Align Pilates® Minneapolis

After the excesses of the holiday season, many of us want nothing more than a healthy start to the new year. However, we all know that motivation can be an issue during the dark, cold days of January. But here at Align, we get it! And we’ve designed a two-week winter cleanse that will snap you out of your malaise and get you focused on balancing your body, mind and spirit. Starting on January 20, join a group of like-minded people who are committed to a healthy shift in priorities. Align’s second annual winter cleanse will kick off on Friday evening with a two-hour nutrition workshop, where you’ll learn about healthy and safe ways to detoxify the body through food. Superfoods and meal planning will be discussed, and you’ll leave with a variety of recipes to help fuel you through the program. The Align cleanse has been designed to help you reset your metabolism, build your immune system, create flexibility and increase your circulatory system and heart rate. Through yoga, barre class and Align’s exclusive Prana Stretch technique, you’ll emerge from the program feeling centered, strong and healthy. Sign up now–only a few spots left!

One Eskimo – Kandi

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Hey Marseilles – To Travels And Trunks

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The morning workout. Sounds like a drag, doesn’t it? The skies are turning significantly more dark and chilly, making it exceedingly hard to drag myself out of bed in the wee hours. And I simply cannot be trusted to put on an acceptable gym outfit at 5:30 in the morning. I hardly know who I am at that hour. So I love it when we stumble upon things like these: Pilates Moves to Energize Your Morning.

This fab Pilates circuit can be done in between rubbing the sleep from your eyes and heading for your first cup of coffee, right from the comfort of your bedroom, or wherever you prefer to exercise in your P.J’s. There’s nothing like a long and lean stretch to jumpstart your day. Send a little fresh air to your muscles and you’ll feel refreshed and energized before you even hit the shower. Just remember to take those jam-jams off first.

Bonus: If reading the pose how-to’s doesn’t quite cut it, here are some visual aids:

Ball Roll

Single-Leg Stretch

Single-Leg Circles

“9 AM – 3 PM”

Half Roll Back

We love it when yoga turns up in the most unlikely of places. Like bull riding.

Austin Meier, 23 year-old champion bull rider from Oklahoma, discovered yoga via his wife, as all good bull riders do. After giving it a go, he soon discovered that yoga’s age-old breathing and stretching exercises paid off. Literally. This tough buckaroo strongly believes that incorporating yoga into his pre-ride workout regimen helped him score over $60,000 in the 2009 bull riding finals. This season, he has raked in over $200,000. Wowza.

Of course, the money comes with a price. Surely you can imagine the ribbing that comes to one young bull rider from his bucking bronco cohorts. However, like a true yogi, Meier rises above the naysayers. He knows that yoga helps with his center of gravity, and in bull riding, this is particularly important. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to ride a mechanical bull (or see Urban Cowboy) you know that riders are bucked and whipped every which way from Tuesday. It’s important to know how to position your body so that you can hold on for the entire ride. Yoga also helps with Meier’s mental focus, which we can imagine is extremely important when you are riding a 1,600 pound, hairy, snorting animal that would likely eat you for lunch if only given the chance.

Hold on tight, Meier, and don’t let go of your yoga practice. It seems to be doing your body (and your pocket book) good.

The healthiest picks for your weekend pleasures and indulgences.

Got to Have It
fit2bemom

• What: A clothing line designed for ladies fit for motherhood.
• Why: Lean, mean baby-bearing machines.
• Where: Online at fit2bemom inside and out

Bits and Bites
Jasmine Deli

• What: An Eat Street gem serving up the best sammies in town.
• Why: A Vietnamese hoagie by any other name just isn’t the same.
• Where: 2532 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis

Around Town
Bye Bye Liver

• What: A zealous celebration of drinking including sketch comedy and interactive games.
• Why: Liver. Love. Laugh.
• When: Friday, September 10 @ 9:30 pm and Saturday, September 11 @ 7:00 & 9:30 pm
• Where: Camp Bar Cabaret ~ 490 North Robert Street, St. Paul

I Think I Can
Daily Pilates and a Glass of Red Wine

• What: Madge’s winning fitness regime.
• Why: Do it six days a week for health and happiness.
• Where: Online at Mail Online

Jose Gonzalez – Heartbeats

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Ringa Ringa – Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack

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