ALL-DAY ASANAS
Want to try yoga but don’t know a sun salutation from a tree pose? Saturday is Yoga Day USA, with free, low-cost or donation workshops, demonstrations and classes nationwide. In Colorado, community rec centers and private studios are hosting classes, such as the Southwest Denver YMCA, 5181 W. Kenyon Ave., which has sessions from 9 a.m. to noon; and Pearl Street Yoga, 1550 S. Pearl St., offering classes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and taking donations for Servicios De La Raza Inc. Details at pearlstreetyoga.com. For more locations and events, visit yogadayusa.org
RUNNING THE NUMBERS
If you splurged for lunch and need to work off the 990 calories in that Double Whopper with cheese, you can walk for 255 minutes, run for 105, bike for 140, swim for 120, do yoga for 337 or dance for 169. Charles Stuart Platkin has come out with “The Diet Detective’s Count Down,” (Fireside, $13), a book giving the exercise equivalents of 7,500 foods so you can hop on the treadmill or track rather than feel guilty after indulging in such things as a half-cup of Chunky Monkey ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s (walk 77 minutes or run 32). And don’t forget that you’re entitled to your daily allotment of calories – use the guide and exercise suggestions for those extras that end up on your plate. More on Platkin at dietdetective.com.
COLLAR YOUR CANINE
With streets and sidewalks still sporting melting ice, running or racewalking a dog with bad leash manners can be a hazard. Jogging partners of pooches prone to pulling should check out the Sporn Training Halter, a special, adjustable collar with attached loops of fleece-cushioned webbing that go under each of the dog’s front legs, feed through links on the collar and then hook to the dog’s leash. The loops become snug when the dog pulls, but relax as soon as the leash has any slack. One canine tester who had absolutely despised other anti-pull gizmos forgot the Sporn was there in seconds and was transformed from terrible terrier to perambulatin’ pleasure. $21.95-$24.95; www.sporn.com.
