Premier Ladies Flower Mound Personal Trainer

Archive for June, 2010

This pose challenges your balance and is a good way to strengthen your legs.  Stand with your legs straight and feet touching.  Inhale, shift your weight onto your right foot, and lift your left heel toward your left buttock as you bend the knee.  Keep the standing leg straight and strong, contracting the thigh.  Reach your right hand around behind your back and hold the inside of the left foot. Then reach the left hand back and grab the outside of the left foot if you have the balance. This grasp will challenge your balance even more. Then raise the thigh and foot towards the ceiling.  Stay in the pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Then release, place the left foot back onto the floor, and repeat on the other side.

Just as the name says, this pose is great for opening and stretching the upper back which includes the trapezius and rhomboid muscles. Begin in a cross-legged or other comfortable seated position. With a straight back, interlace all ten fingers behind the neck. Slowly start to bring the elbows towards each other until they touch. Feel the back open up, and hold this pose for up to 30 seconds.

Inhale, bend your right knee, and slide your left foot about 6 to 12 inches forward along the floor. At the same time, reach your right hand forward. Exhale, press your right hand and right heel firmly into the floor, and straighten your right leg lifting the left leg parallel to the floor. Don’t lock the standing knee; keep a slight bend in it. Beginners should keep the left hand on the left hip and the head in a neutral position. Hold this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute.