Yoga for Hotter Sex

In ancient times yogis practiced abstinence from sex so that all of their energy could be directed toward yoga and spiritual advancement. Makes you wonder: How could these supposedly wise guys have gotten it so wrong?

Today yoga lovers are finding that more time on the mat means more--and steamier--time spent reveling in their newly toned bodies. To take a walk on yoga's carnal side, add these sex moves to your yoga routine for overall better sex. Or just do them by themselves to turn up the heat.

Flex Time Is Sex Time

Having more flexible muscles and joints definitely helps in assuming those compromising positions. Opening your hips in particular gives you a wider range of motion in your nether regions, allowing for more direct stimulation in just the right spots. After all, one micro-movement in missionary is sometimes all it takes to ring the bell.

Sex Rx: Bound Angle In a seated position, bring the soles of your feet together, put your hands on your ankles, allow your knees to relax toward the floor, and hinge forward at the hips as far as is comfortable. Hold for 10 to 15 complete breaths (inhales and exhales).

Power Up the Pelvis

Strengthening one key muscle helps you engage and lift the pelvic floor, bringing you more sensation and control during your sex moves.

Sex Rx: Root Lock You may also hear this referred to by its Sanskrit name, Mula Bandha. Seated or standing, contract and then release the pubococcygeus muscle located between the pubic bone and the tailbone, as if you wanted to stop the flow of urine. You can even do this at your desk, say, 10 times at three workday intervals.

Sex Goddesses Go the Distance

Shake-the-headboard sex moves are hard work. "The better shape you are in, the more pleasure you have and the longer you can do it," says Kimberly Fowler, owner of Yoga and Spinning Studio in Venice, California.

Sex Rx: Yoga Pushups Start in the pushup position, arms extended. Engage your abs as you lower your body slowly toward the floor. Stop when your torso is about 2 to 3 inches away. Keeping elbows in, hold there for five breaths, then lower to the floor. Repeat three times at first and build up to five.

Charge Up the Bed Batteries

A killer day at work can leave you too beat to boogie. But a few minutes of nonstrenuous yoga when you get home can mean one less night with Netflix and one more erotic evening entwined with your sweetie.

Sex Rx: Legs Up the Wall Change into some yoga-friendly clothes. Lie on your back with one hip touching a wall. Swing your legs up and turn your body so you face the wall, legs resting against it from heels to butt, arms at your sides. Bring your awareness to your breath and focus on it for 5 minutes. This position allows more oxygen-rich blood to flow from your lower body back up to the heart and the brain, so you'll get up reenergized, refocused, and ready to rumble.

Breath of Desire

While most yoga poses help prepare you for a libidinous rendezvous, this breathing exercise can actually heighten your pleasure in flagrante.

Sex Rx: Breath of Fire While you're in the act, take rapid, forceful, and rhythmic breaths through your nose with your mouth closed. Don't worry if your partner thinks you're hyperventilating; he'll forget all about it when you reach a spine-tingling climax (and no doubt take credit for your fulfillment).

Double Your Pleasure

Practicing yoga with your man is like foreplay, says Jacquie Noelle Greaux, creator of the Better Sex Through Yoga video series. "You start to breathe together, sweat together, and move together. It gets your energy synched up." Some mat work might make him more sex-imaginative as well. "Yoga sparks creativity," Fowler says. "Women don't want bang-boom from a man, they want an explorer--and yoga invites you to explore."

Talking to Your Parents About Sex

We all have questions about sex. Some are based on curiosity, some are based on fear and some are based on pure anticipation! And though you may no some people your own age who think they have all the answers about sex, they probably don't. To be honest, many adults haven't got it all figured out either.

So, who can you go to for answers? Ever think about talking to your parents about sex? They may not have all the answers, but they're great resources on sex because they have definitely been there - you're living proof of that. And in the rare case that they don't have the answer to your question, there's a good chance they'll know where to find it.

You may be contemplating having sex for the first time, debating back and forth about how to handle your sexual feelings. There are a lot of aspects to consider first. You have to weigh your morals and emotions carefully and then decide what you really want...and remember, the decision is permanent - there's no way to "un-have" sex. And even though your parents may just want to scream "nooo!", it's only because they love you and have your best interests and your health in mind.

In the end, you're old enough to know that, good or bad, you're going to have to live with your decisions. What you choose to do is your call, but it's a good idea to really think it through, and talk to a few people about the way you feel before you decide on anything.

You may feel that your parents' values and attitudes are a bit stricter than your own. You may just chalk this up to "old age," but they may also have some valuable reasons for feeling the way they do. Believe it or not, but questioning authority and the reasons for doing things is a sign that you're growing up. A simple, "because I said so" is usually enough to convince young kids to do something a certain way, but you're older and you need to know why things are done.

But remember, just because you don't necessarily agree with everything your parents have to say, it doesn't automatically mean they're wrong. And you might be surprised just how open your parents are about talking about sex.

Just tell your parents that you want to talk about sex, or try these line to "back into" a conversation about sex:

• "We're going to be talking about sex in school this year, but I don't really know that much about it."
• "We talked about sex in class today. I learned a lot of really interesting things."
• "I heard some kids talking about sex today. They said that...(mention something you want to know about sex)...is that true?"

Perfect Beach Physique

With beach season in full swing, you're probably looking for ways to make the time you spend in the gym more productive in order to get a killer upper body that will garner a second glance from the hot girl tanning a few feet away.

To do so, you have to tone up that body of yours and build some muscle mass in key regions of your body.

muscle groups

The major muscle groups you should focus on are, in order of importance, your abs, chest, biceps, triceps, back, and shoulders. These are all the important muscles in your upper body and the ones that get noticed most.

By performing a full upper body workout up to 3 times a week, you will be sure to hit each muscle frequently enough to see some fast changes, but still allow enough time between sessions for recovery. Also, since you will also be working your triceps and biceps during some chest and back exercises, you will indirectly be stimulating more than one muscle group in a single exercise.

If you are short on time, your best bet is to perform a single set of at least one exercise for each body part. This will still allow you to target all the major muscles and will help you maintain your strength. Here is a list of some great exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck.

abs

Swiss ball crunches
Performing exercises on the Swiss ball is ideal; as it is not a stable surface, you will have to recruit all your core muscles to stabilize yourself and will therefore get a much better complete core workout. To perform this exercise, lay with the center of your back on top of a Swiss ball, your arms out to the side and your hands behind your head. Curl up and do an abdominal crunch, just as you would if you were lying on the floor. This exercise will primarily target your rectus abdominis (the vertical muscle), while calling in your obliques to stabilize you, and will help you achieve the desired "six-pack" look.

Hanging leg raise
To perform this exercise, grab hold of a pull-up bar or another bar that is high enough for you to hang off. Once you have a good grasp, slowly bring your knees up to your chest, and then lower them back down. The slower and more controlled you can perform this movement, the greater the benefit. This exercise will also target your rectus abdominis, as well as your hip flexors.

chest

Barbell chest press
Think of this as the king of all chest exercises, and probably the most frequently performed. Why? It is a compound movement, which causes many muscle fibers to fire and ensures more muscle growth. You will be working your pectoralis major muscle, while also indirectly working your triceps and anterior deltoid muscles. The result will be more defined chest muscles.

To perform this exercise, lay flat on a bench press machine. Make sure your back is touching the bench at all times (to prevent unnecessary stress on the back joints). Grasp the barbell with both hands placed shoulder width apart and push the barbell away from the rack. Slowly move the barbell down to your chest and then drive it back up to the starting position on a count of two going down and two coming up.

To increase the intensity of this lift, use a cambered bar. This will allow you to increase your range of motion and work the deeper tissue of your chest muscles to a greater extent. Watch out with this version, however, as it does place more stress on the shoulder joint, so if injury is a concern, you are better off with the normal barbell.

shoulders

Barbell military press

Using an overhand grip, grasp a barbell with hands slightly farther than shoulder width apart. Bring the barbell up to neck level and then drive it upwards, moving your arms over your head. Extend your elbows completely (be careful to not hyperextend, however), lower back down to neck level and repeat. This exercise will primarily target your anterior deltoid muscle in your shoulders and will give them that rounded shape.

Lateral raise

This movement will focus more on the lateral (middle) deltoid muscle in the shoulder and will give a nice round appearance to this group of muscles. To start, comfortably grasp a pair of dumbbells by your sides. Slowly move your extended arms upward along the lateral plane of the body (sideways). Keep your elbows slightly bent during the motion to prevent strain on the elbow joints. Keep raising your arms until they are in line with your shoulders or just slightly below, and then lower them back down to your sides.

back

Bent-over row
Bend over at the waist with knees slightly bent. Grasp the barbell with hands shoulder with apart using an overhand grip. Focusing on using the middle muscles in your back, slowly pull the barbell up toward your chest. Then, lower the barbell until it is almost touching the floor.

While performing this exercise, it is best to tilt your head up slightly, as it will help to keep your back aligned and maintain proper form. You will be primarily using the trapezius muscles during this exercise, and your rhomboids and latissimus dorsi will be working indirectly, which will give your back a wider appearance.

Lat pulldown
This exercise will help to work your latissimus dorsi muscle and give your back that "V" look -- wider at the top and narrower at the waist. Grab the bar of the lat pulldown machine as you sit down on the bench. Lean back slightly and bring the bar down to your chest level so it almost touches your collarbone, focusing on using the muscles in your back. Once you have lowered the bar, slowly let it rise back up to the starting position.

biceps

Dumbbell curl
Grasp a pair of dumbbells by your sides. In a controlled manner, bring the dumbbells up to your shoulders by bending your arms at the elbow. While performing this motion, be sure to keep your elbows tight against your sides to ensure that your biceps are doing all the work and that your back does not start to sway.

After you have curled the weight up, return it to the starting position in an equally controlled motion. You will be targeting your biceps brachii muscles, along with your brachialis as a helper muscle. Developing these two muscles will help you achieve a greater arm circumference.

Quick Headache Relief: Tips and Tricks

Minor occasional headaches happen to most of us, but serious, regular headaches are another matter altogether and can seriously interfere with your enjoyment of life. Here are ten tips for reducing your headache risk.

1. Identify your triggers. Keep track of your headaches in a headache diary, noting what you ate that day, what the weather was like, where you were, etc., to identify patterns. Once you know what triggers your headaches you can take steps to avoid them.
2. Reduce your stress. While avoiding stress completely is impossible, reducing its effects is not. Learn about biofeedback, purchase and play relaxation tapes, take long baths, get a massage — all things that can minimize the effects of stress on your body.
3. Stop smoking. Smoking is a risk factor for several kinds of headaches. Even breathing cigarette or cigar smoke can trigger a headache for some people.
4. Avoid too many OTC medications. If you take the maximum dosage of over-the-counter pain relievers for your headaches more than two or three times a week, you should talk to your doctor. Eventually, these medications will fail to relieve your pain. What's more, they can cause rebound headaches, which begin when the medication wears off.
5. Limit alcohol. If you drink, limit your intake to an occasional drink or two. Beer and red wine are particular headache triggers for many people.
6. Get regular sleep. Maintaining regular sleep habits (going to bed and getting up at the same time, even on weekends) is particularly important for migraine sufferers. Oversleeping can be a migraine trigger. Similarly, fatigue can cause tension headaches.
7. Eat regular meals. Missing a meal can trigger headaches for many. Eating a healthy diet rich in carbohydrates and low in fat and drinking plenty of water to keep well hydrated are also important.
8. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise, whether it's walking the dog or parking a distance from the mall, is an important stress reducer. Start gradually: a rigorous aerobic workout can induce headache if you haven't warmed up or aren't used to exercise.
9. Have your eyes checked. Staring at a computer screen all day can cause eyestrain, which can lead to tension-type headaches. Some people invest in a pair of glasses that provide optimal vision at the distance from the screen.
10. Sit up straight. Notice how you cradle the phone on your shoulder, how you carry your purse, how you sit behind the wheel of your car. Each of these can put undo strain on neck and shoulder muscles,