Naomi Gottlieb-Miller

Hey Reader, Whoops! I was supposed to email you Sunday and then got sidetracked with family stuff. So I was going to email you yesterday but I was working really hard on something (that I am so excited to share with you in a few weeks), and I was so deep in working on this other thing that writing this email just slipped my mind. So here I am, 2 days late. It happens. I guess the good news is that I am not a robot and this email is clearly not being written by AI, automatically every Sunday....

Hey Reader, Vasisthasana is one of my favorite yoga poses. In the fitness world and also within yoga communities that limit the use of Sanskrit, vasisthasana is more commonly known as side plank. The thing is, Vasistha (the namesake of the pose) was a sage, not a plank. Setting that important detail aside, folks frequently refer to vasisthasana as side plank for 2 main reasons: First, Sanskrit can be a tricky language and lots of western yogis are not invested in using the language of yoga to...

Hey Reader, Here's something I think everyone needs to know about strength training: You have to do the same things over and over in order to get stronger. This is a slight oversimplification, but the basics are true. In order to increase your capacity to produce force, you have to work the same exercises consistently, slowly adding load to continue to challenge your muscles (and bones). Strength training can be really repetitive and really boring for this reason. What makes this bearable, at...

Hey Reader, Have you ever avoided going to a yoga class because you knew the teacher was working on a particular pose? For me that was always revolved triangle. Or complicated seated poses. I remember many years ago, one of my favorite teachers started class with agni stambhasana (fire log pose) -- I'm talking FIRST POSE -- and I nearly left. Anyway, it can be really frustrating when you show up to a class and the teacher does that one pose that just does not feel good in your body. So you...

Hey Reader, Should women train differently as they age? There are a lot of people in the health and fitness space trying to answer this question and many of them say, "yes! Women do need to workout differently as they age!" Here's one thing you should know about this kind of message: A lot of health and fitness language is marketing. It's designed to get your attention and ideally to get you to consider working with the person sharing it. And sometimes people need to see something geared...

Hey Reader, Just a quick reminder that the How to Get Stronger workshop is tomorrow, Friday February 20th at 11am ET. It's 30 minutes long and I'll be talking about what actions and exercises are actually going to help you build strength. ✔️ We'll talk strength training vs yoga/pilates/cardio. ✔️ We'll talk hand weights vs barbells. ✔️ We'll talk reps, sets, and how many days per week you need to lift. ✔️ We'll talk about weighted vests and if they actually work. ✔️ And of course I'll answer...

Hey Reader, Many years ago, when I was new to teaching yoga, I believed that yoga was all I needed to get stronger. After all, I was holding my entire body up in various poses, sometimes balancing on one leg and sometimes balancing on just my hands. At the time, I was in my early twenties. I was also a runner, logging at least 3 runs every week, if not more. I did hours of yoga everyday. I thought I was strong. The truth is that running is great for getting your heart rate up, but it's less...

Hey Reader, First things first, a big thank you to the 2 folks who helped me raise money for immigrants and refugees in Northern Colorado. I donated $100 to IRCNoco thanks to you. Here are my 2 receipts, since one of the donations came after I'd made my initial donation (Sunrise Community Heath, which is listed on the first receipt, is the umbrella org that runs IRCNoco): This was way less than I hoped to raise, but I am grateful to the one person who joined MOVE and the one person who showed...

Hey Reader, I believe that movement makes a difference. That's why I am launching a once-a-month, donation-based movement practice. It's my way of bringing attention to incredible organizations doing good, important work in their communities. And helping to support their work financially. Tomorrow I am teaching the very first class. It's a strength-focused class, so grab your weights. We'll do a brief warm up, 3 sets of 3 exercises, and a cool down. The class is Friday, February 6th from...