I like a good, restorative yoga session. I love yoga, but not the super-high-intensity-cardio kind. If I want cardio I’ll walk or jog. I do yoga because it’s healthy for the body and mind, and really helps me de-stress. So I was really excited when I found this DVD on Netflix, and I tried it out immediately. It’s different from any yoga DVD I’ve ever seen. Everything is white, Maya is not in a studio, and her “mat” looks like a fuzzy rug. The thing that struck me the most about this DVD is that “de-stress” does not equal “easy.” This was a surprisingly challenging workout. It isn’t about contorting yourself like a pretzel; her focus is on doing the moves long enough to detox the body. We’re talking 2-3 minutes of arm swings, wherein you “push through the pain until you get past it and feel euphoric.” Intense. Overall, I liked it, though, and I think I’m going to work it into my repertoire from time to time.

Here’s a site worth checking out: SaffronRouge. It carries organic beauty products, offers free samples, and has a blog that keeps you up to date on the latest in personal care products.

Everyone who knows me knows I’m a health nut. Most of my spare time is devoted to reading books, magazines, and websites that focus on various aspects of health and wellness. In fact, some of my friends and family members actually come to me with questions about sugar, supplements and the like. My goal is to become a holistic health and wellness coach/nutritionist, so I guess this is good practice for my future. I also occasionally get asked what websites I read daily. First and foremost, let me be clear: I read a lot of them, on a variety of subjects, including news, entertainment, humor and more. But for the purpose of this post, I’m going to mention the sites I read regularly that deal with health and wellness.

Crazy Sexy Life – As I mentioned recently, this is the latest endeavor from Crazy Sexy Cancer’s Kris Carr. The site features a social network for those looking for inspiration, as well as a store, tips on being green, tips on vegetarianism, and a list of wellness centers. The crux of the site is the blog, which is updated daily. Kris (who is a vegan, mostly-raw, crazy healthy chick who still has cancer!) does most of the posts, but she also has an excellent blog posse, featuring gals like Ani Phyo, Rory Freedman, and Natalia Rose. Oh, and Lola the rescue pup occasionally posts as well.

We Like It Raw – A great raw blog. Druhmil and company update pretty regularly and post on all things raw: restaurant reviews, recipes, transformations, sales on raw goodies and more. There are also weekly “my way” posts that feature prominent members of the raw community describing how they live and eat on a daily basis.

Ani Phyo – This is Ani Phyo’s website/blog. It is updated pretty regularly with her interviews, recipes, and more. It’s always a great source for healthy, inspiring ideas. 

Radical Radiance – Courtney Pool’s blog. Courtney hails from the Tree of Life Institute in Patagonia, AZ. She is in her early 20s, but already has the raw/vegan thing down pat and her physical transformation is incredible. She strikes me as a wise soul, and it’s always fascinating to see what’s going on at TOL.

Inspire2Act – Lori Painter’s blog. Lori is a raw foodie and health nut, and she is currently posting about her weight-loss journey. We shares a lot of the same health beliefs, so it’s fun to check in with her from time to time, although she only updates on a weekly basis.

VegNews – The website for my new favorite vegetarian magazine. The site has awesome content: interviews, recipes, detoxing advice and more. Everything featured is vegetarian, and a lot of the content is vegan/raw as well. Since it’s a magazine, the info changes pretty regularly as new issues come out.

GLiving - GLiving is an eco-conscious website; think green with an edge. It covers a variety of green topics (clothing, housing, kitchen equipment) and has regular features with raw chefs demonstrating their recipes. 

Gluten-Free Girl – Shauna James Ahern’s blog. Ahern updates on Mondays and Thursdays, and she is definitely not raw or vegan. Nevertheless, I enjoy her writing, and I’m always a fan of eating gluten-free when possible. Her recipes are more mainstream than a lot of what I read, so this can be a nice source of information if you are interested in eating a little better (gluten-free, made from scratch), but don’t want to go raw or vegetarian.

The Fresh Network – Home of Get Fresh! magazine, the best (and only?) raw food magazine out there, the Fresh Network has lots of raw info, including recipes, products, articles and back issues (these aren’t free or cheap, but have great info). The original editor of the magazine is Karen Knowler, who is better known as The Raw Food Coach these days. Her website has good stuff too, if you need help making the raw transition.

Bonus Links!:

Here are a few interviews with two of my favorite celebrity raw foodists, Sarma Melngailis and Ani Phyo. Both these ladies have new uncookbooks coming out this year (click on their names for the Amazon links); be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.

Sarma on GLiving
Sarma on RawMom
Ani on RawMom 

I hope you take the time to explore these sites and pick up some useful nuggets!

Crazy Sexy Cancer survivor Kris Carr just launched a new, amazing website called Crazy Sexy Life. More on that later. For now, check out her welcome video.

Welcome to CSL! from Crazy Sexy Life on Vimeo.

This past month, my husband and I totally rearranged our house. We sectioned off our large dining room to create an eating area and a TV nook, and converted our little-used den into a home gym for me, which means my treadmill no longer lives in the garage. This has turned out to be a great arrangement, and all of our rooms are getting a lot more use than before. 

In addition to the treadmill, my gym has a TV/DVD player for workout videos, a yoga mat, a stability ball, free weights, a balance board, resistance bands, and more. All of these are pretty standard issue, and I’d like to inject a little variety and fun into my workouts, via two new tools.

The first is a hula hoop. Hooping is really blowing up; there are DVDs, classes at gyms, and more. Hooping is something I enjoyed as a kid, and I think it’s a fun way to work your core. Interested? Here are some resources:

Hoopnotica workout DVD
The Hoop Dance workout DVD
Hooping classes in Atlanta
Interview with a Hoop Dance Teacher
The internet hooping scene 

Another fun piece of equipment is a rebounder, which is essentially a mini-trampoline. I have to be careful in my house because of low ceilings, but I would love to have a rebounder. It’s fun, it gets your heart rate up, and it’s healthy on a cellular level. Sporting goods stores sell mini-trampolines for about $40, which is handy if you just want to give it a shot. However, if you take rebounding seriously and want your equipment to last, I would suggest investing a couple of hundred bucks into a rebounder from Raw Reform or One Lucky Duck. Here is the description from One Lucky Duck about the health benefits of rebounding:

What is the weakest force in the universe and has the most profound effect on the human body? Gravity. To compensate for this “G-force” we must continually work against it through body movement. Regular exercise is essential to maintain optimal health. Gravitational force is key to understanding resistive rebounding’s health benefits. By combining the forces of acceleration and deceleration, body cells are tricked into believing they are being subjected to increased gravity, which challenges your body’s cells to strengthen.

There is a lot written about these body bouncers, but here’s a few highlights:

-promotes detoxification via the lungs, skin, and lymph
-improves balance, strengthens and tones all your core muscles
-improves digestion, relieves constipation, increase metabolism
-stabilizes the nervous system thereby reducing stress
-boosts endorphins and helps you relax
-ideal for warming up for other sports
-safe for kids, pregnant women, elderly and those with compromised immune systems

Right now I can’t afford a good rebounder, but I’m planning to invest in one once I start working again. In the meantime, I can certainly afford a hula hoop and get shaking!