Keeping Fit Through Yoga (For Beginners)
by Derek Ayre

Sitting down is the nature of my job and, as the years went by, with me hardly noticing, I became less and less fit. There was no question, I needed exercise. Yuk! Not something I relished. To me it was like wasting time when I could be doing more important things like working! I suppose I am one of the lucky ones, I love my job.

But even so, why do I work?  To improve the quality of life, to be able to earn enough money to buy the things that make life more comfortable and - I love gadgets - to be able to afford the latest technology to "play" with. Yes, I love my "toys". So yes, getting more money does have a lot to do with improving the quality of life!

But (another one, "but" that is), continuing to sit on my backside (I could say "butt" again, but that would be too much I think) was doing the opposite of improving the quality of my life, I was beginnning to feel tired and sleepy, joints were beginning to ache from physical inactivity. In other words, what I was trying to accomplish by earning more money, was leading to an impoverished quality of life. So, like it or not,  some sort of regular exercise it would have to be.

For six months, every morning, before work, I decided to commit to swimming. I would start off by doing just 15 minutes swimming up and down the pool and then each week I would add 5 minutes on to that time. Within six weeks I was up to around 40 minutes a day. I was definitely feeling fitter, but can't say I was enjoying the experience. By the time I travelled back and forth to the swimming pool (it was 20 minutes walking distance away), and getting changed and ready for work, well over and hour had passed.  It wasn't long before I slowly quit going to the swimming pool and slowly the aches and pains started returning.

One day by chance I met an old colleague and he seemed to be really fit. I knew he also sat down all day to make a living, so I asked him how he found the time to keep so fit. "Simple," he said, "I do yoga at home. There is still some discipline needed, and it still takes an hour, but being at home, there is no need to worry about going out etc."

I was already into zazen (Zen meditiation), so adding some yoga each day would be no problem. So I purchased a DVD called Yoga For Beginners .

The result: I have been using the DVD now for a few months and my fitness level has definitely improved. Stiffness and aches and pains have started to abate again. I can't say that it was easy to keep up the discipline in the beginning, but with just that little discipline - I set aside an hour from 3.30pm to 4.30pm each day - now, I actually look forward to it. That is not something that happened with my swimming!

Yoga For Beginners is just what it implies, it is for beginners. There are poses and stretches that really do de-stress your body and center the mind. And in my opinion, no matter where you're at when it comes to health and mobility, if you ease yourself gently into the exercises and follow all the instructions that are on the DVD, it may serve as a great boost to your health and vitality.

Please note: This article is for information purposes only and if you have a health problem of any sort, you are strongly advised to consult your doctor or health practitioner before embarking on any form of exercise regime.

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