Prenatal Yoga Poses

The world over people are realising the benefits of yoga and pranayama in our daily lives. Yoga is touted not just as a physical exercise, but actually a way of exercising each entity of human existence. It is physical, mental, spiritual, intellectual, as well as emotional well being that Yoga hopes to achieve through exercise, concentration as well as breathe control. Most of the times, strenuous exercises like the Surya Namaskar are forbidden for pregnant women as the body of a pregnant woman is rather weak and thus prone to easy injury, which might also affect the child within her. 

This, however, is not to mean that yoga itself is injurious to the health of a pregnant woman. In fact, some postures in yoga are extremely beneficial for a pregnant woman. We all know about the fact that few women are able to give birth naturally these days owing either to complications or lifestyle issues. Some easy and less strenuous yoga postures will actually help the woman have a natural childbirth, free of complications or Caesarean section operations and so on. Here are a few prenatal yoga poses for pregnant women.

Pregnancy Yoga Poses  

Here are some yoga poses beneficial for women who are pregnant:

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) 

This pose is known to strengthen the spine, open the chest and the lungs to make breathing better and easier and is also effective for stimulating the thyroid gland. For this pose, you need to begin by lying supine on your back. Then, bending by the knees, bring the soles of your feet close to your buttocks so that they are parallel to each other. Interlace your fingers and bring them under your back. Now, lift your body, from the hips to the ceiling. Stretch your interlaced fingers bringing them as close to the ankles of your feet as possible. Even as you stretch, do not forget to inhale deeply. Now push your shoulders above the ground too, one at a time. Exhale and relax the fingers, even as you bring down your upper middle and finally lower body to the ground. Let the body loose, allow your knees to knock against each other and relax completely.

Cobblers’ Pose (Badhdha Konasana) 

This pose is known to open and stretch the lower abdomen, hips, and the groin, giving it a thorough exercise. For this pose, you will have to begin by sitting erect on the floor with your legs outstretched. Bending your legs at the knees, bring the soles of your feet together so that you create butterfly’s wings-like structure with your legs. Keeping your hand on the knees, press the legs down gently as much as you can, and then slowly release.

The Child Pose (Balasana) 

The child pose proves to be immensely helpful in opening up your chest and pelvis. For this, you will need to go down on all fours, with your knees spread out just a little wider than your hips. Gently and gradually now, support your buttocks firmly between your heels, stretch your arms out, with the palms of the hands pointing towards the floor and rest your forehead on the ground; exhale while you are in this position. Raise your arms from the ground so that only the palms touch the ground while your whole upper body is supported by your hands, like a baby about to crawl, even as you inhale deeply. Repeat this exercise at least ten times, but do remember to know your limitations.

Some Precautions 

Here are a few precautions that you need to keep in mind while practicing yoga during pregnancy:

By all means, keep away from pre-natal yoga exercises that require you to stretch your body too strenuously, especially your abdominal muscles. You must realise that injuring yourself is all the more easy when you are pregnant.

Always listen to what your body is trying to tell you. If a particular pose causes discomfort or pain, alter it or stop doing it. There is no harm in adapting the pre-natal yoga exercises to suit your body as it changes throughout your pregnancy.

It is extremely important not to compress your abdomen. If you need to bend forward while you're sitting, place a towel or strap around your feet and hold each end. Then bend from the hips and lift your chest. When you do pre-natal yoga exercises that involve twisting, you need to twist more from the shoulders and back as this will avoid putting pressure on your abdomen.

Recipes For Pregnant Women

Pregnancy brings new joys for a mother. The experience of having a new life within her is simply overwhelming. However, pregnancy also entails many new responsibilities on her, one of which is providing proper nutrition for her yet-to-be-born baby. 

In this context, most of the women make the mistake of going for recipes that contain more calories, but not necessarily extra nutrition, while the latter is much more important for them. To help all the pregnant women out there, we have listed some nutritious, but easy recipes, in the lines below.

Healthy Recipes For Pregnancy

Porridge

Ingredients

• 2½ cups Water
• ½ cup Wheat Dalia (porridge)
• ½ cup Oats
• ½ cup Milk
• ¼ cup Raisins
• ¼ cup Almonds
• 3 tsp Sugar

Instructions

• First of all, you need to half-fill a pan with water and place it on flame.
• As soon as the water comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and stir in oats and wheat dalia.
• Mix the oats and dalia well and let them cook for 5-7 minutes, in boiling water.
• Add raisins and almonds to the water and mix well. Cook for a few seconds.
• Add sugar to the pan, followed by milk, making sure to mix well every time.
• Your porridge is ready. Let it cool down a bit and start eating.

Yogurt Cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup Sugar
• ½ cup Packed Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Butter
• ¼ cup Shortening
• ½ cup Nonfat Yogurt (any flavor)
• 1½ tsp Vanilla
• 1¾ cup Flour
• ½ tsp Baking Soda
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips

 Instructions

• First of all, sieve together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• Take a bowl and combine both the sugars in it.
• Add butter and shortening to the pan and mix well.
• Add the butter mixture to the flour and beat well.
• Now, mix in yoghurt and vanilla.
• Knead the mixture, to form dough.
• Roll out the dough to even thickness and with the help of cutters, cut out the cookies.
• Grease a baking dish with butter and place the cookies on it.
• Heat oven to 375 deg F and bake the cookies in it, for 10-15 minutes.

Cutlets

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1 medium-size Onion
• 1½ tsp Finely Chopped Ginger
• 1½ tsp Green Chilies
• 1 cup Carrots
• 1 cup Beans
• 3 tbsp Fresh Chopped Coriander
• 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
• ½ cup Soya Granules
• 2 Mashed Potatoes
• 1 cup Kabuli Chana, boiled and mashed
• 2 tsp Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp Pepper Powder
• ½ tsp Black Salt
• 1½ tsp Lemon Juice

 Instructions

• Place a pan over medium heat and put the oil in it.
• After the oil becomes hot, add onion, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook until they turn brown.
• Stir in chilies and carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add rest of the ingredients, except sesame seeds, to the pan and cook for a few minutes.
• Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool down a bit.
• Now, mash the mixture and make small, even balls from it.
• Flatten the balls and add sesame seeds on top.
• Heat oil in a pan, enough for frying, and fry the cutlets in it.
• Eat the cutlets with chutney, while they are still hot.

Stomach Ache During Pregnancy

Pregnancy and pain are ageless companions, much like aches and aspirin, or moon and night. Nevertheless, an unexpected cramp or a sudden spasm during pregnancy can throw your gumption out of the porthole. Before you hit the panic button, know that certain amount of pain and discomfort is pretty much normal during pregnancy. 

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While nagging pains and cramps can be highly annoying at times, it is important to understand that they are anything, but life threatening and are more often just gentle reminders for you to take things easy. Anything from gas pain to raging hormones to bulging uterus can trigger discomfort in your tummy. However, severe cramping or stomach pain is something that should not ignored, as they can be an emergency signal of serious complications. If you are an expecting mom, then reading the following causes of stomach pain during pregnancy will save you from losing your sleep over it. Read on to know more on causes of stomach pain during pregnancy.

Causes Of Stomach Pain During Pregnancy

Most expecting women complain of stomach cramps during the early stages of their pregnancy. While these cramps are most often a gentle reminder that you should slow down and take things easy, at times they can be a warning sign of more serious complication like ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy or ‘tubal pregnancy’ occurs when the fertilized ovum is implanted outside the uterus, somewhere in the fallopian tube. As the egg starts to develop, it induces severe strain in the pelvic and abdominal region causing sharp, stabbing pain in the abdomen that might just get worse with physical activity, bowel movement, coughing and more.

Cramps during pregnancy are nothing unusual and count up as normal pregnancy discomforts. However, severe cramping accompanied by vaginal bleeding can indicate a more serious case of miscarriage. The pain may be light or intense, short or long lasting and generally varies from one woman to another. Some may experience low backache or complain of dull abdominal pain and pelvic pressure too.

This Special Guide Contains 7,000+ Baby Names : 

Of all the concerns usually tagged along with pregnancy pain, prematurity is possibly the worst dreaded fear. An early onset of labor can induce premature contractions, which may last up to four hours or even more, menstrual-like cramps, dull nagging backache, intestinal cramps, pelvic pressure and increased vaginal secretions. It is best to consult your practitioner at the soonest if you experience any of these symptoms to avert any untoward complications.

How often you have jumped out of your sleep believing that “this must be it” and then went back to sleep again realizing that this was not the real thing? Most women experience contractions or tightening of uterus, during the last trimester of pregnancy, which are nothing more than false labor or Braxton-Hicks Contraction. These contractions are irregular, infrequent and painless and spell no danger in real sense.

Pregnant women are unusually susceptible to bladder infection during pregnancy because of changing urinary tract position. As pregnancy advances, the uterus increases in size, thereby blocking the drainage of urine from the bladder and inducing an infection. Bladder infection can lead to pain or burning when urinating, cramps or pain in the lower abdomen, cloudy foul smelling urine and tenderness in the region.

How To Lose Face Fat

You may have the most gorgeous skin tone, the most ravishing eyes and a svelte nose, good enough to give Carmen Electra some heartburn, but even the most prettiest of peepers and the most pronounced cheekbones can be sidelined by uh-not-so-sexy facial fat at times. Doesn’t matter how much blush and bronze you dab, there is very little you can do to camouflage the baggy chin or fix the apple-round cheek. 

>> My Secret Weight Loss Tips And Tricks <<

If you are embarrassed about your burly facial features and don’t mind getting under a knife to slash off the extra facial pounds, then this article can turn out to be a life-changing event for you. Agreed, facial fat is indeed a big aesthetic embarrassment! Thanks to stress, saltines, junk food, alcohol, smoke and poor sleep, you can soon end up looking like an overinflated balloon, all set to burst. If you are hunting for a fat-torching plan to take off those extra pounds from your face without starving yourself to death or feeding yourself on bizarre weight-loss supplements, then scrolling down this article should leave you with more cues on how to go about it.

>> My Secret Weight Loss Tips And Tricks <<

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Do you hate your Facebook display picture and wish you could find a way to beat your chubby cheeks and double chin? Well, before you set yourself for a facial butchering, just grab gallons of water and guzzle it down. This is sure to subtract pounds from your face. Hydrating yourself is probably the best way to deflate your bloated features and make you look good. Just guzzle at least eight glasses of water every day to kick-start your metabolism and flush out the unnecessary toxins out of your body. Water has zero calories and no sodium, making it the perfect slim-down drink. If plain water isn’t really your potion, you can always use lemon wedges and mint sprigs to pump it up.

If you wish to slash off extra pounds from your cheeks and chin, just eat! Contrary to what most people think, eating doesn’t lead to weight gain, not at least if you eat right! Just raid the supermarket aisles, grab all the fresh fruits, raw veggies, sprouts, nuts and seeds, and treat yourself to this enriching cocktail of powerful nutrients like amino acids, enzymes, minerals, fibers etc. Raw nutrients will help to clean up your gut, metabolize excess fat, detoxify your liver, alleviate stress and reverse ageing. Low sodium and high potassium content in raw foods actually helps the body to pass out all the excess water, leaving you with a glowing skin and a beautiful face to boot.

Too much of boozing won’t just leave you with an expanded waistline, but an ugly facial pudge as well. Peel off a few extra pounds from your face by dumping the beer pint right away and save calories from piling up on your face. Alcohol tends to desiccate the body, leaving it high and dry. What’s more, alcohol contains high calories that stack up fat on your waist, bust, arms, chin, cheeks and everywhere, making you look like bloated.

Baby fat or not, extra adipose tissues on your face is an absolute bummer. If you wish to dump the facial flab for good, cut out on all white grain products like white rice, sandwich rolls, spaghetti and more and get a slimmer face in a couple of weeks. Watch what you eat and you won’t end up binging more on sugar candies and beer. Eat healthy and eat with a mind to feed your muscles and body with good fuel!

How To Lose Face Fat : Read More

Healthy Snacks For Weight Loss

You might have heard of the phrase ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’. Well, the phrase is now being associated with snacks, like nuts, popcorns and crust breads as well. Though it is astonishing to learn and difficult to believe that consuming snacks can help people lose weight and attain the desired mark, it is but true in all respects. 

If you are on a weight loss diet but find it difficult to cut down on the fillers, here is a favorable solution for you. Losing weight is just about choosing the right kind of food, along with regular exercise and adequate water intake. However, there are people who get so used to their unhealthy eating habits that they find it impossible to give up on bingeing oily snacks and three large meals a day. If you too yearn to lose weight without compromising on the food, here’s good news. This article provides a list of few recommended low calorie snacks that will help you to lose weight, without getting used to the strict diet chart.

Healthy Low Calorie Snacks

Popcorn

Popcorn is one of the best snacks that you can stock up, while trying to lose some extra pounds. However, make sure that the popcorns you pile up should be devoid of any butter, sugar or salt, unlike the ones which you get in multiplexes, supermarkets and in quick and easy microwave sachets. Popcorn is light and rich in fiber. A cup of popcorn contains only 31 calories and comprises of only half a gram of fat. Air popping method is the best way to prepare popcorn and keep away all the fat at bay. Make sure you stay away from cheese flavored, sweet, buttery or salty popcorns.

Crisp Breads

Crisp bread is another snack that can save fast food lovers from putting on more weight. It is mostly made out of rye and is available in many flavors and textures. It is a nutritious snack to have when you are on a weight loss diet. Each slice of crisp bread contains 32 calories, 0.2g of fat and is rich in wholegrain and fiber, which is good for the body and even helps in reducing weight.

Olives

Olives are tasty and piquant supplement to all the other snacks full of calories. Rich in vitamins and antioxidants, olives have the capability to fight back different diseases and infections such as osteoporosis, cancer and arthritis. Olives can be consumed ducked in lime juice, seasoned with herbs and spices or in their natural form. An oz of green olives contains 41 calories and has less than 5g of fat, whereas an oz of black olives contain 3.8g fat and 47 calories.

Veggies & Dips

Though your dietician must have said this a hundred of times, here's a Repitition. You just cannot ignore veggies when talking about healthy low calorie snacks. Consuming vegetables, like carrots, celery and cucumber is the simplest of all methods to lose the desired amount of weight. You can consume these vegetables with dips such as hummus. Avocado and artichoke dips are great snack options to include in a diet repertory. These dip options are low in calories and fat content.

Fruits

Nothing can be a more refreshing way to lose weight than eating a plate full of fruits. You will be surprised to learn how effective a handful of grapes or few strawberries can prove to be in fighting off hunger pangs, until it is the right time for the meal. Apart from grapes and strawberries, other fruits such as watermelon, apples, berries, oranges and figs can also help you achieve the desired weight loss.

Yoghurt

Consuming no-fat or low fat yogurt is healthy, filling and a nutritious way to deal with your hunger pangs. Yogurt contains other nutritional benefits as well. It is a good source of calcium, protein and potassium, which helps to combat the digestive problems by promoting ‘good’ bacteria. You can also consume yogurt along with berries or granola to have a filling bite.

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is the member of legume family and contains almost the same properties like that of nuts and is good filler. Couple of teaspoons of peanut butter will definitely hold you back until the next meal. Consume it with fruits, crackers or smoothies and help yourself in attaining desired weight.

Almonds And Other Nuts

Almonds and other nuts are rich in monounsaturated fats, which are very beneficial for the body and can help in clearing your arteries. Nuts also keep you contented until your next meal. They also are rich in vitamin E, fiber and magnesium. The vitamin E present in the nuts act as an antioxidant, helping your immune system fight back diseases like cancer, asthma and other inflammations.

Read More : Healthy Snacks For Weight Loss

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Leg Slimming Exercises

Whether you realize it or not, your legs are one of the most important parts of your body. They are important because your legs carry you places, they lift all the weight of your body and help you to get around. It is of vital importance that you exercise your leg as well. Leg exercises help your legs to stay in shape.

Here, we tell you about some leg slimming exercises which you can do at home.

Lunges

• Stand up with your feet spread out to about your shoulder-width and take a big step forward with your right foot.
• Next, place your hands on your hips to balance yourself and then lower your body downwards till you form a right angle at the knee.
• Now, use your leg muscles to slowly raise yourself back up.
• Repeat this process atleast 30 times for each leg. 
• Piles
• Stand up and spread your feet a little wider than your shoulder-width.
• Now, take small step with your each foot and turn your feet outwards.
• Place both your hands on either side of your hips or hold the back of a chair for support.
• Now, lower your body to about six inches or so and then rise up slowly. But make sure that your back remains straight while you follow this step.
• Repeat this step to about 30 repetitions. 
• Heel Raises
• Stand up and spread your legs a little more than your shoulder width.
• Raise your whole body and balance it on your tiptoes and hold it there for a few seconds. Then, lower your body slowly.
• Repeat this procedure for about 40 times. 
• Squats
• Stand up and spread your legs to a little more than your shoulder-width. Now, spread your arms sidewise.
• Keeping an upright position, lower your hips like you sit in a chair. After your lower your body, you should stand up, slowly.
• Repeat this step atleast 20 times. 
• Lateral Raises
• This exercise is done differently for outer and inner thighs

Fast Wight Loss Tips 

For outer thighs: 

• Put your body weight on your left foot and point your right foot outwards to an angle.
• Now, raise and lower your right leg out towards the side. But remember, you necessarily do not have to lift your left leg, just raise it as far as you feel comfortable.
• Repeat about 20 times. 

For inner thighs:

• Start the exercise with your body weight on your left foot.
• Raise your body and point your right foot straight in front of you.
• Now, start moving your right foot and leg across the left leg of yours. You should feel a little stress on your inner thighs; if you don't feel any stress, then turn your leg so that the inner thigh faces towards the ceiling.
• Repeat the steps about 20 times. 
• All the above mentioned exercises, if done properly can immensely help to tone and slim the legs. Remember, strong, healthy legs will help you in the long run.