I think exercise is very important. I am completely on board with the idea of sweating it out to stay fit. If you aren't exercising right, you are doing something wrong.
Well, there see, I am great at giving advice and endorsing good living habits. Only, I find it hard to get off the couch and do it myself.
Some friends recommended yoga - but the pace is so slow, I'd sleep doing it. That was my excuse for not wanting to do yoga.
"Do hip-hop", some would say, "Or aerobics." I would respond with - "Two left feet syndrome."
"Running?"
"Too hot outside."
"Pilates?"
"Slow - like yoga."
So when my husband took to golf, to exercise - (yeah, apparently, it does offer some kind of physical exercise. It's not just strolling on a well-manicured lawn), he quite literally challenged me to take up some form of physical exercise.
He even bought me a virtual exercise kit. But the problem with that was, my daughter trying to make avatars - she would never part with the remote and now, courtesy her - there are 87 Avatars of women who want to exercise on the screen.
"DD, I need to exercise" I would plead halfheartedly, almost wanting her to protest and not part with the remote and she would oblige by not handing over the equipment. So there - I don't have any form of exercise and it was like the entire universe was working toward not getting me off my butt.
But that soon changed.
DD read in one of her books that exercise keeps you healthy and you should exercise regularly to stay healthy and live long.
She somehow got the impression that I was going to die soon, so she made it a point to get me to exercise. She didn't want to part with the remote and let all her avatars exhaust themselves. She instead decided to make me do Yoga. Yoga? She's seen her grandparents do the various asanas and thinks they are very cool.
She even takes classes for me!
So here's what she teaches me, whenever she remembers to remind me to exercise:
Butterfly pose - get your feet together, sit on your butt, and move your knees up and down - 20 times (that's her favorite number), place fingers from behind your ears and spread them out as if they're wings and flap them for the said 20 times along with the knees. That's a flying butterfly right there.
Mermaid pose - lie on your belly, lift head and shoulders. Place palms firmly on the mat and look up. Move your tail fin (your feet stuck together) from side to side - 20 times. Yes, this one almost kills.
Elsa pose - this is her favorite. Stand erect - chest out, hands at the back, feet together. Now get your hands up front and spray right ahead, like you're freezing something. While doing it, say "fsssshhhhh", that magically unfreezes the stuff you're freezing, - because well, we don't appreciate too much ice in our house.
The relax and exercise pose: Choose a side you like. lie on the opposite side. Hold your head on your palm, press elbow firmly on the ground. Move your free leg up and down, front and back. Don't turn the other side. After you're done with your favorite side for 20 times, you can lie down and relax. This is my favorite exercise.
Try these out and I guarantee you will feel very 6-year-ish. Ooh... and let me know if you feel a world of difference!
Image credit: Girl Practising Yoga, Cartoon Illustration” by Sicha Pongjivanich/ freedigitalphotos
Well, there see, I am great at giving advice and endorsing good living habits. Only, I find it hard to get off the couch and do it myself.
Some friends recommended yoga - but the pace is so slow, I'd sleep doing it. That was my excuse for not wanting to do yoga.
"Do hip-hop", some would say, "Or aerobics." I would respond with - "Two left feet syndrome."
"Running?"
"Too hot outside."
"Pilates?"
"Slow - like yoga."
So when my husband took to golf, to exercise - (yeah, apparently, it does offer some kind of physical exercise. It's not just strolling on a well-manicured lawn), he quite literally challenged me to take up some form of physical exercise.
He even bought me a virtual exercise kit. But the problem with that was, my daughter trying to make avatars - she would never part with the remote and now, courtesy her - there are 87 Avatars of women who want to exercise on the screen.
"DD, I need to exercise" I would plead halfheartedly, almost wanting her to protest and not part with the remote and she would oblige by not handing over the equipment. So there - I don't have any form of exercise and it was like the entire universe was working toward not getting me off my butt.
But that soon changed.
DD read in one of her books that exercise keeps you healthy and you should exercise regularly to stay healthy and live long.
She somehow got the impression that I was going to die soon, so she made it a point to get me to exercise. She didn't want to part with the remote and let all her avatars exhaust themselves. She instead decided to make me do Yoga. Yoga? She's seen her grandparents do the various asanas and thinks they are very cool.
She even takes classes for me!
So here's what she teaches me, whenever she remembers to remind me to exercise:
Butterfly pose - get your feet together, sit on your butt, and move your knees up and down - 20 times (that's her favorite number), place fingers from behind your ears and spread them out as if they're wings and flap them for the said 20 times along with the knees. That's a flying butterfly right there.
Mermaid pose - lie on your belly, lift head and shoulders. Place palms firmly on the mat and look up. Move your tail fin (your feet stuck together) from side to side - 20 times. Yes, this one almost kills.
Elsa pose - this is her favorite. Stand erect - chest out, hands at the back, feet together. Now get your hands up front and spray right ahead, like you're freezing something. While doing it, say "fsssshhhhh", that magically unfreezes the stuff you're freezing, - because well, we don't appreciate too much ice in our house.
The relax and exercise pose: Choose a side you like. lie on the opposite side. Hold your head on your palm, press elbow firmly on the ground. Move your free leg up and down, front and back. Don't turn the other side. After you're done with your favorite side for 20 times, you can lie down and relax. This is my favorite exercise.
Try these out and I guarantee you will feel very 6-year-ish. Ooh... and let me know if you feel a world of difference!
Image credit: Girl Practising Yoga, Cartoon Illustration” by Sicha Pongjivanich/ freedigitalphotos
