to set up a free prenatal Pilates consultation.

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