The Joy of Exercise

Yes, check the chart above. Walking is a great way to get in your aerobic workout for the day. The great thing about walking for your aerobics is that you can do it by yourself, you can go anytime of day or night that you want to, you can vary the time of day from day to day, you can go faster or slower as you wish. You can also go farther or shorter, and you can pick out the route. Nothing to say you can’t walk on the beach in the summertime and enjoy the sights and sounds of the surf and sand and those marvelous new bikini swim suits. (more…)

Lunge

From Extended Uttanasana:

• Inhale to prepare, remaining up on the fingertips.
• Exhale, draw navel to spine, stepping the right foot back into the basic lunge, extending the back leg and squeezing the buttocks, push through that heel with the knee off the floor and the kneecap lifted. Tuck the chin, slightly extending through the crown of the head and draw the shoulders down away from the ears. Find your neutral spine in this position. Find a point of focus just in front of the body.
• Hold the lunge for 3 breaths, checking that the front knee is above that ankle with even pressure and weight distribution through the front foot; maintain the abdominal and pelvic floor contraction.

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Paschimottanasana

Sitting up out of the hips, extend the legs out in front of you and flex the feet. It is important to become aware of your pelvic alignment.

NOTE: Work with the visual of rotating and taking the pelvis forward, lengthening out of the hips. As you bend forward the pelvis will come with you.

NOTE:Lift your pubic bone up towards your face. Maintain this alignment as you bend forward.

“Place your strap around your feet, keeping your elbows bent. (more…)

Trouble Spot

Many people suffer from knee problems, be it inflammation, pain when they walk downstairs, or as a result of some sort of injury. The knee is a complicated joint which needs looking after! Indeed, many people are encouraged to exercise in water if they have some kind of knee trouble because the pressure you place on them is drastically reduced when submerged. However, before doing a bit of DIY physiotherapy, check out any complaint you may have with a physio or at a sports clinic. Fitness is a specialized area, and your local doctor may not have experience in prescribing suitable exercises. And even if you don’t suffer from any knee trouble, keep it that way with these three simple rules. (more…)

Vigorous exercise increases the body’s demand for oxygen, which encourages you to breathe more deeply and enhances the rate at which the body eliminates carbon dioxide. That’s why a brisk walk is so invigorating for your body and your mind; your cells are receiving extra oxygen and at the same time getting rid of the toxic wastes that contribute to fatigue. (more…)

No matter how well adapted to water we are, no matter how strong at swimming or how expert at life-saving, which of us hasn’t stepped back at some point in our life and imagined the unimaginable: slowly sinking down to the bottom and never coming up. But then again, if iron and steel can remain at the surface when hammered thin and beaten into shape, it’s a fair bet that even the down-and-out `sinkers’ in our midsts will be able to float — with a little extra lift where it matters most.

Sinker — one adult male in 20 who finds buoyancy a let-down. (more…)

Head to Knee Pose

This pose tones the abdominal organs, stretches the spine and hamstrings, and is calming for the nervous system.

• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Fold your right leg and place your foot against the inside of your left thigh.
• Inhale, and reach up toward the ceiling to lengthen your spine.
• Exhale, and fold forward over your outstretched leg. Avoid rounding your back, and concentrate on lengthening your spine and bringing your abdomen toward your thigh.

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The chart below lists both aerobic exercises and everyday physical activities, and shows how many calories you can burn off by doing them. You can figure out what you do or are going to do and how many calories you want to burn off. If you can’t hack 30 minutes of exercise, don’t despair. Start with 10 minutes, or even 5 if you want, and add some more daily activities. Just start. (more…)

The manual on underwater swimming which used this as a heading must have conjured up a bizarre vision indeed for its contemporary readership. Today, however, goggles are probably the only other essential item for your swimming shopping list — to protect your eyes and help you see more clearly in the pool. (more…)

`It is impossible to find costumes which are modestly cut, still in attractive colours, and not made for the larger person. Petite, slim women don’t necessarily want to parade around the pool as though in a beauty pageant …’

When all you actually need to take the plunge is some water and a swimsuit of some description, it is ironic this begins by looking at all the different water equipment now on offer. After all, in this `natural gymnasium’, so perfectly adaptable to so many different needs, what could be more liberating, what more invigorating than the wonderful simplicity of water and skin? (more…)