Yoga

I try to exercise at least 6 hours a week. Now...believe me, I'm not a fan of exercising....But....its so important for you and your heart! I've found a new love...YOGA! I've been reading all my new macrobiotic books and they all say do Yoga. Fortunately I'm a member at the YMCA and they have yoga, so I thought I'd give it a try. Love it! Yoga isn't for wimps, let me tell you! You can work at your own pace, believe me, I'm no human pretzel, in fact I'm not very flexible all. I've been practicing Yoga now for about 5 weeks, I've noticed an incredible difference in my body. I may still weigh the same but my skinny jeans fit! (yahoo!)
Yoga must be getting more popular. I picked up this months Consumer Reports "SHOPSMART" magazine and low and behold, they have a article in this months issue on Yoga! As they explain:
There's basically 4 types of Yoga:
Hatha: good for beginners, you learn all the basic poses, not as hard as some of the other types. (I guess this is what I've been doing)
Vinyasa: this is good for people who've been doing yoga for a few months. These classes move more briskly and include basic moves and some more advanced moves (like a back bend). I guess I sort of do a little of this too (not very well though).
Bikram: is good for someone who wants to tone and sweat. Its usually practiced in a 100 degree room!
Iyengar: The old form of yoga, good for everyone. Its great if you have bad knees, or a bad back. This type of yoga involves props such as straps, (helps you keep your legs straight), blocks, (you don't have to stretch as far) and bolsters.
What equipment do you need? A yoga mat, you can get one anywhere, Target, K-Mart, sports shop...usually cost around $20.
Yoga isn't for woman only...in my yoga classes there's several men.
If you want to try Yoga at home, try a couple of different DVDs. Consumers Report suggests several, I've never tried this one but it sounds like a good place to start: "Rodney Yee's Yoga for Begginers".Give Yoga a try, you might just love it!