Yoga for Busy People

The holiday season is truly the best time of year but it can still be very stressful and busy. On top of that, a busy schedule can make it extremely hard to find time to work out or do yoga, which takes more time and patience than a simple curl up or push up in my opinion. But today, in my blog I will be explaining four yoga poses from Everyone Try Yoga: Finding Your Yoga Fit that only take 10 minutes maximum. Easy enough to fit into the busiest of schedules during the holiday season.


Just a reminder, as I stated in my last blog post make sure to follow basic procedures before starting. Such as not wearing socks and making sure to eat nothing two hours beforehand. Once you've made sure to follow those steps, you should be good to go. The first yoga pose is called the downward-facing dog. Start, "From all fours, arms straight, draw the shoulder blades down the back, tuck the toes under, lift knees and extend back into a downward-facing dog" (Woodhall and Sattin 50). Specifically, this pose should work on stretching your calves and back which are important parts to stretch regularly.

Downward-Facing Dog

The second pose is called the twisting lunge. The twisting lunge is a lot easier than explained in the book but based of Victoria Woodhall's and Jonathan Sattin's yoga terms, "...step the right foot forward into a lunge, lengthen the spine and twist to the right, raising the right arm to the sky, shoulder blades curling into the back of your heart as you breathe and open your lungs" (Woodhall and Sattin 50). If you are one of those people who are still tired and sore from Christmas shopping this is a perfect stretch for your tired arms and legs.

Twisting Lunge

My favorite from the four poses by far is the pigeon. The pigeon is an amazing stretch, leading into your front splits. To start "Take the right foot across the mat toward your left hand, with pelvis and hips square to the front of the mat, scoop the tailbone down, lengthen through the spine, lift the heart " (Woodhall and Sattin 51).

Pigeon

So far, just by reading the instructions to these stretches may make you assume that these poses will take more than the maximum ten minutes but trust me, explaining the correct placement is the hardest part to get through. Once you get the hang of the placement and exercise, reading this will even take you longer than conducting these poses. So hang in there while we get through the last pose which is called the twisting lunge with thigh stretch. This is probably the hardest of the four poses, just warning you here. I was telling my brother, who was taking the picture, to hurry up because my thighs were burning. But don't worry, it's worth the great stretch in your thigh at the end. So in order to do this pose, "..stretch one leg up and back to open up the hips, then step it forward into a low lunge, placing the back leg" (Woodhall and Sattin 50).

Twisting Lunge with Thigh Stretch









In conclusion, these four yoga stretches are excellent if you are one of those busy people rushing through a tight schedule during the holiday season, but still want to get in a little workout in between your unhealthy eating habits. This should be your solution to that problem. Try some of the stretches out yourself and see how long it takes you. And not to forget, Happy New Year!

Question:

Have you done anything in between your break related to fitness? If yes, what was it? If you haven't, explain which one of these poses you will try.

Citation:

Woodhall, Victoria and Sattin, Jonathan. Everyone Try Yoga: Finding Your Yoga Fit. London: Kyle Books, 2013. Print.