Notes from the Lake

Are you searching for an alternative way to practice yoga because performing positions in a traditional class is difficult or uncomfortable? Do your shoulder and back muscles ache at night because you spent too much of your day sitting behind a desk? Would you feel less guilty while watching television if you were completing a yoga routine at the same time? Chair yoga may be the answer! Practicing yoga while seated is a convenient and more stable option for those desiring the beneficial effects yet unable to practice the positions in their traditional form. Try the following poses and movements while seated. Remember to move slowly and breathe deeply.

Poses and Benefits

Mountain Pose: improves posture and breathing

Sit tall with an extended spine. Bring both arms overhead. Hold for several deep breaths.

Arms Overhead and Circling: brings warmth to the upper body muscles and joints

Sit tall with an extended spine. Bring both arms forward and up; slowly circle back and down.

Side Bend with Single Arm Overhead: stretches back and waist

Sit tall with an extended spine. Raise one arm overhead and bend to one side. Lower the arm and repeat on the other side.

Neck Stretch: stretches the small muscles in the neck and upper back

Sit tall with hands clasped behind your head. Let gravity and the weight of your arms gently pull your head down towards your chest. Hold for several deep breaths.

Forward Fold: stretches back, hips, and thighs

Sit with your knees apart eight to ten inches. Bring both arms overhead. Slowly and gently bend forward letting the arms come down towards the floor. Melt into the stretch and breathe.

I must admit that over the past month or so, I have not been as disciplined with my exercise program as usual. Sometimes life intervenes and priorities change in an instant. It happens to all of us at some point in our life and it takes some dedication and effort to get back on track to consistently exercising. Two events I enjoyed tremendously this past month gave me the motivation I needed to get active again. I encourage you to find a bit of motivation wherever you can. Finding the joy in moving is well worth the effort.

The Olympics are over and I, for one, am sad. I have been very motivated watching these amazing, young athletes ski, skate, shoot, and yes, even curl. In some of the events, I felt like I was skiing around that tight curve, skating like the wind, or jumping down the mountainside. At times, I found myself standing up and leaning or jumping to “help” them go farther, faster, and stronger. Each time I enjoyed these tremendous feats of speed, strength and endurance, it motivated me to get up early and get to the gym!

The second event I enjoyed was the Austin Half Marathon and Marathon. Four members of my family and countless friends participated this year running either the 13.1 mile Half Marathon or the 26.2 mile Marathon. If you need motivation to get off the couch and out the door, go stand at the finish line of a fun run or race! It is inspiring. I watched the winning wheelchair racer cross the finish line of the 26.2 mile marathon in a bit over two hours and 13 minutes. The winning runner completed the marathon course in approximately 2:23 minutes. But it was not these elite athletes that served to motivate me, instead it was the ordinary man and woman who ran and/or walked the long course and reached a personal goal of finishing. It was fun to watch the excitement as they turned the corner, saw the finish line and sprinted across the line and into the arms of supportive family and friends. If seeing that kind of joy at the finish doesn’t motivate you to get up and move, I don’t know what will! It was AWESOME!

Share with us by commenting below and telling us what you do to stay motivated and exercising consistently. In the meantime, check out your local races and go cheer the runners and walkers on!

One last note – if you would like to try a fun run or walk and would like to join us, a group from Lake Austin Spa Resort will be participating in the Austin Capitol 10K race on April 11, 2010. Come join us! Email me for details.

Be Well!

E-mail Tracy at tyork@lakeaustin.com.

Fitness Director Sharon Rekieta would love to answer your fitness questions in her Fitness Friday blog! If you have a question, e-mail info@lakeaustin.com!

Q: Can cardio and strength training be done on the same day, or should they be alternated and done on different days? Is it better to do cardio before or after strength training?

A: That’s a great and very common question and the answers vary depending on your objectives.

If you are training for an event such as a 10K run, you would schedule your cardio training before your weight work so your muscles will be fresh.

If you’re training for an endurance event, such as a half or full marathon, you would definitely want to weight train on different days than your cardio endurance sessions.

If you are new to weight training, you would schedule your weight work before your cardio session so your muscles will be fresh but also for safety purposes. When you’re fatigued and your muscles have not had enough practice learning their limits, the potential for injury is higher.

If you’re a fairly experienced exerciser who is interested in losing weight, recent research suggests that intense weight work prior to cardio will help your body burn calories and fat faster and easier.

If you’re interested in overall fitness, it really doesn’t matter which activity comes first or if you do them on the same day.

Typically time constraints might affect if you do cardio and weights on the same day. If your time is limited, an interval workout routine that includes alternating segments of cardio and weight work is a great and effective plan.

Remember that all muscles need recovery time! When working with weights, muscles need at least one day of rest (from weight work) in between workouts. Most people are comfortable with daily cardio sessions; however, beginners should ease into a daily routine.

We recently had a great book chat with New York Times Bestselling author Chris Bohjalian. I really enjoyed his book Skeletons at the Feast and loved hearing him talk about his writing career.

For something new and different, we are excited to be partnering with Harper Collins for the debut of NYT Bestselling author, Wendi Corsi Staub’s new book, Live to Tell on sale beginning February 22, 2010. We are co-sponsoring a fun Relax and Recharge Spa Retreat Sweepstakes - sign up on the Harper Collins website for a chance to win a trip to see us and meet the author herself.

Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than seventy novels. Wendy now lives in the New York City suburbs with her husband of nineteen years and their two children. Learn more about Wendy at www.wendycorsistaub.com or www.wendycorsistaubcommunity.com.

When thinking of foods to eat to improve the health of your heart — think red!

- Red peppers protect blood vessels and lower blood pressure.

- Pomegranates help reduce the build-up of plaque in the arteries.

- Red kidney beans contain fiber that helps lower blood pressure.

- Tomatoes protect all types of cells in the body and help reduce cholesterol.

- Beets stabilize the walls of the arteries and also regulate blood pressure.

Some people see deer as gentle and loving creatures like Bambi. Others, like my brother Mike, imagine them in venison chili. Gardeners like me see them as competition for our flowers and vegetables and they can be a real challenge. We have had our problems with deer over the years here at the spa. I don’t mind them in the wooded areas or on the lawn areas near the figure 8 trails, but I would prefer not to share the vegetable and herb gardens with them. A few deer can wipe the vegetable beds out in one night.

In the past we resorted to smelly sprays, electric shock stakes and netting to keep them out of the gardens. They worked to some degree, but we still lost plants on occasion and it was a full time job to keep up with the control methods. The severe drought for the last several years forced more deer to forage within our green oasis and they considered the vegetable garden an all night salad bar. Our security guards tried shooing them off and even squirting them with water guns and pelting them with nerf balls. The deer quickly learned that they were not in any danger and ignored the disturbances and kept on eating.

I found a product last summer that has worked extremely well. (I am knocking on wood here!) They are called Sweeny’s All Season Weatherproof Deer Repellant. They come in a package of six units and stakes. The plastic unit looks like a spray paint can cap. It contains blood meal and is vented on the bottom so the deer can smell the blood, but rain does not affect it. Since deer are a prey species they are highly afraid of the smell of blood and will stay away from the smell. Adding blood meal directly to the garden can be effective in the short term but I have found it to attract flies, cats and dogs and work only a short time without reapplying. Its high nitrogen content can burn plants.

The color of the deer repellent units is greenish brown so they are not highly visible in the garden. They are supposed to last up to six months.

We placed them close together (every five to six feet) along the lake side entrance to the garden, as I knew that was where the deer entered. We have them scattered throughout the gardens, especially near the plants that deer love best, like the rose bushes.

Since placing the All Season units in the garden last August we have had no deer browsing at all and had wonderful rose blooms for the first time last fall. Our sorrel and lettuce can remain uncovered and there is no netting to get tangled up in and no stinky rotten egg and garlic smells to endure.

I have found them online and in Lowe’s. BWI Company Inc. supplies many garden centers and they carry them so you can ask your local nursery if they can order them for you if you do not find them on the shelves. Customer comments on some of the online retailer’s sites that I read gave them mixed reviews. If you have tried them I would love to get feedback from you about your experiences with them. So far, they get a five star rating from me! I even found that they reduced the problems I was experiencing with armadillos (and deer) in my home gardens. Learn more about them at www.wrsweeney.com.

More good news – The record setting severe drought for Central Texas appears to be over for now. Lake Travis is now above normal level and we have received higher than normal monthly rainfall totals for this year. The rains came at the right time for wildflower seed germination and the slow, deep soakings are setting us up for one of the best wildflower seasons in years. The bluebonnet plants are massive and I think we will have amazing wildflower displays. Don’t forget to bring your camera when you visit us this spring!

Fitness Director Sharon Rekieta would love to answer your fitness questions in her Fitness Friday blog! If you have a question, e-mail info@lakeaustin.com!

Q: Jessica asks, "I recently had a baby (5 months ago), and I have been having trouble losing the weird flap on my belly (due to a C-section). Can you offer a few suggestions on exercises I could try?"

A: Congratulations on the new addition to your family! Your question is a common one for those who recently gave birth; however, the news is good. Most likely, your abdomen area will return to its pre-pregnancy state with time, some cardio to burn off any remaining fat and toning/tightening exercises specifically targeted to that area.

Check out the accompanying pictures of one of our favorite abdomen exercises designed to help speed your progress. Good luck!

This morning I dragged myself out of bed to go to the gym and get my workout in before heading to work. I must admit, when my alarm went of at 5:30 am, I didn’t jump out of bed with a great deal of enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, my workout routine has been a bit neglected in the past month. I am determined to get back into the habit of making myself get up so that I can start my day feeling great. I know that once I am back in my routine, getting up so early won’t be such a chore.

So as I was saying, I got my lazy butt out of bed this morning to head to the gym and boy, I was glad I did. I was trudging along on my elliptical trainer when the most inspiring woman came in. I don’t know how old she was or her name, but she may forever be my hero. She came into the cardio workout area at 6:15 am using a walker. But this was no ordinary walker! This walker had a rear view mirror and a horn attached to it. Isn’t that wonderful?? This woman, who would later prove to be quite fit obviously had a few balance problems for which she relied on the walker, but she needed the horn and rear view mirror because I can assure you, the walker was not slowing her down! She proceeded to park her accessorized walker next to a treadmill and jump on. She held on to the rails but she increased the speed to the point that I must admit, it made me a bit nervous. She was walking quite well when she reached down and increased the speed until she was jogging. Do you believe it? She was AMAZING! I watched in awe as she smiled and proceeded with her workout, walking and jogging for the next 15 minutes, then back to her hot rod walker and out to the weight area where she lifted some small hand weights. As I said, she is an inspiration!

I found myself thinking as I drove home this morning that pitiful doesn’t begin to describe my lack of discipline when it come to getting up to exercise of late. If this amazing woman can get to the gym on her walker and do her routine, what excuses do you and I have for not doing the same? Needless to say when my alarm goes off tomorrow, that amazing woman will come to mind and I will be out of bed and on my way. I hope she comes back soon – I would love to meet her and hear her story. In the meantime, I will listen for the toot-toot of a horn, and clear the way so she doesn’t leave me in her dust!

Toot-Toot!!

Take special care and come see us!

E-mail Tracy at tyork@lakeaustin.com.

February is National Heart Month, making this an ideal time to think about your cardiovascular health. Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, are the number one cause of death in America. Unfortunately, many believe that their only prevention and treatment options are invasive procedures, expensive prescriptions, or being blessed with good genes. However, take heart (pun intended) in knowing that there are many simple ways to improve your cardiovascular health.

Eat Breakfast
Since the nutrients found in whole grains help regulate blood pressure, start your day by enjoying a bowl of whole-grain and high-fiber cereal such as bran flakes, oats or shredded wheat. As added benefits, those who eat a heart-healthy breakfast feel more energetic throughout the day, are therefore more active and subsequently find it easier to maintain an appropriate healthy weight.

Take a Walk
Speaking of being active, moderate exercise, such as walking 30 minutes a day, dramatically cuts the risk of heart disease by improving cardiovascular functioning and strengthening your heart so it becomes more resilient to daily stressors. Consider creative ways you could add activity to your day such as using “foot power” for errands, mowing your own lawn, or playing with your dog or kids.

Eat a Piece of Fruit
Fruits are convenient snacks and excellent sources of vitamins and minerals; plus, they are low in calories and rich in dietary fiber. Soluble fiber, the type found in apples, bananas, strawberries, etc., can help lower your cholesterol thereby reducing your risk of heart disease. You will achieve the same benefits by eating vegetables if that’s your preference.

Find a Few Minutes of Personal Quiet Time
“Stop and smell the roses” is not just a well-known saying; it’s also good advice. When you “stop” for even a few minutes, the effects are immediate: your heart beats slower, your blood pressure normalizes, and your mind clears. In addition, those who consistently find peaceful moments also find it easier to give up unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking and overeating.

Laugh
Laughter may really be the best medicine—laughing boosts blood flow by more than 20-percent, which is a similar effect to that of aerobic activity. A fast blood flow shows that your arteries are wide open and supplying the heart and the entire body with blood. So, read the comics, rent a funny movie and chuckle often with your buddies because hearty laughter leads to a healthy heart!

It’s a bit nippy outside today, by Texas standards at least, and there’s a persistent, but welcome - rain is always welcome in Texas - drizzle emanating from our normally sky blue heavens. The gardens, mostly bright green rows of kale, chard, bok choy and the dozen or so different lettuces that Trisha plants every year, are particularly appreciative, as is the lake. As for myself, however, although the rain drops dripping crystal from the leaves and the fog rising off the water in the gray green light exert their quiet, peaceful pull, well, my mind’s eye is already turning to the spring and summer. The gardens I see burgeon with an abundance of tomatoes, basil, and corn. And somewhere in the background there’s a peach orchard, heavy with soft, golden fruit. I’ve always been a dreamer of sorts, but this is purposeful, necessary dreaming, because, almost before that mind’s eye can blink, the new season will be upon us, imagination will segue into reality, and we will need new recipes to advantage the new bounty.

Tomatoes and basil are almost a universe unto themselves, to be left for another time, and so, for today at least, we ponder the possibilities for a toothsome ear of corn, or a succulent, just picked peach. Both are abundant in Texas when the weather is right, and both are perhaps at their very best simply eaten out of hand - the corn generally steamed or roasted - and we will be doing some of that for sure. But there are other, equally irresistible, choices.

Right now, I’m seeing "esquite", a Mexican snack of fresh corn cut from the cob and tossed with fresh green chiles, grated cheese, lime, and Mexican crema. I’m seeing fresh corn bisque with lobster, creamed corn with smoked pork, succotash, a truffled corn coulis under grilled halibut and chorizo. A summer garden gratin with pecan pesto.

And what about a peach/blackberry breakfast bread pudding? Grilled salmon with peach chutney and a corn hoe cake? Peach and heirloom tomato salad, peach and tarragon chicken? Peach and strawberry short cake, peaches’n cream pudding cake? And peach ice cream, for goodness sakes!

All, and more, being dreamed up right now for our new spring and summer menus. So do a little dreaming of your own, why don’t you, and then come on down for a visit to help us celebrate and taste the new season.

Recipes:

Stone Fruit Gazpacho

4 cups skinned, sliced peaches - fresh or frozen
2 cups sliced nectarines
2 cups sliced plums
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, chunked
1 cup chopped onion
1 roasted red bell pepper, peeled, seeded
1 roasted yellow bell pepper, peeled, seeded
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup champagne vinegar
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 Tablespoon salt
4-6 cups peach nectar
1/4 cup olive oil
Tabasco to taste

Puree fruits, vegetables, sugar and vinegar. Thin as needed with nectar. Add oil. Correct seasoning. Chill. Serves 20-24.

Esquite

6 ears fresh corn, shucked
Non-stick spray
Salt
3/4 cup 2% mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons fat free half & half
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons lime juice (or to taste)
1 poblano chile, grilled, skinned, seeded, diced (you will need 1/4 cup, or to taste)
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
Paprika or chili powder for garnish
Lime wedges

Spray the corn, season lightly with salt, then grill until some of the kernels begin to color. Cool slightly, then strip this corn from the cob with a sharp knife and combine with the remaining ingredients through the cilantro. Serve in cups, garnished with paprika or chile powder and a lime wedge. Serves 6.