The Joy of Exercise

Wide Knees (Inner-Thigh Stretch)

From supine rest position, draw one knee at a time up into the chest; the knees are wide to broaden the back of the pelvis, releasing the lower back, stretching the inner thighs and opening the hips.

1. Relax here, having a break from the breathing system, allowing the body just to sink and relax into the floor, directing the breath with the mind’s eye to where you feel the stretch.
2. Inhale to prepare.

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Shoulder Lifts

1. Lying in supine rest position, become aware of your neutral spine and center yourself. Tuck the chin into the throat to lengthen the back of the neck, then relax, holding no tension here.
2. Inhale, raise the arms up into the air in line with the shoulders, palms facing each other. Holding this position for a few breaths allow the weight of the arms to sink into the shoulder girdles and onto the floor. Sense the arms just floating and balancing; there is no effort for them to be there. Make sure your facial muscles are relaxed; your jaw is soft.

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Tadasana (Mountain Pose)

Tadasana is the foundation for all the other standing poses, so let’s begin at the foundation of our body, the feet.

The feet are not fixed to the ground; they move with and support the body each and every day. They need to be flexible and mobile, yet strong and firm, creating an unwavering solid platform for the body. If the feet are stiff or collapsed, our entire body may suffer from imbalances and misalignments. (more…)

Neutral Warrior II

From Tadasana, step the feet 4-5 ft (1.2-1.5 m) apart, feet pointing forwards, place the hands onto the hips and sense your neutral pelvis and spine. Place even pressure through the feet and sense the balance of the body between right and left sides. Pull up lightly on the kneecaps, making sure not to jam them back, and sense the front and back of the legs working. Squeeze the buttocks gently and draw the navel toward the spine, activating a soft Abdominal girdle of strength. (more…)

Band Oblique Curl

Using the same position as for the C Curve exercise:

• Inhale to prepare.
• Exhale, navel to spine, again engaging the pelvic floor, tuck the pelvis under and roll to your comfortable C Curve position.
• Hold it here, maintaining abdominal control.
• Inhale, release band tension through the right arm only, allowing the body to come in to a slight rotation (left shoulder to right knee).
• Exhale, drop back with control into the C Curve.
• Repeat other side, alternating 5-10 times between each side.
• Inhale, slowly release back up to neutral, keeping the abdominals in. Again sense how they want to push out, but keep them drawing in.
• Exhale, this time curling like a ball over your knees.
• Inhale, spring back up to neutral.

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Yogalates uses physiotherapy exercise bands to build and lengthen the muscles of the body in a safe way throughout their correct range of movement.

The exercise band is a flexible resistance tool, which increases the intensity of stretching and strengthening the muscles. It has the added advantage of adding resistance to the workout, which helps to maintain bone density and protect you from the onset of osteoporosis.

By working with the band, you learn to work within and expand your own comfort range. The band provides support that allows you to move through and work safely within your weaker areas.

By targeting, once again, the core postural muscles, the band series stabilizes the spine, increasing muscle tone, strength and endurance, and enhances mobility, balance and co-ordination, all of which lead (more…)

The positive effect exercise has on your mental and emotional state is well known to anyone who exercises regularly. Ask anyone who in the past couple of years has taken up running or other vigorous activity and he will tell you that it has brought him enhanced mental energy and concentration plus a feeling of heightened mental acuity. Some claim too that, as a result of taking up regular exercise, they discover a sense of willpower they didn’t know they had. It seems to pervade their whole life, making it possible for them to carry through arduous tasks or bear with difficult situations without becoming discouraged even when they are fatigued. (more…)

We live in a culture that puts increasing emphasis on the use of human potential and individual growth. Exercise can contribute a great deal to both. “Zen Buddhism, transcendental meditation, assertiveness training and similar movements are all directed at making us fulfilled human beings. Sometimes, however, they do not, and I suspect the reason in many cases is that they fail to mesh with the inescapable peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of individual character. In contrast, while running often alters a person profoundly, the changes all come from within and are, therefore, tightly integrated with the total personality.” To some extent, of course, this is true of all athletics since they alter the mind by altering the body. Dr. Kane of the University of London, who is well known for his investigations of the psychology of sport, has written, “The way an individual characteristically perceives his body has long been held as an important factor in forming his image of himself and his general integration.” (more…)