Making the Mind-Body Connection . . .

One of my favorite fitness DVDs to exercise to lately is Suzanne Deason's Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss. Not because it's burns a lot of calories (if anything, the ~45 minute practice is on the mild side as far as sweat-breaking & muscle-building goes,) but because it helps (re-)establish what Ms. Deason calls the mind-body connection to wellness and balance.

While going through a series of yoga postures is not particularly effective in calorie burning (compared to more vigorous cardio workouts) or strength building (even yoga sites suggest incorporating some [non-yoga] strength-training to build & maintain muscles), what it does well is help the mind focus and concentrate... on holding postures, on clearing the mind, and especially on maintaining the regularity of your breath.

Ok, you might think "Big whoop, I'm aware of my breathing. How does that help me lose weight?" But by building an awareness to something as basic & involuntary as your inhales and exhales, it also helps build consciousness for other seemingly-automatic behaviors, such what you're putting on your plate at the buffet, or rather to dip into that snack dish at the conference room, or couch potatoing the hours away instead of doing something more active.

As an added bonus, what's particularly recommendable about this one is that it's adapted to multiple levels of fitness and flexibility, from a beginning, fully-modified workout for stiffer, less flexible bodies to an advanced, unmodified routine for more limber folks who's used to doing yoga. You can even see all 4 types of modifications at once so you can determine which is best suited for you, as well as exercise together with a friend or a partner of a different flexibility level.

Plus, the whole routine is very soothing with Ms. Deason's gentle voiceover (much more appropriate than having her talk about her postures & movements while she's doing them,) peaceful background music and a serene desert setting -- unlike some yoga DVDs that try to power fast-track you through poses, self-defeating the mind-body connection by inducing, rather than relieving, stress and detracting from the focus on breath, body and posture.

The result, a workout that's both relaxing and engaging, pushing both the body and mind throughout the routine, as well as a nudge to make better lifestyle choices throughout the day. So give this DVD a check-out, and even if you find it's not for you, hopefully you can incorporate some form of exercise that helps align the mind with the body towards the common goal of better health & better life. That's certainly something I can say Namaste to.

Motviation Monday - Keeping It Fun

Hiking up & down Seal Beach's Main Street and pier and checking out & tasting the local scene

Yesterday has been pure bliss, and partly because it felt so effortless and fun having an 'active' day ~ I took in a refreshing 4 mile jog at dawn to wake me up, then played tennis for about an hour and a half with a friend, broke a pretty intense sweat with a spanking new DDR machine for another hour, then took in another hour of scenic hiking at Seal Beach & Culver City.

It just made think about how getting and staying fit comes in many different forms, but the best way to make it stick is to make it an enjoyable experience. Personally for me, that means I'll never have to see the inside of a gym -- I much rather get my blood pumping & muscle moving with an outdoor run, a yoga or dance class with the community recreational center, laps at a local pool, an interval workout w weights to a DVD at home, the occasional tennis and snowboarding, and of course, urban hiking.

So I don't fit in the stereotypical mold of going to a gym several days a week (or even one day a week,) but the regimen I made for myself is still balanced in cardiovascular, strength and flexibility exercises and more importantly, it's a routine I enjoy! And I honestly think that's the secret to getting and staying active, finding activities that you look forward rather than dread. And if you start feeling ho-hum about activities you once enjoyed, take a break and switch it up for something else that's fun or interesting-sounding.

And those four hours of "working out" gave me one of the best night's sleep I've had in a while.

Don't Ignore Flexibility!

One of my favorite stretches after a cardio or lowerbody strength workout -- great for hip, butt and thigh muscle groups.

In the three primary areas of fitness, flexibility is often the most overlooked aspect; I see it all the time from observing and hearing about my friends' routines, they may pump some major iron or go on uber-lengthy running/cycling sessions, but when I inquire about their warm-up/cool-downs or any flexibility-related component, more often than not I get a blank stare or a quick "that's for sissies" brush off. Oh, what a big mistake.

On the surface, stretching and flexibility exercises aren't as outwardly sexy as muscle-building strength workouts, nor does it compare to the calorie burn of a cardio session, but it definitely has its own benefits that makes it an important part of any well-rounded exercise regimen. Experts agree that it helps with:

- muscles' range of motion
- injury prevention and recovery
- reducing post-workout soreness
- stress relief

And most importantly, being flexible actually improves your ability with strength and cardio workouts, since your body is less likely to be fatigued, better able to stay in proper form and recover faster afterwards, letting you work harder and longer without setbacks such as lactic acid buildup, muscle tightness and injuries, not to mention gently setting a positive mood in preparation for, and recovering from, a session too!

Personally, I do a combination of yoga, pilates and active stretches (the last is particularly great for Type A folks too impatient to stay in one posture for an extended period of time.) Sometimes it's a simple 5-minute warmup and cooldown around my usual workout, other times it may be a 30-60 minute routine dedicated to improving flexibility, but I try to incorporate it in at least three times a week.

I may not be a human pretzel anytime soon, but I'll at least be happily finding my calm in a sun salutation instead of limping around looking for ice, pain cream or pills after a race or a game.

P.S. Of course, it should be noted that if you have already strained/pulled/injured a muscle, do check with your doctor before stretching it since that may aggravate the injury -- and when it is OK to engage that body part again, just like all other workouts, ease into it progressively and with caution rather than immediately doing the "regular" full load.

Every little bit counts . . .

Shadow of me urban hiking last month

Given recommendations that we should exercise anywhere from 30 minutes a day to five hours per week to maintain fitness (and even more to actively lose weight!), it can seem a bit daunting to accomplish especially for people with a busy enough lifestyle or trying to ditch their sedentary lifestyles. Don't worry, even active folks have their days of exercise dread too.

In any case, if the idea of continually working out for 30+ minutes seems impossible, break it up! As I've noted in an Associated Press article, by breaking up a regimen in smaller segments 1) it's a lot easier to squeeze into the schedule (three 10-minute sections versus a half-hour block) 2) psychologically the routine is a lot easier to accomplish, since the partial goal is so much closer and 3) even if you manage to only partially complete the day's worth of mini-routines, you are still getting SOME fitness-building activity in, which is definitely better than getting NO activity because you can't set aside the time/energy for a longer workout session.

Now, longer stretches of exercise have their advantages too (more intense calorie burn, building endurance and prolonged cardio-fitness, not needing to change in and out of activewear so often, etc.) but it just leaves so much room for the "all or nothing" mentality, which can easily cause one to fall off the wagon, particularly the newly active.

Even now I regularly break my workouts up and almost always completing that first segment gives me the encouragement to finish the rest. And for truly long sessions like my daylong urban hike last month from downtown LA to the Santa Monica pier, I gave myself "mini goals" along the way (Silver Lake for breakfast, West Hollywood for lunch, so on . . .) to make that 21+ mile journey a lot less intimidatng.

If you think shorter segments might the way to go for you, here's a tip from me: do your first 5- to 15-minute workout first thing after you wake up, since it sets the tone for the rest of the day and you'll be more likely to want to finish what you started, and rest any tempting treats that may offset your hard-earned fitness.

A real no-effort trick to developing abs!

Despite my weight fluctuating about 10-15 pounds throughout the year, one feature that I'm always proud of are my core, which range from a full-on six pack at best and noticeable definition at the very least.

The trick is not in doing an inhumane amount of crunches every single day, but from one very simple substitution -- switching out my chair for a stability ball, a.k.a. Swiss/exercise/balance ball, something I've done at both my workplace and at home for four years and counting.

Photo courtesy of exercise-ball-exercises.com

The underlying idea is simple, by using a stability ball as a chair, the core muscles are being continually engaged on a low-intensity level -- stabilizing the body due to the ball's innate imbalance. And if you are like me and glued to the desk for most of the day, that's a good 7-8 hours of effortless ab workout.

And the ball also gives me chances to do some mini-exercises during downtimes at work. From the upgraded swiss ball crunch in above video to pelvic tilts, or even just a relaxing ab & back stretch -- it's great knowing I am already sitting on the only equipment I need for those exercises, and that I can do them whenever I want.

As an additional perk, since I am on a ball, it forces me to maintain a proper posture instead of slouching against the back of a chair.

Of course, if you already have existing back problems, check with your doctor first before committing yourself to a ball for chair (not to mention the HR/safety departments if you're doing it at work.) And if you still want the occasional back support, good alternatives include using a balance ball chair, or a Bosu on top of your existing chair. And when you do invest in a stability for a chair or just for workouts, be sure to get the right size (as a general rule, your thighs should run parallel to the floor when sitting, and your shins vertical and perpendicular)