The Women's Health Big Book of 15-Minute Workouts: A Leaner, Sexier, Healthier You--In 15 Minutes a Day! (60 page)

• From down dog split, slowly lower your right leg as you raise your stomach and hips, round your back, and bring your knee toward your forehead, keeping your toes pointed and core engaged.

• Tuck your chin toward your chest, and extend your upper back forward through your shoulders.

Warrior III

• From down dog split with left leg elevated, put your left foot between your hands. Raise your arms off the ground and shift your weight onto your left foot as you raise your right leg.

• At the same time, bring your torso forward until it’s parallel to the floor, reaching your arms forward. Flex your right foot, pointing toes down.

FAT-BURNING FLOW WORKOUT

Get ready to melt fat as well as boost strength, flexibility, and focus with this challenging sequence of moves that call upon every little sinew in novel ways.

START HERE:

Hold each pose for five deep inhales and exhales, unless noted otherwise, then repeat the entire sequence on the other side. Then repeat, so you hit each side twice.

Plank

• Get on your hands and knees. Keep your elbows straight but not locked. Tuck your toes under and straighten your legs so you’re in a horizontal line. Reach the backs of your legs up.

• Bring your shoulder blades together, extend forward through the top of your head, and reach back through your heels.

Down Dog

• From plank, spread your fingers wide on your mat, lift your hips up and back, and extend your legs. Press your shoulders toward the floor and relax your neck. Press your palms against the floor.

• Walk your feet back, pull up through your hips, and press your heels down. If your heels rise up, try to lower them by walking your feet forward a few inches.

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70

The percent reduction in low-back pain that study participants reported after attending a weekly yoga class and practicing at home for 3 months.

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BREATHE RIGHT

To get the most benefit from yoga poses, master proper breathing. Breaths should be long and deep versus short and quick. Practice by inhaling to a four-count through your nose: Allow your belly to rise first and count one; fill your lungs up through your ribs, two and three; and your upper chest, count four. Hold for two counts, then slowly exhale. Repeat. Focusing on your breath will help you hone your mental focus and keep stray thoughts from taking hold.

Low Lunge

• From down dog, step forward with your right foot. Your left leg should be straight and your right leg deeply bent.

• Bend forward from the waist and press your fingertips to the floor on each side of your right foot.

• Bend your knees slightly and step back with your left leg into a low lunge. Push through your left heel and sink your hips low.

GO WITH THE FLOW

Vinyasa, which is Sanskrit for “flow,” is a more challenging style of yoga because you move quickly from one pose to the next. Studies have shown that moving through a series of poses can catapult your heart rate into the coveted aerobic zone and burn up to 9 calories a minute.

High Lunge with Twist

• Reach your left arm forward and your right arm back, and turn your torso to the right.

• Relax your shoulders and look back over your right hand.

Rotated Triangle

• Lower the fingertips of your left hand to the floor outside your right foot. Open your shoulders to the right and extend your right arm up.

• Bring your left foot forward about 12 inches and press your heel down so your toes point a little out to your left side. Straighten your legs. Pull your right hip back and press your left hip forward.

BALLET WORKOUT

Ever wonder how dancers get those incredibly toned bodies? Rather than banging out big moves like squats in the weight room, dancers practice small concentrated movements that place each tiny muscle under tension for a long time. The result is strong, lean, long, and flexible muscles, especially through the core, hips, butt, and arms, with zero bulk.

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These moves are intended for a dance barre, but you can do them with a chair or counter. Do each move for the prescribed amount of time with each side of your body before moving on. If you have time, repeat the circuit once or twice.

Standing Turnout

• Place your hands on your barre (or chair or table), feet in a narrow V.

• Extend your right leg behind you (point your toe to 5 o’clock), lifting your foot off the floor. Slowly lift your leg up and down by an inch for 30 seconds.

• Repeat, smaller and faster, for 30 seconds.

• Next, make small circles—as if your toe were tracing a quarter—for 30 seconds, then reverse the circles for 30 seconds.

• Repeat the entire sequence with your left leg (toe pointing to 7 o’clock).

Scissor Curl

• Lie on your back with shoulders and feet raised, right leg extended up, and hands behind knee.

• Slowly curl up and down by an inch for 30 seconds.

• Continue, smaller and faster, for 30 seconds. Next, bring your left arm up to your ear and curl for 30 seconds.

• Then reach your left arm toward your right ankle, curling for 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat the sequence.