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I have finally found my home yoga studio in Charlottesville. I’ve talked about Elements Hot Yoga on the blog before after they opened 2016, but I wanted to share a tour of their new space! They moved from further up 29N down to the Shops at Stonefield (next to Rocksalt) over the summer. The new location is so convenient and closer to town. I love going to Mezeh for lunch afterwards! The owners of Elements, Kendall and Monica, are so nice. Thomas and I take both of their classes the most!
The studio is gorgeous with lots of cool lights and reclaimed wood. The locker room entrance:
They brought the color-changing lights from the old space, and the studio is a steamy 90+ degrees at all times. Just looking at this picture makes my stress melt away! I often get there 10 minutes early to enjoy meditating in the heated room before class begins.
I know there are a lot of people who are afraid of hot yoga. (I meet them all the time in person.) I’ve heard people say they might faint of heat stroke, are nervous about being trapped in a class, or are otherwise apprehensive about trying something new. Let me tell you why I love hot yoga and this studio so much!
I never have to make myself go to a yoga class – it always feels like a treat! From the super nice locker rooms to the warm studio heat that greets you like a blanket, to the lavender towel at the end, I feel so relaxed going there!
Refreshing shower anyone?!
While with yoga you always “build heat from within,” walking into a warm (90 degrees or warmer) studio means that muscles are never cold. I can’t tell you how many not-hot yoga classes I have shivered my way through! I am cold by nature, so I need the heat (and I am not afraid of sweat!) There is nothing like a deep triangle pose or revolved half moon when the muscles are warm. Yoga is about equally as beneficial to my muscles as a good massage.
I love hot vinyasa style because it’s a challenging flow workout that burns the muscles, gets your heart rate up a bit, and pushes you to the limit, but it ends with a lovely little rest. If I simply lie down for a nap I don’t enjoy it as much as if I work hard first, and the same “work hard, play hard” mentality is the backbone of a good vinyasa class. Savasana feels that much better after I’ve twisted and stretched for the 50 minutes prior. The cold face towel at the end is the perfect icing on the cake!
I have one of those brains that is hard to turn off, and thus I’m one of those people who probably needs meditation the most. I love having music in class because it actually helps eliminate distractions. Music, while sometimes stimulating, allows me to ignore all the sounds of the other people – coughing, creaking, breathing – that can sometimes drive me crazy. I love the way Elements starts and ends with at totally dim room, only brightening the lights for the most energizing portion of the class.
What attracted me to yoga back in 2009 was all the love. Classes are often opened with inspiring quotes, instructors give little talks on overcoming obstacles, and I feel extra thankful for all my body can do. I always leave the class with a positive attitude.
In addition to yoga, Elements has a full cycle studio! Their newest class, The Fifth Element, combines cycle, strength and yoga into one power hour of a class. They offer core strength classes in the yoga studio, and all kinds of cycle combinations.
Here are some of their upcoming events to check out:
I am receiving yoga classes in exchange for spreading some good yoga news!
The post The Elements & Yoga Love appeared first on Kath Eats Real Food.
Hi, guys! Happy Friday! I can’t wait to tell you guys about these super easy ideas for boosting the good bacteria in you and your child’s gut!
I’m so glad the weekend is just about here because the Haupert family is on vacation! Woohoo! Starting tonight with Disney on Ice, we have a jam-packed weekend before we leave for Scottsdale on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, Murphy won’t be making the trek to Arizona (he’d lose his mind on a plane), but he’ll be staying with our favorite babysitter-turned-pug-sitter for the week. She has a dog too, so Murphy always has a fun time!
This morning started with my go-to breakfast of the week: Iced coffee with a Banana Flax Protein Breakfast Cookie (with a little smear of peanut butter on top). I tend to pick one or two breakfasts to make throughout the week just so I don’t have to think about it in the morning. Then, by the time I’m sick of eating the same thing over and over again, it’s a new week, and I try something totally different. It’s a good way to keep breakfast easy and exciting!
So, I listened to the best podcast episode on the Wellness Mama (loving her content) last week: Decoding Autoimmune Disease with Dr. Tom O’Bryan. You guys know how obsessed I am with learning all things related to automimmune disease and even more so now that I have a tiny human to worry about. Dr. Tom O’Bryan shared so much awesome information, but I really appreciated his advice for what parents can do to help their kids potentially avoid autoimmune problems by boosting their microbiome and good bacteria in the gut. His ideas were super realistic and definitely kid-friendly, so just had to share!
Buy non-pasteurized fermented vegetables – There are many different flavors of fermented foods nowadays and you only need a little in your diet. As adults, he said one forkful a day is great. For kids, maybe a teaspoonful, and if they don’t like it, you can mix it into their mashed potatoes or other foods,so they won’t taste it. I actually bought some fermented orange ginger carrots at Whole Foods last week and successfully mixed a tiny bit into a smoothie for Qman. Some is better than none, right? I’ve also added at least a forkful to my own meals. They’re actually really good!
Serve root vegetables – Get turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, yellow beets, red beets, carrots, sweet potatoes – even if you don’t know what to do with them! Then have one or two root vegetables every day as part of the meals that you prepare for your family. Sweet potato wedges? Parsnip fries? Just serve them with ketchup, right? 🙂 I’ve been making a big sheet pan of root veggies and then just storing them in the fridge to reheat as needed. Why root veggies? Root vegetables are prebiotics. The good bacteria in your gut are probiotics. The root vegetables are the prebiotics that feed the probiotics.
Make homemade applesauce – Here’s Dr. O’Bryan’s quick tutorial: Take 4 apples, dice ’em up, throw ’em in a pot, pour water in to about one-third the level of the apples, add some cinnamon and a few raisins, and then bring the water to a boil for about 5 to 8 minutes until the skin of the apple starts to glisten. When it starts to glisten, turn it off. That’s it. Easy as that! The glistening means that you are releasing the pectin from the apples so that it’s easily accessible. When you eat the applesauce, the pectin triggers increased production of good bacteria in your gut. He said this is especially helpful after giving kids antibiotics.
Don’t you love these ideas? They’re so simple and such a great way to help boost your family’s gut health! 🙂
Do you do anything to boost your gut health?
The post Easy Ways to Boost the Good Bacteria in Your Child’s Gut appeared first on Carrots 'N' Cake.
