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Episode 93 – Yoga teacher Kathryn Budig on aiming true, goddess Diana, and how she approaches failure.
Woo hoo! I’m interviewing Kathryn Budig in today’s episode. If you haven’t yet heard about Kathryn, then I must tell you: Kathryn is an internationally known Yoga teacher, author and founder of Aim True Yoga. She is the Women’s Health Magazine yoga expert and a contributor for The Huffington Post, Yoga Journal, Gaiam, The Daily Love and MindBodyGreen.
She is also famous for her arm balances. Don’t believe me? Look at that.
Hmm…if you start practicing today, you should do that in 3 months?
Or, that…
This arm balance seems harder. Maybe 6 months for that? 1 year?
In this interview I am satisfying my curiousity about Kathryn, goddess Diana, and how Kathryn handles failure. As a Greek I am more than proud to discover how Goddess Diana from the Greek mythology acted as an inspiration for her. Let’s start watching!
Kathryn Budig casually striking a yoga pose on Yoga Journal’s cover.
Here are the topics we cover in detail:
- Where does Kathryn’s “Aim true” come from and how is it related to Goddess Diana from the Greek mythology? (1:00)
- What does “aim true” really mean? (2:00)
- Why yoga? What has a teacher like Kathryn gotten from yoga? (3.30)
- How did Kathryn feel when at first she tried to do yoga poses, e.g., arm balances, that she just couldn’t do? How did she handle the “I cannot do this but the person next to me can?” (5:00)
- What do people who make yoga a habit do differently than those who don’t? (7:00)
- What advice would Kathryn give you about today as your personal guru? (10:00)
- What’s the difference between expectations and intentions? (11.30)
- Where you can find Kathryn (13:00)
Can’t wait to connect more with Kathryn? Start with her site, or follow her on Facebook.
Episode 92 – The Star Crunch: Best home exercise for abs.
Who knew that hugging yourself would work your abs?
Even though I usually advise avoiding exercises that target your abs specifically, I do think that if there is one abs exercise you should include in your home or gym workout, then it’s the Star Crunch.
I hadn’t really discovered this exercise, until I did 6 sets of it a few weeks ago. The result? I felt sore and realized that my body had muscles I had no idea were there! And this is exactly the reason I believe this is the best home exercise for abs.
It works your upper abs, lower abs, your abs deep within…It pretty much does not leave anything out.
So if you are ready…let’s see how the Star Crunch, the best home exercise for abs, is done!
Star Crunch Breakdown
Starting position
Lie on the floor with legs and arms spread out, as if you were a start.
Ending position
Lift your legs, arms, and core up in one movement. Hug your legs.
Want more?
Kill your abs.
- Pick your favorite plank variation.
- Then, go deeper with your abs.
- Then, do a few more planks.
A good posture needs killer abs and a killer butt. Seriously. Try one of the best butt workouts ever.
Or, do a complete home workout routine.
Episode 91 – Got 30 seconds? Take a moment for you.
Fitness Reloaded episodes are usually kind of fancy…but today is different. This “take a moment for you” episode is super-simple. No fancy DSLR camera, audio recording devices, expensive backdrops, and photographer lights used. Just me taking a moment for myself…with you…using my computer’s webcam.
It’s very easy to let life keep us busy. Now is a good time to take a moment for you, just for you. Do nothing else. Just sit down and “be”. You can focus on your breath, think about what would make this day awesome, or just…be. You don’t really need to do anything to take a moment for yourself.
But be warned: Taking a moment for you may make you relax. It feels really good. Once you get started, you might actually want to take more moments like this one. You might get addicted to feeling good.
That said, let’s do this.
Hey hey…
I got an idea.
If you enjoyed taking a moment for yourself, then why not make it a habit?
You can do it after you wake up…as part of your morning routine, or after you go to bed at night as part of your evening routine. I love this idea! I think I will do it at night…as I relax myself into sleep.
What about you? Will you make taking moments for you a habit? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.
Episode 90 – The two major exercise breathing techniques & the one rule you should never break.
If you never break this one rule, you will avoid turning blue. No kidding.
[Shh...There is a dirty secret below. But I cannot tell right now.]
“Inhale through the nose, expand your lungs, exhale as you push your body back in the starting position….Now repeat again. Inhale though the nose…”
I could never understand the emphasis on breathing during exercise. Why all those different breathing techniques? Wasn’t it enough that I was working my body? Why did I have to pay attention to how I breathed?
When I was a novice exerciser I used to get really confused with breathing during exercise. The instructor would tell me when to breathe in or out, yet that would only add to my confusion.
Not only did I have to pay attention to the exercise at hand, I was also supposed to somehow make sense of how I was supposed to breathe. All those different techniques and tempos were the equivalent of clutter for me.
Luckily, I can see things more clearly now. I now know when to inhale and exhale. But most importantly, I know that as long as I don’t make this one mistake, as long as I don’t break this one rule, then I cannot really get it wrong.
In today’s episode I am showing you…
The two major breathing techniques practiced during exercise along with the one breathing mistake you should never make.
Dirty Secret: These breathing techniques are not just great for exercise. They are amazing for relaxation and meditation. Just try them! 
So which breathing technique do you prefer? And do you ever catch yourself breaking the breathing rule I described? I’d love to know! Find me on Twitter or Facebook.
Episode 89 – Is your back straight? A simple technique to check whether you have kyphosis or not.
A few weeks ago I would have responded to this question with a big YES! But then I learned this simple kyphosis check, and to my disappointment, I discovered that I too have a rounded upper back.
You see all those hours of daily slouching, sitting in front of my computer, take their toll.
In today’s episode I am showing you the simple kyphosis check that opened my eyes, so you can see for yourself just how straight your back is!
If you discovered you have kyphosis:
Don’t get discouraged. Most of us in the Western World don’t have a perfect posture, because we spend all this time sitting and slouching.
Here is what you can to get back into having a straight posture:
1. Daily – teach yourself to slouch a little less, and sit straight a little more. Honestly, all the exercises in the world won’t help you if you keep having the same bad habits that created the kyphosis in the first place.
2. Daily – do this upper back release technique. It will greatly help your upper back muscles open up.
3. Three times a week or more – do the best posture exercise ever. It’s perfect for your upper back and for people who sit too long. Make sure you do it right.
Really interested in having a straight posture?
Check this episode for a super simple technique to check whether your shoulders are rounded or not. It’s a quick hack to straighten your posture after a few hours of continuous sitting…
Want more?
Check out whether your exercise program accidentally…ruins your posture.
Was your back straight? I’d love to know! Find me on Twitter or Facebook.
