INTRODUCING EXHALE’S FIRST GROOM AND BRIDAL BOOT CAMP COUPLE!
By: Madison Wright
exhale blog coordinator + core fusion teacher
Announcing exhale’s very first Bridal Boot Camp Couple!! That’s right, shaping up before the big day is no longer just for the ladies, it’s spanning the sexes and exhale’s got your sneak peek into the fitness journey of a lifetime!
Meet Kathryn Campbell and William Earls. Their story is truly one for the millennials, an 85% compatibility factor on a dating site helped spark the chemistry between these two lovebirds, leading to truelove and a “partner-n-crime” type of bond.
CELEBRATE NAMASDAY WITH EXHALE!
by: madison wright, ms
blog coordinator + core fusion teacher
Say namaste to National Yoga Month with exhale’s fifth annual yoga party on Thursday, September 24th! Our celebration of yoga, which we’ve appropriately (and cleverly, if we may) designated “namasDAY,” offers complimentary yoga classes (at participating locations) to any and every one! So whether you’re a yogi pro, yogi novice, or never yoga’d before, come and get your yoga flow on with rhythmical beats (in some locations, to a live DJ!) and highly acclaimed yoga teachers.
HALLOWEEN IS YOUR NEW NEW YEARS!
madison wright, ms
blog coordinator + core fusion teacher
The holiday of Halloween has deep roots, dating back more than 2000 years ago; the pumpkin seed trail leads us to the Celtic culture of the Druids of who lived in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Halloween, originally dubbed “All Hallows Eve” was a celebration that coalesced the last day of the Celtic Calendar, October 31st, a culmination of the summer season and of course – the one that we’re more familiar with- a day to honor the dead.
5 REASONS TO GET YOUR BUTT TO BED AND 5 WAYS TO DO IT
veryone wants to feel refreshed and fab on a daily basis. A good night sleep (at least 8 hours) recharges and refuels you so you wake up with a strong body, sharp mind and slay-the-day attitude. Read below for 5 benefits of getting a good night’s sleep, and our 5 tips to help you get there!
REST DAY RELAXATION!
You’re working hard towards your fitness goals. You have a vision in sight, and the motivation to get there. You’ve tuned up your diet, built time into your day for exercise, and you’ve made the switch from soda to water. Great! But did you build rest into your routine? A rest day is the one day of the week when you deliberately don’t work out or push yourself hard. Both awake and asleep, rest is important to your fitness goals because it allows your muscles and cardiovascular system to recover and rebuild. Working hard every day to reach your goals without rest may feel like the most productive path, however, it can actually lead to overtraining and injury. So, what should you do on your day off? Active Rest Days If you’re the type of person that can’t sit still on a day off, you might want to consider planning a bit of active rest into your day. This will allow you to “clean” your muscles of any built-up lactic acid and get in tune with your body at a slower pace. Over time, as your fitness improves, you may even be able to incorporate more intense exercise on a rest day, because it will take more work to raise your heart rate. Keep the following in mind on your active rest days: • Keep the pace low: You should be able to hold a conversation during active rest activities. A very light jog, hike, or bike ride are all great ideas. • Watch your heart rate: Below 130 BPM is a normal target. Anything above that can trigger hormones to release which are associated with physical stress, canceling out your goal of recovery.
THE DEEP ROOTED BENEFITS OF YOGA
by Edward Vilga There’s an ancient parable about blind men encountering an elephant for the first time. Each feels a different part of the animal––tusk, side, legs, tail, etc.––and each has a completely different take on what he’s experienced. Depending on one’s version of the story, they either come to blows or remain baffled, each person convinced they’ve tasted the absolute truth, yet each confined to his limited experience. The same can be said about experiencing yoga for the first time — you may have heard a lot about its benefits — ranging from increased flexibility to sweaty calorie burning and strength building, to deepened serenity — but you aren’t quite sure where to begin. In fact, yoga classes at Exhale range from offering something deeply sweaty (like POWER), to emphasizing graceful and expansive movement (like FLOW), to exploring stillness and ease (CHILL). How is it that so much can fall under this very broad “Yoga Umbrella?” Indeed, it’s fascinating that something as rigorously demanding as Power (where students could be holding forearm plank for a minute or attempt a challenging push-up variation) to Chill (where 90% of the class is spent lying down and using props), can share the label of YOGA. And yet, oddly the distinctions seem to be relatively minor, given the stronger commonalities the classes share. First and foremost, in any yoga class, there’s a strong and continuous emphasis on BREATH. While in other Exhale classes such as Barre or HIIT, the breath might be mentioned, it’s not usually a continuous part of the instruction. In yoga, however, it’s absolutely central. In Flow and Power, I’m calling out “Inhale” and “Exhale” pretty much every moment, particularly in the sun salutation flow. In Chill, I’m continually bringing the breath into the class’ awareness while holding a deeply still pose or while offering a guided meditation. Blog_0415 Another hallmark of what “makes yoga, yoga” is obviously an emphasis on stretching and increased FLEXIBILITY, even though that can look quite different in each type of class. (One aside: by far, the most common objection I hear about someone NOT taking yoga is that they aren’t flexible enough; ironically, that’s EXACTLY the reason they should begin practicing. No matter what your starting point is — even if when bending over, your fingertips are in a different zip code than your toes — yoga will meet you where you are and allow you to expand and lengthen over time.)
Young woman doing Uttanasana exercise
Interestingly, increased flexibility can be obtained no matter the style of yoga practice. In POWER or FLOW, one warms the body up through movement, allowing for deeper stretching, particularly towards the end of a class. In CHILL,
I TRIED BARRE+YOGA
By: Emily McNeely, exhale enthusiast, copywriter, dancer and (newly committed) Barre + Yoga devotee
It’s why I fell in love with exhale in the first place: balance. Whether it’s the balance of spa and fitness, of energy and mindfulness, of strength and flexibility — or the challenging balance in chair position on the mat, heels up, arms stretched wide, finding your center. That’s why I fell in love with exhale’s new class, Barre + Yoga.
The latest brainchild of exhale’s co-founder, former ballet dancer, and barre legend Elisabeth Halfpapp, Barre + Yoga blends two classes into one powerful, balanced hour. For the first half of class, you’re in Core Fusion Barre mode — toning up with hand weights, planks, thigh and glute work.
Then, seamlessly, you switch gears and move into an athletic yoga flow. After a series of Warrior sequences, you move to seated yoga poses and a core section, complete with the classic Core Fusion curl. Then you end the hour with a mindful moment in Savasana.
