Tag: staying active

16 Things You Never Knew About L’ifestyle Lounge

Posted on January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 by Laura Cipullo

16 Things You Never Knew About L’ifestyle Lounge

by the Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Team

If you are looking for yoga classes in New York or New Jersey, there are so many places to choose from. How do you know which one is right for you? It pays to investigate – it is your money and time, after all. To make things a little easier, my latest post is about all the things that make L’ifestyle Lounge the best choice for yoga, if you’re in Closter, NJ or thereabouts. And I’m also including some fun trivia you may not know!

1) We are a body-positive, gender/LGBTQ-inclusive, age-inclusive, body-inclusive space. Going to yoga can feel so intimidating for some. We get it. We want you to feel at ease the minute you step into our studio. We want you to love your body and we’ll never encourage you to change it. We don’t believe yoga is only for skinny, young women. We have classes for young boys and girls and their parents, for teens, for beginning yoga students, for experienced beginners, for advanced. Yoga has something to offer us all and that’s what makes it so powerful. We are also always open to suggestions so if you see a need for a certain type of class in our schedule, let us know about it!

2) We will be celebrating our second year this March. Can you believe time has gone by so fast? In March 2017, we opened our doors to the Closter, NJ yoga community and what a fun ride it has been so far! We are proud to be a studio that brings together nutrition counseling, yoga and mindfulness for a full wellness experience, and we’re just getting started.

3) You will not find mirrors in our studios. This is part of our commitment to being a place where everyone is welcome and feels comfortable.

4) We run a regular, free book club. Even if you are not taking classes with us, we encourage you to come to our club for warmth, new ideas and community. We have it every few months, and you can always see our next one on our scheduling page. This month, we are reading Beautiful Boy by Nic Scheff on January 23.

5) Our space is 1800 square feet. See some photos of it here.

6) You can drop in or join us for an entire semester. We are flexible with your schedule!

7) We recently introduced tai chi to our offerings. Find out more about tai chi in this blog post. Right now we’re in the last few weeks of our 8-week tai chi sessions with Phillip Cross, who studied with Master Randy Elia at Peter Kwok’s Kung Fu Academy. Check our site regularly to see when we’ll be offering a new round of classes.

8) As you can probably already tell, we’re not just yoga! We also offer mindfulness classes, nutrition appointments, tai chi as mentioned, and physical therapy. We fit a lot under one roof!

9) You can purchase clothing with our philosophy – “eat kale and cupcakes.” on Project Heal, which was created so folks could have access to eating disorder treatment without money being a barrier, and also at our studio.

10) Our founder, Laura Cipullo, has written a number of books on yoga, nutrition, diabetes, and kids. Find them all here.

11) We’re very active on social media! We do daily updates on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Comment, like, follow and share!

12) We are frequently called upon for our nutrition advice in the media and to speak at events. Here is just a partial list. If you are a journalist or want to request our services for speaking, contact us at laura@lauracipullo.com.

13) We offer online resources for free, like our Mindful Meal Log and Comfort Cards. Download them here!

14) We have a regular newsletter. Fill out the subscription form when you log in to lauracipullo.com. Subscribe to stay in the know.

15) Some of our yoga classes incorporate essential oils and painting, such as Paint and Poses and EmpowerHER.

16) We’re a great spot for birthday parties! If you’re looking for a special idea for your child’s next party give yoga a try. It’s fun and will help them better deal with stress! (Kids can get stressed too.) It might even encourage a lifelong habit of yoga.

I hope you learned at least one new thing (or maybe a few new things) about our studio, and I hope you’ll join us in 2019 for yoga, mindfulness, and fun!

Yoga for Digestion

Posted on December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 by Laura Cipullo

Yoga for Digestion

*Photo by Matteo Canessa of FreeImages.com*

by the Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Team

Minimal indigestion is not typically a serious problem, but it is an annoying one, involving bloating, feeling too full at the beginning of a meal or after, nausea and stomach pain. If you have it, take heart you’re not alone. Millions are suffering right along with you. And even though it’s not often serious, it is the kind of thing that can really interfere with your life and keep you from feeling your best. It can interrupt sleep, cause you to cancel appointments, make you feel like not working out, and just generally put a damper on things. Surprisingly, yoga is a valid treatment or compliment to your treatment plan.

You probably won’t find a “yoga for indigestion” class, but you can help yourself by knowing which poses are most effective for this problem. The Cat-Cow pose is known to help. Women’s Health provides the perfect description: “On all fours with your wrists under your shoulders, knees under your hips, begin to breathe in as you lift your breastbone to the front of the room. Have a sense of stretching the skin from the pubis to the throat, and then exhale as you round your spine up towards the ceiling – feel as if you are stretching the skin from the tailbone to the crown of the head. Do this a few times, gently stretching your tummy out.”

Apanasana (knees to chest) is another pose that can provide relief. “Begin by lying on your back with your legs extended out in front of you. On an inhale, draw both knees into your chest, either holding onto each knee or wrapping your arms around your shins. Pull your knees closely into your chest. Hold this pose for three to five breaths,” writes our own Shannon Herbert.

Yoga Journal recommends the Downward-Facing Dog, the Triangle Pose, Revolved Triangle Pose, Extended Puppy Pose (particularly if your digestion issues are meal-related), the Bridge Pose, the Half-Gas Release Pose, The Supine Twist, and the Corpse Pose. I include instructions and a picture guide for Downward-Facing Dog and Corpse in The Women’s Health Body Clock Diet.

Healthline reported that there has been encouraging research about yoga’s effectiveness for GERD and peptic ulcers. And the International Journal of Yoga reports, “Practicing yoga in conjunction with medications can be helpful in controlling and/or alleviation of symptoms related to digestive diseases.” Reclining Boundary Angle, Warrior I, and Triangle are some suggested poses to try for acid reflux relief.

Pregnant women may have indigestion, and prenatal yoga, which we have offered at the L’ifestyle Lounge, is a treatment for that temporary issue. Yes, you can do yoga while pregnant!

Remember: you don’t necessarily need to do specialized poses to feel the results. Stress by its very nature can exacerbate indigestion, so if you lower your stress, that in itself could help.

It’s always recommended to see your doctor when dealing with any recurring health issue, or if indigestion appears along with other issues, but for occasional bouts of indigestion, you might want to give yoga a go. You may find it helps more than just your digestion!

If you’re determined to get a handle on your stress and/or digestive issues in the new year, and if you’re in or near Closter, NJ, check out our offerings for 2019. We’re offering Buddha Flow, a beginner yoga option, Yin, which is targeted towards those who lead super stressful and busy lives, and our “Ashtanga-inspired” Breathe and Bend, to name a few. Don’t forget our classes for kids, like Yoga for Junior Athletes. Kids are under stress too and may experience indigestion. They always can just generally benefit from yoga.

Resolve to make 2019 a healthier year for the whole family, whether it’s addressing indigestion or other symptoms of anxiety. And if our yoga has made a difference in you or your family’s stress or digestion, let us know on social media or Yelp!

Better Your Balance (and More) with Tai Chi

Posted on August 2, 2018August 2, 2018 by Laura Cipullo

Better Your Balance (and More) with Tai Chi

by the Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition Team

Perhaps you’ve heard of tai chi, but don’t really know what it’s all about, or perhaps you do know what it’s all about, but don’t really understand the many ways it can benefit you. Maybe you even remember it from the Patrick Swayze film Road House.

Tai chi is a martial art, an elegant marriage of moving and mindfulness. You are slowly moving without stopping from one posture to another. Deep breathing is also a part of it. As with any mindful activity, it takes concentration. You can’t just put your mind on autopilot and blast some tunes like you might be able to on the treadmill!

Tai chi involves no special equipment, is not competitive, and is a great low-impact workout. As WebMD points out, it does not place a high burden on muscles or joints. This makes it a nice, gentle exercise for seniors, allowing them to keep moving into their golden years, while enjoying the social aspect of a group activity. “It’s particularly good for older people because balance is an important component of fitness, and balance is something we lose as we get older,” Dr. I-Min Lee of Harvard notes. Tai chi is also perfect for those who have arthritis, are pregnant, need to sit during workouts, or are in a wheelchair.

In addition to helping balance and potentially preventing falls, tai chi can also help circulation, cholesterol, the heart, strength, flexibility, energy and even the way the body aligns. The results may not even take that long to see – one tai chi teacher said he saw improvement in tai chi students in only 12 weeks. As this is also a mind exercise, it can help stress – everything from your adrenaline to blood pressure.

A recent medical study said that it could also help those who have fibromyalgia. This was the first big study that looked at fibromyalgia and tai chi. Two hundred and twenty-six folks with fibromyalgia were monitored for a year. After 24 weeks, impressive results were already in – those who had been taking tai chi classes were doing better than those in the aerobic exercise group. And those who did tai chi for a bigger stretch of time made more headway in controlling their fibromyalgia than those who took tai chi less often.

What’s so special about tai chi when it comes to fibromyalgia? Any exercise may help blood flow, but the relaxation aspect might make it a more natural fit for this population versus aerobics, which might aggravate physical and/or psychological issues.

Who should not do tai chi? Even though it is gentle, you should always check in with your doctor before beginning any exercise regime. Those with diabetes or circulation issues might want to reconsider, and tai chi can also be contraindicated if you’re taking certain medicines that induce dizziness.

You have lots of options when it comes to tai chi, but I think we have one of the best classes here at L’ifestyle Lounge — our all-ages Tai Chi w/Philip Cross. It is an especially light class that is ideal for beginners. Philip focuses on stretching and improving energy. The class features the 12 classical tendon exchange exercises that help strengthen the tendons and bones. There is also the Tai Chi Long Form which brings the mind into the mix. The goals of the class are to have a healthier immune system. lower stress, better your posture and slow aging. Philip has studied at Peter Kwok’s Kung Fu Academy, he is trained in Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan and Yi Gun Gin, and has taught at Blauvelt Library, Nanuet Community Education and Orangeburg Library. If you can’t join Philip over the summer, he’ll also be part of our Fall class schedule, starting September 12, with an 8-week class on Wednesday nights. It’s the perfect way to get over those Hump Day blues, and who doesn’t need better immunity during cough and cold season? I hope you’ll embrace tai chi and all its benefits for a healthier mind, body and soul.

5 Weeks to Mindfulness: Lunch Series for Beginner to Intermediate Yogis

Posted on September 28, 2017December 21, 2017 by Laura Cipullo

5 Weeks to Mindfulness

Lunch Series for Beginner to Intermediate Yogis

Bring a mat, take a seat to learn the definition of mindfulness and how to apply it to every aspect of your daily living from walking to eating to practicing yoga.

Over five Tuesdays, you will transform your lifestyle with Closter’s L’ifestyle Lounge Lunch Series led by registered dietitian and registered yoga teacher, Elyssa Toomey. Starting Oct 10^th from 12:00 to 12:50 pm, you will learn what mindfulness is, how to eat mindfully, breathe mindfully (mindfulness meditation) and live a more mindful, healthy life. The practice of yoga – binding breath with movement will be introduced sessions three through five.

Dates: Oct 17 through Nov 21; No class Oct 31.

Cost: $195.00. Please bring your own yoga mat. Expect to move sessions 3 through 5.

Session 1

Mindfulness 101

Basics, mindful breathing and eating

Session 2

How To Do

How to eat and walk mindfully

Intro to basic asanas/yoga poses

Session 3

Stress Reduction 101

Mindfulness and stress reduction

Yoga practice 20 min

Session 4

Mindful Eating Challenge

(The art of eating chocolate cake and chips, mindfully)

Yoga practice 30 min

Session 5

Practice

Mindfulness meditation and yoga 45 minutes

Email: lifestylelounge@lauracipullo.com for more information or sign up here.

Introducing: Paint and Poses

Posted on August 27, 2017November 6, 2017 by Laura Cipullo

Introducing: Paint and Poses Kid Yoga

Come to Demarest Day, Sept 16th, to support your local community while experiencing finger and toe painting while flowing with yoga! Closter’s Lifestyle Lounge and Macaroni Kid will offer two free classes introducing this new Fall series of Paint and Poses Yoga.

Free Introduction: Saturday, Sept 16th at Demarest Day
1:45 pm paint and poses on canvas
3:00 pm paint and poses on canvas

Paint your yoga flow on canvas and take home your beautiful new wall art! Space is limited.

Email us to save your canvas mat!

The above classes are the preview of our Paint and Poses Yoga series starting

Mondays at 4:00 pm September 18th, at Lifestyle Lounge for ages 5 to 9 and Wednesday’s at 1:15 pm at our local park for ages 3 to 6. Buy a ten pack for $100.00 that expires in 12/19/2017 or pay a drop in fee/single class at $20.00.

As of Oct 1, 2017, classes are Fridays at 4pm and Saturdays at 1pm. Above discount is no longer available. New discounts available at payment. Click Here to SIGN UP.

Things to keep in mind:

Wear old clothes. Mat rentals are $3.00. Classes are 50 minutes.

Spots limited so arrive on time or sign up early on our app Laura Cipullo Whole Nutrition and Yoga. Register online at www.lauracipullo.com.