Monday Workout: BOSU fun!

Maintaining stability in an unstable world is one goal of fitness, both literal and metaphorical.  We’re working on that this week with the BOSU.  (If you don’t have access to the BOSU, just do the exercises plain—they will still make you both stronger and tired!)  When working on exercises with added instability, it is important to choose slightly lighter weights to avoid too much challenge at once.  Three rounds.

BOSU step ups	30
BOSU lunges	20
BOSU pushups	10
mountain climbers	30
squats	20
dips	10
clean and press	30
bench press	20
pretty princesses	10

Friday Book Report: Teaching Yoga

Donna Farhi’s book Teaching Yoga:  Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship outlines what ethical practice in yoga should be.  It discusses money, sex, boundaries, and confidentiality, among other things.  It’s also a short read, even with the exercises at the end.

Most of the books I read are useful for both fitness enthusiasts and professionals.  This book, obviously, is designed for teachers, but I suppose anyone deeply interested in one way to live out one’s yoga could find it interesting.

It is unfortunate that someone needs to remind yoga teachers (and other professionals in fitness, since I have read similar chapters if not books from both Pilates and personal training angles) about how to be a decent human being in the context of work, but there it is.  None of us is perfect and having ground rules out there is a good idea.

Let’s all be kind and good to each other while respecting each other’s boundaries.

Yeah, drink the water, too...

Recently, my health plan sent me a link to an article about five ways to improve my state of mind.  It passed my personal test for useful information on this topic:  it did not include a recommendation to hydrate, which in my opinion is a secret code for “We have no idea what actually helps, but we know drinking more water won’t hurt.”  Please note:  hydration is definitely important for keeping us healthy and cheerful.  I have nothing against hydration and in fact, I encourage us all to drink more water.

What struck me about the list was that two of the five things were directly related to fitness:  getting moving and getting enough sleep.  I realize that many of us think that these two things are diametrically opposed.  We feel that we either have time to exercise or time to sleep.  Sometimes this is true, but more often than not exercise improves the quality of our sleep enough and frees up enough energy that once we get going, we manage just fine.

Two more items were about screens and friends.  Unplugging from our tech and plugging into our real live networks both help us feel better.  The efficiency expert in me suggests grabbing a friend and heading out for a hike where there is no cell reception:  three items (four, if you count the improved sleep patterns from unplugging and moving) in one go!

(The last item was “Find your words.”  We all need help sometimes, but asking can be hard.  Please know I’m here to help…)

Minds and bodies work best together.  We can do it!