YOGI SONG of the WEEK

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The newest ALPHA DIVA to join the family is Catie Jarvis.  

 She was kind enough to donate her symphonic inspiration to you this week.

 ZEN MEETS EDM

For the past few weeks I’ve been obsessed with the Deadmau5 song, I Remember. I started doing my morning yoga practice to the song on repeat. Though I usually don’t associate Electronic Dance Music with Sun Salutations, I think that this song presents something important about the idea and feeling of letting go without necessarily moving on or giving up. Something we can all work towards and learn from.

When Kaskade’s words mix with the Deadmau5 beats, there is a perfect atmosphere for release… 

One of the most important aspects of “working out” is that we give ourselves time and space to release all of the tension that has built up in our minds and muscles. We go to the gym to sweat, loose weight, but there’s also something more, something deeper that we achieve when we run, jump, pull up, push up, sit up, downward dog. We give ourselves a chance to forget about everything else that happened in our day, or week, or lives, even if it’s just for an hour. We focus on the present moment. We let go of the attachment to what happened in the past or what will happen in the future.

It can be hard to explain this phenomenon to others or even to recognize it ourselves. I think sometimes the idea of “letting go” can seem oversimplified. We can’t just always release and move away from the things in life that are hard. In life, just like in our work-outs at the gym, if we always stopped when something seemed hard or challenging, we wouldn’t really get any stronger.

“You don’t have to move on to let go…”

Think of how this idea could apply to your life. What ideas, emotions, situations, people, are you stuck on, unable to move away from? Why are you stuck? Maybe you can’t release your job because you need it in order to make money. Maybe you can’t release someone negatively influencing your life because they are family and you have a commitment to them. But is it always necessary to move on to let go?

Sometimes you can find a way to stop being phased or hurt by a situation just by detaching from it. By letting what doesn’t serve you just slide in one ear and out the other without angering or saddening you. By not having expectations of the future or attachments to what happened in the past, you might be able to enjoy a person, place, or part of yourself that you didn’t expect to.

Maybe if you let go of an idea or an emotion that you are attached to then your whole relationship with a certain person or situation will change before your eyes.

“You don’t have to give up to let go…”

How can you manage to keep up all of the difficult and varied components of your life, all of your precious memories of the past, and dreams for the future, while still totally enjoying each and every moment without being clouded by worries, expectations, attachments, fears? How can you remember and let go?

The answer, I think, has something to do with the balance of Sthira (effort) and Sukha (Ease) that a really strong yogi can bring to every yoga pose that they practice. It’s a delicate balance between working your butt off to deepen and strengthen each pose, and to totally release any strain or negativity that holds you back from breathing fully and experiencing and enjoying what you are doing.

 Think of tough situations in life like the last five push-ups in a set of fifty… Maybe you can’t do them because you are about to pull a muscle and you need to just stop. But maybe, if you breathe, focus on the moment instead of on your doubts or fears, you can get through it, do those last five, maybe add on an extra one or two more, maybe even forget about how hard it is, let go, and enjoy it! 

POWER PLATE demos

I think that most people are intimidated by the Power Plate.  They dont understand how it works, how to use it, or the benefits.  That is why we at ALPHA VENICE, are going to give you more information in our tutorial videos so you can see, get excited & reserve your first power plate class.  The classes are small with a maximum of 8 clients.  You get the one on one attention that you need, especially i f you are a first timer.

The concept behind the vibration is fiber twitch for stimulation, rejuvenation & healing.  When you use the plate for a 30 second interval in a static exercise such as a squat you are properly training your muscles to fire in the right alignment. Your quads, glutes & hamstrings will contract over a thousand times during that 30 seconds.  This tricks the body into reacting as though you are holding twice your body weight without the impact.  MEANING, the Power Plate is one of the best ways to train without the impact or any spinal loading.  The circulation benefits include lymphatic drainage & the secretion of synovial fluid in your joints. This helps to repair tissue & retrain atrophied muscles.  Other benefits include flexibility, toning, & increase in power during athletic explosive drills.  The message positions are without a doubt one of our clients favorite additions to a class. Come in & let us take you to a whole new level of functional training.

HERE ARE SOME VIDEO DEMOS

AMANDA TEACHES 

MONDAY/FRIDAY 11AM, 

TUESDAYS 7AM & 530PM, 

MONDAY/WEDNESDAY 7PM

& SUNDAYS 9AM

I TEACH THURSDAYS 7AM & 530PM

THERE ARE ALSO TRX/POWER PLATE COMBO CLASSES 

WHERE YOU CAN GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!

W/AMANDA

6PM ON TUESDAYS

5PM WEDNESDAY

HERE IS A VIDEO OF A FULL SERIES ON A SINGLE SIDE

Once you finish it will be repeated through on the other side.

1st exercise - (30s stretch setting) standing glute stretch; sets intention and prepares body for movement, opens hips, glutes, and stretches IT band, all places that tend to be tight with cardiovascular activities like running and cycling.

2nd exercise - (30s strength setting) standing step up to high knee; power movement to improve power, strength, and cardiovascular health which lifts and tones the glutes.

3rd exercise - (30s stretch setting) standing eagle twist; to massage and rejuvenate the circulatory, connective, and nervous systems.

The Power Plate wall sit is meant to contract all the muscles of the lower body.  The vibration will retain the muscles to fire properly while toning & strengthening.  This is beneficial to strengthen the muscles that support the knees as well as stimulate the lubrication of the joint.

  HEY LADIES, this little baby targets cellulite.  YES I SAID IT....will reduce visible cellulite.

CALL ME!

Alpha Venice

35 Market Street

310.396.9513

please call to reserve your spot

limited 4-6 people per class

MEN: you have glute issues!

interesting comment from a client during class

"my butt is so sore for yesterday's class.  i figure that my glutes are they only muscle that i dont have to worry about working out"

......i hear that all the time
HEY BOYS: GIRLS DIG A GREAT BOOTY
not to mention your glutes not firing lead to many MANY, knee, hip & lower back problems

90% of the men that walk into ALPHA VENICE do not USE there glutes EVEN during glute exercises.  Especially the ones that say they dont need to work them out!

THIS DOES NOT MEAN: 

that you have to be seen at the gym,

on the butt blaster, in a leotard.

here are a few exercises that you can do daily
some are basic movement to teach your muscles to fire so you can benefit from a glute workout

before you do anything 

FOAM ROLL

 PILATES CLAM - make sure to not move your hips

HIP BRIDGE

Heals on the ball tap the hips to the floor, then push them to the ceiling.  ALWAYS START WITH BOTH LEGS before you try a single leg exercise.

if this is too unstable just start with the basic hip bridge with your feet on the floor

NOW onto the glute workout.........

Do these drills once or twice a week, giving yourself adequate time for the muscle to recover

SINGLE LEG SQUAT TO CROSS BACK LUNGE

if you do not have a trx at the gym, you can use a rope hooked around the side of a squat rack
for your single leg lunge

the cross back lunge can be done free standing just allow that back foot to touch the floor so you have even pressure on each leg.

always make sure to stretch!

may your buns be tight 

and your jean be well fitting!

 then walk your fine ass to ALPHA VENICE