Sadie Nardini | pg.2

Even Michelle Obama is a little over all the hype surrounding her supertoned arms, as evidenced by the fact that she recently appeared on national TV wearing a long-sleeved top and told the interviewer “See — I covered up today!”

Waking up doesn’t have to be something you do begrudgingly after pressing the snooze button nine times. It can be something you want to do, a crucial 5-minute window of opportunity that changes your whole day for the better.

DOWN DOG PULSES

As yogis, we’re supposed to remain spiritually focused, even in the face of harsh realities like dressing room lighting and cellulite. We’re taught to be in the world but not of it, and that includes not letting wordly things, like the lonely size 6 jeans in the back of the closet and the rising number on the scale that goes with their banishment, mar our quest for inner peace.

I’m 37 years old, but look me in the face, give my body the once over, and like most others, you might peg my age around 27. That’s not vanity talking … it’s the reality of a consistent yoga regimen. I feel like Benjamin Button, getting younger and more vital instead of older with each year.

This Valentine’s Day, I encourage you to start having a sizzling affair. Not the way you think, though — I want you to choose your closest soul mate, the one who’s been there for you during all the ups and downs of your life and the person who has never, ever left you, and never will.

Oprah’s recent confessions about her struggles with her weight struck a major chord with me — and with many of my students who are beginning to battle the bulge through yoga. And I know exactly how they feel. I may have a long, lean physique now … but I didn’t always.

In this post:

• My Own Battle of the Bulge

In more than a decade as a yoga instructor, I’ve noticed that yogis are often super strong in the arms and legs, but the core? Not so much.

They are FINALLY over! Don’t worry if you consumed too many calories this season. Holiday weight gain doesn’t stand a chance against my turbo-boosted Sun Salutations.

Adding core-toning work in the transitions between poses in the classic Sun Salutation series amps up the benefits of all the poses. I call these Core Salutations. When you follow this sequence, you’re doing twice the yoga in the same amount of time. It’s a calm centering practice that will burn off those sugar cookies and eggnog, fast.

What are your resolutions this year? If you’re like many people, you’ve got a goal in mind: lose weight, make a change in your job or relationships, treat yourself better, or otherwise embark on an Operation: Transformation!

Not to be a total bummer, but no matter how many hours we’ve put in on the mat, how many “Om”s we sing or how many times we dent the meditation cushion, anyone can regress in times of stress. We get snarky, we lash out, we turn on the waterworks and display a host of other behaviors better suited to the Terrible Twos than, say, a holiday dinner at the adult table.