June is both Men's Health Month and the month of Father's Day. In honor of these events, we are dedicating this month's newsletter to the men of Sukha- all of our teachers and clients who are fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and friends.
This list of poses are beneficial for all, but especially for men. According to Men's Health magazine, practicing even a few poses a few times a week can "increase endurance, build strength, prevent injuries, and may even stave off heart disease."
Warrior II
Increases strength and balance.
Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). With an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet 3 1/2 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, palms down. Turn your right foot slightly to the right and your left foot out to the left 90 degrees. Align the left heel with the right heel. Firm your thighs and turn your left thigh outward so that the center of the left knee cap is in line with the center of the left ankle. Exhale and bend your left knee over the left ankle, so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor. If possible, bring the left thigh parallel to the floor. Anchor this movement of the left knee by strengthening the right leg and pressing the outer right heel firmly to the floor. Stretch the arms away from the space between the shoulder blades, parallel to the floor. Don't lean the torso over the left thigh: Keep the sides of the torso equally long and the shoulders directly over the pelvis.
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Press the tailbone slightly toward the pubis. Turn the head to the left and look out over the fingers.Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time to the left.
Forward Fold
Stretches hamstrings, calves, and hips; strengthens legs and knees.
Stand with feet hip-width apart, gently hinge forward at the hips and lower the torso toward the floor. Bend your knees generously to take any pressure out of the low back and hamstrings. Grab your ankles or grasp opposite elbows with opposite hands. Breathe deeply and let gravity take the body toward the earth. Relax your head, neck, shoulders and torso. Slowly sway your torso or gently shake your head. Hold for one minute and roll back up to standing.
Reclining Hand to Big Toe
Stretches hips, thighs, hamstrings, groins, and calves; strengthens the knees
.
Lie on your back and extend your left leg toward the ceiling at a 90-degree angle with your right leg extended along the floor. Flex both feet. Bend your left knee and bring the knee in toward your chest using your hands. Hug it tightly against your body to relax your hip. Next, loop a strap around your left foot and slowly straighten the left leg back to 90 degrees. Press your right thigh firmly down against the floor. Hold for 5 breaths and repeat on the opposite side. Repeat twice on each side.
Child Pose
Great for digestion, elongating the lower back, and opening up the hips.
Start in a kneeling position.
Drop your bottom toward your heels as you stretch the rest of your body down and forward.
In the fully stretched position, rest your arms in a relaxed position along the floor, rest your stomach comfortably on top of your thighs, and rest your forehead on the mat.
You should feel a mild stretch in your shoulders and buttocks and down the length of your spine and arms.
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The Guys of Sukha
The masculine perspective on our good space
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Yoga and Pilates as physical practices for men are often left out of conversations around health and fitness. Our Poses of the month offer insight into the benefits of yoga for men, and according to the website
VeryWell
:
"
Core strength
, flexibility, balance, uniform development, and efficient movement patterns — all are hallmarks of
Pilates training
and highly relevant to men's fitness."
We've asked some of our clients to share their perspectives on what they practice and we hope it encourages you- or a man in your life- to treat health as a priority.
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"I practice because it makes everything else in life easier."
-Eric Knight, Pilates & Yoga
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"I practice yoga for mental and physical health."
-Russell Irwin, Yoga
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"I enjoy the challenging workouts. Instructors are knowledgeable, engaged and classes are ever-changing. I attend at least a few class a week and always get an amazing workout and always leave feeling better then when I walked in."
-Barry Selover, Pilates
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Umami-Dusted Burgers with Port Wine and Stilton
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Make Father's Day extra special with an incredible meal- and what's better for Father's Day, or these warm summer months than a juicy burger?
This take on the American classic uses Umami dust, port wine, and Stilton cheese to create a savory burger like no other.
Umami is the lesser-known "savory" taste that goes along with the other more familiar tastes- sweet, sour, bitter and salty. The savory taste is popular in looking and is one of the unique features of this recipe. It brings the basic burger to a whole new level of flavor.
Recipe makes 2 Burgers
Ingredients
For the Umami Dust:
- 3 tablespoons bonito flakes
- ½ ounce crumbled dried kombu
- ½ ounce dried shitake mushrooms
For the burger:
- 1 cup port wine
- ⅔ pounds ground beef
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup Stilton cheese (3 ounces), softened
- A sprinkle of Umami Dust
- 2 brioche hamburger buns, buttered and toasted
For the Umami Dust:
- Combine all ingredients in a spice grinder of coffee grinder, and grind together until smooth.
For the burger:
- In a saucepan over moderate heat, simmer the port wine until reduced to a syrupy two tablespoons. Set aside.
- Get a cast iron skillet screaming hot. Form the meat into two thick patties, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, moving as little as possible, about four minutes. Flip, top with Stilton, and cook until cheese starts to melt, about a minute more. Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with Umami Dust, and let rest two minutes. Place burgers on buns, and drizzle each with a tablespoon of the port wine reduction.
Author: FromAway.com
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Class Spotlight: Yoga Foundations with Emily
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Find Your Foundation is a new yoga class on Thursday nights. This class is, as the name suggests, focused on enabling students to find their foundation in yoga- both in terms of balance and strength, as well as knowledge of yoga in general.
This class has an Iyengar element to it, making it great for beginners, those that need to increase flexibility, and yoga students of all sizes and levels of experience. The practice of Iyengar Yoga can be a transformative experience. This type of yoga is known for its detail and precision. Anatomical alignment is important and poses are held for longer. A core belief of Iyengar yoga is that yoga is for everyone and all different types of bodies are welcome. Props are used and modifications given so that every person can find the energetic balance of each pose. This is an alignment-based class with thoughtful sequencing and individual attention given to each student.
Please join our instructor Emily for class on Thursday evenings at 5:30PM!
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Upcoming Workshops
Enjoy being guided through a healing, calming, cleansing house of relaxation and refocusing. This beautiful meditation is deeply relaxing and therapeutic and should be enjoyed by everyone! Join us for a chakra balancing meditation with crystal singing bowls. We will be setting intentions and letting go of energy blocks with Full Moon energy. The instructor will guide you through a meditation while playing the crystal singing bowls. Open to all ages and experience levels! Expect to feel relaxed, rejuvenated and inspired!
Learn how fascia, the connective tissue that weaves throughout the entire body, plays a key role in flexibility. Much of our limitations in movement stems from the restrictions of our fascia. If you stretch the fascia along the entire fascial line, you increase the potential for flexibility.
Workshop Objectives:
• Learn how fascia is what is needed to be stretched to increase flexibility.
• Learn how to stretch fascia related to particular asanas.
• Learn how to safely enter and exit a stretch position, as well as, the required length of time to hold a stretch to feel the most benefits.
• Learn a simple stretching routine that can be done at home.
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Community Partnerships: Valley Wellness Center
Suhka is proud to partner with and support other community-focused businesses and organizations.
Sukha is excited to introduce Valley Wellness Center, a community-minded holistic approach to medical care.
From the
VWC website
: Valley Wellness Center differs from conventional medical providers. We believe that the secret to maximizing health lies in integrative, holistic solutions which address every facet of a patient’s life, from mainstream medical concerns to scientifically proven alternative therapies and lifestyle optimizations. This complete approach to patient health means that we are not mired in simply treating the symptoms of a condition, but instead are focused on delivering a fully realized treatment which marries every aspect of good health with individual patient needs and goals.
Check out the Valley Wellness Center's website for full descriptions of their services.
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Sukha Studios is Proud to be Featured on Three Best Rated!
Sukha Studios was recently named one of the top three yoga studios in Modesto by
threebestrated.com
! The site uses a 50-point inspection process to determine the three best businesses in a given category, judging based on reviews, popularity, cost, history, etc. We at Sukha consider it such an honor to receive this recognition, and are so grateful to our loyal clients and friends who have made Sukha another home and share their love for the studio with their friends and family.
Thank you to our friends and clients who spread the word about Sukha! It's the recommendations of our community that let the studio's reputation grow organically. We are so happy to be serving the Modesto community and providing Good Space.
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209-996-YOGA sukhastudios.com
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