7 WAYS TO EXERCISE YOUR WAY OUT OF A LOCKDOWN1. Auto PilatesNamrata Purohit, Pilates instructor to celebs such as Kareena Kapoor Khan and Malaika Arora, has been posting simple exercises on her Instagram. The workouts include side planks, Pilates, kneeling squats and lunges. Opt for exercises like high knees, skipping, jumping jacks and some high-intensity interval training or tabata style training, she says. Pilates, according to her, is a mind and body exercise that works on the entire body and lengthens the spine.Core issueTo shed abdominal fat, do a side plank for 30 seconds to a minute on each side, then a side plank and 5-10 twists on each side.preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}To increase stre­n­gth, do a combination of a kneeling squat, a bottoms-up lunge and a single leg deadlift2. Exercise Your Mind Meditation can not only help battle stress and improve concentration, it can also contribute to one’s overall physical well-being by regulating breath and blood pressure. However, it is a process that can often be daunting for beginners. Given our daily routines, which typically involve long commutes, hectic schedules, hyper-socialising and constant communication, rediscovering peace within cannot happen overnight. Once you start to see the benefits of just 3-5 minutes of meditation, you will automatically want to increase the time, says Dr Issac Mathai, holistic healer and founder of Soukya in Bengaluru. As we face a pandemic, meditation can be the key to sorting out our thoughts, letting go of excessive fear and healing ourselves at a deeper, more spiritual level.Waiting to ExhaleStart off with 3-5 minutes of meditationFocus on your breath, be aware as it passes through your nose and into your lungs3. Workout in the Time of WFH I am more tired now than when I am working in the studio, says Yasmin Karachiwala, who has been busy sending workout-at-home regimens to her celebrity clients, such as Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif, among others. She has also been busy uploading on her YouTube channel and Instagram feed videos of exercises that can be done at home with nothing more than a mat. For instance, one video demonstrates exercises that can be done with a towel. To give a real-time feel, Karachiwala guides on how to set up, how many repetitions to do and has 20-second breaks for transitions. All those who say they have no time to exercise now have all the time in the world. You can use this time to start working out for 20 minutes a day and gradually make it a part of your lifestyle.Put on a timer, take a deep breath and see how many seconds you can hold it for. The more you hold, the more you increase the capacity of your lungs to hold it, she says. She recommends doing it four times a day.4. Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow The show must go on, says choreographer and dance teacher Ashley Lobo, founder and director of The DanceWorx Performing Arts Academy. And being confined to your home is no reason why you should give up on the activity. The key is to keep people positive, engaged, in touch with dance and well-exercised, says Lobo. He intends to have the principal dancers of his company also share lessons in ballet, urban, funk, lyrical and theatre jazz in the near future.Go to the academy’s Instagram account: thedanceworx_officialSearch for their tutorial videos on street jazz and contemporary danceFollow the steps, which have been broken into easy counts5. Indoor Walks Even though you cannot go to the park for a walk, YouTube is packed with simple 20 to 30-minute free walking workouts that can be done indoors. Among the most popular certified trainers for walk at home workouts are Jessica Smith and Leslie Sansone, who have a lot of Indians among their followers on their YouTube channels. The Nike Training Club app has virtual personal trainers. You don’t need to step out of your house at all and can do about 1-2 miles of light exercise in a short time. All workouts on the app come with the option to add background music, some of which mimic rustling of leaves or wind or the chirping of birds; you could well pretend you are out for a stroll outdoors.Those older and with heart problems should do gen­tle cardio exercises after consulting their doctor, says Dr K.K. Aggarwal, former head of the Indian Medical Association.Pace missionShort on space? There are enough walking workouts online that need only about 10 ft of space.These workouts focus on raising your knees and using your arms to gradually pump up the heart rate.6. Strike a Pose For Tanvi Mehra, trained in hatha and ashtanga yoga, and who runs Tangerine Studios in Mumbai, the lockdown has meant finally taking her classes online. I had always meant to, but now I have all the more reason to, says Mehra. Beginning mid-March, she started her Practice at Home series. On Janata Curfew day, March 22, she began using Zoom to coach 36 of her students who logged in for the first class. As more people work from home, Mehra has devised sessions like spinal articulation, hip and spine mobility flow to focus on body parts that need special attention.The cat and cow stretch on all fours is an excellent way to release spinal tension and reset the nervous systemTo strengthen the neck, shoulders and upper back, inhale, interlace your palms and place them at the base of your skull and look up, pressing the head into your palms while extending the elbows backwards. Exhale, folding your elbows towards each other, look down and stretch the nape of your neck. After that, gently stretch the neck from side to side.Press the right ear towards the right shoulder, lengthening the left side of the neck, then do the opposite. Hold for 10 breaths for each side.Lie on your back and hug your knees to your chest and gently rock and roll from side to side and forward and backward.Lie on your back, bend the knees gently and lift your hips first up and then down.Do the exercises 10 times, gently, with deep breathing to accompany the stretches.7. Go Zumba An intermittent dance-based cardiovascular workout, Zumba has been designed to help burn more calories than running or jogging. A person can burn around 600 calories in an hour, says Pooja Rajpurohit, 26, a Zumba jammer in Bengaluru. It also needs only a little space for you to practise it, which means you can easily do it at home. With COVID-19 keeping people indoors, Zumba jammers have started virtual classes. Rajpurohit, who has been practising Zumba for the past six years, offers offline classes in four of the city’s gyms. Zumba is a total body workout and challenges your endurance, she says. You lose yourself to the music. Giving yourself that break from the outside world is as important as the exercise bit of it.On to that merenge marchDetails of various virtual Zumba classes can be found on gym websites, Instagram or YouTube.A trial class comes for as low as Rs 150-200, while eight classes can cost upward of Rs 2,000.Published By: Akriti AnandPublished On: Mar 27, 2020--- ENDS ---
