#Snoopette - Jen Crescenzo, Yoga Teacher & Power Lifter

My name is Jennifer Crescenzo and I’m a full-time yoga teacher in Melbourne Australia. I’m very passionate about Yin Yoga but when I arrived in Melbourne five years ago everyone was practicing Hot Yoga and Power Yoga so there wasn’t a lot of enthusiasm for a slow, deep stretching practice that emphasizes meditative stillness! Today I teach, write and facilitate Yin and Hatha Yoga teacher training, and travel to lead yoga workshops, trainings, and retreats.   

I think people envision the yoga teacher lifestyle as really relaxed - teach a few classes, spend lots of time practicing yoga, drink some kombucha, talk about chakras - that kind of thing.   But it’s really more like running your own small business with a research and development department, a sales and marketing team, and people who need to get out and deliver the product. Oh - and you are the head and sole employee of all those departments :)  I am often up early to write - whether that is developing material for new workshops or writing content for teacher training.  I don’t like to go straight from bed to sitting at my computer so I move around a bit first.  Some mornings that means sun salutations but other mornings I go straight out to the garden and dig around in the dirt a little.  It sounds a bit yoga cliche but it changes my perspective when I start the day caring for other living beings rather than seeing who has liked me on Instagram.  Also I have discovered that my plants like coffee as much as I do! So, we share a morning ritual.  I make coffee in my French Press  and enjoy my morning cup and then pour the grinds over the plants.  

Part of my job, like any other job, is meetings.  And that means having some cosy meeting spots near my home or the studios where I teach.  Current favorites include Urban Projuice in Albert Park because it’s a family affair run by a mother and her daughters and they make delicious vegetarian and vegan food.  This winter I am especially fond of their Turmeric Latte because it’s earthy and spicy and warming and Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and boosts your immune system. 

Because I don’t have a car, I’m often on the go and I carry everything I might need for the day in my bag, a beautiful hand-sewn creation from my last trip to Thailand.  Inside you’d find whatever book I am reading (currently it’s Connectome: How the Brains Wiring Makes Us Who We Are), my iPad, a scarf (I collect them from all over the world!) some sort of refreshing spray for my face (I picked up Yuli Cocoon Elixir in LA a few months ago ) jasmine essential oil from Jamal Kazura Aromatics in Singapore, YSL Touche Eclat, and usually a random piece of fruit (this week it's mandarins)  

Since I’m on foot or on trams a lot, I’m a big fan of podcasts.  I spent 10 years as a documentary filmmaker so I’m passionate about storytelling.  On my podcast playlist you’d find RadioLab, 99 Percent Invisible, Serial, Invisibilia, Planet Money, and This American Life.  I love how a good story can grab you and turn you in a different direction, compelling you to see the at the world from a totally different perspective. And I think that’s what yoga offers - twisting your body into different shapes gives you different ways of seeing yourself and the world around you. 

Although I have built a reputation as a Yin Yoga educator, those who know me best know that I embrace the cooling, contemplative nature of Yin to balance my fiery, Irish-Italian Yang side. Whether it’s powering across the finish line of a race or facing an opponent in Kung Fu, I love to move!  This year I found a new passion, Olympic Lifting.  Although lifting something big and heavy sounds more brutal than mindful, it’s actually a delicate balance of the two.  Like Yoga, it is all about a union of opposites!  You have to be patient but violent.  You have to be willing to fail but determined to succeed. The moment you put your hands on the bar, you have to coordinate all of your power and intention to lift it.  But, when you take your hands off the bar you have to relax and let go.   My Olympic Lifting coach, Luke Bryan of CrossFit 3000, said I was being “too zen” in a lifting session and that I needed to get a little more violent.  So we created “Nej”, my lifting alter-ego who resembles the fierce Indian warrior goddess Kali. Kali holds a severed head and wears a necklace of skulls made from her fallen foes. I know - it doesn’t sound very yogic.  But Kali represents the erradication of ego.  She cuts through the illusions, forcing us to see things as they are rather than as we want them to be.   And I would describe Olympic Lifting in much the same way.  It quickly reveals where you lack coordination, power, or precision - like the parts of you where electricity doesn't flow. And if you are willing to work on those parts of your body and mind, you can electrify them! 

I wear a lot of yoga clothes - comes with the job!  Since I can spend all day in a sports bra or pair of yoga pants, I need things that are durable but feel good on my skin and can transition from the studio to dinner with friends.  When I’m not in yoga clothes, I’m either in jeans or Melbourne-made Nevenka.  Designer Rosemary Masic blends lace and edge.  It’s like Stevie Nicks meets Lauren Bacall...

Jennifer teaches weekly classes at Ohana Yoga, MOVE Yoga, and Power Living South Melbourne and runs yearly retreats at Le Yoga Daylesford. For more about Jennifer, visit her website yoga.jencrescenzo.com 

Match your Yoga Pants with your Nails

It's as simple as the title suggests. I'm not going to tell you anything hugely deep and insightful. The world is a big, difficult and troubling place. But it's also full of tiny little joys and for me, nail polish and a kickass pair of yoga pants will make me ecstatic.

Find the little joys.

I do feel guilty over waving pom poms around when I find rainbow zebra print leggings (ahem, Dharma Bums!) and polka dot print with ROSES (thanks, Om Shanti!)... but really, if I am able to be so easily thrilled by something SO simple then I know I am blessed to be alive and to be me.

Maybe you find your joy in taking yourself for a coffee and people watching, or reading TV Week, or getting a pedicure, or watching that Disney movie for the 500th time... whatever it is, stop feeling guilty. Life is too short. And if there's haters? Well, haters gonna hate. This is how we roll!
Find your inspiration on Instagram - and then just try getting off it...
Om Shanti Clothing
Onzie
Fifth Element
Dharma Bums
Orly
OPI

10 Minute Booty Barre Workout

I love Tracey Mallett. An ex-dancer who has a whole range of barre DVDs and online training videos, she does fun and TOUGH workouts. You don't need to do an hour - you can feel a burn through the abs and thighs in this 10 minute workout. Maybe you do it once in the morning then again in the evening. Just an idea. Did you do it? Do you love it? Come and tell me on Facebook!

Yoga Teacher Training Finally!

Now that my hip has healed enough that I am doing dancer's pose and getting through BodyPump and Power Yoga classes with zest, I can see more clearly what I want to be doing with my life.

I want to write, draw, create and share my discoveries and ideas with you and with curious people.

I also want to motivate and share the knowledge that our bodies can heal and recover and accomplish movements and sensations that are life changing, or at least, strengthening.

For me, having tried many fitness and lifestyle trends and styles over the past 16 years, I know what works for me right now. I love a strong, challenging vinyasa yoga class. Sometimes referred to as Power Yoga. I also love barre training. It feels like I'm using
every
single
muscle

but also opening between my bones and stretching muscles that have been twisting into knots overnight or at the office. It feels graceful, elegant, as if I'm connecting with my inner ballerina.

A man came up to me at the gym yesterday where I was going through some barre moves to use in class and asked if I was a gymnast or a ballerina. I told him no and he marvelled at how "strong" I was. This is true! He was holding a cane and had been struggling with knee problems for 10 years. He said the trainer at the gym had him doing squats. When he showed me, his technique was jarring, awkward and he looked pained. It felt wonderful to be able to tell him I'd had a hip replacement and squats were a major part of my rehabilitation but they have to be adapted for our bodies at the stage they're in. So we went through technique.

It was a small part of my day - maybe 10 minutes - but it felt fabulous for hours. I sometimes take for granted having a strong sense of body awareness and how to align and stretch and move in the safest, most effective way to train and strengthen. It matters in moments when I can heal myself or guide others to use their bodies in the most meaningful way.

My Yoga Teacher Training starts in Februrary and I can't wait. I read Christy Turlington's "Living Yoga" about 6 years ago and it was life altering for me. I started the book because of the pretty pictures, but was incredibly inspired and moved by Christy's story of discovering holistic health (becoming an anti-smoking advocate), setting up a charity for mothers, and studying religion and spirituality at university. She fully immersed herself in the history and philosophy of yoga and there is so much to learn and to experience on and off the mat. I hadn't realised until that point.

I'm most looking forward to becoming a yoga student for life. To accepting and embracing that I will never master it and know everything and be guru-like, but that my passion and love for yoga will motivate the yogis who do my class to investigate ideas and movements that are new and interesting to them. Or just to get into a pose they hadn't believed was possible!

Talking of being able to do that, I know that a 9 - 5 office job is not possible for me at this point, if ever. I love moving. I love instructing. I love the energy of being in a class and both instructing and learning so much about bodies, movement, rhythm and how to motivate and coach. Every class has its own rhythm and energy. I am thrilled to now have more classes at Ivanhoe Aquatic & Fitness Centre, very close to where I grew up. I am also hoping to add to my schedule of barre classes this year while also (hopefully!) getting some writing and content editing work so that I can have the ideal mix of writing, editing, sculpting, toning and instructing.

If you're interested in doing yoga or barre classes, or you're already doing them and you have a place you'd recommend, come and tell me about it on Facebook!

All Black Yoga Wear Edit

You know I freakin' obsess over Onzie! So for my upcoming trip to Barcelona and Paris, I want to look Euro Chic in all black everything. I also want to be ready for yoga and barre at the flip of a Euro coin! I don't want to look like a sweaty mess on the Saint Germain though. Black. Mesh. Print. Dots. This is the All Black Edit.

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Black mesh, black magic print and the tri coloured black, silver and futura print leggings are all in my suitcase. I plan on doing yoga, barre and whatever other fun fitness classes Parisian and Spanish girls are loving. That's between trekking the beautiful streets of Saint Germain, Barcelona and stretching my pins while watching the countryside from the train from Barcelona to Paris mid-May. A girl has to invest in her fitness gear. You know it. I've even been super prepared by buying black sneakers to match  my outfit. It was necessary! The second pair? Well, that was just fun. Stay tuned for photos. 

Fat that Burns Fat?

Don't get too excited. I'm not going to reveal some magic greasy burger you can eat and turn into Kate Moss.

This is genuine science and it's a fascinating discovery that has potential implications for the management of disease and diabetes as well as weight management for healthy, fit people.

The body stores 3 types of fat: white, beige and brown.

White fat is the one you normally think of - the most common type of fat that is typically stored around the stomach, thighs and hips.

On the other hand, the more rare brown fat has heat-producing properties that burn major calories just by existing. Science - as discussed in a recent New Scientist magazine article - has proven that brown fat is activated through cold temperatures. Nothing too extreme - even wearing a tank top in 14 degrees will do it. Brown fat cells play an essential role in wild animals, allowing them to survive in cold and harsh environments by ensuring blood circulates and body heat is maintained.

Beige cells develop in the common white fat when brown cells are activated and THIS is where and when the fat-burning and metabolism boost happens. Beige fat cells = leanness in humans and the reduction of metabolic disease and obesity in mice. Current studies are looking into genetic and drug therapy that can produce and encourage growth and activation of beige fat cells.

While humans typically store only a very small quantity of brown cells, they are to be found in the deep back muscles around the spine and neck. Interestingly, overweight and obese people have been found to have a lower concentration of brown fat cells. In trials of drug therapy that looked at increasing the activity of brown cells, dangerous side effects were noticed at high doses so at present, there is no effective means of increasing their quantity or activity safely.

Beige cells on the other hand develop through being exposed to the cold, as I mentioned. Once they have been activated in the cold atmosphere, they are retained even when you warm up again. So it would seem that intermittent exposure to cold environments can maintain a metabolic boosting quantity of beige fat cells, which limit and reduce weight gain.

This is all still in the early stages of study. What HAS been proven is that there are systemic factors that influence brown and beige fat and look promising for weight loss therapy.
Irisin is a hormone found in muscle - built through exercise - which has obesity-prevention qualities and enhances energy production in cells. The takeaway message? EXERCISE. Both endurance and high-intensity bursts are recommended.

Calcium - either three or four daily servings of low-fat dairy or a supplement - can increase your body's fat burning ability. Calcium is stored in fat cells and regulates how it is stored and broken down by the body. The greater the level of calcium, the more fat it will burn according to studies.

Being TOO lean and having TOO LITTLE body fat will have the reverse effect. The body requires fat to retain calcium, vitamin D and other essential hormones and vitamins which are dependent on fat to remain and stay active.

A study from the Nutrition Institute of University of Tennessee showed mice given calcium supplements had good weight loss results, when supplements were combined with a restricted-calorie diet. Mice getting their calcium via supplements had a 42% decrease in body fat, whereas mice eating without supplements had an 8% body fat loss.

However, calcium from dairy products produced the best results. Mice on the "medium-dairy" diet had a 60% decrease in body fat, while those on the "high-dairy" diet lost 69% body fat.

The takeaway message? GET YOUR CALCIUM. I am not a major dairy fan and I know many people prefer alternatives. If this is the case, I recommend Nature's Way Calcium & K2 + Vitamin D.

Research shows that Vitamin K2 binds calcium to the bone mineral, ensuring that it is absorbed where it is NEEDED rather than depositing in the arteries. I recommend this supplement because it's the first to make K2 available and it's widely available (supermarkets, pharmacies and online at www.health365.com.au)

And eat well. There's no great mystery to it. If you are in need of some ideas, go recipe book hunting. My latest find is "the SuperFoods Kitchen" which has breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert options compiled from home cooks all over Australia. So inspiring! A crowd sourced cookbook!