10 Yoga Poses For Long, Sexy Legs

Are you planning to sport that short, sparkly dress for New Year's Eve?

2015 is right around the corner, with holiday parties still in full swing before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. Then, deep winter will settle in bringing frigid evenings begging for skinny jeans, leggings, stockings and cool thigh-high boots.

If you want to lengthen and tone your legs for these sexy looks, yoga is the answer. But not just any yoga — you need to practice poses that stretch your glutes, hip flexors, quads, adductors, abductors, hamstrings, calves and Achilles tendons.

If you get started now, there is plenty of time to slim down and tone up your legs, for any slender-fitting winter fashion.

Try this yoga sequence specifically designed for long, lean and sexy legs. Modifications are provided.

Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Triangle Pose stretches the adductors of front and back legs.

Stand with your legs about three to three-and-a-half feet apart.

Pivot your right foot out 90 degrees and your left foot inward at about 35 degrees.
Place your hands on your hips and shift your hips toward your back heel while your right shoulder begins to descend toward your right leg.

Imagine that your back is touching a wall so that your torso is in line with your legs. Open your arms by placing your right hand onto your shin, a block, your ankle or your toe, while you extend the left arm above the right to form a straight line. Open across your chest.

Try to get the top and bottom of your torso to be parallel (no curves). This requires softening the top ribs down and in.

Hold for 10 deep breaths. Come back to a stand. Switch sides.

 Side Stretch Pose (Parsvottanasana)

This intense pose stretches and lengthens the shin, calves, hamstrings and glutes.

From Mountain Pose, step your left foot behind you about two-and-a-half feet, turning the foot out to 45 degrees.

Take your arms into prayer behind your back if possible. If prayer is not available, keep your arms along the side your body.

Hinge at your right hip until you assume a long spine parallel to the ground. Your hands will be in prayer behind your back, or you can place them onto your shins to modify.

Stay here or if you can, and fold deeper to bring your abdomen to touch your thigh and your face toward your shin.

Hold for 10 deep breaths. Switch sides.

 

Forward Fold (Uttanasana)

 

 

 

 

 

 Uttanasana stretches the Achilles, calves, hamstrings and glutes.

Stand with your feet hips-width apart. Fold forward, hinging at your hips and placing your palms on the ground beside your pinky toes.

If you're hamstrings are tight and you can't touch the ground, bend your knees to modify this posture and just let your hands hang evenly along side your shins.

Hold for 10 deep breaths as you keep the head and neck soft and released.

 Dancer's Pose (Natarajasana)

Dancer's Pose stretches the hamstrings of the front leg and the quads and hip flexors of back leg.

From Mountain Pose, bend your right knee so that you can grab your inner ankle with your hand, palm facing open. Make sure your arm doesn't twist; this is an external rotation of the shoulder.

If you have trouble with standing balances, to modify, go to a wall and begin in Mountain Pose facing the wall, so that you can support yourself with your extended palm once you enter the pose.

Draw your core inward and up, keeping it engaged for the duration of the pose. Focus your gaze on a single point, keeping it soft.

As you inhale, raise your left arm straight out and up along your ear, raising your right leg up and back behind you allowing your spine to back bend into a half moon shape.

If you are using the wall, the left hand supports you on the wall.

Keep your chest lifted as your leg elevates. Hold for 5 breaths. Switch sides

 Short Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

 This slightly modified Down Dog stretches the Achilles, calves, hamstrings and glutes.

Come onto your hands and knees. Walk your hands forward about six inches in front of your shoulders.

Place your hands shoulder distance apart, knees hips-width. Spread your fingers wide. Press firmly into your hands so that you can lift your knees off the floor while floating your hips up and away from your hands.

Assume an upside down V-shaped position with equal weight distribution on your hands and feet. If your spine rounds and your weight doesn't feel evenly distributed, bend your knees to modify.

Over time, work toward getting both heels on the ground (or straightening your legs with your heels slightly off the ground).

Hold for 10 deep breaths.

Standing Split (Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing Split stretches the entire back of the grounded leg out nice and long, as well as the hip flexor, inner groins and adductors of the elevated leg.
From Downward Dog, step your right foot forward into a low lunge.
Come into a balance on the right foot, elevating the left leg up and back and externally opening your left hip while keeping both legs straight.
Bring your torso in toward your right leg if possible, or just stay where you are comfortable.
In the modified variation, the legs will form more of an L-shape than a split.
You may keep both hands on the ground, or to intensify the stretch you can hold onto your right ankle with your right hand and pull yourself in toward your leg.
Hold for 10 breaths. Step back to Downward Dog and then switch sides.

Hero Pose (Virasana)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hero Pose stretches the quads, shins, tops of the feet and the soft tissue around the knees.
Come into a kneeling position with your knees together and feet hips-width apart.
Sit back between your ankles onto the floor, a block or a blanket (you can use two blocks or fold up your blanket for extra modification).
Roll your thighs in and down. Stack your shoulders over your waist and sit tall.
Hold for two minutes and breathe deeply.

Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

 

Pigeon Pose stretches the abductors of front leg, the IT band, the quads and hip flexors, the shin and the top of the foot of the back leg.
From hands and knees, bring your right knee toward the outer edge of your mat turning out at your hip. Slide your left leg straight back behind your hip, until it is straight.
If your hips are too tight to sit on the ground, use blocks or a blanket under your right sit bone to help prop yourself up and square off your hips.
Walk your forearms to the floor, keeping your spine long. Extend the arms straight and long in front of you if possible, and reset your forehead on the mat or on a block. Hold for two minutes.
Walk your hands back by your hips and hold for a few breaths. Switch sides.
Tip: The farther away the front heel is from the opposite hip, the deeper the stretch.

Runner's Stretch (Half-Hanuman)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This modified version of full Hanumanasana will stretch the Achilles, calves hamstrings and glutes of front leg.
Come onto your hands and knees. Extend your right foot in front of you, balancing on your heel. Use blocks beneath your hands if you cannot touch the ground.
Pull your toes back toward your body (dorsiflexion).
Keep a long spine on the diagonal for a modification.
If you can maintain a long spine, begin to hinge at your right hip to fold over your right leg, aiming your face toward your shin.

Hanuman Splits (Hanumanasana)

 

Hanumanasana stretches the Achilles, calves hamstrings and glutes of front leg, and the hip flexor, quad, shin, and the top of the foot of back leg.
From the upright Half-Hanumanasana position, slide your right foot forward and lower your hip structure toward the mat.
To modify here, you will need to place 1-2 blocks underyour right sit bone for support.
If you feel more flexible, lower your props until you can assume a full split position on the ground.
Hold here for a few deep breaths and when you're ready to exit the pose, swing your back leg out in front of you as you shift your weight to the front hip. Switch sides.

9 steps you can take toward healthy habits

Eat more fruit and vegetables, steer clear of fried foods, walk more, sit less and so on.

Heard these messages a time or two? Although you know all too well that implementing one or more of these healthy behaviour changes could help prevent or delay pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, life's challenges continue to get in the way of your best intentions time and time again.

“The leap from knowing to doing can loom as large as a step the size of Superman's,” says Joan Bardsley, an assistant vice president at the MedStar Health Research Institute and president of the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

“Pair this challenge with our high-fat-food-focused, technology-laden society that thwarts efforts at every turn to eat fewer calories and burn more,” Bardsley adds.

These nine steps can help you make those all-important behaviour changes.



1. Be ready

You - not your spouse, parent or health-care provider - need to acknowledge that the habit you want to change is a problem. Experts call this readiness to change. People are ready to change different behaviours at different times. You may be ready to start walking 20 minutes at lunch, but don't intend to change your menu options at lunch.

“Slowly and over time untangle your unhealthy habits to positively impact your weight, glucose levels,” says William Polonsky, an associate professor at University of California at San Diego and president of the Behavioural Diabetes Institute.



2. Take stock

Assess your food choices, eating habits and exercise habits. Keep records for a few days to see your reality in black and white. Be honest with yourself.



3. Choose a change or two

Change behaviours you want to change and ones that will benefit you in a meaningful way. Tie the trigger for the new behaviour to an existing one. Example: If you want to eat more fruit and you regularly eat breakfast, include fruit with breakfast.

Believing a change is important and having the confidence to make it is critical. “Importance is having more reasons to change the behaviour than to continue doing it. Confidence is your belief in yourself to change the behaviour,” Polonsky says.



4. Set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-frame specific) goals

Choose one to three small, meaningful changes you can live with long term. Set your goals honestly, specifically and realistically. If they're too general or overly ambitious, you won't achieve them.



5. Track progress

Most formal weight-management programmes encourage the use of tracking tools to record your food intake, calories, time spent exercising and moods. These raise awareness and increase accountability.



6. Evaluate progress, revamp

To string together a series of behaviour changes that eventually become a healthier lifestyle takes months, perhaps years. Gain insight from both positive and negative experiences. People repeatedly start these ventures with excitement. Then unexpected events occur, whether positive or negative.

“Expect life to get in the way of your best intentions,” says Felicia Hill-Briggs, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins medical institutions and senior director of population health research and development at Johns Hopkins HealthCare. She encourages people to make a list of potential roadblocks and then think through solutions before beginning. This tactic prevents being blindsided by bumps along the way.



7. Experience success

Take simple steps to set yourself up for success. For instance, bring healthy snacks in controlled portions to work to minimise hunger and unhealthy deviations and set out your exercise clothes the night before. Success breeds success.



8. Repeat

“Keep biting off small changes that have meaningful benefit to you,” Hill-Briggs says. Implement one tiny habit change, then another. Continue to practice the changes you've made. Over time, collective changes build a healthier way of living.



9. Seek and find support

Most people maximise their success by surrounding themselves with a cheerleader or two. “Education and support delivered by a diabetes educator or other trained health professional can help you prioritise your goals and develop strategies to jump over hurdles and not be derailed by pitfalls,” Bardsley says.

2-Day Clean Eating Plan To Reboot Between The Holidays

Here's a delicious 2-day meal plan with easy-to-make recipes that will help you reset after the holiday. 
The recipes are all vegan and gluten-free. They are portioned for one person so feel free to double or quadruple for the whole family.

Day 1

Before Breakfast: Have a glass of hot water with lemon to get your metabolism going and clean out your system.

Breakfast: Superfood Green Smoothie

Ingredients

1 banana
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 scoop of nut butter or handful of raw nuts
1 cup spinach
handful of ice cubes
¼- ½ cup non-dairy milk (add until desired texture is reached)
Preparation

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Lunch: Protein Kale Salad

Ingredients

2-3 cups kale, shredded
½ avocado
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup chickpeas
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
your choice of chopped vegetables (cucumbers, carrots, celery, etc.)
salt + peper to taste
Preparation

Place kale in large bowl. Use your hands to massage avocado, olive oil and balsamic vinegar into kale until it's slightly wilted. Stir in all remaining ingredients.

Dinner: Creamy Sweet Potato Soup With Quinoa

Makes 2 servings (save half for tomorrow's lunch)

Ingredients

2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 sweet potatoes, chopped into 1″ pieces (and peeled if not organic)
1.5 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoons gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free isn't necessary)
salt + pepper to taste
Preparation

1. Heat coconut oil in a pot at medium-high. Add onion and garlic and saute, making sure to stir often. After 5 minutes turn heat down to medium-low, cover and stir every 2 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes cook for 15 minutes, or until ender.

3. Turn off heat and let pot sit until cool enough to handle. Combine in blender until completely smooth. Return mixture to pot and stir in tamari, salt and pepper.

For the Fluffy Quinoa

½ cup dry quinoa
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup + 1 tablespoon water
dash of salt
Preparation

1. Rinse quinoa using a fine mesh strainer.

2. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan at medium-high. Add quinoa and toast for about 2-3 minutes, stirring throughout.

3. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Turn heat off and let pot sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Day 2

Before Breakfast: A glass of hot water with lemon.

Breakfast: Green Avo-Apple Smoothie

Ingredients

½ avocado
1 apple
1/2 banana
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1 tablespoon chia seeds
½- 1 cup shredded kale
handful of ice cubes
¼- ½ cup non-dairy milk (add until desired texture is reached)
Preparation

Blend all ingredients together until smooth.

Lunch: Leftover Creamy Sweet Potato Soup With Quinoa

Reheat last night's leftovers and enjoy!

Dinner: Easy Vegetable Edamame Stir-Fry

Ingredients

1 tablespoon sesame, or coconut oil
½ small onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups vegetables of your choice (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.)
1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tablespoon nut butter of your choice (peanut, almond, etc.)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
optional: 1 teaspoon agave
Preparation

1. Heat oil in medium pan or wok. Add onion and garlic and sauté for 7 minutes, until lightly browned.

2. Turn heat down to medium and add all vegetables and edamame. Cover and let cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.

3. Stir tamari, nut butter, rice vinegar and agave (if using) together in cup. Stir into vegetables until warm.