There are many reasons why you want to preserve muscle mass, as well as continue to build muscle, as you age....especially if you are a woman.

Below are some reasons why.....

Building muscle strength:

• Builds stronger bones
• Protects joints from wear and tear
• Better movement to help prevent injury
• Helps maintain stability, balance and overall health
• Helps you burn more calories when your body is at rest
• Assists with a better quality of life
• When you move better, you feel better and then you have a better chance to live independently for the length of your entire life span

I think those are some pretty damn good reasons why you want to preserve the muscle you have as well as inspire you to even build more muscle.

I have always done some form of working out my whole life. I did some working out with weights when in high school. But my first real love of the gym and weights came when I was in college.

Having played sports my whole life, I just figured I would play them in college too....

Everyone will respond a bit different under different circumstances and that includes the challenge we are all facing now.

A reason we all may react different may be related to the amounts of each element we have within us.

More air and ether means we have more Vata Dosha.

More fire and water means more Pitta Dosha.

More water and earth means we are more Kapha Dosha.

And the combinations of these 5 elements, which every living thing has in order to be alive, varies within us and thus the qualities of these elements will show what our unique tendencies may be during these types of challenges.

Let Explore Each One

Vata Dosha

Vata dosha is a combination of air and ether. So a situation where we are quarantined may lead vatas to be a bit more scattered and anxious. Air and ether have the quality of 'motion' to them. So vatas like to go on adventures. They are creative and have lots of ideas. That is one way to see the air quality of 'movement'. Air moves things.

So vatas need to really...

No matter what your unique body/mind constitution, (Ayurveda dosha) is, there are healthy habits that are good for everyone to help keep their mind and body balanced.

One of the keys to healthy balance is healthy digestion.

Another key is a healthy outlook or state of mind.

And there's a lot that one can do to promote a healthy digestion and a healthy state of mind that will work no matter what your dosha is.

Let's discuss a few.

Daily Routines To Keep You Healthy All Year Round:

• Having a consistent nighttime ritual - This consists of going to bed at the same time, or close to it, every night, with 10:30pm being the latest time if possible. It also means shutting your tech stuff down a good 30-60 minutes before you go to bed. You could incorporate a calming breathing practice or light stretching practice before you slide into bed.
• Having a consistent morning ritual - This means getting up at the same time every day, or close to it, by 6am or 6:30 the latest if possible. Then tongue...

We hear from many different sources 'out there' that it's all about the journey, not the destination.

In my life experiences thus far, that has become Truth for me.

In this video I am demonstrating a couple big milestones that happened for me today.

Since I fractured my kneecap in July, this is the first time I've been able to do two particular poses fully - Bow Pose and Wheel Pose (Danurasana and Urdhva Danurasana).

The real key thing to know though is this --> that for me it's not about actually being able to get into the full pose. Those things are more of an assessment for me. And it's not actually about looking amazing in each pose either. If that was key for me, I wouldn't be posting these poses out there on the internet.

For me it's about what I feel and sense within me when I'm in a pose....that's where the true learning and transformation occurs for me.

This video has a lot more to say than just the poses it's showing.

It’s all the work, devotion, dedication and...

This summer I did a whole series on the chakras in my yoga classes and just finished up another series around the 5 Elements.

In the Yoga & Ayurveda Teacher Training I'm taking, we learned about the 5 elements, and what I learned blew my mind and that's why I created sequences around them for my yoga classes.

Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, says that all of creation is formed from the 5 elements coming together.

The 5 elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.

Each element has certain qualities, and they also all have a relationship to each other.

Once you understand this, you can use the 5 elements to help balance your body and mind.

Let's start with Earth.

When you think of Earth, what do you think of?

The qualities of earth are solid, heavy, dense, immobile, hard, cool, grounded, stable. In the body think in terms of the dense components such as bones, muscle & fat tissue, joints, ligaments and tendons.

You can connect to the earth element any time you...