Exercise to Fitness

A Good Starting Place for Yoga Beginners

joyntheir — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:42:05 PST

First off, this is not really a sales pitch. So don’t decide it is and stop reading. I was looking at Yoga instructions on the web and found an interesting one. I signed up. I would not be recommending it unless I had actually bought it and tried it. It is worth the money to me. This 21 day yoga program offered by International Yogayalam introduces you to all the basic beginning positions and sets. They send you an email every 3 days with three more lessons.

The lessons are .pdf files (you can get the adobe reader for free) that connect to videos also. You read about the position, the history of yoga, the meditation, etc, and then watch the video to see the correct way to execute the position. It gives you a different workout plan for everyday.

Best of all, you can do it at your own pace. If you want to do lesson one for 3 days, you can. Advance to day 2 when you are comfortable with day 1. Just remember to download the lessons as they come in. The course includes:

21 daily lessons,
22 videos,
211 pages of comprehensive yoga instruction in over 60 powerful yoga techniques, yoga history and theory, yoga psychology, yoga diet, cleansing, yoga lifestyle and more…
along with daily yoga practice guidelines,
and special appendices of yoga practice routines.

Is it free? No, but it is less expensive than six yoga classes at your local gym. In fact, I would consider taking this course before I went to yoga lessons. That way I would get more out of the lessons, being familiar with the positions and having practiced. I might even be able to start at a higher level.

If you have been following my posts, you know that I am one that would rather do the yoga in the quiet and privacy of my own home. I would rather have a set of good Yoga DVD’s to slip in the DVD player and do my yoga with them. In fact, I would have several so I could switch them out, maybe one for each day of the week. So this 3-week e-course is right up my alley.

It is free to check it out and see what all they have to say about it. Click here to learn more.

Yoga Postions: Cobra, Child, Bow, and Grasshopper

joyntheir — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:29:54 PDT

Here we have four of the basic yoga positions. They are simple, and you can easily transition from one to the other.

Set in a kneeling position with your bottom on your feet and back straight; then take 3 cleansing breaths. Lean forward over your legs into a child pose (much like a fetal position), head on floor.

Reach your arms out in front of you, then unfold to a prone position, and raise your head and torso up into the cobra position. If possible, do not let your front touch the floor during the transition.

Now bring your head and torso back towards the floor and lift your legs up with your arms stretched down the sides of your body into the grasshopper position.

Now, lift your legs higher, bending at the knees. Reach back with your arms and catch your ankles. This is the bow position.

Slowly lower back into the bow position, down and forward into the cobra position, then shift back into the child pose. Slowly pull up into the kneeling position and breath. Repeat 3 or 4 times.

See how simple it is to make a routine? Until you feel knowledgeable about yoga, I suggest you get a good set of yoga DVDs such as Wai Lana’s (see right column).

74 Year Old Grandmother Doing Amazing Yoga Poses

joyntheir — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:41:24 PDT

If you think you cannot do yoga, watch this video a girl submitted to youtube of her grandmother. If she can do it, I should be able to - and so should you!

Stay tuned. I have found several other videos of yoga poses to help you learn.

Yoga Poses: Child Pose and Downward Dog Pose

joyntheir — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:45:10 PDT

As I promised so long ago, here are two yoga poses for you to start with. They are the childs pose and the downward dog pose. They are great stretching exercises and simple. Watch and learn the proper technique for these poses.

When You Decide to Start Doing Yoga for Exercise

joyntheir — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:34:52 PDT

It is easy to be confused on where to begin when you decide to use Yoga for your exercise. As with any exercise program, you have some steps to consider:

What type of exercise routine do you want to do? The different types of Yoga are discussed in my post Yoga for Fitness and Weight Loss . For weight loss, power Yoga is the best. Power yoga is a movement from one pose to another in a faster flow than ‘regular’ yoga. Instead of holding a pose for minutes, you may hold it for seconds or for one minute before flowing into the next pose.

Where will you do your exercise? As a beginner, you will need to learn the poses and the routines. You will want a routine that is set up to flow from one pose to the next. Once you learn the poses and feel comfortable with them, you may choose to re-arrange the poses. Some flow quite nicely into others, while some are more difficult to flow from one to another. You can either find a yoga class to attended, or you can get DVD’s with the instructions and routines. There are also written routines. I prefer the DVD’s. I can do them in my home on my schedule, and I do not need to feel embarrassed while learning the poses. The DVD’s show the correct poses plus the correct timing. In contrast, in a class the teacher can observe your pose and give you suggestions to improve your performance in a pose.

What clothing and equipment will you need? You will need a mat and comfortable clothes, not too tight, but not loose enough to flop around. Yoga is normally done barefooted – no shoes or socks.

Optional equipment would be blankets or blocks to help achieve the proper placement of hands, hips, and/or feet during poses – such as in a pose where the hands are not to reach to the floor. Straps are good for poses where the hands are to touch, but you are not able to yet, and when you are to touch your feet, and again you are not able to reach them yet.

What can you expect? I would suggest either watching the Yoga DVD through prior to attempting the poses/routines at home, or asking to observe a class prior to signing up for it. These will both give you the feel for how the class flows and what will be expected of you. It also helps to become familiar with some of the terms used. My Yoga Jargon post gives many of the terms you will hear and be expected to know.

In my next post I will start describing some of the basic poses.

Yoga Jargon or Terminology

joyntheir — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:10:47 PDT

Whenever you take up a new activity, be it a job, a sport, or group, they all have their special jargon. To get started in Yoga, lets take a look the yoga terms and their meanings. This is the list I found at Health and Yoga. You might want to print it out.

Abhyasa	practice - the act of practicing
Acharya	teacher
Adwaita	a philosophy according to which there is no duality - only a singular state of consciousness
Agni	fire
Agnisar kriya	one of the shatkarmas (cleansing practices) -intestinal cleansing
Aham	ego
Ahimsa	non-violence, non-injury - one of the yamas of ashtanga yoga
Ajapa japa	spontaneous repetition of ’soham’ mantra
Ajna chakra	energy center located behind the forehead, also called psychic centre - one of the seven energy centers
Akasha	ether, space
Anahata chakra	energy center located in the heart region; also called pranic centre - fourth of the seven energy centers.
Ananda	bliss, ecstasy
Antar	inner, internal
Antar dhauti	internal yoga cleansing (shatkarma) techniques
Antar kumbhaka	internal breath retention. The stage of pranayama where breath is retained after inhalation.
Antar mouna	internal silence - a meditation practice.
Anubhava	experience, realization
Ardha	half
Ardha dhanurasana	half bow yoga pose
Ardha matsyendrasana	half spinal twist yoga position
Ardha padmasana	half lotus pose
Asana	yoga position or yoga pose, also called yogasana. A balanced position for smooth energy flow in specific areas of the body and mind.
Ashrama	residential place of people living together in yogic tradition.
Ashtanga yoga	the eight fold path of yoga as outlined by Patanjali: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi
Ashwini mudra	practice of contracting the anal sphincter.
Atman	soul.
Aum	see Om
Avidya	ignorance
Bahir	outside, external
Bahir kumbhaka	external breath retention. The stage of pranayama where breath is retained after exhalation.
Bahiranga trataka	concentrating the attention (gaze) upon an external object such as a candle flame.
Bandha	a posture in which organs and muscles are contracted to create energy lock in a specific area.
Basti	a colon cleansing technique (shakarma), yogic enema
Bhagvad Gita	a part of the famous Hindu epic ‘Mahabharata’. Teachings of Lord Krishna to his disciple Arjuna at the commencement of the battle of Kurukshetra, with explanations on sannyasa yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, and jnana yoga.
Bhakti	devotion
Bhakti yoga	the yoga of devotion.
Bhastrika pranayama	‘bellows’ breathing technique in which the breath is forcibly drawn in and out through the nose in equal proportions, like the pumping action of the bellows.
Bhramari pranayama	breathing practice in which a soft “humming-bee” sound is produced during exhalation to stimulate the Ajna Chakra
Bhujangasana	cobra’ pose.
Brahman	supreme consciousness, absolute reality.
Chakra	literally meaning circle or wheel, in yoga this refers to the energy centers lying along the confluence of the nadis (energy channels)
Chandra	moon
Chandra nadi	ida nadi
Chidakasha	psychic space in front of the closed eyes, just behind the forehead.
Chin mudra	hand gesture in which the first finger is kept at the root of the thumb, the last three fingers are unfolded.
Danda	stick
Danda dhauti	one of the cleansing techniques (shatkarmas), used to clean the oesophagus with a stick.
Danta dhauti	teeth cleansing technique
Dhanurasana	bow’ pose; backward bending yoga pose
Dharana	practice of concentration; sixth of the eight fold path in ashtanga yoga
Dharma	duty, righteous path
Dhauti	second of the shatkarmas; cleansing technique of the eyes, ears, tongue, forehead, oesophagus, stomach, rectum and anus
Dhyana	meditation; single-pointed focus of mind on either a form, thought or sound.
Diksha	initiation given by the guru.
Dosha	three humours of the body; see kapha, pitta, vata
Dugdha neti	nasal irrigation or cleansing technique using milk
Ghrita neti	neti (nasal cleansing technique) performed with ghee
Gomukhasana	cow’s face’ posture
Gorakshasana	Yogi Gorakhnath’s’ pose
Guna	quality of nature viz. tamas, rajas, sattwa
Guptasana	the ’secret’ pose
Guru	spiritually enlightened soul, who can dispel darkness, ignorance and illusion from the mind and enlighten the consciousness of a devotee/disciple
Hatha yoga	science of yoga which purifies the whole physical body by means of shatkarma, asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha and concentration
Hridaya akasha	psychic space of the heart centre
Ida nadi	one of the main energy channels running on the left side of the spine from the mooladhara (base) chakra to the ajna chakra in the head.
Jala	water
Jala basti	the yoga technique of enema using water - one of the yoga shatkarma
Jala neti	a shatkarma technique - cleansing of the nasal passages with water by alternating the flow of water in the nostrils, preferably using a neti pot.
Jalandhara bandha	throat lock’ to restrict the flow of bereath through the throat - done by resting the chin on the upper sternum (chest).
Japa	continuous chanting i.e repetition of a mantra
Jihva dhauti	one of the shatkarma techniques for cleansing the tongue.
Jnana	knowledge, understanding, wisdom
Jnana mudra	the gesture of knowledge - in this the index finger is bent so that its tip is joined with the tip of the thumb, the other three fingers are spread out.
Jnana yoga	the yoga of knowledge - attained through spontaneous self-analysis and investigation of abstract and speculative ideas.
Kapal	skull or cerebrum
Kapalbhati pranayama	a breathing technique aimed at cleaning the frontal part of the brain; also called skull polishing - done through rapid breaths with more force on exhalation.
Karma	action; the act of doing
Karma yoga	the yoga of action - aims at supreme consciousness through action; discussed in Bhagavad Gita
Karna dhauti	one of the shatkarma which involves cleansing the ears.
Kati chakrasana	waist rotating’ pose.
Kevala kumbhaka	spontaneous cessation of breath without any conscious effort.
Klesha	afflictions or tensions - according to yoga there are 5 such afflictions present in humans from birth
Koormasana	tortoise’ pose - an advanced posture.
Kosha	sheath or body; realm of experience and existence.
Kriya	activity, dynamic yogic practice
Kriya yoga	the practice of kundalini yoga
Kukkutasana	cockerel’ pose
Kumbhaka	breath retention
Kundalini	man’s retained energy or potential energy and consciousness
Kundalini shakti	refers to the human’s potential energy lying dormant in mooladhara (base) chakra like a coiled serpent. When awakened it rises up through the sushumna nadi.
Kundalini yoga	philosophy expounding the awakening of potential energy and inherent consciousness within the human body and mind.
Kunjal kriya	a shatkarma (cleansing) technique that involves the cleansing of the stomach by drinking in water and then expelling it by inducing vomiting.
Laghoo shankhaprakshalana	a shatkarma technique - also referred as the short intestinal wash. Involves the drinking of several glasses of water and the expelling it through stool after a series of exercises (asanas); in the process a thorough cleansing of the colon takes place.
Laya yoga	union with the supreme consciousness through pranayama or devotion. Literally, union by absorption
Maha	great
Maha bandha	the great lock - combines the three locks in yoga - the moola bandha, jalandhara bandha and uddiyana bandha - together with breath retention.
Maha mudra	the great gesture - combines the practice of moola bandha, shambhavi and khechari mudras simultaneously.
Maha nadi	literally means ‘great nadi’, which is the ’sushumna’ in yoga
Makara	crocodile
Makarasana	crocodile’ pose
Manas chakra	the energy center above the ajna chakra - is depicted with six petals
Manipura chakra	the energy centre in the spinal column located behind the navel - corresponding to the solar plexus.
Mantra	subtle sound vibration, which through repetition aims at expanding one’s awareness or consciousness.
Mantra shakti	the power of mantra
Matsyendrasana	a spine twisting pose
Mayur	peacock
Mayurasana	peacock’ pose - advanced pose aims at strengthening the arms and stimulating the manipura chakra.
Moksha	liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Moola	root
Moola bandha	energy lock created by the contraction of the perineum in the male and the cervix in the female.
Mooladhara chakra	lowest energy centre in the human body where the kundalini shakti (serpent power) resides - situated in the perineal floor in men and the cervix in women.
Moorchha pranayama	fainting or swooning breath’ in which the breath is inhaled slowly and retained for an extended period.
Mouna	silence - the practice of silence
Mudra	literally means ‘gesture’ - mudra expresses and channelizes cosmic energy within the mind and body.
Nadi	energy channels in the body, similar to the meridians in acupuncture
Nadi shodhana pranayama	breathing technique - is the ‘alternate nostril breathing’ or ‘balanced breathing’ - balances the energy flow in the channels and purifies the energy channels (nadi) by balancing the flow of breath through the right and left nostrils.
Nasagra/nasikagra mudra	hand gesture adopted during pranayama to alternate the flow of breath through the nostrils.
Nauli	abdominal massage’ - a cleansing technique (shatkarma) involving the contraction of the rectus abdominal muscles.
Neti kriya	another shatkarma (cleansing technique) - involves cleaning of the nasal passages or sinus irrigation; jala neti forms a part of the various neti kriyas.
Nidra	sleep
Niyama	rule; there are 5 rules described in the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali.
Om	the universal mantra; cosmic vibration of the universe; represents the four states of consciousness
Pada	foot; section of a literary work
Padmasana	lotus pose - a seated meditative posture
Pancha makara	the five tantric practices : mansa(meat), madhya(wine), matsya(fish), mudra(grain), and maithuna(sexual intercourse)
Pancha tattwa	the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and ether
Param	highest, supreme, God
Paramatma	the supreme atma; God
Parichaya avastha	stage of perception of nada
Paschimottanasana	back stretching pose
Patanjali	author of the Yoga Sutras and preacher of the eight-fold (ashtanga) yoga
Payaswini nadi	energy channel terminating at the right big toe, between poosha and pingala channels
Pingala nadi	one of the main energy channels running on the right side of the spine from the mooladhara (base) chakra to the ajna chakra in the head by intersecting various chakras on the way.
Plavini pranayama	breathing technique which involves gulping air and swallowing it into the stomach and retaining it
Poornima	full moon night
Prakamya	fulfillment of desire
Prakasha	inner light
Prakriti	nature
Pramana	proof
Prana	vital energy force sustaining life and creation
Pranayama	technique of breathing and breath control which regulates energy flow and aims at maintaining energy balance
Prasad	an offering usually food to and from the guru or higher power
Pratyahara	sense withdrawal; first stage of concentrating on the mind during meditation
Pravritti	nature of the mind
Prithvi tattwa	the earth element
Purana	eighteen ancient books consisting of legends and mythological narrations dealing with creation, recreation and the genealogies of sages and rulers
Purusha	man; pure consciousness
Purushartha	purpose of the consciousness, of man’s existence- the four basic needs or desires, arth, kaama, dharma, moksha
Raja yoga	yoga in which union is achieved through concentration of mind
Rakta bindu	red bindu, same as beeja(seed) bindu, shakti bindu; the potentially creative bindu from which creation springs; often refers to the ovum.
Rechaka	exhalation
Rudra	Lord Shiva ; Rudra is said to have sprung from Brahma’s forehead and is one of the holy trinity
Sahasrara chakra	highest energy centre located at the crown of the head
Sakshi	witness
Samadhi	the final stage of ashtanga yoga in which concentration becomes one with the object of concentration; supreme union.
Samskara	impressions stored in the mind that form the basis of our beliefs, attitudes and personality.
Sankalpa	spiritual resolve.
Sannyasi	one who has renounced the world in seek of self-realization.
Santosha	contentment
Saraswati	Goddess who bestows knowledge of fine arts and power of speech
Sarvangasana	shoulderstand - an inverted posture
Sat	truth
Satguru	guru who has attained self-realization
Sattwa guna	quality unwavering purity
Satya	truth-one of the yamas
Seetkari pranayama	Breathing technique which involves hissing leading to a cooling effect upon the whole body.
Shabda Brahman	cosmic causal state.
Shakti	vital force; energy
Shambhavi mudra	a yoga gesture in which one focusses at the mid-eyebrow centre
Shashankasana	moon pose
Shatkarma	the six yogic techniques of purification of the body, viz. neti, dhauti, nauli, basti, trataka, kapalbhati
Sheetali pranayama	cooling breath’ - a pranayama technique that lowers the body temperature by inhaling through the mouth while letting the breath flow in over the tongue.
Shishya	disciple; student
Siddha yoni asana	the female counterpart of the siddhasana meditative posture, in which the left heel presses the entrance to the vagina
Siddhasana	a meditative seating posture in which the left heel presses the perineum (stimulating the mooladhara chakra); also called as the adept’s pose or the ‘pose of perfection’.
Sirshasana	inverted pose - the ‘headstand’ in which the body is inverted and balanced on the crown of the head
Soham	represents a mantra in meditation; literally means, ‘I am That’. Represents the Psychic sound with the sound ’so’ during inhalation and ‘ham’ during exhalation.
Soma chakra	sixteen petalled chakra situated above ajna and manas chakras
Sukhasana	a comfortable meditative pose; also called the ‘easy pose’ or simply the cross-legged pose.
Surya bheda pranayama	breathing technique in which inhalation is done through the right nostril ; increases vitality
Surya nadi	see ‘pingala nadi’
Sushumna nadi	main energy channel in yoga, in the centre of the spinal cord through which kundalini shakti flows.
Sutra neti	yogic technique to cleanse the nasal passage using a special thread
Swadhisthana chakra	second chakra in the spinal column, above the mooladhara.
Swastikasana	auspicious pose -meditative posture similar to siddhasana
Tadasana	palm tree pose- standing posture
Tamas	the quality of inertia, laziness, procrastination.
Tiryaka bhujangasana	twisting cobra pose
Tiryaka tadasana	swaying palm tree pose
Trataka	one of the cleansing techniques (shatkarma) in which the gaze is focussed upon an object such as a candle flame.
Uddiyana bandha	abdominal retraction lock’; drawing in of the abdomen towards the backbone after exhaling
Ujjayi pranayama	a kind of breathing technique which produces a light sonorous sound.
Utkatasana	squatting position
Uttankoormasana	Tortoise pose
Vajrasana	the ‘thunderbolt’ pose; a kneeling posture with buttocks resting upon the heels.
Vama swara	flow of breath in the left nostril
Vaman dhauti	yogic technique to cleanse the stomach by voluntary vomiting. There are two types: kunjal kriya (regurgitating of water) and vyaghra (regurgitating of food)
Varisara dhauti	yogic cleansing technique in which a large quantity of water is drunk in conjunction with asanas to cleanse the entire digestive tract; also known as shankhaprakshalana.
Vashitva	ability to control all objects, living and non-living
Vastra dhauti	yogic detoxification technique in which a specially prepared cloth is swallowed and removed after ten minutes, in order to remove mucus from the stomach
Vatsara dhauti	a cleansing technique in which the air swallowed into the stomach is belched out.
Vayu tattwa	air element
Vedas	four ancient texts- Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva, which are further divided into Samhita, Brahmana, Aranayaka and Upanishads. They were revealed to the sages and saints of India which explain and regulate every aspect of life from supreme reality to worldly affairs. The oldest books in the library of mankind.
Veerasana	hero,s pose - for concentration and discrminative thinking.
Vishuddhi chakra	one of the energy centres located in the spine behind the throat and connected with the cervical plexus, tonsils and thyroid gland.
Yamuna river	emanating from Yamnotri in the Himalayas and joining Ganga near Allahabd, North India;refers to pingala nadi in the pranic body.
Yoga	state of union between two opposites - body and mind; individual and universal consciousness; a process of uniting the opposing forces in the body and mind in order to achieve supreme awareness and enlightenment.
Yoga abhyasa	practice of yoga.
Yoga nidra	a deep relaxation technique also called ‘yogic sleep’ in which mind and body is at complete rest but with complete awareness.

Healthy Cardio Activity - Walking and Power Walking

joyntheir — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:49:22 PDT

One of the most common forms of exercise/activity is walking. Walking is great cardio exercise, plus it relieves stress. To walk, you just need a comfortable pair of shoes with arch support. Most well-known brands of tennis shoes such as nike, rebock, new balance, adidas, puma, and converse, have foot support. Many have a style called a walking shoe made to give your feet the support and cushioning needed.

The set number of steps said to be the healthy average daily amount is 10,000 steps. This is about 3-4 miles a day. If you are going to take your walking seriously, you will need a good pedometer. I have bought several brands and find that most of them are not worth the money spent. The $10 ones are pitiful as every time you jiggle them a little they count steps. I once walked 100 steps while DRIVING 8 miles home from work. Similar ones cost a little more - the last one I purchased was $30 - and you’d think they were better. I walked 7 steps putting it on my waist band. This one would be good if you were going walking if you put it on your waist band and then cleared it. It would count the steps you took, which you could then record. But it is useless for all day wear.

I researched until I found one that I can carry in my purse or pocket, or hook it on the waist band, which would accurately count the steps no matter what activity I was doing that day. The brand is OMRON. The one I purchased cost $35 at the time and was an excellent investment. You enter your weight, the time, and your step length in inches. It tracks your steps, your aerobic steps, calories burned, and miles walked. And it keeps the record for 7 days. It even starts a new day at midnight.

I put my pedometer on when I get out of bed, and take it off when I go to bed. It counts every step during the day. Your steps add up faster than you think. When I started, I kept track of the number of steps I do normally during the day for an entire week. Then I averaged them (added the 7 steps a day and then divided by 7) for my standard or starting point. From there, I decided how many steps I wanted to increase my walking by per day. The end of the next week I averaged them again to see if I met my goal. Up it each week until you get to 10,000 steps averaged a day.

As for speed, walk at a speed that is comfortable for you. As you become more and more used to walking, increase your speed. As you become more accustomed to walking at a brisk walk, start ‘power walking’. This mainly just means to bend your arms at the elbow to a 90 degree angle and swing them rather than letting them hang down by your side. I think of it as a jogging position without jogging - just walking briskly. To increase your calories burned, you can add wrist and/or ankle weights. Starting with 2 pounds is a good idea. You can increase the weight later.

There are walking tapes, cds, and dvds you can put in what used to be called a ‘walkman’ - basically a portable player with ear phones. You can listen to these tapes as you walk. The beat of the music helps you to keep walking at a steady pace.

Walking outside is wonderful - unless there is a thunderstorm, a snow storm, or above 100 degrees F or under 10 degrees F. Or if you have allergies (you get my drift, right?). On those days you can go to a shopping mall and walk the mall, or an inside track at a gym. There are tapes and DVD’s which have walking and powerwalking programs. Most of these will have markers as which time they will announce how far you have ‘walked’. The one I have gives the distance at every 1/2 mile.

Walking is an exercise nearly everyone can do, and do without buying special equipment. I do recommend that you get a good pair of walking shoes and a good pedometer. The pedometer I like the best and that I have used for over a year is Omron Premium Pedometer.

Yoga for Fitness and Weight Loss

joyntheir — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:50:54 PDT

When one starts exercising after being inactive for quite a while, usually the recommendation is to start by walking each day, going a little further and/or faster each day until your endurance builds up. This is a good plan. Where do you go from there? As I outlined in my post 8 Types of Exercise Workouts, there are many types of exercise programs to choose from.
Let’s look at Yoga. Whenever I think of yoga, my mind goes to the movies of the ninja’s in training doing the movements, or the documentaries of everyone in China meeting in the town square first thing in the morning to do their yoga movements. My early experience with Yoga is you go at your own pace, gently stretching in different poses until your muscles become more limber. Probably one of the ‘easiest’ exercise types to begin with (in my mind) is Yoga. This is a simplified look at yoga.

Now that I have been looking into Yoga, I find it is a very complex subject. First, it originated in India. The word ‘Yoga’ means union. There are many types of Yoga. The ‘limb’ that we would be interested in this blog is called ‘asana’ which is the physical postures or poses and the movement from one to the other. Asana (and yoga) is about creating balance in the body, developing strength and flexibility. The movements can be fast or slow, and can focus more on stamina or on alignment. Yoga goes on to include correct breathing and meditation. I will focus in my posts more on the physical side of yoga rather than the spiritual.

How does Yoga fit into losing weight and getting fit? Iyengar yoga, where you hold poses for several minutes, helps to build muscles and improve posture - we all need that. If you want to do Iyengar type yoga, you will have to combine it with other aerobic type exercises to lose weight. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. This is a good combination.

The Vinayasa style of asana yoga includes many styles itself. For weight loss Ashtanga, Power Yoga, and Hot Yoga give you the physical workout needed for weight loss. I have found it is recommended that you do three 90 minute sessions a week for weight loss.

One more thing about yoga. This can be a family activity. There are special programs for children that Mom and Dad can do with them. I bought kits for my grandchildren here which include dvds. They love it!

Calories Burned Chart

joyntheir — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:00:31 PDT

I have been researching and have combined several charts for calories burned per different exercises/activities. I have it put together on a spreadsheet so you can enter your weight (in pounds) and the minutes expended to come up with the calories you burned. Since it is in a spreadsheet, you can put several activities in and it will give you the total calories burned at the bottom of the spreadsheet. I also have a converter to convert kg to lb. Then enter the pounds value in the spreadsheet.

You can download the spreadsheet - right click here and save to your computer. It is in the 2003-2007 excel version and can be opened in Google documents also. If you do not have excel or have an older version of excel, you can get the excel viewer for free from microsoft. Click here.

Leave a comment an let me know how you like it!

Exercise Posts

joyntheir — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:05:49 PDT

I need your help. There comes a time in anyone’s life that their mind is blank. Now is one of those times for me. I am a little stuck on what to write on next.

I do have some ideas.

1. Review different types of exercise equipment/dvds

2. Review different types of supplements said to ‘help’ exercise

3. Review different types of exercises like the ones I listed in 8 Types of Exercise Workouts

4. Find some charts of calories burned per exercise

5. Alternate ways of getting in walking/running

Please, give me your ideas and what you would like to see in future posts. Leave a comment.

May 15th - Respect for Human Rights Begins at Home

joyntheir — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:37:14 PDT

Break for Human Rights

May 15th is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights. So on this day, I take a break from exercise to talk about Human Rights. I have a post entitled May 15th - Respect for Human Rights Begins at Home on my blog JoyntHeir.

Please join us in the fight for Human Rights. Visit JoyntHeir and all the other blogs with article about Human Rights. You should be able to find the links to a lot of them at the Bloggers Unite page. Then join in the fight and right a post yourself!

Is Housework Exercise?

joyntheir — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:12:23 PDT

Today we have a guest writer. He has investigated and found how much exercise you can get from house cleaning. Let’s see what Guy Marlow has to say.

House Cleaning Fitness

Many people live a busy life in this day and age which stops them from pursuing a fitness regime that sees them travel to the gym three or four times a week to get fit. This does not mean you can use this as an excuse to not keeping fit.

There are many ample opportunities in the home to keep fit, opportunities that also fit in to your daily workload without you realising it. If you work your household chores correctly you could make a fitness regime from your cleaning duties, meaning you don’t even need to visit the local gym.

I must say at this point there may be quite a few of you sighing as you do not like your household chores, don’t worry I am one of those people. What you have to think is “Hey this is helping my fitness and supporting my weight loss”, to do this though you have to manage your chores effectively.

Below is a list of household chores and the calories they burn.

Cleaning windows: 40 calories for ten minutes
Scrubbing floors on: 50 calories for ten minutes
Vacuum cleaning: 40 calories for ten minutes
Dusting: 30 calories for ten minutes
Mopping: 40 calories for ten minutes
Making beds: 20 calories for ten minutes
Washing the dishes: 30 calories for ten minutes

Now we break these down in to three fitness workouts that will benefit your body greatly and support your home routine at the same time! Imagine doing the housework yet seeing this as a fitness benefit.

Day one

20 minutes cleaning windows
15 minutes scrubbing floors
20 minutes washing dishes

Total - 215 calories burned

Day two

20 minutes dusting
30 minutes vacuum cleaning
20 minutes making beds

Total - 220 calories burned

Day three

20 minutes mopping
20 minutes washing dishes
20 minutes vacuum cleaning

Total - 220 calories burned

If you find these three workouts interesting and want to make them harder then why not try adding other household chores to the fitness workouts.

It is important to note that to get the most out of this training regime you need to complete all house hold chores without breaks in between so you work up a sweat. Actually thinking about it this is also a benefit as it means you complete your chores in a more timely fashion so that you have more time to rest!

This article was written by Guy Marlow, writer and owner of www.musclepowershop.com

Now - I ask you - What household chores do you do that will burn calories? Leave a comment.

10 REASONS TO CHOOSE TO EXERCISE

joyntheir — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:09:34 PDT

Do you every have trouble getting your exercise in. You realize that a couple days have gone by - you missed going for that walk or getting to the gym, or turning on that low impact ‘Sweating to the Oldies”

I ‘should’ exercise. I ‘should’ go walking. I ‘should’ do my low impact DVD. I should, should, SHOULD.

Now that is not going to get me anywhere. If I should, then I probably have the mindset that I am not going to, also that someone expects me to, and I don’t have a choice. In fact, it irritates the rebel in me.

But I do have a choice - to exercise (increase my activity) or not to exercise. It is my CHOICE - and it is your CHOICE. So, I choose to exercise (or I don’t). I choose to find the time to do it. I choose what type of exercise I want to do. I choose the time I will do it. I choose how long to do it.

So, I choose to - but why? It is because I deserve to:

1. Be healthy

2. Be more energetic

3. Be more relaxed

4. Be more fit

5. Lose those extra pounds

6. Be able to play with my grandchildren without getting winded

7. Be please with my looks when I am in front of a mirror

8. Have my clothes fit

9. Have more self-confidence

10. Be able to tie my shoes without going through contortions

The list can go on and on. But by listing my choices, I am able to answer myself.

Me: It’s time to exercise

Myself: I don’t feel like it, I am tired.

Me: I choose to exercise because it makes me feel energized and more relaxed. And I deserve to feel that way. I deserve to be more healthy and fit.

Myself: Well, when you put it that way - let’s get going!

What is your reason to exercise or increase your activity? Leave a comment.

7 EXERCISE SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPUTER ADDICTS

joyntheir — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:30:42 PDT

Do you spend most of your time in front of a computer? I do both at work and at home. I become engrossed in what I am doing, and the time is gone. That’s OK if I am forgetting binge, but it’s not if I don’t stop to get my physical activity. The question is – how can you exercise while sitting at a computer, or desk, or watching TV.

I have seen some articles suggesting ways to get exercise at work. They include taking a walk, doing simple stretches standing by your desk, etc. What if you cannot do this at work – your boss objects to you standing up at your computer? I have a couple suggestions – you can at least do some of these at home.

This is rather easy. Get a fitness ball, either medium or large, fill it to its fullest, then sit on it instead of a chair. You can roll it back and forth or bounce on it. This works on your leg, abdomen, and other muscles as they work to keep your balance. I have yet to be brave enough to try it at work, but I have used one at home. .
When you go to the restroom as we all do during the day, take the ‘long’ route. Go to another floor using the stairs, or to the building next door. You can even be brave enough to walk around the building and back in. You can walk several flights of stairs up to the restroom.
Likewise, when you go to a meeting or to lunch, find a route that gives you more walking time. Every step helps.
Of course, there is still the old trick of parking a couple blocks away to walk to work. Or take a more distant subway or bus stop and walk from there to work.
Keep hand weights handy at your desk. When you are waiting for a program to come up or finish executing, pick up your weights; do some arm lifts.
Put weight bands on your ankles and lift your legs up straight from time to time. Hold them straight once in a while.
Instead of rolling your chair back and forth to the different machines (printer, fax, etc), stand up and walk over to it and back. Just standing up and sitting down is activity.

There are some of my ideas. What type activities can you work into your schedule at work for exercise?

Rock Hard Abs

joyntheir — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:50:14 PDT

There’s a new article published at Shape it Up! by Dane Flecher. It is a down to earth truthful look at why people (especially men) don’t have hard abs and what they need to do to to get them.

It’s worth the read. Go to Rock Hard Abs: Converting That Keg Into A Six Pac