Tribe Effect

“My purpose is to help other people find their purpose.”

-The Big Picture 

When you think of fitness, what comes to your mind? 

Is fitness a state of mental balance or is it that ripped body-builder you saw in that magazine the other day? Maybe it’s both?

Our screens are constantly bombarded with social media ads guaranteeing results in 30 days. The problem with “quick fix” ads is they all have something in common; quick fixes don’t produce lifestyle changes. 

All of us want to see positive results; I totally get that! However, there is no quick fix to achieve lifelong fitness sustainability.

It’s no wonder so many resolutions are dead in the water before they even try to float.

There Goes My New Year’s Resolution!   

You start that diet. You join that gym. You watch Bruce Banner turn into the Hulk, in a matter of seconds. Our instant gratification culture wants it all RIGHT NOW. When “right now” doesn’t happen we are left with less money and more frustration. These get-fit-quick schemes are just gimmicks.

You, me, and our wallets hate gimmicks.

New Year’s resolution goals based on gimmicks are hardwired to fail so this leaves you discouraged wondering why you even made a New Year’s resolution in the first place. 

Why not just throw in the towel and quit altogether?

Is there any hope to achieve your fitness goals? Are we all just destined to spin around trying different fads, feeling defeated?

Keep reading, my friend...

Garbage In, Garbage Out.

If you constantly eat crap during the day and then you hit the gym at 5:30 pm you will feel like—you guessed it—crap. What goes into your body will have an affect on your mind, motivation, and habits. 

But Tony I really like that burger! That milkshake...That pizza...That (fill in the blank). 

You may like that guilty pleasure food, but that food could be one of the main factors knocking the legs out from under your goals before they even stand a fighting chance. 

The principle of “garbage in/garbage out” doesn’t apply to just food of course.

Sometimes we intake “garbage” through the voices around us. That coworker takes a jab at your health choices. Maybe your inner voice lies and tells you, “Why even try that fitness program, again? What’s the point?”

If I had caved to the voices around me years ago, there's no telling where I’d be today. 

People can be one of our greatest energizers along the road to wellness or they can be one of the biggest roadblocks. You have to remember garbage in equals garbage out. 

Lifestyle, Not Event!

“Okay, Tony I get it…if I am eating healthy, avoiding garbage and gimmicks, and crushing it in my workouts, I’ll get good results, right?”

If you know anything about me you know I am constantly singing the praises of a holistic approach to fitness that encompasses all of the key ingredients of the body and mind!.

You are not a gym machine programmed to perform to the max everyday. You are not a computer. You are a homosapien that needs rest, challenge, food, fitness, fun, and friends. 

Therefore, if we are going to see any sustainable change we need to stop confronting change as an isolated resolution, diet, friend group, ad, or workout routine—but rather a mindset change. 

Along with the four pillars of fitness, food, mindfulness, and supplementation I’ve added the important element of mindset, that encompasses the pillars, to help people tackle fitness choices in a holistic way. You may be thinking to yourself, "what's the difference between mindset and mindfulness?"

Mindset is all about changing your thinking and then your behavior, while mindfulness is just accepting how things are right now and being able to be present in the moment.

The Change You Need and Want

We have just looked at the problems we all face. We see fitness as a lifestyle, and avoid garbage, but what about those days when I am completely unmotivated?

The life you ultimately want needs key ingredients to help you achieve success. Although there are many components to achieving holistic wellness I am going to let you in on one of the key ingredients. You've probably already guessed my key component if you read the title.

A key ingredient that turns New Year's resolutions, good intentions, killer workout routines, and healthy diets into consistent change is—your TRIBE. 

The community you surround yourself with will positively impact your ongoing motivation, if you are unified in helping each other. I call this the Tribe Effect.

This key ingredient of a tribe, or community, continues to fuel the success stories we constantly see in the Power Nation™ community. The right fitness, food, mindfulness, and supplementation lifestyle choices fueled by your tribe sets you up to achieve true consistent wellness—of the mind and body. 

Instead of intaking the garbage of negative voices, your tribe will feed your mind with the healthy nutrients of positive reinforcement, encouragement, and challenges to help you level up and be the YOU that you have always dreamed of being.

So, What Now Tony?

In my book The Big Picture I said, “…formulating your plan is simply a matter of deciding what you want , then plotting a course to get there. Start with the simple things.” 

If you trip and fall along the way to your success that’s okay. Fall forward and learn!

The greatest successes have happened through finding out what doesn’t work and then doing something else. You just need a plan that allows for learning through failures AND successes. 

Don’t wait until next year to plot YOUR course to success—make the plan now.

The first step can seem like the hardest. I totally get that. Having the right people around you, as you plot your course, is that step that can make or break choices. So find your group. Find your tribe.

No one is an island. We need each other.

Power Nation helps remove the hard part of “getting started”. I have seen the impact of gathering individuals, like you, that don’t just want a quick workout fix, but a long-term sustainable community that enables group growth. 

I have been so encouraged by the ongoing results that have changed the lives of families. This passion for mutual success has been at the heart of why Power Nation exists. 

I hope I have given you a vision for life beyond the New Year’s resolution to a new lifestyle that will prove ongoing success. 

Let's get your plan, your steps, and your life on course for you to achieve consistency with your tribe!

Live the Tribe Effect.

-Tony

Your Go-To 2020 Playlist

Hey Boys and Girls,

2020 has arrived and here’s one more chance to figure it all out. Resolutions are kind of a joke, but the start of a new year, and in this case a new decade, gives us all a chance to clear the slate and get our act together again. I’ve done hundreds of interviews over the years and the number one question is always about getting and staying motivated. 

My last book The Big Picture has plenty of intel about motivation. Having a purpose, a plan, and accountability are at the foundation of motivation. If you don’t know why you want to be fit and healthy, if you don't have a plan in place in advance, and have surefire strategies and reliable accountability partners, then it's going to be harder to get and stay motivated.   

I’ve covered all of this before, so today I want to change gears a bit and talk about the music in the room while you’re getting after it. I have over 50 playlists on my phone, and I switch, remove, and add new songs all the time. I Shazam tunes anytime, anywhere, every time I hear new music or something I’ve missed from the past. 

One of my intentions (not resolutions) this year is to keep building new giddy-up workout playlists because when I do I get fired up to workout and train harder (and smarter) too. When a playlist starts to get stale I know it’s time to dig around and find new songs, or rearrange what I have.

With that said, here’s my first new playlist for 2020.

WARNING: Some of these songs have explicit and uncensored lyrics so be careful with kiddies in the house.

1. Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked ~ Cage the Elephant
2. It’s No Good ~ Depeche Mode
3. Dance or Die ~ Janelle Monae
4. Want It All ~ Layup
5. Rehumanise Yourself ~ The Police
6. In God’s Country ~ U2
7. The Real Me ~ The Who
8. The One Thing ~ INXS
9. Sure Shot ~ Beastie Boys
10. Truth Hurts ~ Lizzo
11. original me ~ YUNGBLUD
12. Born for This ~ The Score
13. Sabotage ~ Beastie Boys
14. Idealistic ~ Digitalism
15. Happy ~ Pharrell Williams
16. Brimful of Asha ~ Cornershop
17. Loner ~ YUNGBLUD
18. Butterfly ~ Crazy Town
19. Boulevard ~ Green Day
20. 11 Minutes ~ YUNGBLUD & Halsey
21. Walking On a Dream ~ Empire of the Sun
22. Feel Good Inc. ~ Gorillaz     

Check out the list above, and let me know if these songs help you get moving.

Rock On!

TH-

Nothing is a Thing

With 2020 around the corner many of us will start planning all the ways we’ll make this new year better than the last. The resolutions to eat better, train more consistently, and focus on being a better parent, co-worker and human being are announced, declared, and divulged to all.

This is it! Now is the time! 2020 will be special and different, because I’m fired up, ready to go, and willing to break new ground! I won’t lie, I’m personally starting to get it together in preparation of 2020 before the Christmas season. I don’t want to wait ‘till after the 1st; I want to build momentum going into the new year so that the transition from ho-um to supersonic won’t be too dramatic. 

Good intentions and preparations are awesome but follow through and consistency seem to be the problem for most of us. Ever wonder why, come February or March, most of your full-throttle enthusiasm is gone? Why the old habits creep right back in, and destroy all the positive, good vibrations? Why gym memberships, BOD subscriptions, and Next Level downloads go way up after December 26th, but wane by mid-spring? 

I’ve miscalculated my abilities to make a change, and I bet more than one or two of you have done it too. Long term, big change requires consistent passion, energy, and enthusiasm - three things most of us don’t have all the time. For a guy with Epstein Barr, finding the energy day-to-day can be even more difficult. I have to be stricter than ever with my health and mindfulness strategies.

I’ve learned along the way that staying in 5th or 6th gear all the time will certainly kill any and all momentum when it comes to fulfilling my purpose here on earth. The angst and intensity required to pursue my hopes and dreams can often times leave me exhausted and fried to the point where days and weeks go by, and I’ve fallen way behind with my important tasks and To-Dos. 

It was frustrating and even embarrassing at times when I found myself floundering around, not following through, and procrastinating like I was Tony Horton in 1989 all over again. What was missing? Why am I not sticking with the promises I made to myself? There had to be one more key ingredient to being consistent and successful long term.  

The one piece of advice you rarely hear about going into a new year is what NOT to do. Doing nothing at all sometimes will give you the juice you need to succeed. It’s always about networking, making plans, staying accountable, writing down your goals, cleaning the house, losing weight, quitting bad habits, joining the gym, and on it goes. 

What if I told you the best advice for accomplishing your goals and sticking to them throughout the year was to do nothing, every once in a while? Sit down, turn off, chill out, be quiet, breath and listen, and for goodness sakes put down your phones for a few minutes. The average person checks their phone every 12 minutes. What could possibly be that important besides a fire or flood?

Experts like John Ratey (author of Spark) often talk about the importance of meditation and mindfulness as a means to calm the mind so you can sustain the energy required to take on life’s daily challenges.

If you’re anything like me, you want to have the passion, energy, and enthusiasm to take on the projects, health challenges, and life-altering tasks at hand. The good news is you don’t have to be constantly banging your head against a wall to do it. There will be times when you need to hunker down, get out of your comfort zone, and do the hard work, but it’s the downtime, the quiet time, the introspective time in-between all that hard work that will keep you focused, centered, and successful in the long term.  

Your Pal, 

Tony 

Ready, Set, Stress

LET’S TALK ABOUT STRESS BABY… 

It was 3:00 am last Monday morning, and we awoke to emergency notifications on our cell phones, home phones, and email. There was a fire raging about a mile away and it was headed our direction. Having been through this a few times before, we already knew exactly what to pack and procedures to follow to ensure my wife and I, and the dogs, all got out safely, but that didn’t make it any less stressful.  

The threat of fire (and potential death) is definitely one of the more stressful things you can be faced with in life, but day to day stress is no joke either. I am still convinced that it was not properly dealing with my stress load which brought on Ramsey Hunt Syndrome (RHS) a couple of years back. Since then, I’ve taken stress very seriously, and I take de-stressing even more seriously.  In my last newsletter, I mentioned some of the different recovery methods I use for my body, and some of those same recovery methods are also great ways to help manage stress, such as baths, yoga, and infrared saunas. 

I’ve been speaking around the world about personal development for years, and I share my experience with personal development in my latest book The Big Picture as well. Last year at one of these speaking events, I had the pleasure of meeting singer and songwriter Jewel. We discussed her mindfulness and breathing practice, which she began when she was just a child; they were the survival tools she used to cope with chaotic family life, and later anxiety-filled teenage years. Since then I’ve been successfully using those techniques to help me cope with some of the lingering symptoms of my RHS, and it’s a great way to deal with stress as well.  

A little stress here and there isn’t something to be too concerned with, but ongoing, chronic stress can cause or exacerbate serious health problems, not the least of which is heart attack and stroke. I’m convinced it was stress in my life that brought on my RHS two years ago, and since then, I am constantly checking in with myself and taking more time to unwind, defrag, chill out, and just be…I even take naps now!  

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there are very few things in life that YOU actually control, so stop being attached to the outcome. If you feel stress coming on, or find yourself in the throes of stress, there are a few things that you can control. 

Number 1. Stop what you’re doing. Seriously, just stop right where you are and try one or two of the techniques below that feels right for you.  

2. Breathe deeply.  I know, that’s not new or exciting, right? But it works! Why? Because deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes a state of calmness.  

3. Next try yoga oms, meditation, or prayer with gratitude. Whatever you choose, try to clear your mind of anything that causes anxiety – be in the moment and be grateful.  

4. Try other practices that reduce stress and make them a regular part of your day or your week. My personal favorites are yoga, soaking in the tub, and deep breathing. The other stress management tools that no one should be living without are cutting the crap out of your diet and eating more clean and healthy meals, getting enough sleep every night, and you guessed it, regular exercise.  

A healthy diet can help counter the impact of stress by shoring up the immune system and lowering blood pressure. Conversely, a poor diet full of sugar, salt, fat, and processed foods causes inflammation and deprives your body of necessary nutrients that help combat stress, creating a vicious cycle. Getting enough sleep is crucial for your body to recover from stressful events, so don’t skimp on sleep! Lastly, if you’ve ever heard anything I’ve said, read my books, or followed me on social media, then you already know why regular exercise is crucial to every function of your body, especially those feel-good chemicals produced in your brain when your exercise.  I’m talking dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, and brain-derived neurotropic factor Baby!  Chemicals that help you feel happy, sleep better and protect against stress-induced neuronal damage. BOOM! I think we just found the most important part of stress management. You’re welcome.  

I hope you will give these and try and report back to me on social media and share which techniques are your favorites. I want you to live a long, happy, joyous, healthy, stress-less life.  

Your Pal, 

Tony 

My Top 8 Tips For Beating The Holiday Bulge

Eating well is not about being 100% perfect every day, every meal, especially over the holidays. However, you shouldn’t treat the holidays as a free pass to eat whatever you want, or you’re setting yourself up for disaster and possible regret come January 1st. Try some of my favorite tips to help you stay on track during the holidays.  

For years I’ve stressed the importance of accountability and it's my #1 tip today. Whether it's finding a workout partner, posting your meals, joining a group, keeping a food journal, or writing out your goals, accountability is key to your success. If you’re looking for an accountability group before the holidays, or you want ME to be your accountability partner, you can always join one of my Facebook challenges.  

1. Accountability is key 

I have workout partners for every single workout, because I know when I don’t it’s too easy to just blow it off. Finding a workout partner, posting your meals, joining a group like my Facebook challenge, keeping a food journal, or writing out your goals, are all great ways to stay accountable, and accountability is the key to your success.   

2. Offer to host the party 

By hosting the party or dinner yourself, you are in control of the foods that are served, so you can substitute unhealthy ingredients and dishes for healthier options. Controlling food supply is easier when you’re the one in control. 

3. Don’t skip meals 

It’s tempting to save your appetite for all of the delicious food at a holiday gathering, but you’re also setting yourself up to overindulge and make bad choices. Before your holiday meal, eat a protein- and healthy-fat-packed snack such as veggies and humus or celery with nut butter. Protein and fat help you cut your cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. 

4. Start smart 

Start your meal with soup and salad or fresh veggies, and avoid snacking before your meal on appetizers made with refined flour or sugary treats. Volunteer to bring something so you’re guaranteed to have at least one healthy dish you enjoy and can load up.   

5. Rethink your drinks 

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and sends you down a slippery slope of bad choices. Most alcoholic beverages are also filled with sugar and empty calories. Limit alcohol intake, or better yet, avoid it altogether. If you do indulge on a drink or two, drink water in between and make the rest of your beverages sparkling water, tea or water with lemon or lime.  

6. Eat mindfully 

I’ve been talking a lot about mindfulness lately, and that’s because I’ve realized how important it is! Before each meal, take five deep breaths, and tune into how hungry you really are. As you eat, focus on flavors, colors and smells, and try to put your fork down between bites. Halfway through your meal, pause, put down your fork and take a few more deep breaths. Assess your hunger on and ask yourself, “How much more food do I need to feel satisfied without feeling uncomfortable?” 

7. Don’t cave to peer pressure 

We’ve all been there when the well-meaning friend or relative asks you why you’re not having a piece of their homemade fudge or having another glass of wine. Just know that no one will feel insulted if you explain, “I’m here for the company, not just the food.” 

8. Set your intention 

Before indulging in holiday food and spirits and desserts, set an intention for the event such as “I will start with vegetables, limit myself to two glasses of wine and water, and only have two bites of dessert after dinner.” Of course only you know your weaknesses, so you’ll set an intention that feels right for you. Setting an intention makes you less likely to indulge in foods and activities that make you feel less than your best.  

Remember above all else not to beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon. Just do your best and forget the rest!  

Your Pal, 

Tony 

Work Hard, Play Hard, Recover...

Hey Kids, 

Fall is officially here! As you know, for me that means ski season is right around the corner. I spend my off season preparing my legs, heart and lungs for the next time I’ll be cramming my feet into those big clunky boots and clicking into my skis to float down that fluffy pow.  

I always get questions about my ski-prep workout, and to be honest, even if I wasn’t a skier, my workouts wouldn’t be any different. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are always lower body. Until recently, I’ve been doing plyometrics on Monday nights for over fourteen years…now I do it on Wednesday night, and I switched cardio to Monday nights. Friday I typically go for a 6.2 mile run with my good friend Scott Fifer (of Scotty Fifer Scissors fame).   

So here’s the breakdown:  

My cardio routine consists of 3 to 5 minutes on each of the following - Jump rope, Versa Climber, treadmill, stationary bike, Skier’s Edge, and Water Rower, and I rotate for one hour.  

My Plyometrics routine is very similar to the plyo routine I created for P90X, with a few extra reps here and there, and once in a while I mix up the order.  

Lastly, my run varies depending on how I’m feeling, since I still have some mild lingering side effects from the Ramsey Hunt. My runs usually last about an hour, and I can typically run about 6.2 miles. I just do my best and forget the rest! 

If you’re not used to doing lower body three times a week, you should start slow, and always be mindful about recovery. 

I’m a huge fan of recovery, and I use many different methods. Here are my favorites: 

Epsom salt or magnesium salt baths- I’m in the tub at least once a week. Magnesium salts (which my awesome wife turned me on to) are more easily absorbed into the skin than epsom salts and work wonders on sore muscles. Try adding a little essential oil to your bath for the ultimate experience.   

Massages - Though I probably only get massages a few times a year, it’s a great way to work out the kinks. Like foam rolling, the more you do it the better it is. 

Which brings me to foam rolling - Again, something I really should do more often. Like stretching, foam rolling is a valuable tool both before and after a workout. It can be pretty intense, so I like to use the Trigger Point vibrating foam rollers and massage balls, which tones down the intensity. 

Infrared sauna - Probably the most important tool in my recovery arsenal. When I got Ramsey Hunt Syndrome and was facing an uphill battle with nerve damage, a friend of mine brought over his portable infrared light along with a printout of the slew of benefits including some studies on infrared helping to repair nerve damage. There are three different kinds of infrared, near, mid and far, and they all have different benefits, so when I decided to get an infrared sauna to help continue healing from my illness, I got a Sunlighten, which has all three. If you don't want to buy an infrared sauna, there are lots of places where you can book appointment to try it out.   

Lastly, Yoga - I typically go to my friend Ted McDonald’s yoga class every Saturday morning in Malibu. I've been such a huge fan of yoga for so long, because it's the only type of physical movement that I know of that helps me work on strength, balance, flexibility and mindfulness all at the same time.  

So there you have it…work hard, play hard, and most importantly, take time to recover.  

Your Pal, 

Tony

Before You Buy Meat or Fish, READ THIS!

If you’re like me, and you eat meat once in a while, then you want to make sure it’s humanely raised and the highest quality meat around, and that it doesn’t have any antibiotics or hormones. Similarly, the type of fish you eat is just as important, and should only be wild-caught. Here’s why:

Grass fed meat and wild-caught fish is higher in antioxidants, lower in calories, has about 50% more OMEGA 3, and has added immunity and anti-inflammatory benefits.

In fact, the difference between wild-caught and farm raised fish is a completely different nutritional value altogether. Wild-caught salmon has almost half the calories, half the fat, and about 1/6th the Omega 6 (that’s the bad one). Farmed fish have lower Omega 3 which throws off the Omega 3- Omega 6 balance resulting in inflammation.

Farmed fish also contain antibiotics, which we end up consuming with dangerous results. Overuse of antibiotics is causing diseases to become resistant to antibiotics, resulting in 2 million people in the U.S. being infected with drug-resistant superbugs, which kill at least 23,000 people a year. Farm-raised fish is also treated with pesticides, which are killing up to 95% of migrating juvenile wild salmon! And the list goes on!

We face some of the same issues using antibiotics on farm raised animals, yes, even chicken! Then there’s all the hormones, which is routinely injected into young livestock to make them gain weight faster. Synthetic estrogen and testosterone are the most common, which is implanted as a pellet in a cow’s ear at an early age and it releases these hormones throughout the animals’ lives. Initial concerns of these hormones range from hormonal imbalances and weight gain, to increased risks of vaginal and breast cancer. Unfortunately, most studies on these risks are industry-funded and conveniently show “no risk.” However, independent studies suggest a potential cancer risk from these hormones.

My wife used to get frustrated trying to consistently find high-quality meat in the store, and when she did, boy did we have to pay a lot for it. So, I understand that if you’re on a budget it makes it even more difficult to get the most nutritious meat available. However, I urge you, if it’s not in your budget, then you’re better off not eating it at all.

The good news is that my wife finally found the absolute best online source of meat and fish at super low prices, so now we never have to guess about the meat we’re eating again. Though we eat very small quantities of meat, and tons of fresh organic veggies, I still need to know that the meat I am eating isn’t wreaking havoc on my body or the environment.

Secret Academy Episode

Lesson's in Today's Interview:

• What attributed to P90X’s explosive growth and popularity
• Monitoring consumer response and catering to it
• How Tony found his purpose with P90X
• Gaining opportunity requires risk and patience
• “Do your best and forget the rest”
• How to transition to a successful mindset
• Allow variety in your life
• Ideal morning routine to prepare for a successful day
• Living by example
• Having a “tribe” to help with accountability
• Short-term pleasures lead to long-term problems
• Procrastination and inconsistency is survival mode
• Do not delay on initiating your first move

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Yoga to Keep You Sane Through the Holidays

The holidays are a time of joy, thanksgiving, and revelry. But, they are also a time of crowded shopping malls, endless decorating and hosting, and an abundance of sweet treats that knock you off your fitness game every year. The combination of more eating, less time to workout, along with a myriad of emotional stresses brought on by the holidays, can leave you feeling less cheerful and more overwhelmed and holi-dazed.

Yoga can help. These five yoga poses can help you feel more relaxed, grounded and joyful. If you’re looking for more calming yoga moves, Beachbody’s 3 Week Yoga Retreat can help you sail through the holidays with ease.

5 Yoga Poses to Keep You Sane During the Holidays

1. Get grounded: Warrior 1

When holiday lines, traffic, and overall madness has you dashing, dancing and prancing about, it’s important to get grounded. With a strong foundation, we can weather any holiday storm. In this pose, feel the strong foundational energy through the legs and up through the core, as you get connected to the earth. Not even hectic family gatherings can shake you when you are firmly grounded.
How to do it: Standing at the top of your mat with your hands on your hips, bring your left foot back about three feet and pivot the back heel down about 45 degrees. Plant both feet strongly on the ground, and keep your hips pointed forward (adjust the width of your feet if needed). Bring your hands together in front of your heart or lift your arms straight overhead with your upper arms by your ears. Take three deep breathes, and then switch sides.

2. Give thanks: Upward facing dog

This pose is a fantastic way to physically open your chest and emotionally open your heart to channel the spirit of gratitude. With a daily practice of this pose, you’ll be feeling the joy of the season.
How to do it: From plank pose, lower your body down to the mat keeping your elbows close to your sides. Press into the palms and the tops of your feet as you lift your chest up and straighten your arms. Engage your legs and lift your knees off the mat to get a nice belly and leg stretch. Gently lift your chin and open your chest. Take three deep breaths, and be sure to take a moment to feel gratitude for the many gifts in your life.

3. Get centered: Boat pose

This pose is all about the core. Staying centered during the holidays means so much more than great abs — it means connecting to the true spirit of the holidays. So come back to center with this deeply centering core pose.
How to do it: Sit on your mat with your legs out straight and hands by your sides. Lean back slightly and lift your legs so that your hips form a 45-degree angle. If you’re ready for more of a challenge, lift your hands off the floor and reach your arms forward and down. For less of a challenge, bend your knees and keep your shins parallel to the mat. Hold the pose for 30 to 60 seconds while taking deep breaths.

4. Get balanced: Side plank

During the hectic holiday season, it is imperative to maintain balance. Not just during our yoga practice, but as we go about your lives off the mat. This challenging pose is likely to knock you down a few times, but then again, so will the chaos of your holidays. Don’t let it keep you down! Falling is often the best opportunity to learn to re-calibrate and re-align to find the strength to get back up and try again.
How to do it: From plank pose, rotate up to your right, placing your right hand on your hip and stacking your right foot on top of your left. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels. If there’s too much strain on the left wrist, lower your left knee to the mat. Take three deep breaths, then repeat on your other side.

5. Release tension: Double pigeon

Many of us hold tension in the hips, so hip-opening poses, such as double pigeon, can provide a much needed emotional release during the holidays.
How to do it: Sitting tall and cross-legged, place your right ankle over the left knee so that your shins are stacked. Keeping both feet flexed to protect your knees, take a deep inhale, opening your chest, and then exhale as you fold forward over your shins and bring your fingertips to the mat in front of you. Each exhale can act as a gesture of surrender, and release tension from your hips. Take 10 deep breaths, switch legs, placing your left ankle over your right knee, and take 10 more deep breaths. If the double pigeon pose is too challenging, try another hip-opening pose: bound angle. To do this, sit tall on your mat, bring the soles of your feet together in front of you, and lower your knees as far as you can. Hold your feet with both hands, inhale to open your chest, and then exhale, folding forward over your feet. Take 10 deep breaths, and then sit back up.

December 9, 2016 | BY: Elise Joan