There was a time when I use to go to the gym, lift weights, do ab crunches and get on the stairmaster. For some reason, I eventually lost interest in it plus the fact that I think gyms are swindlers. Yes, you heard me.they are swindlers in every sense of the word. In the US health clubs & gyms are notorious for ripping off customers. If you stop going for any reason, they will still charge you by hacking into your bank account & all sorts of other outrageous things. So what do I do now in place of gym workouts? Well, three years ago, I discovered Hatha Yoga. Aside from being a 3, 000 year old form of fitness, beauty, and meditation; Yoga has helped me deal with the daily stresses of life & has made me slender & limber.
I attended Yoga classes a couple of times but I decided that I was a bit too clausterphobic for a group class so I started to work out at home instead of dealing with an overcrowded, sweaty gym. About 3 years ago, I discovered the beauty of working out at home with fitness tapes & DVDs. I’m a Scorpio so I’m very structured about my routine. I do Power Yoga(Ashtanga style yoga) 3 times a week and Pilates twice a week. There are many different types of Yoga but the Yoga I do is a fusion of Pilates, Ballet, and strength training. Pilates can best be described as a modified ballet type exercise. What tapes & DVDs do I use? I use the Karen Voight YogaSculpt tape 3 times a week. Karen Voight is probably the best fitness instructor in the world, in my opinion. Her tapes can be obtained at http://www.karenvoight.com or at Amazon bookstores online. On the days that I don’t do Yoga, I do Pilates using the Jennifer Kries Perfect Mix DVD. If I had to bring one workout DVD to an abandoned island, this would be it. This has a great warmup & pranayama(breathing) section as well as terrific firmimg tips. You can order her DVDs & videos online at https://jenniferkries.com. She is a great instructor and has perfect presentation. Of course there are times when I want to do it all: My abs, back, arms, legs, and butt. The solution for all my body firming needs PLUS Yoga can be found with Beth Shaw’s YogaFit Workout tape. She is very detailed & her brand of Yoga is more challenging than the previous ones mentioned. Beth covers it all from breathing, warmup, the poses, the cool down, ect. In fact, if you feel overweight & out of shape, I would suggest you do this tape for three weeks or more to get the desired results. You can get her tapes at https://yogafit.com. Lastly, please don’t start ANY fitness routine without first consulting your family doctor.
Also, exercise isn’t the only component to a healthy body. Your diet must change, as well. I am in complete agreement with Dr. Shafique about eliminating salt, sugar, and heavy starches from your diet. In fact, I have also eliminated dairy foods, as well. In Ayurvedic terms, I am a Vata so I really don’t respond to dairy foods or cold foods too well. I drink lots of soy milk for protein. If I must have rice with my meal, I limit it to once a day and in half a cup.a small tea cup. And lastly, no matter how many fitness tapes, DVDs and time you have, it won’t help if you are not motivated. The best way to get motivated is to find a fitness partner like your sister, brother, mom, in-laws, ect. You can also go at it alone and get an online fitness buddy to keep track of your progress. Don’t EVER give up. The reward of having a fit mind & body are great & it’s something that will stay with you forever.