This February we're beyond excited to present to Saskatoon, Puppy Yoga!  This is our first ever time offering this event which we've aptly called Mutts & Mats: Yoga for a New Hope. What could be more enjoyable than a relaxing Yoga class, surrounded by adorable 3-month old puppies? While this class is currently sold out, the initial response has been so overwhelming, we plan to provide this class again in the very near future.

If you've ever been to our gym you've likely met our Gym Dog named Dak.  Having Dak around, and the reception he's gotten from all of our member, we've realized what an admiration you all have for dogs.  We've also realized just how many of you out there all have a furry family member of your own. We figured it was only fitting to combine something as lovable as dogs with something so many of you are so passionate about as Yoga.  And hey, if yoga can be made more popular with the addition of cats or goats, then puppy yoga might just be the best thing ever invented.

Our friends at New Hope Dog Rescue in Saskatoon will be bringing their newest litter of German Shepherd cross puppies to explore and play around the Fitness Focus yoga studio while all the participants find their zen. All proceeds raised by Mutts & Mats will be going to New Hope Dog Rescue, which provides financial aid for emergency surgeries, housing, food and other expenses associated with the process of finding dogs a forever home. 

Common Misconceptions about the weight room

So many people that are both new to the weight room or long time users become deterred from the gym because they haven’t achieved the results they had expected from their weight routine.  There are many common misconceptions about lifting weights that cause people to start on the wrong track and are then left feeling discouraged.

Lifting weights will make you big and bulky; false.  The primary benefit of lifting weights is increased lean muscles, but increased lean muscles doesn’t mean enormous muscles.  For men it is a lot easier to get big muscles, but still takes years of heavy training.  In the case of women, they just are not genetically programmed to build thick and bulky muscles.  Other benefits of weight lifting include increasing metabolism and lower body fat, a greater resistance to injury and improved overall health.  So don’t ignore the weight room, embrace weight training and use it to build the body you want.

Doing Ab exercises everyday will result in a flat stomach and well-defined 6-pack Abs; false.  Abdominal (Ab) exercises are resistance training and like weight training, are used to develop the targeted muscles.  We need to remember that muscles and body fat are two completely different things, so once we develop our Abdominal muscles it does not change the fact that there still might be some fat lying on top of them.  Spending a majority of a workout everyday training Abs will become very repetitive and boring; dedicating some time twice a week Ab exercises is lots. 

It is possible to spot reduce fat from one area of the body; false.  Repeating an exercise over and over will do nothing more than condition that particular muscles to perform that exercise.  To reduce body fat, we need to adjust what we eat so that the calories we ingest are slightly lower than the calories we burn, signalling the body to start burning fat for energy.  On the extreme end of this, when we begin to starve ourselves our body goes into survival mode and will begin to store fat in the body for future requirements.  We have no control over what area the body fat will accumulate; it is all genetically predetermined.  For some people it is in the stomach, for others it’s the hips or butt.  Just as we have no control over where it will end up, we have no control over where it will come off.  

The key to success in health and fitness is the understanding that it takes patience in the process and the willingness to always learn, to change old habits and adapt.

Physical Benefits

Flexibility: Stretching your body in new and different ways will help your joints and muscles to become more flexible, giving you better range of motion. Over time, you will gain flexibility in your legs, back, shoulders, and midsection which can all prevent injury and aid in your resistance training.

Strength: Many poses in yoga require supporting the weight of your own body in new and different ways, including balancing on one leg or supporting yourself with your arms. The slow movements through the poses also develope strength.  You can also expect to see improved muscle tone, better shape and long lean muscles.

Pain Prevention: Increasing flexibility and strength will help prevent certain types of body pain. For example, many people who suffer from back pain can usually trace it back to spending much of their time sitting or high impact activity all day. That can cause spinal compression, which you can begin to address with yoga. Yoga will also improve your alignment, both in and out of class, which helps prevent many other types of pain.

Better Breathing: Most of us breathe very shallowly into the lungs and don't give much thought to how we breathe. Yoga breathing exercises, called Pranayama, focus the attention on the breath and teach us how to better use our lungs, which benefits the entire body. Certain types of breath can also help clear the nasal passages and even calm the central nervous system, which has both physical and mental benefits.

Mental Benefits

Mental Calmness: Yoga asana practice is intensely physical. Concentrating so intently on what your body is doing has the effect of bringing a calmness to the mind. Yoga also introduces you to meditation techniques, such as watching how you breathe and disengagement from your thoughts, which help calm the mind.

Body Awareness: Doing yoga will give you an increased awareness of your own body. You are often called upon to make small, subtle movements to improve your alignment. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence.