Best Barre Workout DVD

Best Barre Workout DVD

"Barre Nouvelle's owner and creator, Deborah Thompson is a former National Ballet of Canada dancer and veteran fitness instructor. Deborah is also an international trainer of the original Lotte Berk Technique trained under Lotte Berk's daughter, Esther Fairfax."

(Above from the website Barre Nouvelle.) I haven't experienced it myself but I'm quite sure it's something I need. 

It is owned and has been created by Deborah Thompson, whom I knew as Debbie Todd back in her National Ballet School of Canada/Company days. The studio is located in Etobicoke, Ontario.

When I went on Face Book a few days ago I was very happy to see a message from her with a link to what she is now teaching. 

I found a great youtube ballet barre workout to recommend after finding the following:

And I think I could do this! And that means almost any retired ballet dancer can! 

I'll never recover the strength I used to have in my hamstrings, gluts and Quadratus Lumborum back muscles. But I do what I can. 

Being retired from ballet isn't the easiest lifestyle. Coordinating work time and workout time can be difficult. 

If you can't visit Barre Nouvelle here's a complete set of Lotte Burk DVD's to learn your workouts with. 

There are single Lotte Burk DVD's to choose from as well.

World Ballet Day Live!

Company class at The National Ballet of Canada taught by Rex Harrington just finished. On to interviews!

This live event will go on all day!

Soon we'll see a full dress rehearsal for Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale.

You can see a schedule of the companies and programs here.

Right now Heather Ogden is interviewing Evan McKee - so I'm off to listen!

This live presentation is broadcast from the Place Des Arts in Montreal.

Get Better Hormone Balance With Water

 Can doing laundry with plain water help with hormonal balance?

I have written about hormone balance and how crucial it is to avoid weight gain.

Today I heard a lengthy explanation about using a magnetic laundry system instead of petroleum based detergents.

I have heard about this for a long time - but this is not the laundry balls I thought it was. It is a magnet system. I'm tempted to try it.

• no estrogen mimickers in the laundry (rubs off into skin)

• no chemicals

• prolongs fabric life

• saves water (don't need rinse cycle)

The prime interest for me is the non-toxic factor. Petroleum products are estrogen mimickers. They are the base for detergents. Detergents also contain formaldehyde which stinks.

So heavy perfumes are used to cover that up. Called phthalates. Click here if you'd like to read details about that.

Hormone health is crucial to healthy weight and happiness too. Hormonal imbalance leads to anxiety, depression, medications (that often in turn increase weight) and general misery.

The MLS Magnetic Laundry System may be a component of the various things a person/household can do to be healthier. I look forward to using it!

See the amazon reviews MLS magnetic laundry system.

Hip Stretching Exercises - Flexibility!

Hip stretching exercises are important for flexibility and strength.

The reason these muscles, which connect the thighs to the pelvis and spine, need to be exercised and conditioned with lengthening is that your general posture is balanced and stabilized by them.

The Hip Flexors can shorten and lose elasticity if you sit on a chair for several hours a day, or spend many hours driving.

The Gluteus and Piriformis muscles (your butt muscles) can retain chronic tension if not worked out and stretched.

Tight hip muscles lead to loss of balance, tense low back and low back pain, and sore hips that further decrease your desire to stay moving.

The Essentrics Flexibility Workout For Athletes conditions the whole body. This is important because --everything is connected to everything else.The workout emphasizes the lower body yet includes upper exercises.

If you are a beginner I recommend Classical Stretch workouts. The one pictured below shows Miranda Esmonde White stretching the Hip Flexor muscle. 

This deep lunge type of stretch can be done after walking, jogging, or any routine workout. Always be well warmed up before you do stretches! You can do stretches halfway through a walk or run, which for some makes the exercise more comfortable.

Here is a detailed description of an exercise that stretches hip flexors.

Scroll down to the last quarter of the blog post - you'll see it!

More Classical Stretch workouts are reviewed at Muscle Stretching Exercises.

I hope these recommendations help with your hip stretching exercises/flexibility!

Facts About Saturated Fats - My First Kindle Book!

Facts About Saturated Fats 

This Kindle book is 4-F-r-e-e until midnight August 26! it is a short guide for ballet dancers --and anyone, so you all can make sure you're eating the right healthy fats!

I hope you'll let me know what you think of it (you can do so at amazon). It will be updated and improved over time.

It is important to know how to buy high quality fats and oils that will give you energy and not make you fat like junk foods do. It's vital to get the good stuff and avoid the chemicals that are in many commercial brands.

So get the free download! (It will be $2.99 after the promo period is over.)

Facts About Saturated Fats.

 

Over 40 Over 50 Easy Weight Loss

On June 13 I wrote “I Didn't Mean ToLose 4 Pounds!”

That is just over six weeks ago and I have now lost 10 pounds!

I got into fat burning mode!

I stopped eating carbs - breads, crackers, grains, pastas, desserts - years ago.

But I didn't lose weight!

And in the past year, I began to gain. This is horrible on the morale of a retired dancer. I increased my exercise and bought a pedometer to ensure I walked enough every day. 

If you have a desk job, this is something worth keeping track of.

The fact that I write after my normal job hours doesn't help. I can exercise while reading or watching a movie - but not while typing.

What I have kept up for 6 weeks is intermittent fasting which I learned about in a book called “Effortless Healing”  by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

This is simply confining one's meals into an 8 hour a day time span.

And it's flexible. What a person needs to do is fast for 14-16 hours. This kicks the body into fat burning mode.

I stayed thin for twenty years after I stopped dancing. But then the inevitable changes occurred and I slowly gave up snacks, desserts - and finally all “white foods”, the carb laden foods.

I felt hopeless and helpless, increasing clothing sizes while I exercised and dieted. Ugh!

If this sounds like you, if you're over 40 or over 50 and need an easy weight loss method, get yourself a copy of “Effortless Healing” and see what you think.

Charlotte Web CBD Oil Sale - Antiinflammatory

Buy Charlotte Web CBD Oil

Why am I writing about Charlotte Web Oil Sale?

Because:

• it is a hemp oil product with no THC (the stuff that gets you high)

• it is legal - no prescription needed

• it is anti-inflammatory

• reports say it helps you get better sleep

• it is a powerful anti-oxidant

I can't help but think that a lot of dancers - especially retired dancers with osteoarthritis, joint pains, muscle pains, post-surgery pains - might like this oil which you can get on Amazon!

Particularly if you want or need to avoid drugs - this looks like a good product.

There is a whole interesting story about Charlotte Web oil - it is about a little girl - just look!

Charlotte Web oil for epilepsy is what is discussed there.

I think that's fantastic! But - for dancers - how might it help?

Oh my gosh - stressing -  sleeping - muscle pain - inflammation - competition anxiety - need I say more?

I am an explorer - I haven't bought any yet. But hey I'm about to!

I do know a lot about healthy oils. Not like a biochemist, but I read the best biochemists!

So that's what I'm thinking about right now. And a Charlotte Wed CBD Oil sale is right there on Amazon.

I am definitely going to follow the response to this product!

 This hemp oil extract gel pen has 50 applications. It is rubbed on the skin.

More information is in the book CBD-Rich Hemp Oil: Cannabis Medicine Is Back by Tina Rappaport, BFA and Steven Leonard Johnson RN, PhD.

Update: this product is no longer on amazon, but I have seen it on ebay. Just search! Or go to the original site HERE.