Supernatural Botanicals

Turns out, yoga does far more for make us limber, it’s also a major libido booster, too.  Yoga improves blood flow to sexual organs, which increases sensation.  Being limber certainly can’t hurt your game in that regard, either.  But more so, being in shape makes you confident in your body and assured with self confidence.  Yoga is a win/win in and out of the bedroom.

We’ve all been there.  The dread “bikini season” can be down right damaging to anyone’s self esteem…if you let it.  Luckily, we have our girlfriends to tell us “Well you know, Marilyn Monroe was a size 16 and she looked great”.

But was she really a size 16?  Or do we just say that to make ourselves feel better about a little extra chunk on the belly?  If it’s true, she certainly did a good job of hiding it.  I can see no clear signs of a size 16 from any of her pictures.  Can you?  Sure, she has far more “belly” than the models of today, but does that justify a size 16?  I’m thinking a size 8.  What do you think?

The average height and weight of an American woman is a height of 5’3″ and weight of 162 pounds.  Conversely, the average American model is 5’11″ and 117 pounds.

Has the Beauty Industry affected you?  Of course it has, the industry has its way with all of us.  The question is…how much has it affected you?  Do you consider the industry a help or a hindrance to your self image.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei6JvK0W60I

Shapewear is certainly enjoying its time in the spotlight these days.

Shapewear is a different name for a girdle, the same kind of undergarment your mom and grandma wore.  It’s the elastic garment that cinches in  your body girth to give you a skinnier appearance, albeit, “about to pop” and “I can’t breathe” appearance.

Somehow, women seem to be embracing the new-school girdle and seem to be okay with it, as evidenced by its multimillion dollar sales in the US last year…although I can’t think of one man who would be okay with this look, with one exception, (and that exception being Dr. Rey).

Wouldn’t getting into shape be far more rewarding than squeezing your back fat or thighs into an apparatus that literally almost squeezes the breath out of you?  Didn’t Rob Lowe’s character in St. Elmo’s Fire (as he openly laughed at Mare Winningham’s character for wearing a girdle) steer you clear of even the consideration of wearing a girdle, er, shapewear?

Does the thought of having to eventually take your dress off for your significant other, or even worse, God-forbid, emergency medical staff, make you want to hit the treadmill instead of face the wrath of public humiliation?

Or does it?  The upside, after all, is having an appearance that divulges no bulges or flaws.  And if we look good on the outside of the dress, is that good enough for us to strap ourselves into elastic apparatus’ to conceal the real story?

What are your thoughts?  Shapewear…Love it or lose it?

If your workout spark is starting to fizzle, torch it back up and excite your senses by adding some new workout clothes or gadgets to your repertoire.  Nothing makes you want to do yoga or Pilates more than a new pair of great-fitting yoga pants and a shape-hugging yoga top, or taking a step class with a new pair of cool gym shoes, or hitting the treadmill with the shortest girly workout shorts you can find.

By a new piece of equipment such as a jump rope, a new workout DVD, a trampoline, a heart rate monitor, resistance bands, a stability ball, or a Bosu ball to peak your workout erogenous zones.  It changes up your routine, keeps it fresh, and keeps you on your A game.

_________________________________________________________________

Yoga pants by Victoria Secret

Want Jennifer Aniston’s body?  Because you can have it.  Did you know that?  Okay, you can’t specifically have Jenn’s body, but you can have one that looks just like hers.  Jennifer’s celeb fitness trainer, Mandy Ingber, dishes on how she trains Jennifer.

Tips from Mandy:

• Start with cardio:  Ingber suggests 30-60 minutes, three times a week.  “Try running, cycling or even walking.”
• Work thighs:  “Temple pose is essentially a yoga squat.  You plant your feet wide, then plie squat and hold for 30 seconds.  Then plie deeply 8 times, followed by 8 quick shallow pulses.  Repeat.”
• Tone calves:  “Lovely calves are underrated.  Repeat this series slowly twice.  Get on the balls of your feet, then lift and lower yourself 8 times followed by 8 quicker pulses.”

For more exercises, get Mandy’s DVD (and Jennifer Aniston’s workout), Yogalosophy.

It used to be that we’d look at ads in magazines and then experience tremendous heartache soon after.  We’d wonder how celebrities could actually have such smooth skin and such tiny mid sections.  We wondered how they never had pores on their skin.  We wondered how their arms and legs could be so skinny.  Luckily, we are starting to see some truth. 

In a world of celeb gossip, we are now privy to the uncensored, un-photo-shopped pictures of celeb photo shoots.  And as one of those aforementioned women who would experience hatred toward my abs after seeing post photo-shopped celebs, I must say that it’s completely gratifying to know that Britney Spears looks human. 

Admittedly, Britney looks great in her before pictures (let’s give credit where credit is due.)  But she certainly doesn’t look like her post photo-shopped pictures, and we secretly love that!  Britney’s “before” picture physique, after all, is quite attainable. 

Cellulite or not, it’s great to see Miss Britney back to normalcy (after a bad couple of years of the crazies!)  She looks fantastic, photo-shopped or not.

Bethenny Frankel has been looking fabulous…even pregnant.  I can promise you, that’s not easy to achieve.  The 39-year-old, who is having her first child late in life, says she has always been obsessed with her body image.

“Since I was 8, I was obsessed with every single diet ever because I came from a very toxic, dysfunctional household with a complete emphasis and obsession with food and being fat,” says Frankel.

“It was absurd and moronic to be an adult and to be worried about dieting.”

Bethenny says she wrote her best-selling diet book “Naturally Thin” last year and finished her second book, The Skinnygirl Dish, filmed and made her her first exercise DVD this year.

Frankel says she works out up to three times a week doing Pilates, yoga and/or running.  But the compulsive exerciser says she has learned to embrace moderation in exercise, with better results.

“I’m 10 years older [now] but 10 to 15 lbs. lighter [than I was in my 20s],” she says. “I used to work out obsessively five to six times a week. Now, I work out maybe two or three times.”

In order to achieve a killer physique like Bethenny, you definitely have to incorporate healthy eating into your regimen.  Check out her book, Naturally Thin, to take a peek at what she eats to keep looking fab (again, even pregnant!)