Your Skin & Yoga

A lot of women want a healthy alternative to looking fabulous without spending an arm and a leg on magic potions or going under the knife. One of those healthy alternatives is Yoga. Yoga is an ancient art which has many advantages. Not only is it a good way to maintain one's health, for those women looking for a natural way to beautify their skin, it's a good way to  bring vitality to the skin because yoga helps to improve blood circulation and balance the flow of oxygen and hormones. The result of practicing yoga is firmer facial muscles.

Dr. Perricone writes about the benefits of yoga in his book The Clear Skin Prescription. He says, “So how can one attain a fit, toned, and flexible body as well as clear, radiant skin at any age? Yoga. In my opinion, the benefits of yoga are unparalleled. Yoga is unique in that it addresses the entire person.”

Yoga is all about breathing, and deep breathing brings lots of fresh oxygen to the skin and body. The action of breathing deeper and slower increases the health of your skin. And let's not forget that yoga helps to relax your mind and body. This alone will help keep breakouts at bay.

Here are a few poses you can try.

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Triangle Pose is great for eliminating toxins, opening, stretching, and strengthening the whole body. Many twisting poses also massage the internal organs to aid in digestion and detoxification.

Downward Facing Dog increases the blood flow to the head, giving the skin a rush of fresh blood and nutrients. When you rise back to your feet, the blood goes back down toward the heart  taking some unwanted toxins with it. This pose also engages your whole body by calming the nervous system, decompressing the spine, toning, sculpting and strengthening the arms, sculpting and lengthening the thighs.

Chair Pose gets the blood pumping. This intense pose promotes sweating which allows the skin to get rid of toxins that lurk just beneath the surface. It also increases blood circulation and carries vital nutrients to the skin, clearing breakouts, de-puffing puffy eyes and encouraging healthy, glowy skin.

Hope This Helps

Eat Right. Feel Good. Have Great Skin.

Face it, we could all stand to eat a little better. Not only can a healthy diet maintain a healthy weight, it can also maintain healthy skin. Check out these four superfoods that'll give you young, smooth, beautiful skin.

Yogurt and your skin:

Apply yogurt on acne daily. The rich zinc content will help to clear your skin. Plain yogurt also contains lactic acid, a natural skin smoother that makes it an effective facial mask.

Other Benefits:

Certain strains of live active cultures in yogurt can help keep your digestive and immune system healthy. It's also great for maintaining your weight.

What you can try:

Raspberry Yogurt Treat

Leafy Greens and your skin:

Leafy green veggies are known for restoring elasticity to the skin. The antioxidant known as lutein found in spinach, Swiss chard and kale help destroy free radicals that damage collagen and leads to wrinkles.

Other Benefits:

Spinach, Swiss chard and kale are packed with magnesium, which can improve your body's response to stress.

What you can try:

Flat Iron Steak and Spinach Salad

Oranges and your skin:

Oranges are loaded with Vitamin C, which keeps your skin healthy and protects it from damage from environmental factors like ultraviolet rays. Getting the recommended dose of Vitamin C makes our skin capable of healing cuts or wounds.

Other Benefits:

The antioxidants Vitamin C can help lower stress hormones levels, making you feel calmer during stressful times. Plus, a high intake of fruits and veggies can reduce your risk of gaining weight over time.

What you can try:

Mandarin Orange Salad

Nuts and your skin:

Brazil nuts are wonderful for your skin due to their high content of Vitamin A, Vitamin E and selenium. Theses nuts are also good for the health of your hair and nails.

Other Benefits:

Loaded with unsaturated fats, nuts are heart healthy. A handful a day may improve your cholesterol.

What you can try:

Brazil Nut Crusted Pork Chops

Foods For Your Face

Yogurt

As women we all know that yogurt is a natural probiotic, which helps to replenish the “good” bacteria in our body and keeps yeast infections at bay. But did you know that yogurt is an excellent food for eczema and dealing with acne breakouts? Choose a delicious low-sugar yogurt, since sugar has been found to aggravate inflammation. 

Walnuts

These delicious snacks are incredibly high in omega-3s. Make walnuts your snack of choice if swelling, blotchiness, redness, wrinkles or acne breakouts are your problem. Walnuts are plant-based omega-3s that have natural anti-inflammatory properties. For aging skin, the alpha-linolenic acid found in walnuts can work to combat the dryness that leads to wrinkles.

Red Meat

Lean red meat is really high in protein and zinc. Our skin needs zinc, proline and the amino acids glycine to produce collagen. The protein found in red meat has the highest concentration of proline and glycine. Zinc is a natural anti-inflammatory, and without it, it’s difficult for the skin to make collagen. If you're not a fan of red meat, proline can be found in cottage cheese and cabbage, seafood has a high concentrations of glycine, and zinc is in lentils and kidney beans.

The desire for healthy skin sure does make you want to eat healthier, doesn't it?

Hope this help.

Tea Time

Ahhh, tea. Not only is it good but it's good for you. Some teas are packed with antioxidants that help counteract damage from illness and aging.

As a woman who has been in the spa industry for years, I can tell you that tea is the number one drink. After a facial, who wouldn't want to sit down, chill out and have a hot cup of tea to ease their minds and relax their spirit? Yes. Tea is even popular when it's blazing hot outside. Check out the benefits of these tea.:

BLACK TEA

A daily cup of this smoky drink helps keep your heart healthy by improving blood vessel function and decreasing arterial stiffness. It's also good after a long, stressful day. It's also been proven to reduce cortisol levels. Best when milk, sugar or honey are added to enhance the flavor. 

GREEN TEA

This mild tea is known for lowering cholesterol and stimulating the immune system to fight diseases. It may even help repair skin damage! Best when served cold with a slice of lemon or lime.

WHITE TEA

Normally an after-dinner tea, white tea is light and delicate but packs a punch. It's benefits includes lowering high blood pressure, weight lose and fighting cancer. Best when served with a slice of mango.

OOLONG TEA

Spicy and rich, Oolong tea has been shown to reduce the risks of hypertension, as well as, strengthen the immune system. Best served with fresh fruit.

The next time you think about picking up that sugary soda, think about the benefits that a cup of tea has instead. Control the calories by adding your own sweetener, and reap the benefits of their antioxidant properties. 

How do you like your tea and what do you drink it with? 

You Are What You Eat

Want truly fabulous skin? Young, glowing, smooth skin? Well, make sure you're putting foods for healthy skin on your plate. It's no secret. Everything you eat shows up on your skin. So, the healthier the foods are that you consume, the better your skin will look.


The reverse is true as well. The less attention you pay to what goes in our mouth, the more problems you may see cropping up with our skin. A pimple here. A dry patch there. In no time, you could have breakout, dry skin, older-looking skin or a noticeable dull complexion. It's not going to happen overnight, but treat your body bad long enough, and it's going to show on your face.

Here are six things you can add daily to your diet to keep young, healthy, beautiful skin.

Berries:
Eating more vitamin C-rich foods, such as strawberries, blackberries and blueberries may help to ward off wrinkles and age-related dryness. Vitamin C's skin-smoothing effects may be due to its ability to mop up free radicals produced from ultraviolet rays and also its role in collagen synthesis. (Vitamin C is essential for collagen production.)

Tomatoes:
Tomatoes get their red hue from lycopene, a carotenoid that may help to keep your skin smooth. Boost your lycopene intake with fresh summer produce like tomatoes, watermelon and carrots.

Green Tea. You can't beat the effects that green tea has on your skin.
It's anti-inflammatory and it protects the cell membrane which is beneficial to the skin overall. It may even help prevent or reduce the risk of skin cancer. It has also been proven to reduce the risk of damage from ultraviolet light (such as the burning rays of the sun), and thus reduce the risk of skin cancer.

Tofu:
Tofu and other soyfoods, such as edamame and soymilk, may help to preserve skin-firming collagen because they are rich in isoflavones.

Water. While the exact amount you should drink each day varies, no one can deny the fact that hydration plays in keeping skin looking healthy and even young. Water helps to keep the body's cells hydrated, as well as help cells move nutrients in and toxins out, automatically leaving the skin looking better.

Tuna:
Eating tuna — and other omega-3-rich fish, such as salmon, sardines and trout — may help keep your skin looking youthful thanks to the omega-3 fat EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). EPA has been shown to preserve collagen.






Happy and healthy eating, ladies.

The Water & Apple Cleanse.

By guest Blogger Alyson H.

I work for 24 Hour Fitness. I spend about 40 hours a week surrounded by trainers, instructors, and nutritionists who are constantly talking about the new brands of fitness aids, workout moves and detox cleansers that can help you become the best you. 

This week, I learned about the Water and Apple Cleanse. I know that everyone has heard of the Master Cleanse, but who can stick to that for weeks at a time? This cleanse is different.


The Water and Apple Cleanse helps with your digestion by getting rid of the gunk in your intestines so that you will have a clean slate to start with when you begin new eating habits. When your digestive system is in proper condition, you digest food better. which will boost your metabolism! 


I did the cleanse and IT WORKED! I lost five pounds and I feel great! The good thing is, it only take three days, and you only have to do it once a month.      

What you need to know: