Child's pose, please!

I woke up on Monday morning and decided it was time for some public humiliation. In other words, I attended my first yoga class in over two years. Taking new classes can be scary; I personally can find 100 reasons not to go..."I haven't tried that class before," "I'm running 5 minutes late and don't want to interrupt," "Downward dog makes me feel awkward," ect. But luckily for me, I was meeting my friend Lisa and felt the obligation not to bail on her, so I forced my full-of-excuses-butt out of bed and headed to A Sante.

I forewarned the instructor that it had been a while since my last yoga class. I didn't want to cajole her into taking the class down a notch, but rather wanted to constrain any laughter she may have felt when I attempted Utthita Trikonasana or extended triangle pose.

The first ten minutes I was starting to feel pretty arrogant about my yoga skills, but then again we were sitting cross-legged on the floor, breathing in and out. 'I could do this all day,' I thought to myself with a narcissistic grin stretched across my face. Of course, I wound up eating my words.

30 minutes into the hour-and-fifteen-minute class I was sweating like a nymphomaniac in church! Every time she instructed us to return to forward-bend pose, I would finally remember to breath - the one thing I thought I was actually good at in yoga! Turns out when I'm not sitting cross-legged on my mat, breathing becomes far too complicated to add in the mix of twists and bends.

I kept giving Lisa the "I'm dying over here" stare-down and thankfully she gave it right back because I don't always like being a fish out of water all by myself. Around 9:40 I glanced at the clock thinking to myself, 'shit, here we go, it's almost time for the cool down, but I know this elastic broad is going to push us to do something crazy before we get there.' Much to my dismay, I was right.

"Now we're going to enter upward plank pose," she said with a calm, tranquil tone as though we were about to get a massage, not contort our bodies in mysterious ways.

'You've got to be kidding,' I thought to myself. 'Who can actually pull this off?' At that point I finally acknowledged the 10 people to the left of me that I had forgotten about ever since the cross-legged breathing ended. I looked around at the different sizes, ages and ability levels. About 15 percent of the class (that's approximately a person-and-a-half to be clear) looked as graceful as the instructor, the other 85 percent looked like they wanted to hear the words "child pose" just as much as I did!

When it was finally time to relax and wind down, I started to feel something rather unexpected. I know what you're thinking, I probably felt a sudden urge to run for the door screaming murder never to return, but it's quite the opposite. Endorphins were clearly releasing inside my body, creating a euphoric feeling in my brain and I actually wanted to do more yoga!

That afternoon as I proceeded with my day, I felt accomplished, gratified and most importantly, more limber than when I awoke that morning. I can't be certain, but I think I've caught the yoga fever...Lisa and I have plans to attend next Monday's class for round two! Here's hoping I remember to breath past the first 10 minutes.

Work that butt!

The gluteus - your butt muscles - are the largest and strongest muscles in the body. Their function is hip extension, or driving the upper legs backward, plus having a great backside can't hurt when it comes to picking up a member of the opposite sex! The female body naturally carries a lot of fat deposits in this area and because of our child-bearing nature, our bodies are more hesitant to give up these fat deposits. Activities that engage this muscle group include walking, running, jumping and climbing, but lunges, leg lifts and squats really focus on the gluteus muscle group. Engage the abdominal muscles while performing my - and Jillian Michael's - favorite squats (listed below) in order to get a double-whammy workout!

1. Traditional Squat: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, with your weight on your heels. Keep your abs tight and your shoulders squarely over your hips. Sit back and down as if you were going to sit on a bench. Keep your back straight. Then stand up, straightening your legs and repeat.

2. Sumo Squat: Place your feet as wide apart as you can and point your toes outward. Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold for a beat, then exhale and press back up to the starting position. Repeat. This squat modification places a greater emphasis on the inner and outer thigh muscles.

3. One-legged squat: Stand with your weight balanced on your right leg. Lift your left foot an inch or so off the ground. Keep your head up and don't lean forward. Abs stay tight and the right heel stays on the ground. Don't let the knee extend over the toe. Slowly lower yourself as far as you can on the right leg. Continue for a full set on the right leg, then switch to the left leg and repeat. This modification requires tremendous balance and allows you to strengthen each leg.

Shredding the pow!!

Happy Birthday to my Mom today! She would be turning the big 60 if she were still around, which I'm pretty sure she is because it was a beautiful bluebird day at Squaw, lots of fresh, deep powder to shred, and the sun was beaming down. I'm pretty certain that was thanks to her.

Snowboarding is definitely a great way to burn calories! My legs are beat after moving around that much powder! The trick at Squaw on a Saturday is to try and avoid the gapers...aka Guaranteed Accident Prone on Every Run! I did unfortunately have an unavoidable collision with one gaping Bay-area klutz, but it was not too bad for a weekend-warrior day. Rachel (my besty) and I were able to make it to Silverado just before they opened the flood gates. It's pretty intense to witness the herds rush down for fresh lines at Squaw when a new run is open. All in all, a successful Saturday of snowboarding.

Well, I just wanted to give a shout out to my Mom on her birthday! The photo attached is of the two of us shredding the gnarly powder at Heavenly just a few months before she passed. She was a rock-star, obviously. I'm off to walk Ted then do some stretching at A Sante this afternoon. I've gotta keep these worn-out legs from getting too sore!

Jenny Jots It Down is online!

Hello All!

One year ago, I heard the word blog and brushed it off as another Internet craze that would soon come to a screeching halt, but I'm now eating my words as I see people blogging about everything from cooking tips (I keep tabs on Ruthie Writes, an excellent blog by my good friend Ruth) to classical music to men's underwear! (I swear, they are out there!) So I figured it was time to jump on the blogging bandwagon, but don't worry, this won't read like a diary of my most interpersonal reflections.

Right now, my year-round life in Tahoe is focused mostly on snowboarding, hiking, swimming, kayaking, biking and in general, playing in the great outdoors. As Marketing Coordinator (as I like to refer to myself) for A Sante Lakeside Fitness in Tahoe City, I decided the most relevant thing to blog about would be health and fitness...that's a no-brainer. So check in with me and I'll give you advice on what to buy organic (that's my first blog topic!), how to blast that ab flab, where to hike in Tahoe, and even random topics like what I thought of today's Zumba workout! (Not as random as men's underwear, I can assure you.)

Thanks for reading! Keep in touch!

Top 5 Foods to Buy Organic

We've heard the buzz about organic foods and we know the potential health benefits, but buying green may not always be affordable or available. Next time you're trying to make a conscience health decision in the grocery store, consider splurging for these five organic products:

1. Dairy! Organic Dairy can have a positive impact on your health as well as the environment. Organic yogurts contain significantly higher levels of of healthy omega-3s, as well as beta-carotene, which may play a role in cancer prevention. With the average American consuming more than 500 pounds of dairy products annually, buying organic is definitely the best way to avoid consumption of synthetic hormones, antibiotics, or pesticides. In addition, organic producers tend to have a more compassionate outlook on the environment, but with large corporations fighting for a piece of the organic market, it's good to double check whether your organic choice comes from a sustainable manufacturer. Check out www.eatwellguide.org for a list of sustainable farms in your area.

2. Lettuce! Generic lettuce brands contain some of the highest levels of pesticides compared to any other food. Rinsing produce is always a good idea, but it doesn't entirely eliminate all the possible health risks associated with pesticides. Go for the organic brand and you will treat yourself to 25 percent more antioxidants than regular lettuce!

3. Apples! They are the second most commonly consumed fruit (after bananas) and rank high on the toxic pesticide list! Conventional varieties, even when peeled, contain chemicals called organophosphates that can damage brain and nerve cells. Organic apples tend to be higher in nutrients and have known to taste better in blind taste tests! When it comes to your health, there are some fruits you don't need to worry about buying organic like oranges, bananas, pineapples which all have very low levels of toxic chemicals.

4. Pasta sauce! Going organic with your pasta topper won't cost you a lot in the checkout line, but can save you when it comes to your health! The average American consumes 90 pounds of tomatoes per year, most of that in sauces and in ketchup and when you choose organic, you're choosing more nutrients, more lycopenes and more environmentally-friendly practices.

5. Meat! If you enjoy a good burger every now and then, I'd recommend going organic. Grass-fed beef tends to be leaner and can contain about five times the healthy omega-3 fats than non-organic meat. Not to mention, modern methods of animal production utilize hormones to speed up the growth process, chemicals and pesticides to grow the grains fed to the animals and antibiotics to prevent the spread of disease among feed lots. By going organic, you can feel secure that your meat comes from an animal was fed a more natural diet, containing not antibiotics or hormones.

*Information provided by Glamour Health, The National Dairy Council and The University of California, Davis