Monday Workout: All Bosu!

As threatened last week, this week we are working with the Bosu.  Please do not add instability to your workout if it is not appropriate for you.  The exercises work just fine if you do them on the floor.  If you do use a Bosu, you have a choice about which side to put up when you are standing on it.  Placing it with the flat side down and standing on it is more stable than the other way around, so master that first.  For the side steps and V-sit, put the flat side down.  For the mountain climbers, put the round side down.  For the burpees, raise the Bosu overhead, then put it round side down before you kick out your feet for the pushup.  For the pushups by themselves, you can choose to do them the same way as in the burpee, or put the Bosu flat side down and put your feet up on it.  As always, use your good judgment and modify as needed for your body and for how you feel on workout day.  Three rounds.

All Bosu
squats	30
curls	20
burpees	10
side steps	30
bent over rows	20
pushups	10
mountain climbers	30
lateral raises	20
V sit, can add raise/lower	10

Friday Book Report: The Yamas and Niyamas

Two of the eight limbs of yoga are the yamas and niyamas, practices for how we treat others and ourselves.  Deborah Adele’s book, The Yamas and Niyamas:  Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice, introduces and explains the ideas and provides lots of room for reflection.  It is a short book, pleasant to read, and definitely thought-provoking.  We can all use a little more nonviolence and truthfulness, for example, in our lives.

Anybody want to get together and do a journaling group around it?

Even More Balanced...

Yesterday I wrote about balance in a mostly metaphorical sense.  Today, I feel more literal.  Balance is an often-neglected part of our workouts, which is bad since it is so crucial to our long-term health.  The statistics about what happens to older people after falling and breaking a hip are not encouraging, for example.  I don’t think I know anyone who is truly looking forward to having to live out the end of days in a nursing home because it is unsafe to go to the bathroom alone.

Many of the things we can do to improve our balance don’t even have to happen during workouts.  Like everything else, practice is the key.  So brush your teeth on tippy-toe.  Wash the dishes on one leg.  Play tightrope on the sidewalk while the dog is investigating that fascinating smell in the bushes.

And, yes, we can work on it in workouts, too.  That means core.  And possibly work with the Bosu or a wobble board or a turntable.  One-legged catch is also a good way to put balance in a workout without creating a huge muscle burden.

As for balancing the mind, well, that’s beyond the scope of my practice.  You’re on your own there.