Keeping fit (and beautiful) with yoga

By Sharon Chang
Translated by Angela Cheng

White-collar workers usually find themselves sitting and busy all day in the office before perhaps enjoying a nice evening meal and going home to become couch potatoes. This lifestyle, combined with aging and a slowing metabolism, means that maintaining a good figure has become quite a challenge for modern people.

While pursuing an ideal body shape is a widespread goal, the mantra of doing this via diet control and regular exercise is easier said than done. Maintaining a good diet relies on personal motivation and self-control. When it comes to regular exercise, yoga instructor Jade from True Yoga has some useful tips for how to easily exercise and keep fit despite limited time and space.

According to Jade, today almost everyone has neck, shoulder, back and waist problems, mainly due to muscles and a meridian system that are tensed up for long periods of time. The "sun salutation" is a classic yoga position that trains your flexibility and muscle strength via a combination of front and back bending poses combined with steady and smooth breathing, and can be done over just 30 minutes per day at home or in the office.

Although yoga is slower-paced, it is still not appropriate to do it after a meal, on an empty stomach or when tired. A warm-up that includes stretching your arms, bending from side to side and kicking your feet is also essential. If you can work up a sweat in a ventilated environment with opened windows, it's healthier for your body.

In fact, any kind of exercise is helpful, as long as it is done regularly, so why not stand up and stretch your body right now?

A. Raise your upper body and stretch your arms all the way to the fingers, stretching towards the left and right sides.
B. Bend your arm between the back of your neck and shoulder blade, and use your other hand to grasp the elbow and push downward.
C. Use a towel to help stretch back muscles.
D. Do side twists to stretch waist muscles and keep in shape.

A. 　B.

C.　D.

A. Raise your upper body, open your feet slightly, and bend toward the back.
B. Bend forward from the waist, extending hands downward.
C. Bend one leg forward and extend the other leg backwards, opening up the thigh muscles.
D. Straighten your arms to lift your body with toes touching the ground, keeping your body parallel to the ground.
E. An Inverted V position completely stretches the thigh and back muscles.

A. 　B. 　C.

D.　E.

True Yoga
www.trueyoga.com.tw
Park Lane by CMP/Eslite mall 12-13F
(68, GongYi Rd, West Dist.)
(04) 3700-0000