Yoga, I think, for complete fitness.

Yoga Sweat from Body by Yoga

Above is a screenshot from a Youtube video of a beginners’ yoga routine/flow called Yoga Sweat, specifically designed for men, by the Body by Yoga channel.

I have been wanting to do some exercise in the morning aside from my pre-dinner circuits that I already do. And I thought I could use some kind of stretching exercise because I feel some ache in my lower back and knees at times. Which actually happens quite often. So, today on Day 20 of my 92-day self challenge I intend to incorporate this into my daily routine.

But before I do, breaking into it gently might be a good idea. Lest I ignore that I am turning 49 in a few months. Better safe (from injury) than sorry. As another Youtuber advised:

I hope that you find a great starter routine that works for you and ease yourself into it!

Elizabeth (LittleFarmBigDreams Youtube channel)

So this morning I did just that. Ease into it. Drawing from another Youtube video, I started with some bending and stretching exercises because these involve my lower back and knees, the parts I want to give some relief.

Bending and leaning back. I slowly bent over until I couldn’t anymore. 10 inches short of the ground. Not good. Held that position for 10 slow breaths then slowly straightened my body.

Now what? I felt like extending that movement and bent my waist and leaned back as far as I can while raising my arms. Held that position for another 10 breaths. That felt right.

So I repeated this sequence for a total of 20 repetitions. Each time trying to reach further down as I bent, and to my surprise, pretty soon my fingertips were touching the ground (although my knees were just slightly bent). Before the set was over my fingers were folded and the 2nd knuckles were touching the floor.

That was positive!

And during the lean back I felt like twisting my trunk right and left with alternatig breaths. That felt good, too.

Knees and leg stretching. After the bending and leaning back, I felt like doing something for my knees and legs. So I lifted a knee and grabbed it. Balanced myself on the other leg while I pulled the raised knee toward my chest. Felt good about that so I held it for 10 slow breaths as well. Did the other knee after.

Next I raised a foot behind me, grabbed it and pulled toward my behind. I remembered I used to do this when I still played basketball (quite a few years back). Another 10 slow breaths. Then the other leg. That felt right so 20 repetitions for this 4-step stretch routine as well.

So now I have my pre-yoga morning routine. I’m happy. 🙂

The Youtube video from Bright Side channel that inspired this stretching routine.

It felt good to incorporate this pre-yoga stretching routine so I can get started with the Yoga Sweat flow soon and have my body producing those BDNF good stuff I’ve been hearing about when people (and I mean Youtubers) talk about the benefits of first-thing-in-the-morning workouts.

So yeah. Yoga sweat soon.

I do not own the screenahot images in this post. All screenshot images’ copyrights are owned by respective Youtube channel owners.