I've been trying to get into doing yoga for about three years now. I have the three yoga mats, blocks, yoga books--even a yoga instructor. Do I do it? Not the way I would like.  I’ve always had this fantasy that I would do yoga and mediate—and that would be a major part of my life. Well, if I need even more convincing researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital have found that practicing yoga may elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels, the brain's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. [You can read my investigation of yoga called Is Yoga Just Fancy Stretching? ] The findings, which appear in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, suggest that the practice of yoga be explored as a possible treatment for depression and anxiety, disorders associated with low GABA levels. [Hey, want to start doing yoga everyday? There is a web site that delivers a new yoga class daily. Check it out here. ]

The concept of doing the “Least Amount of Specific Work” is one of the best fitness tips that I can offer, as it will save you time and effort on your way to getting in better shape and leading a healthy lifestyle.

More often than not a new client who is anxious to get into shape wants to do everything at once; a restrictive diet, crazy exercise schedule, supplement regimen.  This is when I invoke what I call the principle of doing the “Least Amount of Specific Work. (LASW).”

So, ex-beefcake Hilary Swank blew my mind a few days ago with her easyish workout routine, and now there’s another celeb—well, celeb-by-association—with a realistic diet and fitness regimen out there.

So, I’ve been sort of leveled by a nasty cold that’s making me want to hide under the covers, watch daytime TV, and take three naps a day. It’s also impeding my ability to come up with a clever title for this story—so if that fabulous cliché didn’t give it away, I’ve got some scoop on Hilary Swank’s fitness routine.