Top 10 Yoga Poses that Increase Metabolism

Are you looking to cope up the metabolism in your body, the best practice is performing yoga for minimum of three times a week. Yoga is a method that helps you stay away from stress, keeps you fit and healthy, increases the metabolism in your body, and keeps you active and energized.

The following are the top yoga poses to be performed to reduce stress and increase metabolism in your body:

1. Twisted Chair Pose

Increase in the circulation can be gained by twisting every muscle in the body, which can be seen in Twisted Chair pose, resulting in good digestion and wakes up the internal organs.

Steps to perform:

Legs and feet are kept together. Make an action as you are sitting in a chair far behind by bending your knees and sinking your hips down at a time. Palms should be placed in front of chest. Your right elbow is moved until it reaches your left knee by rotating the spine simultaneously. Chest should remain lifted all the time. You should be able to hold it for 30-45 seconds and try the same on the other side.

2. Locust Pose

Locust pose helps you increase your metabolism and boosts your energy, similar to all other poses. While elongating your spinal column and opening up your chest, your leg muscles and lower back are strengthened.

Steps to perform:

Your stomach should be touching the ground while lying on the floor with your arms alongside of your body facing your palms up. Your head, upper part of the body, legs and arms are to be lifted maintaining equal distance from the floor. Legs and arms must be kept active and you should look slightly up or forward depending on the flexibility of the body. This should be performed for 45 seconds, before releasing your arms and other parts to the floor, your head should be turned to one side. The same is repeated for three times.

3. Bow Pose

 It is almost similar to the Locust pose, where the energy gets boosted up and metabolism revs up. It strengthens the back muscles and stretches the front part of your body. Your body resembles the shape of bow.

Steps to perform:

Lie on your stomach stretching your arms alongside of the body, with palms facing upwards. Your ankles should be grabbed with your hands by bending the knees remaining in same position. Now lift your heels up and away from your body, keeping your legs hip-distance apart, which pulls your chest up off the floor. Shoulder blades should be kept down away from the ears all the time. You should hold this for 30-45 seconds, while releasing head should be turned to one side. Repeating this for two or three times shows best results.

4. Eagle Pose

Entire body gets energized and digestion is carried out well performing this pose. It also helps in building lean and strong muscles.

Steps to perform:

Bend your knees slightly from your standing position. Start in a standing position and bend your knees slightly. Right leg is lifted up and hooked around the standing leg at the foot and ankle behind left calf. Hips are brought down and back making a position as you are sitting in a chair. Arms are crossed at elbow position and wrists bringing them before your chest. After holding it for around 1 minute you can release it shaking the legs and continue by switching sides.

5. Crescent Lunge Pose

This position helps in stretching your hips and strengthening your legs. It also helps in the increase of the metabolism. Crescent lunge position maintains your heart beat rate.

Steps to perform:

Initiate with downward dog pose. Your right foot is stepped in between both the hands. Hips are lowered in lunge position and weight should be shifted on the ball of your back foot by lifting up the body as standing straight. Hips should remain squared all the time. Arms should be raised as to reach ceiling by keeping both the palms facing each other. Stay in the position for 1 minute and then sides are changed.

6. Bridge Pose

In this pose the chest portion is lifted up to reach the chin, by which the thyroid gland is massaged, resulting in the hormone regulation helping in maintaining the metabolism. It works with the gravity to open your chest and shoulder areas.

Steps to perform:

Keep your knees bent and flat on the floor with a feet distance apart by lying on your back. Slowly see if you can feel your heels by reaching down your fingertips.
Bring your knees a little closer if you do not feel so. Lift your hips towards the ceiling by pressing the weight on your feet by keeping your thighs parallel. Both arms are clasped with each other bringing them underneath your body. Shoulders blades are rolled towards each other and stay for 45 seconds to 60 seconds. Release by rolling back slowly and is repeated for two times.

7. Plow Pose

Plow pose helps in balancing your metabolic system and helps you for the flow of feel good hormones and endorphin throughout your body. This also helps in the good circulation of adrenal, thyroid and pituitary glands.

Steps to perform:

Bring you legs straight up in the air towards the ceiling by lying back. Arms are brought alongside your body with your palms down. Press your weight into the arms and lift your legs right over your head and try to touch the ground behind you, if it is difficult for you to do so clasp your arms as in the bridge pose for support and shoulders rolling towards each other.

8.Shoulder Stand

Shoulder stand gives great stretch to your upper back and neck. It is having similar benefits as plow pose.

Steps to perform:

Put you arms alongside your body with your palms down by lying back. Follow same procedure as plow pose by bringing your legs in the air towards ceiling over the head by pressing weight into the hands. Hands are clasped and shoulders are rolled towards each other and bringing hands to lower neck spreading your fingers wide. Now one leg at a time is lifted to the ceiling getting it as straight as possible and hold it for 1 to 3 minutes.

9. Fish Pose

The counter pose to the shoulder stand is nothing but the fish pose. It helps in stretching front of neck, causing calming effect to your body. Most of us suffer from lot of stress in our shoulders and neck.

Steps to perform:

Your hands along with the palms are kept beneath your hips by lying back. Elbows are bent and by pressing weight into them you should lean on them. Your back should be arched as you lift your chest up towards the ceiling. As in the bridge stand, elbows are brought towards each other dropping the head back behind your body.

10. Easy Spinal Twist

Spinal twist pose helps you in the weight loss process and take care of the digestive system of your body.

Steps to perform:

Both of your knees are brought towards your chest by lying on your back. Your left knee must be held into the chest leaving the right knee straightened onto the floor. The bent knee should be brought all over the body without changing the shape of your shoulder. To complete the twist head should be turned to look over the left shoulder. Keeping the pose for 45 seconds to 1 minute, both the knees are brought into the chest and other knee should be practiced. Lie on your back and bring both knees in toward your chest.
Article Source -  Shape

45 Uses For Lemons That Will Blow Your Socks Off

Most people are familiar with the traditional uses for lemons to soothe sore throats and add some citrus flavor to our foods. However the diversity of applications for lemons far exceeds general knowledge and once you read the following list, you'll likely want to stock at least a few lemons in your kitchen 24-7. 

1. Freshen the Fridge

Remove refrigerator odors with ease. Dab lemon juice on a cotton ball or sponge and leave it in the fridge for several hours. Make sure to toss out any malodorous items that might be causing the bad smell.

2. High Blood Pressure

Lemon contains potassium which controls high blood pressure and reduces the effect of nausea and dizziness.

3. Prevent Cauliflower From Turning Brown

Cauliflower tend to turn brown with even the slightest cooking. You can make sure the white vegetables stay white by squeezing a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice on them before heating.

4. Mental Health

Lemon water can also prep up your mood and relieve you from depression and stress. Long distance walkers and world travelers as well as explorers look upon the lemon as a Godsend. When fatigue begins, a lemon is sucked through a hole in the top. Quick acting medicine it is, giving almost unbelievable refreshments. 

5. Refresh Cutting Boards

No wonder your kitchen cutting board smells! After all, you use it to chop onions, crush garlic, and prepare fish. To get rid of the smell and help sanitize the cutting board, rub it all over with the cut side of half a lemon or wash it in undiluted juice straight from the bottle.

6. Respiratory Problems

Lemon water can reduce phlegm; and can also help you breathe properly and aids a person suffering with asthma.

7. Treating Arthritis and Rheumatism

Lemon is a diuretic - assists in the production of urine which helps you to reduce inflammation by flushing out toxins and bacteria while also giving you relief from arthritis and rheumatism.

8. Prevents Kidney Stones

Regular consumption of the refreshing drink -- or even lemon juice mixed with water -- may increase the production of urinary citrate, a chemical in the urine that prevents the formation of crystals that may build up into kidney stones. 

9. Keep Insects Out of the Kitchen

You don’t need insecticides or ant traps to ant-proof your kitchen. Just give it the lemon treatment. First squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any holes or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outdoor entrance. The ants will get the message that they aren’t welcome. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas: Simply mix the juice of 4 lemons (along with the rinds) with 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water and wash your floors with it; then watch the fleas and roaches flee. They hate the smell.

10. Anti-Aging

Lemon water reduces the production of free radicals which are responsible for aging skin and skin damage. Lemon water is calorie free and an antioxidant.

11. Fruit and Vegetable Wash

You never know what kind of pesticides or dirt may be lurking on the skin of your favorite fruits and vegetables. Slice your lemon and squeeze out one tablespoon of lemon juice into your spray bottle. The lemon juice is a natural disinfectant and will leave your fruits and vegetables smelling nice too.

12. Treat Infections

Lemon water can fight throat infections thanks to its antibacterial property. If salt water does not work for you, try lime and water for gargling.

13. Deodorize Your Garbage 

If your garbage is beginning to smell yucky, here’s an easy way to deodorize it: Save leftover lemon and orange peels and toss them at the base under the bag. To keep it smelling fresh, repeat once every couple of weeks.

14. Keep Guacamole Green

You’ve been making guacamole all day long for the big party, and you don’t want it to turn brown on top before the guests arrive. The solution: Sprinkle a liberal amount of fresh lemon juice over it and it will stay fresh and green. The flavor of the lemon juice is a natural complement to the avocados in the guacamole. Make the fruit salad hours in advance too. Just squeeze some lemon juice onto the apple slices, and they’ll stay snowy white.

15. Purges The Blood

We consume a lot of junk food or food with a lot of preservatives and artificial flavours. This builds up a lot of toxins in the blood and body but daily consumption of lemon water helps to purify the blood. 

16. Make Soggy Lettuce Crisp

Don’t toss that soggy lettuce into the garbage. With the help of a little lemon juice you can toss it in a salad instead. Add the juice of half a lemon to a bowl of cold water. Then put the soggy lettuce in it and refrigerate for 1 hour. Make sure to dry the leaves completely before putting them into salads or sandwiches.

17. Oral Health

Lemon juice also stops bleeding gums and reduces toothaches

18. Lighten Age Spots

Why buy expensive creams when you’ve got lemon juice? To lighten liver spots or freckles, try applying lemon juice directly to the area. Let it sit for 15 minutes and then rinse your skin clean. It’s a safe and effective skin-lightening agent.

19. Create Blonde Highlights

For salon-worthy highlights, add 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Then, sit in the sun until your hair dries. To maximize the effect, repeat once daily for up to a week. 

20. Make a Room Scent/Humidifier

Freshen and moisturize the air in your home on dry winter days. Make your own room scent that also doubles as a humidifier. If you have a wood-burning stove, place an enameled cast-iron pot or bowl on top, fill with water, and add lemon (and/or orange) peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and apple skins. No wood-burning stove? Use your stove top instead and just simmer the water periodically.

21. Clean and Whiten Nails

Pamper your hands without a manicurist. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 cup warm water and soak your fingertips in the mixture for 5 minutes. After pushing back the cuticles, rub some lemon peel back and forth against the nail.

22. Cleanse Your Face

Zap zits naturally by dabbing lemon juice on blackheads to draw them out during the day. You can also wash your face with lemon juice for a natural cleanse and exfoliation. Your skin should improve after several days of treatment. Lemon water is also a cooling agent, best way to beat the heat.

23. Freshen Your Breath

Make an impromptu mouthwash by rinsing with lemon juice straight from the bottle. Swallow for longer-lasting fresh breath. The citric acid in the juice alters the pH level in your mouth, killing bacteria that causes bad breath. Rinse after a few minutes because long-term exposure to the acid in lemons can harm tooth enamel.

24. Treat Flaky Dandruff

If itchy, scaly dandruff has you scratching your head, relief may be no farther away than your refrigerator. Just massage two tablespoons lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Then stir one teaspoon lemon juice into one cup water and rinse your hair with it. Repeat daily until your dandruff disappears.

25. Get Rid of Tough Stains on Marble

You probably think of marble as stone, but it is really petrified calcium (also known as old seashells). That explains why it is so porous and easily stained and damaged. Those stains can be hard to remove. If washing won’t remove a stubborn stain, try this: Cut a lemon in half, dip the exposed flesh into some table salt, and rub it vigorously on the stain. But do this only as a last resort; acid can damage marble. Rinse well.Use These Lemons To Clean - Easy and Effective

26. Remove Berry Stains

It sure was fun to pick your own berries, but now your fingers are stained with berry juice that won’t come off no matter how much you scrub with soap and water. Try washing your hands with undiluted lemon juice, then wait a few minutes and wash with warm, soapy water. Repeat until your hands are stain-free.

27. Soften Dry, Scaly Elbows

Itchy elbows are bad enough, but they look terrible too. For better looking (and feeling) elbows, mix baking soda and lemon juice to make an abrasive paste, then rub it into your elbows for a soothing, smoothing, and exfoliating treatment. Rinse your extremities in a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water, then massage with olive oil and dab dry with a soft cloth.

28. Headaches 

Lemon juice with a few teaspoons of hot tea added is the treatment of a sophisticated New York bartender, for those who suffer with hangover headaches--and from headaches due to many other causes. He converts his customers to this regime, and weans them away from drug remedies completely. 

29. Chills and Fevers

Chills and fevers may be due to a variety of causes; never the less the lemon is always a helpful remedy. Spanish physicians regard it as an infallible friend. 

30. Diptheria

Skip the vaccine for this disease. Lemon Juice Treatment still proves as one of the most powerful antiseptics and the strong digestive qualities of the fruit are admired around the world. With the juice every hour or two, and at the same time, 1/2 to 1 tsp. should be swallowed. This cuts loose the false membrane in the throat and permits it to come out.

31. Vaginal Hygiene

Diluted lemon juice makes a safe and sane method of vaginal hygiene. Though it is a powerful antiseptic it is nevertheless free from irritating drugs in douches and suppositories. 

32. Forget The Moth Balls

A charming French custom to keep closets free from moths is to take ripe lemons and stick them with cloves all over the skin. The heavily studded lemons slowly dry with their cloves, leaving a marvelous odor throughout the closets and rooms. 

33. Stomach Health

Digestive problems are the most common ailments but warm water and lime juice is the solution to most digestive problems. Lemon juice helps to purify the blood, reduces your chances of indigestion, constipation, eliminates toxins from the body, adds digestion and reduces phlegm.

34. Disinfect Cuts and Scrapes

Stop bleeding and disinfect minor cuts and scraps by pouring a few drops of lemon juice directly on the cut. You can also apply the juice with a cotton ball and hold firmly in place for one minute.

35. Soothe Poison Ivy Rash

You won’t need an ocean of calamine lotion the next time poison ivy comes a-creeping. Just apply lemon juice directly to the affected area to soothe itching and alleviate the rash.

36. Remove Warts

You’ve tried countless remedies to banish warts and nothing seems to work. Next time, apply a dab of lemon juice directly to the wart using a cotton swab. Repeat for several days until the acids in the lemon juice dissolve the wart completely.

37. Bleach Delicate Fabrics

Avoid additional bleach stains by swapping ordinary household chlorine bleach with lemon juice, which is milder but no less effective. Soak your delicates in a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for at least half an hour before washing.

38. Clean Tarnished Brass and Polish Chrome

Say good-bye to tarnish on brass, copper, or stainless steel. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt (or substitute baking soda or cream of tartar for the salt) and coat the affected area. Let it stay on for 5 minutes. Then wash in warm water, rinse, and polish dry. Use the same mixture to clean metal kitchen sinks too. Apply the paste, scrub gently, and rinse. Get rid of mineral deposits and polish chrome faucets and other tarnished chrome. Simply rub lemon rind over the chrome and watch it shine! Rinse well and dry with a soft cloth.

39. Replace Your Dry Cleaner

Ditch the expensive dry-cleaning bills (and harsh chemicals) with this homegrown trick. Simply scrub the stained area on shirts and blouses with equal parts lemon juice and water. Your “pits” will be good as new, and smell nice too.

40. Boost Laundry Detergent

For more powerful cleaning action, pour 1 cup lemon juice into the washer during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of the juice will zap stains and remove rust and mineral discolorations from cotton T-shirts and briefs and will leave your clothes smelling fresh. Your clothes will turn out brighter and also come out smelling lemon-fresh.

41. Rid Clothes of Mildew

Have you ever unpacked clothes you stored all winter and discovered some are stained with mildew? To get rid of it, make a paste of lemon juice and salt and rub it on the affected area, then dry the clothes in sunlight. Repeat the process until the stain is gone.

42. Eliminate Fireplace Odor

There’s nothing cozier on a cold winter night than a warm fire burning in the fireplace — unless the fire happens to smell horrible. Next time you have a fire that sends a stench into the room, try throwing a few lemon peels into the flames. Or simply burn some lemon peels along with your firewood as a preventive measure.

43. Neutralize Cat-Box Odor

You don’t have to use an aerosol spray to neutralize foul-smelling cat-box odors or freshen the air in your bathroom. Just cut a couple of lemons in half. Then place them, cut side up, in a dish in the room, and the air will soon smell lemon-fresh.

44. Deodorize a Humidifier

When your humidifier starts to smell funky, deodorize it with ease: Just pour 3 or 4 teaspoons lemon juice into the water. It will not only remove the off odor but will replace it with a lemon-fresh fragrance. Repeat every couple of weeks to keep the odor from returning.

45. Reduce Asthma Symptoms

In addition to a general detoxifying diet, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice before each meal, and before retiring can reduce asthma symptoms. 

* If you do consume lemon peel, stick to organic lemons to reduce your pesticide exposure.

Source: Prevent Disease

How to Regain Your Figure Post-Pregnancy?

With a hope to help not only newbie mothers but all others who want to find some effective ways in which their body can be given perfect shape boosting their confidence levels and retain fitness. Irrespective of the reasons for weight gain it has to be understood that weight loss does not happen just in a day it will take equally the same time if not longer to lose that gained weight.

Pregnancy is the time when mothers give higher priority to the well-being of their baby however there is possibly a time to rethink about the needs which have to be met so that the body gets back its original shape if it is more than three years that the baby has taken birth.

Here we are providing five tips which will ensure that the body is back in shape and it is exclusively for those who are in their post pregnancy phase, now that it has been forty weeks since when the baby weight has been put on there is a need to give forty weeks of time for the weight to fall out. It is often the tendency of the newbie mothers to jump into exercising as soon as they are capable of however after sometime they lose their interest hence it is suggested have some patience before trying these weight loss tips.

Tip 1: Take some time out

It is sure that there is very less time for any new parent however it is also suggested to take some time out which is probably for about even 10 minutes which is even good which can be anytime during baby naptime. If it is time for work it is suggested to take some time off to walk around the corner though it is hard to exercise it is said to surge energy levels in the body.

Tip 2: Avoid excuses

Ensure that there is lot of movement involved on daily basis for which it is said that exercise has to be done naturally rather than going for any sort of excuse. If a feeling of including others in life is inculcated it is sure that this might boost additional confidence levels to include more physical activity.

Tip3: Get Creative

Like it was previously said any time to exercise is best hence it can be done even while washing baby bottles like squats or crunches in bed while entertaining the baby at the same time. 10 minutes of fitness routine every morning and evening is sufficient to initiate the process of body fitness.

Tip 4: Never lose focus

It is necessary to work on posture every day since pregnancy is sure to have had an effect on the body weight and posture since it involves lifting the baby, pushing strollers, bending over the crib which makes the muscles stretch a lot for entire day. Contraction of abdominal muscles is known to help people strengthen them hence the tummy has to be pulled in for every few times a day which will help in its development.

Tip 5: Eat well

Ensure that the diet consists of all nutrition on daily basis because it is not suggestible to go with weight loss diet programs which will drain out the body from all necessary nutrients thereby having an effect on the baby health if they are breastfed. Weight loss does not mean that the body has to be stared instead has to be provided with diet which is in perfect control including proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates and several others ensuring that the body gets them all in required quantities.

Weight can be easily lost when there is a balance maintained between the calorie which is being taken in and the calories which are spent at appropriate rate, if the body is nursing after pregnancy it is suggested to get help from professional to make sure that all the necessary calories are taken in to produce milk full of nutrients for the baby.