Category: Uncategorized

Living Healthy: Let’s Learn About Yoga Together

Welcome back to DealDash Blog’s Living Healthy series. Today’s blog is going to give you a quick and easy introduction to yoga. Let’s get started!

I’m sure that you have heard the word “yoga” before, but I bet that you didn’t know that the word yoga came from the Sanskrit word “yuj”, which means to yoke or bind. Yuj is often interpreted as “union” or a method of discipline. If you are just getting started into the practice of yoga, you will be pleased to know that you can spend as much or as little time doing yoga and you will still be able to reap the benefits of this healthy and calming exercise. Even if you only practice yoga for one hour a week, you will experience the benefits of that practice. If you can do more than that, you will certainly experience more benefits. I suggest starting with two or three times a week, for an hour or an hour and a half each time. If you can only do 30 minutes per session, that’s fine too. Don’t worry or stress, just get another practice in when you have the chance.

Here is an infographic of some of the most popular yoga poses. Please note the color coding on the infographic, some of these are advanced poses not meant for the beginner!

Yoga_Poses

Now that you’ve seen some of the poses, let’s talk about some of the benefits of practicing yoga. Here are some great reasons to start:

1- Sleep. Yoga can help you sleep better. When you start practicing yoga you’ll be releasing pent up energy that could prevent you from falling asleep, and sleeping soundly once you do get to sleep. Yoga helps relax your nervous system, which is the part of your body responsible for restful sleep or a night of tossing and turning.

2-  Builds muscle strength. Yoga requires you to get into and hold positions that will naturally strengthen your muscles, using only your body’s weight for resistance.

 

3- Lower blood pressure. Yoga is a great workout for your heart, and will improve your cardiovascular function over time.

4- Metabolism. Yoga helps improve your metabolism, which is directly responsible for helping you burn more calories with less work.

5- Better posture. Yoga will give you better posture naturally. All of the poses you’ll be performing are geared to get your body back into proper alignment the way that it should be.

 

 

I hope this article has encouraged you to take up the practice of yoga. If you’re interested in getting some items to get you started head on over to DealDash. DealDash has yoga mats, yoga balls, water bottles, and plenty of other items that you can use. Check out the Hobbies, Outdoors, & Sports category and I’m sure that you’ll find something that you just love. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

 

 

 

Living Healthy: Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

 

Everyone knows that getting enough sleep is an important factor in staying healthy, but there are other factors than just getting 8 hours in. Let’s talk a little bit about Living Healthy, and how to get a good night’s sleep.

Everyone knows that you SHOULD get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night, but with kids, working extra hours on the job, household chores, and errands sometimes it’s hard to get to bed at a reasonable hour. You should really make your best effort to get your ZZZs, because your health can really suffer if you can’t make the time.  Not practicing healthy sleep habits can lead to all kinds of health problems, poor sleep leads to cardiovascular dysfunction, a poor immune system , glucose and insulin abnormalities, weight gain due to fluctuating hormones that control appetite, and impaired cognitive function. Not only those physical problems, but lack of sleep can also lead to mental issues as well, including anxiety, depression, impaired reasoning skills, and mental sluggishness.

Well, what can you do to get not only the quantity but also the quality of sleep that you need? There are a few things that are fairly obvious such as cutting down on caffeine (especially after 3 PM), keeping your bedroom dark and comfortable, and clearing your mind of troubles and worries before you attempt to drift off.

However, there are some lesser known tips and tricks to get a better night’s sleep that I will share with you. For instance, did you know that using your tablet and smartphone right before you try to sleep can hinder the process? The light that is emitted by these types of devices wake up the senses and make it harder for your brain to get into “sleep mode.” For your best night’s sleep turn off your electronic devices about an hour before bedtime. Another great trick to getting a good night’s sleep is to keep a fan going in your bedroom all night. The fan serves two purposes – It’s easier to fall asleep when your room is a bit on the cooler side, and the fan also provides just the right amount of “white noise” to help you block out every little creak and crack that your house makes at night.

 

I hope this article helps you on a journey to better sleeping habits. If you’re interested in getting some new soothing items for your bedroom, including the fan that I recommended head on over to DealDash. If you browse the Home & Office   category I’m sure that you’ll find something that you just love. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

 

 

 

The Endless Summer Days of DealDash

How’s your summer going? Have you done anything special? Well, DealDash has something special going on right now called Endless Summer.

Sounds fun, right? What would you do if you had a totally endless summer? I’m the type of person who can’t take the hot weather, so I like to stay inside until dusk, then get out the mosquito-killing tiki torches and hang out outside on my deck.

 

We also love to grill out almost every night in the summer. Burgers, chicken, steaks, even pineapple is great on the grill. Here’s the easiest and most delicious recipe for grilled pineapple:

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 pineapple – peeled, cored, and cut into 6 wedges

Directions

  1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
  2. Whisk brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Pour sugar mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Place pineapple wedges in bag and shake to coat each wedge.
  3. Grill pineapple wedges on the preheated grill until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

See! Easy and so delicious, too. One of the best things about cooking out on the grill is there’s hardly any mess to clean up. No pots and pans to wash, and if you’re going to be eating outside you might as well use paper plates, too.

Another favorite summer activity of almost everyone I know is swimming. No matter if your pool is big or small, just about everyone loves to cool off in a pool when the summer weather gets hot.

 

However, as fun as swimming pools are, please remember your basic pool safety rules. An adult should always be actively watching children while they are in a pool. For infants and toddlers, an adult should be in the water and within arm’s reach, providing reassurance as well as an arm to grab onto if needed.  For older children, an adult should be paying constant attention and free from distractions, like talking on the phone, socializing, tending household chores, or drinking alcohol. The supervising adult must know how to swim. If these simple safety rules are followed everyone should be able to stay safe and happy!

 

Of course, DealDash is always my go-to fun activity in any season. Go check out the Hobbies, Outdoors, & Sports category on DealDash and see if there’s something that you and your family can use for some Endless Summer fun. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

3 Tips for Earning Free Bids on DealDash.com

DealDash loves its bidders as much as bidders love winning fantastic deals in the auctions, which is one of the reasons why DealDash is always looking for ways to make shopping online cheaper and more fun. One of the things that bidders seem to love the most are the different ways DealDash gives them opportunities to earn free bids, which helps them save even more money. While more experienced bidders have learned to use these to save big bucks, some bidders don’t even know about them. So here’s a quick breakdown on the best ways to earn free bids to use on DealDash!

#1: The Time as Highest Bidder Meter

The “Time as Highest Bidder Meter” is a small bar sitting at the bottom of your screen when logged in to your account. As you bid in the auctions, it calculates how much time you spend as the highest bidder in a particular auction. Once it fills up, you can click on it to claim free bids. The amount of free bids you can earn starts small, but it increases as you move up to higher levels!

This basically rewards bidders for spending more time as the highest bidder in an auction, so it’s a great way to earn something just for participating in an auction.

#2: Facebook Promotions

Almost everyone has a Facebook account nowadays, so it’s really easy to get free bids just by participating in the DealDash community. If you post pictures of your wins on DealDash’s Facebook page, you’re given free bids to use in the auctions. Not only that, but once a week the person who posts the best picture wins a free $500 gift card (vendors include Amazon, Walmart, and more)! This is a great way to subsidize bidding, and you can earn as many as 200 (list price for 200 bids is $120) bids just for posting.

#3: Special Offers

DealDash runs regular promotions where bids are sold at an incredible discount, but they also run promotions for its community that aren’t featured on the website. If you’re a regular bidder and want to get the most bang for your bucks, it’s important that you keep an eye on DealDash‘s various community pages. In addition to our incredibly popular Facebook page, you should also keep on eye on our Pinterest site, Google+ page, and of course this blog.

As already mentioned, DealDash is always thinking up new ways to reward bidders, so keep your eyes and ears open and don’t hesitate to leave your own suggestions in the comments!