Easy flow-workouts to fit into your day

1. Upon waking up:

Grab some 3-5 lbs. weights and take a walk through your house when you first wake up. Do small bicep curls while you walk to help get the muscles in the arms engaged and to help get the circulation flowing through your body as well.

2. Mid morning:

Do the old standing, against the wall sit. Keep your back straight and against the wall while you look over some paperwork or even talk to a client on the phone, etc. Keep your knees bent in a 90 degree angle and raise your arms to shoulder height. Hold each post for 1 minutes and rest for 30 seconds. Repeat as many times has you can or as time allows.

3. Lunch or Noon:

Tone your lower body before digging into your food at lunch. With your hands on your hips, step with your right foot out and bend both keens into a squatting position. Return to center and step with the left and squat. Repeat 15 times on each leg.

4. Mid afternoon:

Get rid of back pain that comes from working or sitting for long periods. Stand with feet about hip-width apart and fold over till you are hanging over toward the floor in front of you. Bend your right knee and swing the torso to the right then return to the center and swing the torso to the left. Roll up to standing and repeat as many times as needed.

5. After Work is done:

Run with the vacuum, dust mop or mop through your home. Do jumping jacks in between the rooms and bend under furniture. Vacuum every day is a great way to keep the home clean and a great calorie blaster as well. So go at it.

6. Evening or After Dinner:

When the kitchen is cleared of dinner plates, turn on the tunes and bust-a-move with the kiddos. A five-minute song can really help boost your mood, and give you quality, fun time with your kids. It even will help burn off a bit of the dinner calories as well.

The ultimate five minute workouts you can do throughout your day

• Start Your Day: Jogging in place is a great way to start your day. It can help get your blood flowing and help increase your circulation. Jog in place till you work up a sweat. For a more advanced workout, try bringing your heels to touch your butt.

• After Your Commute to Work: Try the horse press. This will help tone your legs and butt and can be done anywhere in the office. Place your hands on your hips and spread your legs and squat. If you have knee injuries, don't go down till it hurts; go down to where you can comfortably bend the knees. Squeeze your butt as you come back up to a standing position. Repeat this motion for five minutes.

•At Lunch Time: Take the stairs in your office or anywhere for that matter. Take them one at a time at first then head back down and take them two at a time to increase your cardio workout. Repeat this process till five minutes has passed.

• Before you Head Home: Do simple jumping jacks for five minutes. If you haven't done jumping jacks in ages, you will be surprised at how sore your muscles really are after only five minutes worth.

• After Work: Squeeze that butt in and out for five minutes. This will help tighten your backend.

• Two Hours Before Bed: Roll your spine. Start with a straight back, roll your shoulders to ensure you are properly aligned and reach forward to touch your toes. Make a C-shape with your body as your lean forward. Repeat for five minutes.

It's really easy to get in the proper amount of workout time daily. It's all a matter of doing it and sticking with it.

Do you sit for long periods? Try these yoga workouts

#1: Lay flat on the ground in corpse position and place hands behind your neck just above the clavicle bone. Breathe in and hold then out for three seconds. Repeat with hands on the chest above the breast then once more on the navel. Think about your breathing and if there is any struggle during your inhales or your exhales.


#2: Sitting up straight (roll your shoulders to ensure your ribs are lined up correctly) and with feet flat on the floor, bring one leg up over the other leg. Not legs crossed but where they for a triangle in the middle of each other. lean forward and attempt to reach as far as you can as if you are trying to grab something extended out in front of you with your arms. Repeat with the other leg and repeat this exercise three times.

#3: When sitting for long periods, such as traveling by air, place your carry-on bag on the floor in front of you and place on foot on the bag. This will help displace the way you sit and can help your torso better align when it comes time to stand and walk once more.

The Sitted Twist to Reduce Stress

Sit with legs crossed and a blanket or bolster under your hips to help with support. Inhale for four counts and exhale for four counts. On the next inhale reach up to the ceiling and when you bring your arms down, exhale and slowly rotate your spine without moving your legs to the left. Grab your left knee with your right hand and pull yourself around until you are looking over your left shoulder. Breathe in for five breaths than slowly come back to center and look forward. Repeat with the right side and come back to center.

Repeat this for a total of three counts. Reaching up to the ceiling before each turn.

Do this routine at the end of your busy day. It will help reduce tension in your back, which will reduce tension and stress in your mind as well.

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Sun Salutation

1. Namaskar - salute. Stand erect with feet together and join the palms in the center of the chest in the style of Indian salute and inhale. Then exhale and push the hands down straightening and lowering the arms until the elbows touch the sides. This standing pose is also known as tadaasana.

2. Chandraasan - crescent moon pose. Inhale and raise the arms above the head and extend the spine backwards arching the back from the waist and moving the hips forward. Let the eyes follow the hands while relaxing your neck.

3. Hastapadaasan - bending pose. Begin to exhale bending forward from the waist and place the hands on the floor besides each foot. Relax with your head and neck in a bending pose.

4. Surya darshan - sun gaze. Inhale and putting your weight on the hands stretch the right leg behind like a stick resting on the toes. Bend the knee and place it on the floor with your weight on the left foot and arch the spine backward. Lift the head and neck first up and then back. Roll the eyes up. The left foot remains between the hands.

5. Himalayan - mountain pose. Exhale and bring the left foot back in line with the right. Lift the hips up high like a mountain. Push the heels and head down and look at the toes with the head down between the arms.

6. Sashtang dandawat - lie down. Put the knees down first and then bring the chest down. See that eight parts of the body are touching the floor including two feet, two knees, two hands, the chest and the chin or forehead. Sashtang means eight limbs and dandawat means paying homage by touching the floor. Make sure the hips are slightly raised above the ground. Inhale and exhale in this position. Keep the feet together.

7. Bhujangaasan - cobra pose. Lower the pelvis and abdomen to the floor. Inhale and stretch the toes on the floor. Raise your head slowly up, arch the spine and neck and look up. Keep your legs together and the elbows alongside the body slightly bent and keep the shoulders down.

8. Himalaya aasan. Exhale and wiggle your toes forward allowing your feet to rest on the soles while your raise the hips as your did in number 5.

9. Surya darshan. Inhale and bring the right foot forward and assume pose number 4 exactly as before.

10. Hastapadaasan. Exhale and bring the right foot forward and assume pose number 3.

11. Chandraasan. Inhale and stretch up in a standing pose with your arms up and bend backwards like in pose number

12. Namaskar. Exhale and stand erect bringing the hands back to the center of the chest with palms together as in pose number 1.

Making some Changes

Diary of a Yogi has been mostly about changing your life for the knowing of yoga better, but Diary of a Yogi is changing. Instead of just being about Yoga, we will tip the scales in changing your life as a whole. We will have more contributing writers and even more stories on how you can change your life in every way, shape, fashion and form. Hope you follow along for the journey and help us all achieve whole body happiness!