| Yoga For Beginners
by Derek Ayre
Sitting down is the nature of my job and, as the years went
by, with me hardly noticing, I became less and less fit. There
as no question, I needed exercise. Yuk! Not something I relished.
To me it was like wasting time when I could be doing more
important things like working! I suppose I am one of the lucky
ones, I love my job.
But even so, why do I work? To improve the quality of life,
to be able to earn enough money to buy the things that make
life more comfortable and - I love gadgets - to be able to
afford the latest technology to "play" with. Yes,
I love my "toys". So yes, getting more money does
have a lot to do with improving the quality of life!
But (another one, "but" that is),
continuing to sit on my backside (I could say "butt"
again, but that would be too much I think) was doing the opposite
of improving the quality of my life, I was beginnning to feel
tired and sleepy, joints were beginning to ache from physical
inactivity. In other words, what I was trying to accomplish
by earning more money, was leading to an impoverished quality
of life. So, like it or not, some sort of regular exercise
it would have to be.
For six months, every morning, before work,
I decided to commit to swimming. I would start off by doing
just 15 minutes swimming up and down the pool and then each
week I would add 5 minutes on to that time. Within six weeks
I was up to around 40 minutes a day. I was definitely feeling
fitter, but can't say I was enjoying the experience. By the
time I travelled back and forth to the swimming pool (it was
20 minutes walking distance away), and getting changed and
ready for work, well over and hour had passed. It wasn't long
before I slowly quit going to the swimming pool and slowly
the aches and pains started returning.
One day by chance I met an old colleague and
he seemed to be really fit. I knew he also sat down all day
to make a living, so I asked him how he found the time to
keep so fit. "Simple," he said, "I do yoga
at home. There is still some discipline needed, and it still
takes an hour, but being at home, there is no need to worry
about going out etc."
I was already into zazen (Zen meditiation),
so adding some yoga each day would be no problem. So I purchased
a DVD called Yoga For Beginners .
The result: I have been using the DVD now for
a few months and my fitness level has definitely improved.
Stiffness and aches and pains have started to abate again.
I can't say that it was easy to keep up the discipline in
the beginning, but with just that little discipline - I set
aside an hour from 3.30pm to 4.30pm each day - now, I actually
look forward to it. That is not something that happened with
my swimming!
Yoga For Beginners is just what it implies,
it is for beginners. There are poses and stretches that really
do de-stress your body and center the mind. And in my opinion,
no matter where you're at when it comes to health and mobility,
if you ease yourself gently into the exercises and follow
all the instructions that are on the DVD, it may serve as
a great boost to your health and vitality.
Please note: This article is for information
purposes only and if you have a health problem of any sort,
you are strongly advised to consult your doctor or health
practitioner before embarking on any form of exercise regime.
Thanks for Reading,
www.hypno-ayre.freeserve.co.uk
Keywords: yoga, fitness,health
About the Author
Derek Ayre, Cardiff, U.K
dayre_uk@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.hypno-ayre.freeserve.co.uk
Derek has been in practice as a registered therapist(UK) since
1976 and has helped many people, realize their goals and improve
the quality of their life, on a face to face basis, in groups
and on line. He is a Zen practitioner and this reflects in
his work.
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