My 10 Favorite Asanas

In no particular order, here are my favorite yoga poses and their benefits. Most of these pictures capture the poses in their full form but there are always variations.

Bound Warrior - Builds strength, improves limberness in the spine, and is a great stretch for the whole upper body.

Tree - Works on balance, concentration, and strengthens feet Remember to do the same to each side with all poses for full benefits.

Cow Face - Supposedly it's supposed to represent a cow with one ear up, one down, and the legs are the lips. Personally I think that describes a donkey. This is a deep stretch that strengthens the spine and with regular practice, helps to relieve hip and knee pain.

Eagle - Also a strengthening and balancing pose, this decompresses the spine, knees, hips, ribs and shoulders.

Half Moon - Strengthens and improves balance, this aids digestion and lifts the mood.

Half Pigeon - Personally this makes me want to swear because it's a very intense way to open the hips and mine are apparently fairly tight. The more challenging, the more you need it. We hold stress, tension, and anxiety here so it can release a fair amount of emotions and feel very frustrating. This pose stimulates organs, decompresses the spine and improves alignment.

One Legged Down Dog - Yes, it looks like a peeing dog. This builds upper body strength, relieves stress, improves digestion, and alleviates cramps.

Plow - Good for headaches, insomnia, thyroid, and abdominal organs. This will also give a good stretch to the back and shoulders, especially if you spend your day hunched over a computer.

Revolved Head to Knee - This is pretty much good for everything. Your muscles, back pain, organs, you name it, this is good for you.

Extended Triangle - Relieves backache, improves flat feet, and relieves stress.

Namaste!

Luscious Lashes

Long, thick lashes are what every girl wants. They frame your eyes and define their shape. Unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with a perfect set of dark, thick curly lashes. Genetics, age, chemo, whatever the cause, some of us just don't have it. Here are the alternatives:

False Lashes

Ever look at mascara commercials and ads and think that if you buy it you will have those lashes? It's not going to happen unless you put on some false lashes first.

They are very affordable, ranging from $5-20 in stores depending on how fancy you want to get. You can even try Ebay to order multiples from Asia where girls sport false lashes daily. They come in full strips or individuals (which are more like clusters). The strips are easier and faster. The individuals give a more natural look or accents certain spots. These lashes can be reused, just remove glue remnants and store carefully. To clean them, very gently dab a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and lightly sweep over the hairs.

TIP: To avoid looking like you have two rows of hairs growing out of your eyelids, lightly curl your natural lashes first, just from halfway on the hair shaft to the tip. Don't over-curl. The curl in your natural lashes will match the curl in the false ones. Apply the lashes as close to the roots as possible without losing contact with the skin. Very carefully use the flat end of a toothpick to gently dab a little glue to the outer edges of the lash strip as reinforcement. If it looks like a mess, don't worry, the glue dries clear. Lightly sweep one coat of mascara over the entire set to bind your natural lashes to the false ones. Use a liquid liner to finish to blending.

Lash Extensions

Done in the beauty salon, these are more expensive, up to $160 for a new set and maintenance visits anywhere between $25-50. However the benefits are clear: they look real and are fuss free. The esthetician applies each hair one by one and last anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks, shedding with the natural lash or from wear and tear. These cannot be worn with mascara if you want them to last. Oils will separate the lashes from the glue and too much steam will do the same.

Lash Serums

What's the hype around these? They promise fuller, longer lashes and the best part is, they are REAL. They start from a $10 lash conditioning treatment to a $170 serum that was formulated by physicians. Lucky you, I bought into some of these claims and tried a couple myself so you don't have to!

Rapidlash is a $60 tube with very meagre contents. A thin, nightly application is all that's needed and is supposed to last up to 6 weeks. It was created after an ointment for glaucoma patients resulted in thicker, darker, and longer lashes as a side-effect. After 3 weeks, I definitely saw a change. After four weeks people were asking if my lashes were real. That's how long they were! Because of the price tag, I sought an alternative after the tube ran out.

Avance is a Korean lash serum that I ordered from Ebay after doing some research. $8 a tube plus shipping was a steal, not to mention how much more of the product I was getting. I applied this liberally, nightly. My lashes turned out thicker and I guess fairly long but not as long as with Rapidlash. I liked that this was less pricey and the results were comparable.

There are many serums in the drugstore, none of them I've tried but my theory is that if you condition your lashes by keeping them nourished they will take longer to shed, thus each lash is retained longer. I can attest that once I stopped using these serums my lashes shed normally and they didn't reach the same lengths as before. Or I could just be getting old. :(. Applying lash serum has worked it's way into my daily routine now and I won't be stopping anytime soon. :)

Origins

Not to blatantly promote but...this is really good stuff.

I've been using Origins for about 7 weeks now. Typically, when starting a new skin care regimen it can take up to 6 weeks for your skin to adjust to the full benefits. Common misconceptions people have when trying something new is that if it doesn't work right away or if they find conditions get worse, the product will not work. In many cases the skin is adjusting or may be purging which is why breakouts are common when switching to something new. Be patient!

Although it's all very scientific I am going to contradict that lesson. I am not patient when it comes to my skin. If reactions don't subside in 10 days, it's gone! Having more than my fair share of skin ailments in my lifetime I've tried dozens of products. DOZENS. What makes me move on to the next is that after the honeymoon period if you will, the skin gets too comfortable with the product and it begins to get problematic again. This usually happens after 4 months. Another major factor to skin changes is the four seasons. Winter and summer months are particularly unfriendly to it so it's important to change up the products.

My choice to go with Origins started after I got tired of trying products that clean well but leave my skin irritated or end up clogging my pores. The main culprits: synthetic ingredients, preservatives, artificial fragrances and fillers. The only way to avoid any of these are to go organic and all natural. In came Origins. After reading thousands of reviews I tossed my regular products and bought the three most important products in a skincare regimen. Cleanser, toner and moisturizer. Four weeks later I now have a night cream, two masks, eye cream, body wash, body cream and a mattifying lotion. So far no reactions! I highly recommend. Worth every dollar!

http://www.origins.com/index.tmpl