Blog Posts by Kathryn Budig

Keep true to your new year resolution to strengthen your body and mind even if you don't have time to go to the studio. Take this 20 minute yoga flow podcast to build heat, endurance, confidence and sweat! Video and sequence courtesy of Yoga Journal and Kathryn Budig.



Enjoy this sequence? Build on by trying these at-home practices as well:
Strengthen Your Core
Twist and Detox
Gentle Flow
Accessible Arm Balancing




Kathryn Budig is a popular Los Angeles vinyasa flow instructor and writer who's clientele ranges from celebrities such as Alanis Morissette and Giada de Laurentiis to new mothers and students. She travels nationally and is regularly featured in yoga and health publications.




www.kathrynbudig.com

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A simple yoga sequence designed by Yogaworks instructor, Kathryn Budig, to open and relieve the chest and shoulders. Also aids in wrist and forearm relief from too much time at a computer or hunched over the wheel. Great for everyday, to greet your morning, to warm up before your work out or to unwind after a work day.

Kathryn Budig is a popular Los Angeles vinyasa flow instructor who's clientele ranges from celebrities such as Alanis Morissette and Giada de Laurentiis to new mothers and students. She travels nationally and is regularly featured in yoga and health publications.

Want to have a strong core but don't have the time to even leave the house?





Visit www.yogajournal.com/podcast and unroll your yoga mat at home to take class with Los Angeles Yogaworks instructor, Kathryn Budig.




Follow this short and sweet yoga sequence designed to fire up the abs, create strength, and build confidence.


Click on image to get started!





www.kathrynbudig.com
www.yogajournal.com/podcast
www.yogaworks.com

We've all been there. Last minute decision to go out and grab 'a drink or two' which translates to several bottles. Bad blind date that seems a little more interesting from the bottom of a martini glass. Or three. Birthday parties to prove that you can still 'roll' like you did in college (let's face it, that was a special time in our kidney's history). Wedding receptions, tailgates, heck, monday night. Point is, you drink too much and then the following morning ensues: throbbing, pounding, can't see straight, i'd-rather-never-see-the-light-of-day-again kind of hangover. The sad truth is that there is no getting around it. Must deal. Your options are as follows:

1. grab your handy bag of frozen peas, place over face. Burrow under covers. Breath from straw. Spend day there.

2. 'greasy food and coffee' cure. Honestly, do we still really believe in that?

3. yes, you guessed. Get your tushy in a yoga class and DETOX. Sweat the night (tequila) out and purify. The first 20

What better way to celebrate the arrival of summer (and bikinis) than to whip out a fresh batch of Sun Salutations (and sweat)! Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskara) are used at the beginning of yoga classes to build heat in the body to prepare yourself for the deeper postures. Try these salutations at the beginning of the day to greet the sun and set your energy. If that isn't possible, use this sequence anytime you need extra energy or want to build up a sweat. Repeat this sequence 5-10 times to lift your heart rate, create sweat (detox) and get bikini ready!

Break it Down:

Begin in Tadasana (Moutain Pose). Feet together, stand tall with arms at the sides.

Inhale, reach the arms wide until the palms press overhead. Gaze up relaxing the base of the neck.

Exhale, release the arms wide into a forward fold, extending the chest from the hips until the hands touch the floor to either side of your feet . If the palms won't go flat come onto fingertips or hands to shins.

Inhale,

Hips. The sassy star of voluptuousness or the bane of your hourglass existence. You either love them or hate them, and if you're a woman you've most likely battled with 'love-handles'.

I affectionately prefer the term 'passion-handles' because as aesthetically pleasing as a supermodel with flesh-free sides may be in a magazine, most men prefer something a bit more curvy, feminine and real (think sexy Jessica Biel and va-va-voom Jennifer Lopez).

Basically, hourglass figures rock, and ladies, be proud but be smart. For starters, watch what you eat. Focus on plenty of water, organic food, leafy dark greens and lean protein. Try to keep the sugar at bay. Next, keep the curves in check by keeping them strong. In yoga, we practice a pose called Side Plank or Vashistasana. Fancy name, right? Vashist was an ancient sage who I'm guessing had some killer oblique muscles and sassy hips. This yoga pose targets your internal and external obliques (side abdominal muscles) while

Hit the alarm clock then hit the ground running. Slam a coffee then slam the gas petal. Full throttle all day going from 0 to 60 miles per hour until the head hits the pillow at the very end of the day. Then a funny thing happens: the eyes won't shut. Insomnia, that evil sleep-stealing monster that lurks under the bed. It thrives off of stress and anxiety and what we call in yoga, 'the constant fluctuations of the mind'. Tonight, instead of slamming into your bed with wishful thinking of bliss-filled uninterrupted sleep, try unrolling your yoga mat for this small sequence to calm your mind, your nervous system and put those pesky gate-jumpy sheep away for good.

Sleep-asanas:

UTTANASANA (Standing Forward Fold): In your most comfortable PJ's, start standing with your back against the wall, feet separated hips width and placed one foot away from the wall. Engage your quadriceps (front muscle on thigh) and extend your torso until you can melt over your legs. Keep the bottom