#boisementalhealth 
"One of the reasons I started my website is that I wanted a place for women to come together and dream. We women need to know that we don't have to hang on to an old dream that has stopped nurturing us -- that there is always time to start a new dream. This week's story excerpt is from my latest book, It Ain't Over Till It's Over. When phone saleswoman Natasha Coleman's weight had reached a perilous 428 pounds; a humiliating incident aboard an airplane convinced her to address the problem at long last—and in the process save her own life."
-- Marlo, MarloThomas.com
At five feet nine inches and just over 400 pounds, Natasha Coleman was, amazingly, unconcerned about her weight. Overeating fattening fried foods and sugary desserts was just normal for her family; exercise was not. And this wasn’t so unusual—most everyone in Natasha’s tight-knit African American community in Panama City, Florida, was heavy.
Naturally competitive, Natasha outperformed her coworkers at her job in phone sales. She was so good at closing deals, her company regularly awarded her with luxury trips for being a top performer. It was on one of these trips, in 2010, that she had an experience so mortifying it changed her life.
"When I got to my seat in first class, I couldn’t maneuver my body into it. I was just too big.” As a flight attendant tried to help, the other passengers began to stare, and what she saw in their eyes cut her to the bone. “The looks these people were giving me were cruel and judgmental, as if they were saying, ‘How dare you be so fat that you hold up this plane?’”
Told she’d have to move to a special seat at the very back of coach, Natasha walked down the center aisle of that plane feeling huge and humiliated. To make matters worse, when she arrived at the extra wide seat, the seat belt wouldn’t fit around her middle, so she had to flag down the flight attendant again and ask for an extender.
Article Continues Below Slideshow
At the time, First Lady Michelle Obama was launching her Let’s Move campaign, and Natasha was angered by statistics revealing that nearly half of all African American children were obese. “I started getting mad at food, mad at being surrounded by unhealthy options, mad at my lifestyle.”
So Natasha began what she calls a “fitness journey,” and two years later she weighed 280 pounds—and she felt amazing. “I went on a plane and was able to use the regular seat belt without an extender. That was a mind-blowing moment for me—to just sit down and buckle up like everyone else. I was so proud, I cried.”
Now closing in on her goal weight of 170 pounds, Natasha has added stair-climbing and weight lifting to her fitness routine and remains extremely disciplined about what she eats.
To read this story in its entirety, and to find out how Natasha was able to lose the weight and restart her life, get your copy of It Ain't Over Till It's Over, on sale now.
By Dorene Internicola
NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuters) - Ballet-inspired group fitness classes have leapt beyond the traditional wall-mounted barre to include tools like bungee cords and swishy balls for a full-body workout, according to fitness experts.
The classes, often paired with Pilates, aim to channel the inner ballerina, even in non-dancers.
BungeeBallet, created by former New York City Ballet dancer Rachel Piskin, is a group class at ChaiseFitness studio in New York City that puts a fitness spin on ballet moves.
Instead of the traditional ballet barre, the 45-minute class relies on an overhead bungee system that Piskin said sculpts the arms and challenges the core of her mostly female clientele.
"By holding on to the bungees, you can hold second position or first position," she said. "Coming from my background, it was important for me to really stay true to traditional ballet moves."
In both of these basic positions of ballet, the feet are aligned heel to heel, touching in first position, then spaced approximately 12 inches apart in second.
Piskin said the class sculpts the upper body, challenges the core, and works the upper thighs. A series of bungee-assisted petit allegros, or small ballet jumps, keeps the heart rate up.
"The class moves fluidly between one exercise and another and the bungees assist you to jump higher," she said.
California-based Tracey Mallett is the creator of Booty Barre, a fusion class that combines Pilates, dance and yoga techniques using the traditional ballet barre.
Along with cardio, strength, conditioning and flexibility components, the class, which is now available in over 20 countries, involves Pilates-inspired arm work with dumbbells and resistance bands.
Mallett, a former dancer and certified Pilates instructor, said teaching an arabesque to a civilian is not the same as teaching it to a dancer; even the barre serves a different purpose.
"(In class) the barre serves as something to hold on to for balance and ... to work on the muscles around the shoulder girdle," said Mallett. "In dance, we use the barre to practice and strengthen muscles for performance."
About 39 percent of gyms offer dance fitness classes, according to a 2014 report by IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association), the industry's trade association.
The ballet-inspired classes at Equinox, the upscale chain of U.S. fitness centers, come with and without the traditional wall-mounted barre.
Depending on the class, light weights, body bars and squishy balls are utilized, often in small, isometric movements, according to Layla Guest, group fitness manager in downtown Los Angeles.
"To work the upper body, we'll do functional arm movements such as bicep curls and tricep kickbacks, but in a small range of motion with two or three pound (0.9 to 1.4 kilo) weights," she said. "Instead of just a muscular workout, we're looking at how the muscles move."
Lower body work also delves into ballet technique.
"With one hand on the barre and the other lengthening out to the side, you get that beautiful shape ballerinas have, (and) those ballet postures, plies, little leg lifts and big kicks," she said. "You really get that coordination."
A final segment of Pilates-based core work is designed to work supporting muscles.
Guest said Pilates cultivates those dancer-defining long lean muscles, which lie under the larger muscles prized by bodybuilders.
"The joke is that if you measure yourself before and after ballet or Pilates, you'll grow taller," she said. "Actually, you haven't grown. You just stand taller."
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Gunna Dickson)
#idahomentalhealth
from Anxiety Agoraphobia Bipolar Disorder Evaluations and Treatment in Boise, Treasure Valley, Idaho http://ift.tt/PSnhmu
Stress News -- ScienceDaily
Work-home interference contributes to burnout
Conflicts between work and home —- in both directions -— are an important contributor to the risk of burnout, suggests a new study.
Health and Fitness - The Huffington Post
Move of the Day: High Knees
Incorporate this "move of the day" into your regular exercise regimen or just take a few minutes to give it a try. Performing the "move of the day" will add up, and you will begin to see noticeable changes in your body and an improved mental focus!
Benefits:
Improves stamina
Boosts metabolism
Increases athleticism
Instructions:
Step onto your right foot. Drive off the ball of your big toe as you take a slight jump off the ground. Lift left knee toward your chest as you jump. Swing your arms to help lift you high into the air.
Place the left foot down to meet the right. Jump off that foot as you draw right knee toward your chest. Once you are comfortable with this motion, quickly alternate knees up as you skip across the floor.
Perform the skip for 30 seconds then rest for 15 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
For the full workouts, please visit http://ift.tt/1eSNk31
Benefits:
Improves stamina
Boosts metabolism
Increases athleticism
Instructions:
Step onto your right foot. Drive off the ball of your big toe as you take a slight jump off the ground. Lift left knee toward your chest as you jump. Swing your arms to help lift you high into the air.
Place the left foot down to meet the right. Jump off that foot as you draw right knee toward your chest. Once you are comfortable with this motion, quickly alternate knees up as you skip across the floor.
Perform the skip for 30 seconds then rest for 15 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
For the full workouts, please visit http://ift.tt/1eSNk31
Told She Was Too Fat To Fly First Class, Mother Of Two Loses More Than 200 Pounds
"One of the reasons I started my website is that I wanted a place for women to come together and dream. We women need to know that we don't have to hang on to an old dream that has stopped nurturing us -- that there is always time to start a new dream. This week's story excerpt is from my latest book, It Ain't Over Till It's Over. When phone saleswoman Natasha Coleman's weight had reached a perilous 428 pounds; a humiliating incident aboard an airplane convinced her to address the problem at long last—and in the process save her own life."-- Marlo, MarloThomas.com
At five feet nine inches and just over 400 pounds, Natasha Coleman was, amazingly, unconcerned about her weight. Overeating fattening fried foods and sugary desserts was just normal for her family; exercise was not. And this wasn’t so unusual—most everyone in Natasha’s tight-knit African American community in Panama City, Florida, was heavy.
Naturally competitive, Natasha outperformed her coworkers at her job in phone sales. She was so good at closing deals, her company regularly awarded her with luxury trips for being a top performer. It was on one of these trips, in 2010, that she had an experience so mortifying it changed her life.
"When I got to my seat in first class, I couldn’t maneuver my body into it. I was just too big.” As a flight attendant tried to help, the other passengers began to stare, and what she saw in their eyes cut her to the bone. “The looks these people were giving me were cruel and judgmental, as if they were saying, ‘How dare you be so fat that you hold up this plane?’”
Told she’d have to move to a special seat at the very back of coach, Natasha walked down the center aisle of that plane feeling huge and humiliated. To make matters worse, when she arrived at the extra wide seat, the seat belt wouldn’t fit around her middle, so she had to flag down the flight attendant again and ask for an extender.
Article Continues Below Slideshow
At the time, First Lady Michelle Obama was launching her Let’s Move campaign, and Natasha was angered by statistics revealing that nearly half of all African American children were obese. “I started getting mad at food, mad at being surrounded by unhealthy options, mad at my lifestyle.”
So Natasha began what she calls a “fitness journey,” and two years later she weighed 280 pounds—and she felt amazing. “I went on a plane and was able to use the regular seat belt without an extender. That was a mind-blowing moment for me—to just sit down and buckle up like everyone else. I was so proud, I cried.”
Now closing in on her goal weight of 170 pounds, Natasha has added stair-climbing and weight lifting to her fitness routine and remains extremely disciplined about what she eats.
To read this story in its entirety, and to find out how Natasha was able to lose the weight and restart her life, get your copy of It Ain't Over Till It's Over, on sale now.
Ballet-Inspired Fitness Classes Go Beyond The Barre
By Dorene Internicola
NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuters) - Ballet-inspired group fitness classes have leapt beyond the traditional wall-mounted barre to include tools like bungee cords and swishy balls for a full-body workout, according to fitness experts.
The classes, often paired with Pilates, aim to channel the inner ballerina, even in non-dancers.
BungeeBallet, created by former New York City Ballet dancer Rachel Piskin, is a group class at ChaiseFitness studio in New York City that puts a fitness spin on ballet moves.
Instead of the traditional ballet barre, the 45-minute class relies on an overhead bungee system that Piskin said sculpts the arms and challenges the core of her mostly female clientele.
"By holding on to the bungees, you can hold second position or first position," she said. "Coming from my background, it was important for me to really stay true to traditional ballet moves."
In both of these basic positions of ballet, the feet are aligned heel to heel, touching in first position, then spaced approximately 12 inches apart in second.
Piskin said the class sculpts the upper body, challenges the core, and works the upper thighs. A series of bungee-assisted petit allegros, or small ballet jumps, keeps the heart rate up.
"The class moves fluidly between one exercise and another and the bungees assist you to jump higher," she said.
California-based Tracey Mallett is the creator of Booty Barre, a fusion class that combines Pilates, dance and yoga techniques using the traditional ballet barre.
Along with cardio, strength, conditioning and flexibility components, the class, which is now available in over 20 countries, involves Pilates-inspired arm work with dumbbells and resistance bands.
Mallett, a former dancer and certified Pilates instructor, said teaching an arabesque to a civilian is not the same as teaching it to a dancer; even the barre serves a different purpose.
"(In class) the barre serves as something to hold on to for balance and ... to work on the muscles around the shoulder girdle," said Mallett. "In dance, we use the barre to practice and strengthen muscles for performance."
About 39 percent of gyms offer dance fitness classes, according to a 2014 report by IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association), the industry's trade association.
The ballet-inspired classes at Equinox, the upscale chain of U.S. fitness centers, come with and without the traditional wall-mounted barre.
Depending on the class, light weights, body bars and squishy balls are utilized, often in small, isometric movements, according to Layla Guest, group fitness manager in downtown Los Angeles.
"To work the upper body, we'll do functional arm movements such as bicep curls and tricep kickbacks, but in a small range of motion with two or three pound (0.9 to 1.4 kilo) weights," she said. "Instead of just a muscular workout, we're looking at how the muscles move."
Lower body work also delves into ballet technique.
"With one hand on the barre and the other lengthening out to the side, you get that beautiful shape ballerinas have, (and) those ballet postures, plies, little leg lifts and big kicks," she said. "You really get that coordination."
A final segment of Pilates-based core work is designed to work supporting muscles.
Guest said Pilates cultivates those dancer-defining long lean muscles, which lie under the larger muscles prized by bodybuilders.
"The joke is that if you measure yourself before and after ballet or Pilates, you'll grow taller," she said. "Actually, you haven't grown. You just stand taller."
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Gunna Dickson)
#idahomentalhealth
from Anxiety Agoraphobia Bipolar Disorder Evaluations and Treatment in Boise, Treasure Valley, Idaho http://ift.tt/PSnhmu