Yahoo Lifestyle Your Flowing Energy Workout
By Natalie Gingerlich
Your workout at a glance
• For all-day energy, do the routine at least three times a week; for an instant lift, do your favourite move anytime.
• Go from one exercise to the next in the order they appear, slowly and gracefully flowing through all the repetitions without stopping.
• Breathe through your nose, with lips closed and the tip of your tongue lightly touching the roof of your mouth, or palate, behind your teeth (an acupressure point experts believe regulates energy).
Need more stamina? Rescue remedy: qi gong (pronounced chee gong, meaning ‘energy practice’)
This form of active meditation—which consists of flowing, repetitive movements designed to harness your body’s energy—has proved to enhance nervous-system function and lower stress-hormone levels. Research shows that regular qi gong practice also has positive effects on blood-sugar levels, bone health and even pain management. In a recent Swedish study, qi gong movements helped 40+ women working at high-stress computer tasks to naturally lower their heart rates and blood pressures.
You can do our 15-minute cyclic program anywhere, anytime, and you don’t even need to change into workout gear. For enhanced focus, better sleep and a more buoyant mood, start these moves today.
1. Big Cat Stretch
Begin on all fours, with hands directly under shoulders and knees below hips, toes pointed back. Inhale and pull belly up, rounding your back towards ceiling and tucking head in to look at navel (1a). Exhale and sit back, pushing hips towards heels, arms extended forwards (1b). Inhale, returning to all fours, then exhale and look upwards, lifting chest and dropping belly towards floor (1c). For extra toning, add a yoga push-up at this point: bend elbows at sides and, on an inhalation, lower chest towards floor, keeping back curved. Exhale as you straighten arms. Repeat the sequence from the beginning. Do three to six times.
2. Holding Energy
Rise to a standing position, feet hip-width apart, knees soft, hands in front of you with elbows softly bent and pointing out to sides, palms facing up. Inhaling, slowly lift hands to chin height, then turn palms down and, exhaling, lower to hip level. Turn palms up and repeat, lifting and lowering three times. Turn palms to face each other, and imagine you’re holding a ball. Relax your eyes and focus on the space where the ball would be as you move your hands slightly closer and farther apart. Notice whether you feel warmth or tingling between your hands—that’s your body’s energy, your qi, at work. Hold your imaginary ball for about a minute.
3. Rocking
Step right foot forwards about 30 cm, arms at sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees, palms facing in. Rock forwards, bending right knee like a lunge (3a) as you inhale and extend arms upwards, moving hands up and away from you in an arc. Exhale and rock back as hands sweep down, bending left knee and straightening right knee, with front foot flexed so toes are off the floor (3b). Bring hands up in front of body. Keep rocking forwards and back six to nine times as you move arms in their arc. Switch legs and repeat.
4. Twist and Reach
Step feet wide apart, arms out wide and round (like you’re holding a beachball, right hand on top, left hand below). Shift weight to left, bending left knee slightly as you twist torso to right, raising left hand, palm up across body towards ceiling and lowering right hand, palm down, towards floor behind you, arms in a diagonal line (4a). Glide hands back to starting position, opposite hand on top (4b). Then shift right and twist to left, switching arms. Alternate sides for 6 to 9 reps on each.
5. Scooping the Earth
With feet still wide apart, turn toes outwards, rest the back of your left hand on your lower back and extend right arm to side, parallel to floor, palm facing downwards. Bend right knee into a lunge (5a) and hinge forwards from hips, reaching right hand towards floor. Slowly shift weight to centre (both legs equally bent in a plié squat), then to left side (lunging with left leg), scooping right arm across floor (5b). Inhaling, with left knee still bent, lift upper body, right arm stretched across body to left side, then slowly pull hand across front of body, exhaling and lunging to right (5c). Eyes focus on right hand throughout. Do six to nine times without stopping. Switch sides and repeat.
6. Push and Pull
With feet hip-width apart, bend elbows so arms are at sides, palms facing each other. Simultaneously push right arm forwards, palm facing away from you (like you’re stopping traffic) and pull left hand back by hip, elbow behind you and palm facing up. Now pull right hand back and push left hand forwards. Slowly continue to alternate hands for 6 to 9 reps with each arm. End by gently shaking out arms and legs, then come to stillness, resting right hand on top of left, just below navel. Hold this position until you feel ready to exit the cycle.
