Daily Exercise

Daily Exercise - Easy Yoga Exercises While Watching TV

Daily exercise should be more than a good intention on every New Year's Eve. The benefits of exercise are widely known, but the Wall Street Journal just published another surprising study:

People sitting in front of the TV for more than 4 hours a day are at a 46% higher risk to die of any cause, and have an 80% higher risk to die of heart disease. This also includes sitting in front of the smaller screens like computers, hand-held videogames, etc.

If you don't move for hours, your body slows down the metabolic processing of blood sugar and blood fat significantly. This means the bad fats, which get worked off through movement, now simply sit in the bloodstream and start accumulating.

For frequent TV watchers, the good news is that you can get daily exercise and keep our body active in front of the TV - without the need for expensive equipment. It can all happen right there in your TV room!

Yoga exercises are great for any level of fitness to get the benefits of daily exercise. They build strength, muscle tone, flexibility, posture, and stamina when used as daily exercise - with as much effort as you like to use. You can do yoga while watching TV and hold the yoga poses as long as it benefits your personal fitness level.

• Additional benefits of yoga include better blood circulation, lowering of blood pressure, enhanced concentration, and better sleep.
• Yoga poses as daily exercise can tone and work every muscle and tissue area of your body - you will be amazed how much strength and flexibility you can build by simply using your own strength -and no other props.
• The benefits of exercise through yoga are enormous, but it is important that you listen to your own body and go as far as you can at a time, and then take your yoga poses a little further the next time.

These easy yoga exercises are great to incorporate into your daily exercise during TV time:

Start your daily exercise with an easy seated pose on your carpet or a pillow in front of the TV and breathe deeply in and out through the nose 3 times, making your breath longer each time. Continue with arm stretches on the floor to your left and right, forwards and back. Rise your arms up above your head and down 3 times while breathing.

Then do 2 gentle seated twists for your spine, one on each side. Hold for 5 breaths on each side, gently moving further into the twist with each breath.

Next, sit on the floor and lift your legs with bent knees into the yoga half boat pose, while stretching your arms out in front of you. With your legs lifted, lower your back slowly to the floor and rise back up, in total 3 times.

Afterwards, try a full yoga boat pose with fully straightened legs to challenge yourself. Raise your arms up and hold for 5 breaths. Then lie back on the floor and hug your bent knees to your chest. Repeat 3 times.

From here, move into the yoga cat cow pose. Get on all fours and suck your belly in with your back rounded and your head bent down, while breathing out slowly and fully. Then reverse by bending your back up, lifting your head to the sky, and pushing your butt out, while breathing in deeply. Switch between cat and cow yoga exercises 3 times.

Then move into an easy hero pose to open your thighs and knees. Kneel on the floor and gently sit back on your legs for a total of 5 deep breaths. If you are very flexible, you can try to sit in between your knees on the floor.

Now let's warm up the core further with a standing yoga chair pose. Sit as deep into your "chair" as possible, until it burns. Keep your arms crossed over your chest or raise them for further challenge. Hold the chair pose for 10 breaths, then rise up to straight legs.

Next move into a standing forward bend. Rise up again from the bend, slowly with one vertebrae at a time. Then repeat the chair pose and forward bends 3 times in total.

Rest in child's pose to relax your muscles as part of each daily exercise, before you continue with the next yoga poses.

During the TV commercial breaks you can exercise by building in plank poses, which are great for core and butt toning while also strengthening your arms. Hold yourself in one straight line over the floor on your hands and toes for 5 deep breaths.

From here, move into an upward dog yoga pose by lowering yourself on the floor, and then pushing your upper body up with your hands. Your legs are on the floor with your toes curled under. If you can, lift your legs up as well, to rest only on your hands and feet, and hold for 2 full breaths.

From there, move into the downward dog pose and walk your heels up and down while in the position, to loosen your hamstrings. Then stay still in this position for 5 breaths. This yoga pose is great for pausing between more strenuous poses. Afterwards go back into plank, upward dog, and downward dog for 3 repetitions.

Rest in child's pose to relax your muscles as part of each daily exercise, before you continue with the next poses.

Next go into a range of standing yoga positions starting with your right foot in front. Start with a high runner's lunge pose by putting your right foot on the floor in front of you and keeping your left leg stretched out behind you. Your toes are pointing to the front. Place your hands on the floor and move as deep as you can into your stretched left leg.

Then move into warrior 1 pose by planting your left foot sidewards on the floor, having both your heels in one line. Rise up your hands and make sure your hips and shoulders are squared toward the front of the room.

Follow this with a warrior 2 pose, where your body faces to the right side and your arms are stretched out in parallel. Look towards your right fingertips in this position.

Next bend back into reverse warrior pose, while keeping your legs in the same position.

Finish this sequence with a yoga side angle pose by lowering your right ellbow onto your right thigh and stretching your left arm to the ceiling. Hold each standing pose for 5 breaths and then repeat all poses on the left side.

Slow down your yoga session with a seated forward bend and hold this for 10 deep breaths. You can start with slightly bent legs, and then try to straighten the legs further with each breathing out.

To complete the session, do an inversion to reverse the blood flow. Lie on your back and go into plow pose. Only straighten your legs over your head if you can do this with ease, without any strain on your neck.

As final stretch in your daily exercise in front of the TV, do a two knee spinal twist on the floor. Use your left arm to pull both your bent knees over to the left side of the floor, while turning your head and right arm to the right. Breathe deeply 5 times into this stretch, then reverse sides.

Enjoy your active TV time with these healthy moves and poses!