It is a known fact that yoga has an ability to heal and bring peace to the mind. Apparently, breathing seems to be the reason for the calmness of mind, body and spirit. But how is this achieved and how can I do this?

My friend, an aspiring doctor, informs me that we all have two nervous systems: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. If you are anything like me this doesn’t mean anything to you.

Apparently the sympathetic is also known as the ‘fight or flight’ system, which causes our heart rates and breath to increase- historically this usually kicked in when we needed to fight off beasts and defend our caves.

The parasympathetic is the good guy. This one lowers blood pressure and slows the pace of breaths. When you are in this system, blood no longer rushes to the muscles but can now travel to organs, repairing and healing damage incurred through daily life.

It has been scientifically proven that long, deep breathing encourages the parasympathetic nervous system and results in relaxation and healing. In yoga this deep breathing forms part of its exercises; pranyama.

Try this little exercise:

* Take deep breaths and don’t let your mind wander.

* Only concentrate on your breathing. (This focuses your conscious mind and encourages it to stay connected to your body and the present.)

* When breathing deeply we can influence our state of mind. We can choose to change our breathing pattern and the pace of the mind is similarly calmed and quieted.

The infamous six pack, one of the many goals that we all strive to achieve.  If only it wasn’t such hard work. Yes, it is a bit of a catch 22 situation; wanting a toned, firm body but with as little exercise as possible (and I am sure that you all have had these exact thoughts before). Although there does need to be some training put into achieving washboard abs, there are two easy ways to help them along the way.

* You are what you eat
Simply by eating healthy you will help your body get into shape. This doesn’t mean that you never can touch chocolate ever again, but rather that you need to become aware of what you eat and make sure to keep a good and healthy balance going. Think of food as healthy fuel rather than an enemy that you constantly need to battle.

* Less is more
Interestingly enough, it seems that doing lots of ab exercises won’t result in the firm abs that we are after. It seems to be an old wives tale that by doing lots of ab exercises the result will be the toned core that we are after.

The route to rather take is to increase the intensity of the exercise than the repetition thereof, and by focusing on the body as a whole than isolating specific muscles. This means that only a small amount of a training schedule should be made up of ab exercises. Quality over Quantity.

So maybe this isn’t such a far -fetched dream of being able to flaunt a toned core for the upcoming bikini season.

“My name is Billy, Billy Blanks and I’m going to make you sweat.”
OK so it not what he really says but it should have been those exact words.

Winter is a double edged sword when its comes to working out, its the best time to get in shape for summer but the chilling weather makes it even harder to head outside and do it in the crispy fresh air. So I came up with a great solution, work out in winter in the house!

I’ve seen the infomercials with the testimonials about how great and easy Tae-bo is, so trying it was the logical step on this exercise journey. It’s not as easy as it may look.

You have to clench every part of your body while punching the air, kicking the air, doing a karate spinning kick and uppercuts. So it’s a mind and body exercise because you have to remember to clench while doing the moves.

But Billy is right, he is my champion to a firmer me and like you hear in those infomercials, “its a great work out, I feel so good doing it and I can see my biceps tightening up, my stomach as well and my legs are stronger.”

Forget about fancy equipment, the right gym clothes and endless hours slogging on the treadmill. All you need is music, your body and the energy to have fun. Dance is one of the most athletic workouts, whether taking an aerobic class, ballroom lessons or just putting music full blast in your lounge and jamming while you clean.

The most amazing bodies belong to dancers. They are slim, athletic and have strong cores to help hold themselves in positions that most of us cringe at. But you can achieve this body too, if you are willing to work. Dancing, whether tap, Latin, modern, ballet or being out on a dance floor, is not a walk in the park. However, it is convenient and anyone at any age can take part.

A 20-30 min dance session will increase your heart rate and you will enjoy it and have fun at the same time. Any level of dance can get you fit if you maintain the workout. Most dancers work for hours everyday, but you can start slow, depending on your age, weight and eagerness.

You may not be able to do the splits, spin around a pole or win ’so you think you can dance’ right away, but depending on your goals, dancing will increase your endorphins, make you sweat and allow you to socialise, have fun and let loose.

Tomorrow is the day. I am sure of it. Tomorrow will be the day, but definitely not today. Just not today.

We have all had those moments where we try to convince ourselves with excuses that doing exercise today is not the wisest of ideas we have ever had and that any other day would be a better option. What will be the excuse today, more importantly though how are we going to beat it?

* I’m too tired/ I don’t feel like it
This is the number one prime excuse that everyone has been guilty of muttering at least once in a while. Tiredness and not feeling like it are public enemy number one. The irony of the matter is that exercise actually gives you energy and releases endorphins (the feel good drug for your body). So the point is, the time to really do it is when you are low on energy.

* I am just not into it today
Set small, short-term goals to help you stay motivated. Also by being able to keep record of all the positive changes that exercise has had on your life will be a great help. This list could range from more energy, sleeping better at night, being able to fit into your favourite pair of jeans and more. Post this list somewhere you will see it daily to remind you of why you do the exercise you do.

* It doesn’t seem to be working
Not seeing the results fast enough? Welcome to reality. You don’t, for example, gain weight overnight so losing it will not be a fly-by-night answer either  (sadly). Once you start exercising give your body some time to react. In reality it could take up to 12 weeks before you start seeing some real changes. In the meantime try to remember the benefits of exercise until you see the results you are working towards.

Try to stay strong and kill these excuses before they take a hold of you.

I remember not even being  knee high to a grasshopper, getting into my very own aerobics clothing, taking my gym towel out of the closest and then sitting in front of the TV doing my regular session of ‘Body Beat’.

Now this might be a foreign concept for anyone born post the 1980s and well for most of my friends too, who weren’t into that kind of TV programme; but I do and I was. The kicks, steps and music gave me my daily dose of home-based training session.

This has changed a lot, and now sitting in front of the TV usually doesn’t involve a lot of strenuous exertion. But this doesn’t have to be the case. It is still possible to get great cardio exercises done from the comfort of your own home.

Try these:
* While sitting on the couch lift your legs off of the ground slightly and then gently lower them (you might think this is a silly exercise, but this actually helps you burn calories).

* While you are walking around pump your arms alongside your body, and maybe even lift your legs higher with each step- avoid going into a slow jog.

* As you get better fill two small, plastic bottles with water and use them as weights while you walk around.

There are so many ways how you can incorporate exercise into your life and you wont even notice it. Try this and find your own innovative exercises.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times-in this case it was the toughest of times EVER! So in my quest of non-traditional forms of exercise I headed to the Newtown precinct (Johannesburg) for the Moving Into Dance open classes.

The class was fairly small when it started so I figured no one is going to see my death, HA was I wrong. The session is only an hour and half long but it might as well be the entire day. Every single part of my body ached and this was only during the stretching/ warm up. Once we got into the real thick of things I knew I was in far over my head.

The instructor, a dancer part of the troop, does the jumps, extensions and combinations with such ease- it got me thinking well this can’t be that hard. Go positive energy go!

To my dismay it looked totally out of whack when I attempted them. My jumps seem to only get me a centimeter off the ground, my extensions half-arsed and the combinations, well lets just say I’m not going to share that with you. It was embarrassing enough missing a step and ending up face to face with the person on my left, when I should have been facing right.

In any case I’m now heading to the local Civic Center, mixing self defense with exercise……tell u later

It’s the middle of winter and you’re struggling to get out of bed for your daily exercise routine.  It’s dark and cold and the feeling of sweat freezing on your nose is not so easy to get used to.  But you don’t want to on a guilt trip by not exercising either.

So you decide to stay at home and exercise with a Nintendo Wii.  Everybody’s ranting and raving about it - especially about the Wii Fit.  But how efficient is exercising with the Wii really?

This is what we found:

1. The Wii offers something for everyone with aerobics exercises, balance games, muscle workouts and Yoga poses.

2. Although playing games while exercising is definitely a lot of fun, the Wii will leave you frustrated if you are used to a more rigorous fitness plan.

3. There are some weight management benefits, but the number of calories you’ll burn varies from person to person.

4. Since you don’t have an instructor at hand to ensure that you maintain the right posture, exercise could be done incorrectly, resulting in injury.

So, the Wii Fit and other Wii packages are great to get the whole family embarking on a healthier lifestyle, but it is definitely not the solution for long term fitness and vitality. Even if it is in the comfort of your own home.

You know your forehand from your backhand.  And for two weeks every year you are glued to your seat in front of the TV - yelling your lungs out at your favourite players. Wimbledon.  One of the greatest inspirations in tennis.  Ever. No other Grand Slam comes close to its drama and action - on the court and off.  And once it’s all said and done you just want to get out there and play.

Here are a few tips so you can be on top of your game:
1. Practice makes perfect.  If you don’t get that swing right the first time just keep going.

2. Build your confidence by knowing the different grips and their strengths and weaknesses.  Switch from one grip to another while practicing against a wall, thereby improving your control of the racquet and the ball.

3. Strokes, footwork and focus.  Three elements that can make or break a game.  Start by practicing all your strokes without a ball.  Do at least 10 strokes slowly to ensure that you have the proper form and follow through.

4. Take note of what you need to improve on during a game, and work on those points at your next practice session.

5. You will never reach the top if you can’t conquer the basics.   So don’t think you can take a shortcut and become a pro.  Improper techniques are a lot harder to unlearn that taking the time to do it right from the start.

Contrary to what it might look like after a particularly rough night, and despite the fact that I like movies about cops and cowboys, I am a girl.

I like shoes. I cry during every single episode of Grey’s Anatomy, without fail. I imagine what my life will be like after my very extravagant wedding to Wentworth Miller. And, I love celebrity gossip, even though I can feel the intelligence draining from my brain with every hour I watch E! Still, I’ve accepted that about myself and I’ve decided to run with it.

I figured that if I base my outfits around Kate Moss’s, and my shoe collection around Sarah Jessica Parker’s, why can’t I base some of my training around what the shlebs are doing? I jumped online to check out some of the new fitness fads.

Apparently, Madonna works out doing yoga, pilates or horse riding 7 days a week. Plus she has a 15000 dollar Power Plate Machine (it’s like the Sylvester Stallone of exercise equipment). I do not have 15000 dead presidents. Next!

Uma Thurman did a whole wack of martial arts and sword fight training for Kill Bill. Now, kick boxing I could try, but the judge says I’m not allowed to be within 50 metres of a sword again, so…

And then there’s Britney. She swears that her tight little bod comes from dancing. Now that I can do! I’m a chick! I’m going to trawl every dance class until I find the perfect dance-ercise, and then I’ll tell you all about it.

If you have any suggestions on cool, new dance classes, let me know. After all, being a girl also means we get to bust a move whenever we like without fear of being (seriously) mocked by our buddies.