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"Okay my little starlets. Yesterday was fun, but I&amp;#x27;ve got to confess: I&amp;#x27;m still anxious /stressed/tightly-wound, and a lot of you have emailed me with similar issues. Either it&amp;#x27;s a chaotic time in the world, or we&amp;#x27;re all a bunch of crazies, who knows.&amp;amp;nbsp; So I called Danicia Ambron, a family friend, fabulous young mom, and well-known yoga instructor, and asked some basic questions about mind, body, and balance. A: What&amp;#x27;s your method of expertise?D: I primarily teach Ashtanga yoga.&amp;amp;nbsp; It&amp;#x27;s a physically demanding yoga practice. Think Madonna, Sting, Gwyneth.&amp;amp;nbsp; But I teach everyone from professional dancers to people with slipped hernia disks.&amp;amp;nbsp; All ages, all shapes, all lifestyles. A: How do you define yogi life? D: People think that with yoga you have to be flexible, and perfect, and thin, and have nothing wrong with you, but that&amp;#x27;s the opposite of who I am, or what I teach.&amp;amp;nbsp; It&amp;#x27;s all about presence of mind and awareness.&amp;amp;nbsp; Believe it or not, it&amp;#x27;s more about flexibilty in your mind than your body. A: Some of my readers are moms who are juggling a lot of things, and can&amp;#x27;t find time to breathe, let alone take a yoga class...D: Entirely new topic!&amp;amp;nbsp; So many moms feel bad about taking any personal time.&amp;amp;nbsp; Women are so hard on other women -- you&amp;#x27;re supposed to look really good, but at the same time you&amp;#x27;re not supposed to have time for yourself without feeling guilty! Women should take time to do whatever it is that they want to do, whether it&amp;#x27;s yoga, seeing a movie with their husband or trips with their girlfriends. A: Does yoga actually burn calories?D: Absolutely.&amp;amp;nbsp; When you&amp;#x27;re using large muscle groups in your legs and shoulders, for example, with focused breathing, it&amp;#x27;s a really aerobic exercise.&amp;amp;nbsp; Eventually there&amp;#x27;s a constant, nice, slow burn of calories. A: So if weight loss is your goal, yoga can help?D: Yes. Just look for the words &amp;amp;quot;power&amp;amp;quot; or &amp;amp;quot;Vinyasa&amp;amp;quot; or &amp;amp;quot;Ashtanga&amp;amp;quot; in whatever class you take.&amp;amp;nbsp; A: What is a &amp;amp;quot;yoga body?&amp;amp;quot;D:&amp;amp;nbsp; It&amp;#x27;s a body that&amp;#x27;s connected to it&amp;#x27;s mind. If your mind is in proper frame, you should be able to reflect on your body. Then if you have a clear mind, and you&amp;#x27;re aware and present, you won&amp;#x27;t eat a box of cookies, for example, because your body recognizes it doesn&amp;#x27;t feel good, and it doesn&amp;#x27;t feel healthy. A: How do I get to that place where my mind is clear?D:&amp;amp;nbsp; If something is bothering you, it goes to your body, to your neck or shoulders.&amp;amp;nbsp; The idea of yoga is to flush it out, so it&amp;#x27;s loose, you can free it up, then sit, be comfortable and go into this state of &amp;amp;quot;stillness.&amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;nbsp; &amp;amp;nbsp; A: What separates yoga from my endless hours at the gym?D: The best thing about yoga is that after your initial time investment, you own your &amp;amp;quot;practice,&amp;amp;quot; and it goes with you anywhere. If you&amp;#x27;re traveling, you can do it in a hotel room. Or your bedroom. Or your cubicle at work.&amp;amp;nbsp; The more you know, the more you can do, which is why it&amp;#x27;s worth finding the right class. Trust me, it can be magical if you&amp;#x27;re in a really good class, with people who are focused, and you&amp;#x27;re taking every inhale and exhale together. Have you guys tried yoga?&amp;amp;nbsp; I&amp;#x27;m ready to get started, especially since I might be on a beach (with no gym...gasp!) this summer. But seriously, I&amp;#x27;d like to hear more personal experiences... "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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