By Michele Fulkerson, Best of Both Director of Yoga:
Exercise is one of those words that conjures up images and feelings of all sorts in our minds. For some of us it is a scary word and guilt sets in the moment we hear it, thinking right away for an excuse as to why we have let it become so daunting in the first place. But, the good news is that exercise has changed in recent years and gone are the days where we need to pound our bodies into physical fitness. Gyms and fitness centers across the country have moved into a new realm of mind-body fitness building their classes around yoga, Pilates and low impact core strengthening workouts. Best of Both Adventures incorporates this type of fitness into the camp to jump-start your practice preparing your bodies to stay fit and healthy!

Here are some helpful hints about your new outlook on the word exercise!

Yoga, Yoga, Yoga!

Yoga is the ultimate mind-body workout. The benefits are endless: it strengthens, tones and lengthens muscles. It improves circulation and promotes inner calm. Peace and cardio in the same move? That’s what makes it so great!

Sun Salutations can be performed anywhere you have room to hold out your arms! The Sun Salutation series is a total body workout designed to stretch, expand and contract all of your major muscle groups. Done daily (15 minutes will do) your body and spirit will show you the results! Feel free to email Michele at michele@bestofbothadventures.com for specific yoga postures and the sun salutation series.

Walking!

If gym classes don’t fit into your busy schedule a daily walk will do the job. Walking three miles burns as many calories as running three miles but with less impact on your joints. You can also use your walking time to clear your thoughts and renew your mind. A great stress reducer at hectic times like the holidays. If life is too busy to find time for a three-mile walk, start small by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking a little farther away from the door at the supermarket.

Remember, just a few minutes each day will make a tremendous difference in how you look and feel. Find time for yoga and walking and before long you will notice life feeling a little more peaceful!

8 Reasons to Get Away ‘08
By Founder of Best of Both Dez Bartelt

It’ll be 2009 before you know it. Time flies. Why don’t you find the time in 2009 to take a trip, better yet an Adventure like Best of Both Adventures Surf and Yoga!
Had enough madness? Then treat you to what you really want- an escape. An escape from reality with something you can bring back to the real world, a new or renewed yoga practice, the confidence built from learning to surf and the jumpstart on healthy eating for the new year! All can be found in an escape to Bali for our Surf and Yoga Retreat or one of many destinations.
2009 is the Year of the Rat. Why not sit out this rat race and relax? Book a trip now to have something to look forward to in the New Year! Take advantage of our last minuet deal to Italy save 10% http://www.bestofbothadventures.com/italy.htm
Sometimes less is more, even when it comes to family. A happy wife means a happy life. Take a bit of time for yourself. Best of Both Adventurers are women with families and careers. Share in the friendship with women who know how often others needs are put before ours! Recharge and renew your own health and spirit with a little time for you.
After all the long days in the office or at home, might you be craving something healthy? An adventure that recharges spirit and body may be just what the doctor ordered. Best of Both Adventures encompasses a renewing yoga practice with healthy yet delicious meals and the challenge of surfing all designed to provide you with a new charge on life! Take a look at some of our favorite recipes in the link below
http://www.bestofbothadventures.com/blog/
If you time your vacation just right, you might just avoid Spring Cleaning. Packing your bags and leaving the spring-cleaning behind to give yourself a cleansing experience. April in Puerto Rico is amazing. Join us for our spring deals Just $1900 per person www.bestofbothadventures.com
You can finish that ____________ (insert: novel, romance, project, etc.) you started last year so book your Best of Both Adventure today.
It will all be waiting when you get back.

Here are some Earth Wise Tips from the Best of Both Team:
By Juli Hydanus, Best of Both director Costa Rica Surf and Yoga retreats

1. Try using LED lights this Christmas. They consume about a tenth of the energy of regular lights and are every bit as festive.
2. Consider getting a live Christmas tree, even a small one, not necessarily an evergreen, that can be planted after the season is over. Find a special place for it as a reminder of a conscious and memorable holiday.
3. Gifts are fun to give and receive and even more so when they are handmade by yourself or some local artisan. If you are shopping for gifts, it?s always a good idea to shop locally and support local, owner-run businesses.
4. Also, when considering a gift, perhaps give some thought to giving your time. There might be someone who would greatly appreciate your skills to help them with a project around the house or something like that.
5. But, most of all, the very best gift you can possibly give to your loved ones, your self and our planet, is to VOTE, and that has never been more true then this year. While you are counting all your blessings, please remember that the freedoms we enjoy in this country bring with them responsibilities.

Uh oh – it’s that time of year again; the holidays are just around the corner.
By Sally Camara, Best of Both director of massage therapy

When many people think of massage they think of self-indulgence, but did you know massage has a variety of important health benefits?

When combined with traditional medical treatments, massage is used to reduce pain and promote healing. Scientific research proves that massage therapy increases immune function, decreases stress levels and reduces recovery time in many medical conditions. Additionally, other benefits of receiving massage on a regular basis include:

• reducing or preventing muscle pain, stiffness and spasm
• improving relaxation by reducing heart rate and blood pressure
• easing tension and anxiety, calming the nervous system
• improving circulation
• promoting healthy sleep patterns

“Often times people are stressed in our culture. Stress-related disorders make up between 80-and-90 percent of the ailments that bring people to family-practice physicians. What they require is someone to listen, someone to touch them, someone to care. That does not exist in modern medicine.

One of the complaints heard frequently is that physicians don’t touch their patients any more. Touch just isn’t there. Years ago massage was a big part of nursing. There was so much care, so much touch, so much goodness conveyed through massage. Now nurses for the most part are as busy as physicians. They’re writing charts, dealing with insurance notes, they’re doing procedures and often there is no room for massage any more.”

Joan Borysenko - Massage Journal Interview, Fall 1999

As part of a wellness routine, massage can help you maintain physical, mental and emotional well being, so go ahead – indulge. It’s for your own good!

New Contest - help us plan 2010!

People often ask how we decide what new trips to add. There are several ways (guide interest or knowledge, finding the right company to work with) but one important way is input from the women who travel with us. So this time we’re turning it into a contest, and there are two prizes: 1) a gorgeous new book called Ultimate Adventures, A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel. I was sent a complimentary copy that made me want to quit my job and spend the rest of my life traveling! (And then I remembered what my job is and realized I should probably keep doing it). Anyway, I think you’ll enjoy it. 2) 20% off the trip you suggest when we offer it in 2010.

So here’s the contest-send your suggestion for a dream trip to info@bestofbothadventures.com with the subject line “Contest”. Tell us why you think we should offer it and what time of year is best. Keep in mind that it has to be a trip that we think other women would also want to do, so it can’t be totally obscure, in the middle of a civil war, or require the physical condition of an Olympic athlete. When we have our annual guide retreat, we’ll pick the winner and let you know by December 31.

Where in the world is the Best of Both Team Currently Juli and Sally are in Santa Barbara working on our 2009 Costa Rica trips and getting ready to meet me for our Oct 11th trip to Italy, Michele is on her why to Rincon. Thank God To get ready for the big Surf and yoga season. I’m sitting in the office getting us all set for next year while making sure that this year continues to go well (is there something wrong with this picture?). We have three spaces left on our remaining trips (One space left for the Trip to Tuscany, Three spaces left in our November 5^th-9^th Surf and Yoga Retreat in Puerto Rico, and three spaces left in our Nov 26^th –30^th Puerto Rico Surf and Yoga retreat so give me a call if you want to grab one. And have a great fall!

Dez Bartelt, for all the Team of Best of Both Adventures for women

Your door to a fun-filled sun adventure!

November trips booking fast… reserve your space today!

Best of Both Adventures for women’s Puerto Rico Surf and Yoga trips

Have quickly become the premier destination for so many reasons.Puerto Rico experiences “summer” weather all year long. It is a perfect place to bring women together in a healthy, healing environment. Nurturing the desire to learn or improve the sport of surfing in some of the best waves in the world. Searching the soul with a beachside yoga practice and bringing it all together with healthy meals featuring some of the best food the Caribbean has to offer.  Choosing organic and local foods whenever possible.

Some of the meals from our adventures:

Quinoa Stuffed Avocado
Quinoa pilaf made with quinoa grain, chopped parsley, slivered almonds and chopped dried mango served in two avocado halves over a bed of organic greens.

Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa and Cous Cous
Chicken breasts marinated in coconut milk and grilled to perfection served with homemade mango salsa on a bed of curried cous cous

More reasons to choose Puerto Rico: No Passport required.

Did you know that you can travel from the States to Puerto Rico without a passport? In a complicated world this makes traveling a breeze.

Surf for all skill levels.

Whether you are new to the sport or need to improve your skill. Puerto Rico offers waves all year long and lessons from skilled instructors.  Kayaking and snorkeling excursions are offered in addition to surfing or if you choose to take a day away from the waves!

Safe for travel.

Puerto Rico is a US territory. Travelers find the area safe and easy to get around. English is spoken in most areas and there is no need for currency conversion!

Great Flights.

Flights arrive daily from the east coast into Aguadilla Airport. Jet Blue www.jetblue.com  and Spirit Airlines www.spiritair.com offer great rates. Check them out today!

If you are searching for the perfect surf and yoga adventure. We have it all here in Puerto Rico!

Yoga. Yoga. Yoga!

Start the day with yoga to energize your body for surfing or to restore and relax from the previous days activities.  Afternoon sessions available to stretch and renew the body and mind!  Classes designed with the beginner in mind, yet powerful enough to challenge the experienced yogi.

Tuscany - Living La Dolce Vita-”The Sweet Life” Italy is where it happens

Dez’s Hidden Florence Italy Adventure

If the stones of Florence could talk, they would speak of love affairs and murderous plots, jealousy and treacherous consequences. The narrow, bricked streets would still echo with the footsteps of the famous artists who once called Florence home, for it was here that creative masters like Michelangelo, Donatello and Brunelleschi gave birth to the Renaissance.

Thousands of visitors crowd into the medieval center of Florence each year, hoping to glimpse the work of these artisans. Yet there is much more to see in Italy’s former capital. Just across the river Arno, on the city’s left bank, lies the other side of Florence—the Oltrarno. The hidden Florence.

 With its winding streets lined with bakeries, barbershops and apartments, the Oltrarno offers a glimpse at the Florence of the past. Some streets, such as Via Toscanella, have not changed much in the last 500 years.

“The Oltrarno is off the beaten track of mass tourism and it’s my favorite.”

“The area presents Florence at it’s best: a classless society where artisans and patricians still live and work side by side.”

In order to go beyond the city’s touristy surface, it helps to step into the past. The Oltrarno first came into fashion in the 12th and 13th centuries, when noble families and wealthy merchants built family palazzi (palaces) in the area. For all that trendiness, though, it took a 15th-century murder to get the Medici, the ruling family at the time, to move into the neighborhood.

Duke Alessandro de Medici, who ruled Florence and made his home at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in West Florence, had a known weakness for women. His jealous rivals put that to use in 1537. While the duke waited in bed for one of his secret trysts, an assassin arrived instead of a lover. The amorous duke was stabbed to death, and his 18-year-old cousin Cosimo de Medici was named leader of the city.

Unlike Alessandro, the young Cosimo was faithful to the woman he loved. His wife, Eleanor of Toledo, was beautiful, but in constant frail health. Hoping that more sun and fresh air would heal her, she convinced her husband to move into the Palazzo Pitti in the Oltrarno. The couple and their 11 children eventually made the palace their home, expanding and improving the grounds.

Today, Palazzo Pitti, with its sweeping approach and awesome size, is undoubtedly Florence’s most “palatial” palace. The residence, with its eight museums, is the largest museum complex in the city, and one could easily spend days there. The most unique Pitti museum is the Galleria Palatina. With its intimate feel, it houses works by Raphael and Titian as well as interesting exhibits such as the Sala di Bani, the lavish bathroom designed by Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister.

Although the move to Palazzo Pitti did improve Eleanor’s health, it meant that the duke had to commute to his offices at the Uffizi (originally built as government offices, but now home to works of Rembrandt, Raphael and others). Like his dead cousin, Duke Cosimo had enemies and he was always looking over his shoulder. Someone had already placed barbed spears in the water near his favorite diving spot, so the duke wasn’t taking any chances. He asked his court architect, Giorgio Vasari, to come up with a covert passageway into town.

Vasari designed a covered walk and a series of secret tunnels on top of the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s most famous bridge. At the time, Ponte Vecchio was home to several hog butchers, and the smell offended the duke’s fine nose. The solution? The hog vendors were tossed out, and jewelers invited in their place. Today, the bridge remains filled with jewelry vendors and only the stones remember the hogs.

During WWII, fleeing Germans blocked access to Ponte Vecchio by bombing nearby buildings, but the bridge itself survived. With its picturesque location across the River Arno, Ponte Vecchio is the perfect place for a dreamy afternoon stroll and attracts many romantic couples.

Romance is as much a part of Florence’s Oltrarno as the stones that line its streets. Nineteenth-century English poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning were no exception. Although Barrett’s father disapproved, the secret lovers spirited off to Florence, where they settled in the Oltrarno at the Casa Guidi. Their home, which is now a museum at Via Maggio n 9, contains original furnishings, love letters and an extensive collection of their books and writings.

One of the most romantic spots in Oltrarno is the scenic Boboli Gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti. With its fountains, lush greenery and lovely flower gardens, the Boboli was—and still is—an island of tranquility. The gardens’ beauty is a direct result of Duke Cosimo and his frail wife, Eleanor. The couple spent hours with the famous architect Tribolo selecting fountains, gardens and statues; they did such a good job, that the Boboli design eventually became the basis for royal gardens all over Europe.

The multitude of statues in the Boboli and the rest of Florence is no coincidence. The Florentines of the Middle Ages and Renaissance carried statuary into battle, and until the last century, many believed that spirits were imprisoned in uncarved stone. The only way to free the spirits was to sculpt the stone into statues.

Michelangelo was taught Neo-platonism—a philosophy that regards the body as a trap for souls longing to return to God. Many believe his works demonstrate this idea, with human figures longing to break free from the stone that imprisons them.

Although known for his sculpture, Michelangelo was also a poet, painter and architect whose legacy can still be seen in Oltrarno. As a teen, he spent hours in Oltrarno’s Santa Maria del Carmine’s Brancacci Chapel drawing the frescoes of Masaccio, a master of Renaissance painting. In nearby Santo Spirito (Holy Spirit) Church, a mysterious crucifix—a wooden sculpture featuring a nude Christ—was discovered in 1963. Experts debated its origins for 38 years, until July 2001 when they determined it was the work of the then 18-year-old Michelangelo. The muscular detail (the artist was allowed to study anatomy on corpses exhumed from the church cemetery) was a signature of the artist’s work.

Such treasures are not surprising in a city like Florence, where the world’s top artists once lived. The streets of the city ring with the constant footsteps of visitors from all over the world hoping to experience the work of these masters.

Remember, though, not to be afraid to leave the crowds behind to see the Florence that is off the beaten path. After viewing the artistic treasures of the central city, we will make our way to the sultry Arno River. Follow the footsteps of Duke Cosimo as he stole over the Ponte Vecchio into the Oltarno, never once imagining how the Florence of his lifetime would forever change history.

A piece of that extraordinary era can still be found in the Oltrarno, for it is here-in this quiet neighborhood of window boxes, cobblestone streets, tower houses and medieval churches—that the stones of the past are still waiting to reveal their hidden stories.

This is just a taste of what Best of Both offers on the next journey to Italy. Join Dez on her off the beaten track and her amazing hidden Florence!