Want to feel better than you’ve ever felt?
Here’s another excerpt from my 10th book, The Secret of Vigor – How to Overcome Burnout, Restore Biochemical Balance and Reclaim Your Natural Energy
Some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions every year are:
*Lose Weight
*Get in Shape
*Reduce Stress
*Get Healthier
*Win the Lottery
The Secret of Vigor can help you with 4 out of 5 of the most popular resolution goals, so I’ll be posting excerpts from the book for the next several weeks – so please stay tuned for each installment.
If you simply can’t wait, then you can certainly get a copy at http://amzn.to/1eju3wu or at your favorite library or bookstore.
VIP: FlexSkills
In addition to the twenty-eight-minute walking program outlined earlier, you should consider also adding the flexibility exercises described below to further improve your circulation, balance, and strength. I call each of these ten exercises “FlexSkills,” and I’ve used them to help elite athletes in virtually every type of sport improve their stress resilience, flexibility, and resistance to injury.
For each FlexSkill, you want to “hold” the position for thirty to sixty seconds. Each “cycle” of ten exercises, then, takes only five to ten minutes and can be performed either as a warm-up/cool-down on the days that you also do your Interval Walking or as an exercise circuit on its own. For example, you could go through all ten FlexSkills two or three times as your workout instead of walking. You may also want to use a floor mat or large towel when performing these skills.
1. Child’s Pose (Targets: spine, lower back, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles)
This is one of the classic yoga poses—a resting and starting pose that serves as the base from which many other poses and stretches emanate. We’ll use it as the initial FlexSkill, because it helps awaken and stimulate each of the major joint systems that we’ll target with the subsequent FlexSkill movements.
From a standing position, come to your hands and knees. Point your toes so the tops of your feet are flat on the floor and your butt rests on your heels. Place your hands flat on the mat, about shoulders’ width apart. Slowly reach forward, extending your arms straight out in front of you. Bend and extend your back and try to get your forehead as close to the floor as is comfortable. When you reach your farthest comfortable point, breath slowly and deeply, and hold this position for thirty to sixty seconds.
