Getting Sick...and How to Get Better

It's official, I am getting sick. I am not sure if it is just a sinus infection or if I am getting a cold, but I am not feeling well. Either way, I have been upping my vitamin C intake and using my neti pot more often to keep my nasal passageways moist. My apartment has really dry heat pumping through it in the winter and I'll bet that is something that caused me to feel bad. Irrigating your nasal passageways with a neti pot is so good for you. You can get your own Neti Pot from YogaDirect.com



Another way you can help battle winter colds is to eat a proper diet full of fruits and vegetables, and taking a good multivitamin really helps as well. As a vegetarian, I have found that I don't get sick that often, and when I do, it isn't for that long. And though I still haven't set foot in an actual Yoga Studio in a while (for shame!) I have been keeping up with my postures in my home. I find that the cold weather in winter makes me so unmotivated to step outside, so practicing in my home has really been the only option for me these days :) But stretching and toning your muscles with Yoga also strengthens your immune system, so Yogis are less likely to get sick! Although if there is an illness going around in your family or in the place where you work, there's really not a lot you can do about it. For me, I'll just keep doing what I am doing and hope I start feeling better soon!

Yoga Ball = Computer Chair

This week I decided to switch out my regular computer chair with my Yoga Ball. I decided to do this mostly because my body is incredibly sore from dance rehearsals this week and slouching in a regular chair proved to be more uncomfortable than relaxing. The Yoga Ball I am using is a silver 75cm ball from YogaDirect.com (of course!).




At first I thought I'd get tired of sitting on the thing, but that never happened. I feel like I have been sitting with perfect posture the whole time I am working, and it is even great to take a little break now and again to do some Pilates on the Ball while I am working, because well, why not! I also enjoyed being able to bounce whenever I feel like it, and that is always fun to break up the big tedious projects I have going on.

Since I work at YogaDirect.com, I don't have any co-workers really giving me weird looks because of the ball, but one of the newer employees asked me all sorts of questions about it. He wanted to know if it was weird to be sitting on something that could "oscillate" all over the place. Yes, he used the word oscillate! So I told him the ball is supposed to move around, and when it moves, your abs have to work extra hard so you can stay balanced on the ball. He then asked if he could try sitting on it, and as soon as he did, he fell right into me! Guess it takes a little practice to sit on a ball.

If you'd like to sit at a ball at your own desk, I suggest getting a size or two up from the ball you'd normally get to work out with. I think any ball within the 75cm-85cm range will work best. We have a pretty good selection of Yoga Balls at YogaDirect.com, of course, so go get one for yourself and start sitting with perfect posture at your desk every day!