The Fat Girl's Guide to Living

Image by myuibe

When Toni wrote the original Fat Girl’s Guide to iPhone Applications last December, she noted that, despite the holdout status maintained by some of our more technophobic readers, the smartphone wasn’t going away. How right she was! In the eight months since that post ran at FGG, Apple has released both the iPhone 4 and the iPad, while the Motorola Droid has continued to explode in popularity and application offerings. We figured those three factors — not to mention the scads of new and updated apps on the market — warranted re-visiting the app stores to share some of the newest (or most addictive) ways these ubiquitous gadgets can enhance your life.

Note: Not all of our suggestions are designed or marketed specifically as apps for overweight women; most, in fact, have much broader appeal or aren’t weight-related. Consider this a roundup of helpful (or goofy) apps that we, as fat girls with active lifestyles, have enjoyed or coveted this year.

Apps for the hungry girl

Whether you’re in the kitchen or on the go, the Epicurious app helps take your cooking to a higher level by allowing you to search/browse/save/e-mail more than 30,000 recipes and create shopping lists. On the large screen of the iPad, the app becomes a stove-side cookbook with user-friendly layout and task progress bar. Best of all? Epicurious is free for both the iPad and iPhone and is newly available for Android mobile devices.

If you’re searching for a place to eat, both Yelp (free, user-generated reviews) and Zagat To Go (Zagat ratings for 40,000 restaurants, $3.99-$19.99) can help you decide where to nosh. Both apps command loyal followings based on their respective content, attitude and price, but if you have an iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry or Android mobile device, you can try them both and decide for yourself. And once you know where you’re going, reservations are a snap with OpenTable.

Loving the variety of fresh produce the summertime brings? The What’s Fresh app (for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) can tell you which fruits and vegetables are currently in season in your area (anywhere in the U.S.), or provide a calendar of when/where the item you’re craving will be in season. Currently selling for 99 cents (down from $1.99), this one’s a gimme for girls who love to shop locally and those of us looking to include more fresh fruits and veggies in our diets.

Apps for the active girl

We haven’t seen many specific fitness apps for plus-sized women out there, but girls of all activity levels can benefit from setting the simple goal of just trying to move more. Portable technology makes it easier than ever to track (and celebrate!) everything from the shortest walks with the dog to lengthy hikes, runs or rides.

Counting steps, measuring stride and tracking distance and calories burned all happens via iTreadmill’s quick, clean interface (99 cents for iPhone or iPod touch). And I was already addicted to MapMyRun.com, but the iMapMy fitness app is even more exciting. Different versions exist for BlackBerry, Android and Apple gadgets, but the upshot is that the GPS-enabled app provides route planning and tracking, training log and social network for everything from walking to running to cycling.

We know every girl has her favorite activity, and it would be impossible to tackle all of the corresponding app recommendations here. If you’re learning to get your yoga on, for example, you may dig 101 Yoga Poses app, free for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. And for girls who like to travel on two wheels, Bike Doctor ($1.99 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) provides diagnosis and step-by-step bike repairs so a flat tire doesn’t derail the whole commute.

Health and wellness apps

WebMD‘s free app (for iPhone and iPad) is an easy-to-use goldmine of medical info. In addition to expected features like a symptom checker and information on medical conditions, other cool components of this app include the ability to locate your nearest physician, hospital and pharmacy, and a tool that identifies prescriptions and over-the-counter pills by shape, color and imprint. And in addition to the numerous weather apps out there, some — like AccuWeather.com’s WeatherMD™ targets content to those with weather-affected ailments like asthma, arthritis and allergies.

Staying in touch with your own health is a little easier with the HeartWise app ($2.99) for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, which allows you to record and track trends in your blood pressure, resting heart rate and weight. We also love the simple, straightforward videos on iStretch, which offers yoga stretches designed to combat the effects of repetitive motion aches and pains on our office-dwelling bodies. Soon-to-be moms can even track and share every stage of pregnancy (“morning sickness: day 23!”) with free apps like I’m Expecting.

Apps for your lifestyle

Perfect for the commute, the doctor’s office waiting room, or the girl with eco-friendly reading habits, both iBooks (free for the iPad) and Amazon.com’s Kindle app (iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android) offer the ability to download and read books chosen from a library of thousands. While you’re at it, jot down notes for the upcoming book club meeting (or just sketch your Next Big Idea) with Evernote, a free app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch that instantly syncs to your Mac or Windows desktop.

Pandora + portability = happy, happy ears. Seriously, if you haven’t yet used Pandora to build free, customized radio stations based on a genre, a group or even a single song, I want you to do three things: 1) Finish reading this article; 2) Download the free app to your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry or Android; and 3) Send FGG fan mail. Not sure how to complete any of those three steps? Check Howcast for a video guide on any topic you can dream up — it’s available free for Apple products, Blackberry and Android.

Whether your “must-have” news fix comes via NPR, the Associated Press or People magazine, there’s an app for that. And iPad users with a pop culture jones will appreciate the way Entertainment Weeky’s “Must List” comes to interactive life with the free app.

Counting pennies? SuperSaver.com (free for Apple products) shows you promotions and coupons available in your area, while iGasUp (same) will steer you toward the cheapest gas prices in any location. If you do the car share thing, the Zipcar iphone app is handy for finding and reserving a vehicle. It will even allow you to lock/unlock doors or beep the horn of your car — great for remembering where you parked! After saving some money, keep the warm fuzzies going by saving a little planet, too. The iRecycle app can help you figure out where and how to recycle everything from newspapers to cell phones, while informing you of eco-friendly gatherings in your area.

Finally, several friends swear by using textPlus to stay in touch and meet new people. Available for Apple products and Android, the app allows free, unlimited texts (including group texts) from any device. No more 30-minute conference calls to decide what movie to see. Everyone wins, truly.

Apps that deserve the iPad treatment

The iPad’s big, beautiful display is just begging to show movies. Netflix members can download the free app and stream full-length movies or their favorite TV series anywhere they choose. And fans of ABC can thank the network for its gorgeous streaming viewer, stocked with full-length episodes that can be paused and resumed as the mood strikes. Looking for a (free!) diversion but not sure what you want to watch? Dailymotion lets you search more than 13 million videos from channel selections that include TV, film, sports and music.

And while some apps could only be pulled off by an iPad-size screen (the instant ambiance — or camp factor — of Fireplace HD comes to mind), others can just flat-out blow you away when given more room to do their thing. Check out the updated iPad version of Star Walk constellation finder (which Toni mentioned last time) for, um, a stellar example.

Apps just for fun

Sure, a smartphone or iPad can make you more productive or change the way you experience media and information. But the gadget’s equally (if not more) important function is that of a sleek, pricey, grown-up toy. If you’re not yet playing Words With Friends or any of the Bejeweled games, I envy your restraint. And although I’ve yet to play it, the level of addiction reported by users of the crazy-popular puzzle game Angry Birds makes me glad. . . and itchy to see what the fuss is about.

Other fun ways to indulge your inner nerd: For 99 cents, Game Table turns your iPad into a variety of classic card and board games (checkers, chess, solitaire, poker). And Sporcle provides Apple users with a dizzying array of quizzes, trivia, games and “did you know?” lists for just $1.99.

For pure brain candy (no thinking required!), there’s an app for every ridiculous concept imaginable — all you need to do is Google. (Trust me on the ridiculous part — I have a friend who stubbornly refuses to admit that More Toast is anything other than sign of the apocalypse.)

A few ideas more compelling than toast: If you’re a child of the ’80s, like me, you can relive the days of Def Leppard and Debbie Gibson via the (free) Jamboxx app’s ’80s-inspired interface, which turns your iPad into an old-school, mix tape-making boom box. Nostalgialicious! And laugh if you want, but we dare you to play Bubble Snap (free for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch) just once. There’s something inexplicably compelling and Zen-like about popping bubble wrap, whether virtually or in real-time — even without the high-score bragging rights at stake.

For me, the best part about smartphone apps is when someone taking a seemingly ordinary app and weaves it into her life in a fun and unusual way. My friend Chrissy uses iRaffle to settle disputes among her three boys. Fighting over the bionic Spiderman action figure? Punch all three kids’ names into the app and — bam! — two seconds later, there’s a winner. “I tell them you just can’t argue with science,” she says. I’m totally trying that next time we no one can pick a place for dinner.

Readers, tell us — what’s your favorite mobile application these days? How does it bring more fulfillment, variety or fun to your life?

Image from a Cornell University Library collection (circa 1920), demonstrating correct posture

If we had a dollar for every time someone ordered us to stand up straight, we could probably treat our girlfriends to a round of caramel macchiatos at Starbucks. Turns out the straight-backed drill sergeants in our lives were on to something, since poor posture can lead to a host of physical problems – from misalignment to pain. Bad posture also feels yucky, and let’s be honest: it doesn’t look all that great, either. The extra pounds we carry coupled with today’s increasingly sedentary and stressed-out lifestyles means we fat girls need to pay extra attention to this issue. Good thing we spoke to a few experts skilled in several disciplines, who give it to us (ahem) straight on how to regain and maintain great posture.

“Many people predominately drag their bodies and lead with their heads,” says Liz Weaver, a martial arts instructor and founder of BreakPal.com, a  site dedicated to “workplace wellness” through better body positioning. While we’re naturally supposed to walk from the heel of the foot to the ball of the foot, many of us walk head first with our backsides sticking out. “This wears out your lower back because it’s in an unnatural position,” she says.

Ginger Garner, a physical therapist and founder of Professional Yoga Therapy Studies, sees similar imbalances in her female-focused practice, along with sloping shoulders, weak upper back muscles, tight chest muscles, and excessive rounding of the upper back. “These problems can be caused by ‘occupational  hazards,’ from ill-fitting desks or chairs at work to carrying or nursing children to everyday tasks like housework,” she says. When you add extra pounds to the mix, a few unique problems crop up, such as excess sway in the lower back and strain on the upper back due to larger breasts. “You have to work harder – against a heavier body – to correct and keep good posture,” she says.

The good news is, absent any structural problems or medical conditions (check with your doc if you’re at all unsure about making any new moves) you can improve your posture relatively quickly by switching out some bad habits for better ones. Personal trainer Elena Ciccotelli (aka TrainerDiva) knows all about forming good habits in her work with clients. “It takes your body about 300 repetitions to form a new skill, and about 5,000 repetitions to reformulate a skill,” she says. “This explains why it takes such a long time to break bad habits, so be patient in your quest for better posture. It’s completely possible to transform slouchy shoulders into sexy, confident shoulders with a lot of practice.” And once you’re there, “good posture is actually easier to maintain than bad posture,” says Garner.

“I use the term ‘body geometry’ to help my clients visualize their best posture, the position that will have them feeling their best throughout the day,” says Christine Binnendyk, a master Pilates trainer at the Nike World Headquarters and author of the forthcoming book Ageless Pilates:

Imagine a rectangle over your torso. Your shoulders should line up to form the top edge; your hipbones line up to form the bottom edge. If one hip rides up, it’ll displace the shoulder on the same side. If your right shoulder rides up, you’ll shift your left leg out to counterbalance that shift. Over time, these little changes and counterbalances add up to major energy drain. Level out your rectangle, and you’ll be better balanced and more energetic.

“Good posture has nothing to do with pulling the shoulders back,” says Garner, who suggests another simple way of thinking about – and correcting – how we stand. The key, she says, is “engaging the transverse abdominis (TA) muscles by drawing your belly button into your spine without moving the spine and drawing the shoulders slightly down and shoulder blades down into a V-like shape. This will help engage the proper stabilizing muscles of the spine.”

“Posture is about body awareness, which means just being mindful of your body,” says Weaver. “Just pay attention when you’re really into a project, and listen to what your body is telling you. If you have pain in an area of your body, it’s trying to tell you something.”

Here, we share some common posture problems and our experts’ tweaks. Keep in mind that you know your body best, so avoid any new moves that don’t feel right from the start, and check with your health care provider, both to rule out any structural or medical causes of poor posture, including scoliosis, and to get suggestions on an appropriate posture expert for your needs, which may include a chiropractor, physical therapist, or other professional.

If you sit all day

Strengthen the legs

Girls, are you sitting down? Of course you are – everybody is nowadays, whether at work or surfing the ‘net or watching TV at home. But wait till you hear this: “People who spend the better part of their days sitting end up with weaker leg and glute (butt) muscles,” says martial arts instructor Warner. “But those muscles are there for a reason, and they’re bigger for a reason: to work harder and to do bigger jobs.” Yes, you heard it here first: we’re supposed to have strong, muscular legs and glutes! (Take that, mass media ideals!)

Warner suggests practicing the “horse stance,” (here’s a video demo by Warner, with an added Tai Chi breathing technique, and here’s a detailed written explanation to help you visualize it). “Your legs and glutes will start to burn right away, and that’s how you know you’re doing it right,” she says. Warner suggests getting up and doing the horse stance every 30 minutes if you work in an office, for about 60 seconds, shaking your legs and walking around afterward (don’t overdo it, of course, depending on your fitness level). You can do the horse stance at the kitchen counter while cooking or get up and do it during television commercials each evening. “A 60-second interval a few times a day will make a tremendous difference,” she says.

Support your core

Ciccotelli recommends an isometric, or static move called the plank (here’s a video demo). By holding your body in this position (while remembering to breathe, since the tendency is to clench and hold the breath), your body is engaged by working to hold you off the floor. She suggests starting with 10 seconds and working up to 30 seconds at a time. If your lower back hurts in this position, lift your pelvis toward the ceiling so your body creates a V. As your abs and back become stronger it will become easier to position yourself in a straighter line.

Find your ideal chair

“Because we spend so many hours working, which in our society now includes a lot of time sitting, a good office chair is essential,” says yoga therapist Garner. “Good” doesn’t have to mean dropping a grand on an Aeron chair, however; finding a chair that fits you and your computer setup is what matters.

Garner’s tips for finding the perfect chair:

*The feet should reach the floor, or you can place a footstool under the chair so your feet are completely supported
*The chair should not have a solid low back support – good chairs will actually have an adjustable back rest that moves up and down or a cut out where the buttocks can stick out through the cutout – hence providing the proper curve for low back support
*Forget the arm rests–you don’t need them. Save yourself $50 or more and don’t bother with them, unless you are actually going to sit in the chair, rest your arms on them, and do nothing at all.
*Look for a short seat pan (where you rest your bum). It’s usually too deep for women of average height (meaning less than 5’7”). This will prevent problems like sciatica, which is common for smaller women who get stuck in typical corporate chairs built for men.

After reviewing “literally thousands” of chairs online, Garner found her perfect chair for 70 dollars. “It has a padded backrest and seat pan, adjustable height for workstations of different height or different work requirements, a “cut out” for the bum, and a short seat pan (it’s a stool, so it’s actually round!)”

Ciccotelli suggests using a stability ball instead of a chair “as often as possible to improve your overall balance, stability, and posture.” Just be sure to find one you can sit on comfortably without rolling off.

Work your upper body with Pilates at your desk

Dumbwaiter: “If your shoulders droop a bit forward, Dumbwaiter is for you. Sit or stand tall; glue your elbows to your ribcage with your palms facing up. Keep your elbows at your sides as you rotate the arms outward, like you’re serving a drink to people on either side of you. This move draws your shoulder blades together, while opening your chest.”

Wings: “Do you hike your shoulder up whenever you’re reaching for something? Wings is for you. Set yourself up like dumbwaiter, but with your palms facing down. Keep your shoulders low as you float your elbows wide — it’ll seem like you’re flapping imaginary wings. This move loosens up the muscles aroung your shoulder blades, allowing you to reach your arms more comfortably. It helps in eliminating neck tension and shoulder strain.”

Behind the wheel

Yet another way in which we sit all day, for many of us while driving to and from work. “Pretend your shoulders are pinned to the seat,” says TrainerDiva Ciccotelli.

Take it easy while texting

“Many people don’t realize there is a strong connection between neck posture and back posture,” says Ciccotelli. Even slightly leaning your head forward for long periods can negatively impact posture (by causing rounded shoulders and improper trunk stabilization). Unfortunately, this is exactly the head position most people use while texting, so she suggests keeping your head up the next time your mobile device dings.

One easy way to lighten your load

Keep only essential items in your purse; who wants to look like a bag lady, anyway? If you simply must lug everything with you, Binnendyk suggests a messenger-style bag that crosses the body, or splitting your belongings into two bags while traveling to balance the weight evenly. “If you need to lean, it’s time to purge,” she says.

The Well-Endowed Pain in the Neck

“Every gift comes with a bit of salt, doesn’t it?” says Binnendyk. Sometimes, large breasts come with neck and back pain, so a proper bra fitting is essential. “Well-placed straps in a good foundation garment will make a world of difference,” she says, adding that sexy bras are fine for a night out or a romp around the bedroom, but stick to functional comfort the rest of the time. “Think about it this way,” she adds. “If the girls are riding higher, it’s easier to stand up straight. The less forward lean that you have, the less back and neck pain you’ll feel.” After bra shopping, try the Dumbwaiter and Wings Pilates techniques 3-4 times per week.

Comfortable in my own pants

I love yoga. The reasons are many: it’s a low impact activity (perfect for my myriad prior injuries), practice can be adjusted to suit just about any ability level (no need to take one of those overachieving “power yoga” classes to reap its benefits) and body type (I am a master at adjusting poses to suit my ample lower belly), and it makes me feel fantastic, inside and out (I leave class feeling both relaxed and energized – unlike anything else physical I do, except maybe for sex!).

Let’s face it: yoga pants are inexpensive and easy to find at just about any major retailer. Those yoga pants are just fine, and fortunately, you don’t need any specialized equipment to practice yoga. But if you want comfortable, well-made, sturdy, flattering yoga pants that will last you for years, check out these beauties from Land’s End. The fabric wicks away moisture from your body and prevents the growth of bacteria–distinct advantages if you’re a sweaty Betty like me. They’re also nicely insulated–I never feel the cold when walking to and from yoga in our freezing Illinois winters–and I just love the thickness and firm flexibility of this fabric.

The only down side to these yoga pants is the price: $48.50 for plus (IX and 2X) and tall sizes (where regular and petite pay $42.50). However, my pear-shaped, size 20-but-pushing-22-for-a-while-now bod fits into their regular XL (listed as an 18-20). Also, I only buy these on sale, and they are marked down once or twice a year–sign up for email deals on the Land’s End home page (they arrive almost-daily but there are new offers all the time) and become a fan on Facebook, where unique specials sometimes pop up. Finally, check your local Land’s End at Sears stores for in-store sales that aren’t advertised on the web and the Land’s End Outlet stores if you have one in your area (I once found the yoga pants for $28 at a Sears store).

Whatever your budget (and as a feast-or-famine freelancer, I love a good bargain), it’s always a good idea to have some items that really work in your wardrobe and are built to last. If all this yoga-in-comfy-pants talk has you excited to try yoga, check out the Fat Girl’s Guide to Yoga, and look for an upcoming Stuff We Love on yoga tops soon. And as always, share your fave finds in the comments section.

I realize that not everyone owns an iPhone, or even wants to. But one look around any public space and you’ll notice that like it or not, the smartphone is here to stay. The good news: the technology is rapidly advancing in terms of performance and the array of inexpensive downloads (known as “applications,” or “apps”) available to users. These babies are only going to get better, faster, and able to perform more tasks to simplify and amplify our lives. Even if you have no immediate plans to purchase an iPhone, there are some good web sites associated with some of these apps that are worth checking out.

Shopping – Red Laser is the first app I discovered (thanks to my friend Jennifer) that made me feel like the new millennium had finally arrived. Sure, we don’t have jetpacks or flying cars (yet), but we can use our phones to scan stuff to compare prices! That’s close, right? Okay maybe not, but still . . . it’s a simple, cool, useful app you can use to instantly comparison shop in ways we’ve never really been able to do before. The down side: it only compares prices among a set amount of retailers, but I’d watch for this one to expand. For groceries, Grocery IQ and Shopper are handy grocery list apps (I use Shopper but wish it had a menu planning function) and Relish has a seriously delicious-looking app for meal planning and shopping (and making our foodie columnist Michelle drool) and Big Oven has a free app that lets you browse their burgeoning recipe database.

Nutrition & Fitness Tracking – Not all of our readers are looking to lose weight, but for those who are, the SparkPeople iPhone app received props from our readers when we gave a shout-out for faves on Twitter. Membership on SparkPeople is free, and it works a lot like Weight Watchers, My Food Diary, and other sites that allow you to track food intake and exercise – and it’s free! (We love that!). Speaking of Weight Watchers, members can take their points with them via the Weight Watchers Mobile app, which is also free.

Health & Wellness – hLog is a comprehensive app that tracks your overall health, including medications, sleep cycles, and other information.  GoMeals helps diabetics track nutritional information, find nearby restaurants, and record daily food intake. Diabetes Pilot allows users to record blood glucose levels, insulin doses, and produces trends summarizing your diabetes care. There are even apps to track your menstrual cycles – yes, really. For time zone and otherwise numerically challenged people like me, this is ideal (though I just circle the date on my wall calendar). iPeriod estimates your future periods and also helps you predict ovulation, for girls who are trying to conceive. New millennium, indeed. ShapeWriter is a company dedicated to making typing easier and more intuitive. For those of us with tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, having easier ways to type that put less stress on overused tendons is definitely worth considering. Finally, I use Ambiance daily for relaxation while meditating and background music while working, and there are tons of white noise sounds to help you get to sleep.

Good Eats – Urban Spoon offers city-specific restaurant recs, and I love the simplicity of TripAdvisor’s Local Picks. And not to tempt you Starbucks addicts too much, but they have two positively dreamy apps: one to find the nearest ‘bux and another to record the balance on your Starbucks card. Hello Vino is a free app that pairs the perfect wine with whatever you’re dining on at the moment.

Just for Fun – I may have an addiction to Words with Friends (a Scrabble knockoff with a social networking twist) and Crosswords, but they’re relatively healthy and inexpensive brain workouts compared to my former Starbucks jones. The Gratitude Journal and Vision Board apps are not only a blast to use, but they’re a perfect way to kick off a new year by giving thanks and dreaming big. I included this one just for Tee: Star Walk is a stargazing guide that shows phases of the moon, meteor showers, and constellations. Tell me that isn’t fun! And just today, I just discovered the Lego Photo app, which instantly turns your photos you into bright plastic brick works of art – for free.

Before You Buy - Talk to your friends and ask them about their favorite apps – a fun rite of passage for new iPhone owners. You’ll be sure to get an earful and/or an inbox filled with suggestions. A quick shout-out on Twitter (using Tweetie2, my favorite Twitter app) asking people for their favorite apps related to any topic under the sun will net you at least a few good responses. Also, read reviews before you buy and write them afterward; developers want to keep customers coming back and will listen to your requests for tweaks and additions. Finally, many apps associated with social media sites are free – like the flickr and Facebook applications, allowing you to bring your friends with you wherever you go.

So, girls: dish on your favorite iPhone apps, fat-girl-specific or not. And from all of us at FGG, have a wonderful new year!

Last week, we covered why meditation is great for us fat girls’ minds and bodies. This week, we get down to the nitty gritty and share how to meditate, with a few resources to get you started, with the help of yoga teacher and author Kate Hanley. A contributing editor at Body + Soul magazine and founder of MsMindbody.com, Kate specializes in making yoga, meditation, and breathing accessible and relevant to our million-mile-an-hour lives.

FGG: How often should we meditate, and for how long per sitting? Can you suggest ways to find pockets of time, and modifications on how to sit – can we sit anywhere, or even lie down?

I’ve seen a study that suggests that you need to meditate for at least 20 minutes at least four times a week to reap the kinds of benefits I mentioned in the previous post. That’s basically every other day. You don’t need to be alone in a quiet room—you can meditate on your bus or train commute, or while you’re waiting to pick up your kids from school. If you’re the antsy type, you can also choose to go on a 20-minute walking meditation, which is basically walking very slowly with your attention focused on the physical sensations of the ground under your feet, the feeling of your body weight shifting, the feeling of the air on your skin, the smells you notice. Or you can do a similar practice while you do something mundane and unavoidable, such as washing the dishes. You simply have to set an intention to use that activity as a time to immerse your focus on what you’re doing—not composing your grocery list.

That being said, it is nice to dedicate at least one formal time a week to sitting in meditation. You don’t need to get all pretzel-y on the floor if that’s dreadfully uncomfortable—try sitting in a basic cross-legged position on one or two firm cushions so that your hips are higher than your knees. Or sit in a hard-backed chair. You do want your spine to be straight—assuming some basic form signals to your brain that this is different than just zoning out. You can meditate while lying down, so long as you aren’t so tired that you drift off every time. Sleeping is an important self-care practice, but it ain’t meditation!

Over the long-term, your practice will take different forms. You might get on a kick where you are really loving your quiet alone time and find that you do most of your meditating on your cushion (or chair, or floor) at home. Some times you will be lucky to eke out 10 minutes here and there. Even during the crazy times when you get no time to meditate at all, when you do come back to your practice, all the effort that you’ve put in up to that point will be holding your place in line so you don’t have to start from scratch all over again.

FGG: Can you share a couple of basic meditation techniques?

KH: The most basic meditation technique is to focus on your breath. You can do this in a couple of different ways; try a few so that you have options at your disposal:

· As you inhale, think “inhale.” As you exhale, think “exhale.”
· Count your exhales. When you get to 10 start again. (This gives you just enough of a task to make it a little challenging—when you come to and realize you’re on breath number 45, you’ll know it’s time to rein it back in and start again.)
· Hone in on the physical sensations of breathing—the air moving past your nostrils, the movement of your ribcage as you inhale and exhale, where in your body you feel the breath flowing.

No matter how you choose to focus on the breath, when you notice that you’ve started daydreaming, silently say to yourself “thinking” and get back to following your breath.

You can also focus on a particular word or phrase, otherwise known as a mantra (which translates as “tool of the mind” in Sanskrit). Your mantra could be something formal and spiritual-ish, such as “Om” or “Amen.” But it can also be any word or phrase that has particular resonance for you. The only true requirement is that the words you repeat are meaningful to you. And try to leave any negative words out of your mantra. For example, thinking “no fear” places a lot of emphasis on the word fear. Instead, flip it to something more positive, such as “brave” on the inhale and “confident” on the exhale.

I like using the word “now” – it helps you not spend your time on the cushion anticipating the future or rehashing the past. Try “happiness” on the inhale and “now” on the exhale. This phrase can also help you remember that happiness isn’t conditional—it’s not reserved for when you lose weight or achieve some other goal, it’s basically now or never, because now is all we’ve got!

Here are some other inhale | exhale word combos to experiment with:

Acceptance |  Now
Big body | Big heart
Clear mind | Open heart
Here | Now
Love | Now
Peace | Now

Feel free to develop your own words or phrases that hold personal meaning to you.

FGG: Are there any great resources for beginners – iPhone apps, DVDs, books, CDs, web sites?

KH: Check out Sharon Salzberg. She’s wonderfully plain spoken, and she’s no 90-pound nun either. She’s a real woman with a real body and it’s a total inspiration to see how comfortable she is in her own skin.

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh is fabulous at explaining how to turn your entire life in to an opportunity to practice meditation. Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk who has been living in exile since the 60s when he traveled to America to denounce the Vietnamese war. He’s the closest thing we have to Gandhi, and he often travels the U.S. giving talks. It’s worth seeing him in person—keep tabs on his whereabouts at PlumVillage.org.

I love the guided meditation and visualization CDs from Belleruth Naparstek. These are a little woo-woo, with pan flutes in the background, but there is something about this woman’s voice. She helped me through my 72-hour labor, my friend recover from breast cancer, and another friend not lose her mind while on bed rest. She’s got a CD for nearly every ailment at HealthJourneys.com.

And if you’re Type-A, check out Meditation in a New York Minute by Mark Thornton. He teaches CEOs how to meditate, and he’s very approachable and down-to-earth.

Mental Workout is an iPhone app with guided meditations written and led by Stephan Bodian, author of Meditation for Dummies. (You can also download sessions as individual MP3s). Full disclosure: I haven’t tried it, but if you find yourself in the doctor’s office with a long wait ahead of you, listening to one of these could be a lot more productive than flipping through US Magazine.

Thanks, Kate for making meditation so appealing, like a free mini vacation just for us! We can all use a little of that in our lives.

Toni here: For my recently adopted meditation practice, I love the Ambiance iPhone app, which is also available in a free “Lite” version in the iTunes store. You can choose from a variety of natural sounds (“Forest Rain Inside Tent” is my fave) and original, soothing music from what I like to call the “yoga class” genre. You can make custom music and sound mixes and even better, you can set a timer to fade out after a set amount of time – a soothing way to ease out of a meditation session.

Girls! Whether you’ve been meditating for years or these guides have inspired you, we want to hear your stories. If you’re feeling stuck, unsure, or have any questions, post them in the comments, too.