Locked lenses

Squidoo has been locking 8 of my lenses (web pages) this week in its effort to clean up the site. Apparently Google is releasing Penguin 2.0 and I guess Squidoo is trying hard to be maintain its reputation in Google's eyes. I'm upset obviously but not overly so. See if Squidoo is my site, I will do the same. I rather lost 1000 good lenses than losing the whole site. So I see their point of locking my lenses though some of those lenses are making good income for me and Squidoo. So I decided to transfer their content somewhere else. But since I've got their URLs ranking and those were aged lenses, I made new lenses using the same URLs BUT with entirely new content that have been greenlighted by Squidoo (I hope). At the meantime I'm busy writing for Sirgo and I created 5 new articles there. Here there are:

Evil queen accessories
Duffel bags with wheels
Leather duffle bags
Sexy high heels
Lone Ranger costume

Easy Yoga Poses For Beginners

One common reason why people refuse to practice yoga is that they think yoga is only for people with thin bodies and have great flexibility. And another reason is that they think they have to attend yoga classes to do yoga. These reasons are not true at all. Of course it is good if you can attend yoga classes because the instructor can help to monitor your progress and correct your poses. But if you can't afford to attend classes like I do, then there is no reason not to do yoga at home.

Yoga is not just for thin people. It is suitable for those who are overweight too. The important thing is to try to perform poses the right way without pushing yourself over your limit. Be patient and keep on persevering, practicing yoga is not training for a competition. Keep on practicing and you will develop flexibility and strength and also improve your energy level over time. And also, it is a good way to lose weight too!

If you are new to yoga or never try it before but are interested to learn a bit more before start practicing, then this lens is for you. You will learn 15 easy yoga poses for beginners. Watch the videos to learn how to do the poses properly and then start practicing! Remember to do it slowly and don't push yourself too much - listen to your body. Once you able to do some of the poses, maybe you can start doing sun salutation!


All images are taken from: Personal photoes and FreeDigitalPhotos.net or StockVault.net

Yoga Props

What are the things you need? 

 Basically you don't need any special prop to practice yoga. But it is good if you can buy some yoga accessories to aid your practice such as a:

Yoga mat - this mat is a special mat that is used to prevent hands and feet slipping during yoga. There are many mats available on the market at relatively cheap prices.

Yoga block - yoga blocks are usually made from foam, cork or wood. Blocks are use to improve your balance and alignment.

Yoga strap - yoga straps are beneficial for newbies. These straps are use to allow you to grasp your hands or feet that you couldn't reach (yet).

Blanket and pillow - you can sit on a folded blanket or pillow to support your body while doing seated poses.

There are many other accessories that you can use such as yoga wedges, yoga balls, yoga bolsters, but the props above are the basic things you need for now.

Yoga Kit For Beginners

 Sunny Health & Fitness Valeo Yoga Kit Yoga Starter Kit with Gaiam Baby Ready Yoga Gaiam Yoga For Beginners Wai Lana Kits: Basic

Child's Pose

Sanskrit name: Balasana 

Child's pose is one of my favorite yoga poses. I often do this pose when I feel my back muscles tense or I feel stressed up about something. This pose is very easy to do. The benefits of this pose is to calm the brain and help to relieve stress or tension on your back, hips, and thighs muscles. This pose can also be done by extending your arms forward to support your head.

Warrior 1 Pose

Sanskrit name: Virabhadrasana I 

This is the first warrior pose (there are 3 poses). The benefits of this pose is to stretch the chest, neck, tummy muscles. groins and shoulders. It also helps to strengthens the thighs, ankles and calves. When you do this pose for the first time it is quite difficult to balance your body but as you gain more strength you will be able to do this without wobbling.

Warrior 2 Pose

Sanskrit name: Virabhadrasana II 

In warrior 2 pose you need to extend your arms to both sides. When you do this for the first time make sure you turn your neck slowly facing the front and not to do it abruptly because you can strain your neck if you are not careful. It has the same benefits as warrior 1 pose plus it is very beneficial for those suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. And also it helps to relieve backaches during pregnancy.

Tree Pose

Sanskrit name: Vrksasana

I had a hard time to maintain my balance when I did this pose for the first time and only able to hold my pose for one to two seconds and I sweat profusely!. This pose looks simple but don't be fool, it can takes awhile to maintain a steady pose. The benefits of this pose is to strengthen the thighs, ankles, calves and back. It helps to improve your balance and also very beneficial for those suffering from sciatica.

Bridge Pose

Sanskrti name: Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

A great pose for those who wish to flatten the tummy. However, as a beginner make sure not to put too much strain on your lower back. Do it as far as you can lift your back. If you feel pain in your shoulders, neck or lower back, stop and do it again slowly. This pose has many benefits - it helps to improve digestion, relieves menstrual pain, stimulated the lungs, thyroid and also abdominal organs.

Triangle Pose

Sanskrit name: Utthita Trikonasana 

You might need a yoga block to do this pose. You can also brace your back against a wall to help you maintain your balance. This pose is great for those who are suffering from anxiety, infertility, sciatica, and neck pain.

Seated Twist Pose

Another one of my favorite pose. This pose might a bit tricky if you are overweight but do it slowly and as much as you can turn. This pose is great for those who are suffering from back pain. Other benefits include to stretch the shoulders, neck and hips. Relieves tension on the spine and also to stimulate kidneys and liver.

Cobra Pose

Sanskrit name: Bhujangasana 

I am suffering from back pain after giving birth to my daughter and I found that this pose helps me to reduce the pain. However for beginners it might be not possible to fully straightened your arms. Make sure to bend your arms and also to tuck your elbows close to your body for support. This pose is good to help firming the buttocks.

Downward Facing Dog

Sanskrit name: Adho Mukha Svanasana 

I hated this pose when I started to practice yoga but it became another favorite poses of mine. This pose helps you to relax, seriously. When you practice it for the first time, your heels might not touch the floor at all, unless you are a dancer or a gymnast. But that's ok. The benefits include to reduce anxiety and stress and also to calms the brain. It is beneficial for those who have high blood pressure, asthma, sciatica, and sinusitis.

Pigeon Pose

Sanskrit name: Eka Pada Rajakapotasana 

I couldn't find a free image of this pose to put here but you can watch the video to find out how it look like. You might need a yoga block or pillow to support your hip. The benefits of this pose is to stretch the thighs, abdomen, chest, neck and shoulders.

Plank Pose

Sanskrit name: Phalankasana 

A great pose to flatten the tummy! I still shake a bit whenever I do this pose and often I sweat profusely afterward. This pose strengthens the arms, abdominal muscles and stretches the spine.

Lunge Pose

Sanskrit name: Ardha Mandalasana 

Another great pose for beginners that helps to improve stamina and flexibility. Other benefits include relieving back pain and sciatica. It also helps to strengthen legs and back.

Forward Bend

Sanskrit name: Uttanasana

For newbies it is advisable to bend your legs a bit when you practice this pose for the first time. The benefits of this pose - helps reduce headache, insomnia and fatigue. It also helps to stretch the thighs, hip, hamstrings and calves.

Cat Cow Pose

Sanskrit name: Marjariasana 

A funny name, isn't it? This pose is beneficial for female reproductive system and it is a great pose to practice during pregnancy (up to second trimester). I love this pose because it helps me to relax and stretch my back.

Bubblenews Again

I love Bubblenews! Yesterday I wrote a post about this new site and how much I earned so far by posting 2 articles there. And today I made another $2.35! Yippee! I know that is nothing to brag about but for a mom with very little time to spare that amount is like $20 :) 

Transferring Articles to Sirgo

Recently Squidoo locked four of my lenses and since I don't have that much time to spend on disputing about that, I decided to transfer them to Sirgo. I can honestly say that though Sirgo is a new website my articles are doing quite ok though not as good as Squidoo (of course). The transferred articles - My Little Pony Cadance, Fairy Lights.

Make Money On Bubblenews (legit

I found another cool writing site where you can earn legit money online. It's called BubbleNews. I never heard of this site before but it was recommended by someone I trusted. I have written two articles there and see below for my earning. Not much but from what I heard if you spend extra time to write more there you can reach your first payout within a couple of days. So if you want to try it here's my referral link: Bubblenews.

Adult Hansel and Gretel?

Another one of those Hollywood spin on fairytale. This time around it's Hansel and Gretel. The movie was out in theaters earlier this year. I didn't watch it though because after watching the trailer it's too scary for me. Here's an article about Hansel and Gretel costumes as seen on the movie.

1920s Flapper Costume Accessories

The upcoming Great Gatsby movie is one of the movies I want to watch this year. I love 1920s look and I know Carey Mulligan looks chic as Daisy Buchanan. I watched the trailer video and I must say the costume is sooo cool. If I were to go to a costume party sometime this year, I know I want to wear a flapper look. Anyway, speaking of costume, I wrote two articles about flapper costume and accessories. You can check them out below.

Flapper Girls Accessories
The Great Gatsby Costume

Image credit: Photo used under Creative Commons from ky_olsen.

Man Of Steel?

Man of Steel - the new Superman movie. I am not a fan of Superman but I love Amy Adams (the new Lois Lane) and so I wrote two new webpages about Man of Steel. The first one talks about the action figures and the second one talks about Superman costume for adults and kids alike.

Visit them here:

Superman toys
Superman costume for kids and adults

Zumba Bracelets

Hate to exercise? Me too. Not till Zumba. You probably heard about Zumba and have no idea what the hype is all about. Or probably you watched people doing Zumba and thinking it's not for you. The steps are too many and confusing. Or you are not fit enough to dance. Or you have two left hands and two left feet. I was thinking the same too. I thought Zumba was too complicated and all those pivoting, and jumping are bad for my knees.

But you know what? After trying Zumba for a couple of months I love it and yup, I can dance non stop for 1 and half hour, and burned up to 600 kcal/hour. Yup, I pivot, jump and shake my booties. Do I lose weight? You bet I do...

Well since I love it so much I thought why not write some Zumba related stuff on Squidoo. And so I did. Here my first page about Zumba jewelry...

Easy Bake Oven In Gender Neutral Colors

This video is about McKenna Pope calling fellow netizens to sign her petition to urge Hasbro to create a more gender neutral Easy Bake Oven. This video was released in November and guess what? Hasbro has decided to grant her wish and will release a new EBO in colors suitable for boys! Yay!

Here's an article I wrote about this new product from Hasbro - Easy Bake Oven for Boys.

Lounge Wear for Moms

Mother's Day is coming and if you are still unsure of what to buy mom this year, why not buy some lounge wear for her? There are plenty of choices to choose from. Some are made from cotton, silk, satin, or polyester. I wrote a page about it here - Lounge Wear for Moms. See if there's anything you like...

100% Silk Red Pajamas

Toddler Pool With Canopy

Summer is a couple of months away but I think now is the perfect time to shop for some toddler pools! Yep you heard me right - shop for kiddy pool now. Why? The prices are usually low at this time of year because they aren't much demand for the items. In the summers months, water toys are usually more expensive because the retailers knew that people would buy them so they are taking advantage of the surge in demands. So shop for these pools now! Some of the pools...

Little Tikes Butterfly BeachBugs and Garden BabyStep2 Play and Shade

More here - pools with shade

Princess Merida from Brave

Earlier this year, I watched the latest Disney Pixar's animated movie, Brave, with my 2 year old. She loves the movie and so do I. The songs are inspiring and the storyline is quite good. I particularly like that the story is more about mom-daughter relationship and it kinda good to see a princess who is spunky! If you haven't watch this movie I suggest you rent/buy the DVD below.

Brave

That's not the end of it, apparently the movie maker decided to team up with several toy makers to produce several cute merchandise including Princess Merida dolls! Ok I wrote a page about this and if you want to see how the dolls look like head out to this page - Princess Merida Dolls.

Here's my favorite song from the movie.

Duffel Bags With Wheels

I think almost everyone have used a duffle bag at least once in their life. This humble bag has gotten very trendy these days compared to those bags from 20 years ago. It's quite common to see a rolling duffel bag. Yep, suitcases aren't the only bags with wheels. Recently I have written 2 short articles featuring duffel bags with wheels. You can read these articles by clicking these links -

22" and 30" wheeled duffel bags
32" rolling duffel bags

Cute Rockers for Young Kids

One of the most memorable toys of my childhood was a blue wooden rocking horse that I used to ride on my kindergarten class. Yep it didn't belong to me but I remember how we kids used to fight over that rocker! When my daughter approached her second birthday, my hubby and I was thinking of buying her a rocking horse but at the last moment we decided to buy her something else. Here are some rocking animals I found on Amazon. Cute right?

Lulu Ladybug Rocker byRadio Flyer Blaze InteractiveCharm Company Pinto Horse

More of these cute rockers on this page - Cute Animal Rockers.

Princess Cadance from My Little Pony

They are soooo many toys out there and new toys are being introduced on monthly basis. I wish I have those toys when I grew up :). Anyway, parents to little girls might want to check out the new addition to My Little Pony toys -  Princess Cadance. It's not exactly new actually, it was released sometime last year but for my part of the world this is a new toy :P. Here's a webpage I created about this toy - My Little Pony Princess Cadance Figure.

Simple Wedding Tips

Nice picture? Well that was my wedding bouquet. Yep it was a crystal bouquet...

I've been married for seven years. I remember when we were planning for our wedding we didn't have a lot of money to pull off a grand wedding. I was in between jobs and we didn't have much. So we decided to make a simple wedding with the least expenses to spend. I wrote a Squidoo lens recently, where I shared some simple tips we implemented to cut down the cost to plan the wedding. You can read that here - Cheap Wedding Decor Ideas.

Baby and Toddler Water Toys

Being a mom I love all things related to toys, especially the ones for younger kids. Recently I created a page about baby and toddler toys and I did several product reviews on it.

You can visit that page Baby Water Toys or you can click directly to access specific information on that page on links below.

1. Choose Your Baby and Toddler Water Toys...
2. Bath Toy
3. Boon Pod Bath Toy Scoop Review
4. Floaties
5. Swimways Baby Spring Float Activity Cent...
6. Cute Chinese Baby In Swimways Pool Float
7. How To Fold Swimways Baby Float?
8. The Best Baby Water Toys
9. Water Table
10. Step2 WaterWheel Activity Play Table Rev...
11. Top Rated Baby Water Toys
12. Sprinkle Pool
13. Popular Baby Water Toys - Sprinkle Pool
14. Sprinkler
15. Find More Baby Water Toys On eBay
16. Baby Water Toys on eBay

Welcome!

Hi everyone, welcome to Stuff According to Anais blog!

As you can see this is my very first post and there is nothing here yet but I will keep this blog updated by sharing about stuff I made on the web and cool products I found.

Stay tuned!