#and raising one leg for balance (fully stretched out at a 90° angle)

[picturemecountingcards]

rewatched mr. right for the first time in years yesterday only to be smacked in the face by the realization that i stole my gender and the majority of my mannerisms from this fucking guy

it all makes so much sense now.....

[wakaoujisenhime]

Reference material

Synopsis: While in Hyougo, looking for inspiration for your company’s upcoming fashion chain, you end up meeting some of the former Karasuno and Inarizaki volleyball team members with whom you sit together and recollect.

So how did this seemingly innocent get-together end up with you having former captain Kita and former Libero Nishinoya try out some thigh-flattering clothes?

tags/warnings: suggested Kita x reader x Nishinoya ✅ thigh appreciation/marking/biting ✅ some Kita in a skirt towards the end ✅

A/N: my first and slightly delayed contribution to The Church of Meian’s Thigh July collab! I originally planned to do this scenario for one of the boys but got swayed by the church’s babes to do both, so here it is! (੭˃ᴗ˂)੭ Hope you enjoy and please make sure to check everyone else’s delicious works out as well! ♥️

.wc 4.6k

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

Your heart was thumping hard against your chest as you nervously fiddled with your fingers and looked around your living room. You were so skittish that even the smallest sound made you jump and fixate your vision towards the door of your guest room. After taking a deep breath you tried to let your thoughts wander away from the two men that were just beyond the door you were facing.

How did we even end up in this situation…?

Just this morning you’d arrived in Hyougo per your boss’ request to look for inspiration for your new fashion collection. You wandered for hours, observing farmers, workers, students, and whatnot until you decided to take a much-deserved lunch break, and since you were in the home country of the renowned Miya twins, what place was best suited for a short break than Onigiri Miya?

The moment you’d entered the small and humbly decorated shop, you were greeted by the owner himself and his former volleyball team’s captain Kita. While you exchanged the typical greetings with both men, the blond twin came down from the upper floor and, much to Osamu’s chagrin, joined in on your conversation. Just as you and Kita were about to leave and go back to your respective plans the front door was practically kicked open by a short young man and his two companions.

“Well, I’ll be damned…if it ain’t Karasuno’s libero, ace, and moral cheerleader, what’s got ya so far away from Tokyo?” asked Atsumu in a slightly condescending tone. But before anyone could even comment on that, Nishinoya, who most likely didn’t even hear what the man before him said, spread his arms out and happily suggested that you all stay together and recollect over some delicious onigiri. 

Thanks to everyone’s enthusiasm, you got roped into it as well and ended up being surrounded by several young men who happily jugged one beer after the other and argued about who gets to eat the last piece of meat. 

Fortunately for you, you weren’t the only one that had decided to keep their hands off of alcohol. Nishinoya and Kita had both preferred to stay sober in case something were to happen. 

The time flew by and before you’d noticed the group had started to disperse. Asahi, who was surprisingly sober enough to support Sugawara, had gotten up first, excusing himself and his friend, saying that they had to get up early tomorrow in order to catch their flight back to Tokyo. Minutes later Osamu decided to single-handedly put a stop to Atsumu’s flirtatious behavior to which you’d fallen prey to, so he simply threw his brother over his shoulder, apologized to you three, and asked you to simply turn the “OPEN” sign around when you left as he carried the wiggling man back upstairs. 

“Alright then…I think it’s time for me to leave as well” announced Kita with a small smile as he started preparing himself. With a firm nod, the young man next to him followed suit and you were about to do the same when an idea popped into your head.

“You two live quite far away, right?” you asked as you pointed your finger to Noya who nodded, telling you that the motel he stayed at was almost an hour away, then you directed your finger to the captain who confirmed that his house was situated at a very remote part of Hyougo.

“Then how about you guys stay over at my hotel room? It’s just a walk away from here and thanks to my boss it’s big enough to accommodate an entire volleyball team and its substitutes.”

Both boys couldn’t help but giggle at the metaphor you’d used and despite the small fear of inconveniencing you, they yielded eventually.

Everything was going smoothly at first, you brought them over, showed them around, discussed where they wanted to sleep, and even had some time to sit down and continue your chat from before, but then Kita, as conscious as he was, just couldn’t let your generosity go unpaid.

“(Y/N), I appreciate ya going to such lengths to help us out, but I can’t let this sit on me like that. Please tell me what ya’d like us to do as compensation.”

From the exaggerated way he talked, one would think that you had done some kind of heroic act and his words were unfortunately inspiring enough for Nishinoya to start demanding the same. 

And just like that the two of them had backed you into a corner. You were so overwhelmed that you didn’t know what to tell them so that they were satisfied, but then your eyes caught a glimpse of a red suitcase you had tucked away under the sofa. 

“I…I think I know how you can repay me” you silently announced as your hand reached for the object. Both men remained silent as they waited for your terms.

“You see…the reason I’m here is that I was asked to look for inspiration for our company’s upcoming fashion collection and uh…how should I put this…?” Your internal struggle was obvious and the fact that your cheeks were flushed told the men that whatever you were about to ask wasn’t easy for you, so to take some of your nervousness away, Noya placed one of his hands on top of your and with his other one he gave you a thumbs up.

“W-Would you two be willing to try on some of these clothing pieces and model for me?”

The silence that followed made you anxious and you immediately regretted uttering that question, preparing yourself for a rejection, but before you could take it back Kita giggled, followed by a heart-warming laugh from the former Libero.

“So that’s all? Why are you even hesitating on asking us to model for you?” The nonchalance with which both of them reacted to your request was truly unexpected. While you still tried to process this turn of events, the suitcase was taken from your grasp and the men retreated to the guest room to change into the clothes you’d prepared for them…

And here you were, waiting for them for almost 15 minutes. Your nervousness was partially to blame because you couldn’t quite tell them what kind of clothes you’d tucked away in that red rectangular container and the fact that they were in that room for an unnatural amount of time made you wonder whether they’d given it up.

N-No, calm down! They most likely h-have some difficulties with fitting into the garments, si–

…no wait…didn’t boss give me the medium ones…?

While you panicked internally, you failed to notice the two men that slowly exited the room in front of you and with slow steps closed in on you.

“(Y/N)?”

“W-We finished changin’.”

Their soft voices finally caught your attention, making you instinctively look up and the first thing that you noticed was their legs. 

Kita had chosen the pair of black latex jeans while Noya had settled for the leather ones. With wide eyes, you take in the view before you. The two defense specialists, whose thighs were so well-toned, were wearing such tight and figure-enhancing pants that you just couldn’t help but stare at their lower bodies. 

Being stared at was nothing new for these two, but the way your beautiful and big eyes were fixated on them just because of some unnatural wear, made their cheeks heat up and redden ever so slightly. 

“Sooo should we turn or strike some kind of pose?” asked the brown-haired young man with his usual big grin. Before answering him you had to swallow first and then proceeded by affirming his question. 

”I need to design something that brings out the wearer’s thighs, s-so if you could…bend forward, kneel or something of that sort, i-it might help.“ 

A word and a blow, not even a second passed and you watched as the men before you started to arrange themselves in rather compromising positions. The libero went back a few steps, now facing the couch, raised his left knee, and placed it on the armrest. Kita, on the other hand, moved closer to the soft rug next to you, got on his knees, and though a little challenged by the tightness of his jeans, he stretched his left leg back, while he bent his right one at a 90-degree angle before him.

When they were ready, their eyes darted to you, eagerly awaiting your comment or reaction. You cleared your throat and nodded a few times before praising them for the fitting poses. 

Having two men dressed in these rather kinky garments excited you more than initially expected. The urge to go up to them and get more touchy-feely than necessary grew with each passing second you stared at them, until you decided to blame whatever you were about to do on that one glass of alcohol you had drunk some hours ago.

You walked towards the captain and intentionally circled him a few times at a slow pace. You knew fully well that this pose was difficult to maintain for a long time, but the moment you saw the slight tremble of his legs, you just couldn’t help yourself.

“Kita-san, please try to stand still.”

“Forgive me (Y/N), it’s just–”

“Give me your hands” you suddenly ordered, interrupting whatever he was about to say. He did as told and placed both of his hands in yours, slightly squeezing them for additional support. With a small smile, you explained what you were about to do and asked him whether he could manage to hold his balance for at least a couple more minutes. It took the young man a few seconds to answer, but he was set on repaying you so a little strain was a small price for your kindness. 

You took a deep breath and slowly lifted your hands, causing Kita to raise his own and with them the fabric of his white shirt, revealing the high waist of the latex jeans. 

Oh god…I knew it

“Please hold this position for a little and try to move as little as possible, I’ll have to touch you a couple of times to…to get a better grasp of the material and its effects on your body, ok?”

“G-Got it” answered the captain in a silent voice and closed his eyes. You unobtrusively bit your lower lip as you squat down and gently placed your hands on the man’s waist, an unexpected gesture that managed to educe a surprised gasp from the young man. This trousers’ waist, which was covering the entire abdominal area until it stopped a little over the navel, was designed the same way as a corset, meaning it had ribbons on both sides where your hands now were and an entire row of beautifully designed buttons running down to where his underwear probably began. 

You slowly moved his shirt up and savored the sight of his slightly trembling abdominal muscles, then continued down to his thighs, his delicious thighs. If you thought the tremble of his tummy was satisfying to look at then ready yourself for something even better. The way he tensed his muscles up every time your fingers trailed his body, combined with his reddened cheeks and slightly heavy breathing made you want to tease him even more and you did. 

“Ok Kita-san I want you to let yourself fall back as slowly as you can and when you’re lying on your back, please stretch out both of your legs so that your soles point to the ceiling” you commanded while you hooked your arm behind his back for the additional support he needed to perform the thing you asked of him. If it weren’t for your hand that didn’t let up even once from his left thigh, his movements might have been a tad more elegant. 

After almost a minute you had the young man on his back with his legs outstretched, just as you wanted…but was this enough?

“Please don’t be surprised, but I have to…step on you”

“Wha–” 

Kita’s wide brown eyes looked up at you in embarrassment as he felt your foot gently push against the back of his thigh. His hand immediately darted to both his mouth and your leg, but before his trembling fingers could reach you, you began moving your foot ever so slightly from one side to the other, enjoying how pleasant the plush skin beneath your sole felt. You’d lost yourself for a second and failed to notice just how close your foot was to the man’s most sensitive area and if it weren’t for the silent mewl that reached your ear, you most likely would’ve stepped on it as well.

In a slight panic, you set down the former captain’s legs and helped him sit upright.

“I-Is that enough (Y/N)..?” he then asked in a silent voice as he tried to look away from both you and Nishinoya, attempting to hide his flushed cheeks and the small tears in the corner of his eyes. You would’ve loved to go even further but seeing him that disheveled forced you to give him a break, at least while you were busy with the other boy behind you.

The two of you watched as the young man retreated into the guest room on wobbly legs. You sighed to yourself, your conscience nagging you with questions such as why you had to go so far and what you were even thinking, and just as you were about to sit back down on the floor Noya’s cheerful voice chirped in: “And, what am I supposed to do?”

When your eyes focused on the shorter man you saw him strike his earlier pose once again with a satisfied grin on his face. Looking at him genuinely enjoying himself made you smile and you wondered whether he’d be able to hold out more than the man before him.

“Could you…step on me?”

He was quite taken aback by your question and his slightly flushed cheeks let on that he was more embarrassed by your request than he might’ve expected. It didn’t take him long to agree though, which in turn caught you off guard.

As he slowly closed the distance between you two, you used this opportunity to take a better look at the pair of jeans he’d picked out. In contrast to Kita’s, Nishinoya’s were made out of leather. They seemed looser and if it weren’t for the laces that were tied around his thighs, up until they reached the area a little above his knees, you were sure that they wouldn’t have fit him. Additionally to this little perk, the designer had chosen to cut from the leg opening up to the middle of the wearer’s shins and then cord it, similarly as most sneakers, making this particular set of trousers more skin-revealing than the former one you “inspected”.

The moment the man was finally in front of you, he didn’t lose any more time than necessary and immediately asked where he should put his foot. With a satisfied smile, you explained that your shoulder was the main goal, but if the laces were too tightly bound then he could set his foot down lower, on your chest for example.

You watched as the young man slowly raised his left leg and as carefully as he could positioned it right between your neck and shoulder. Thanks to the slight tremble of his foot it was easy for you to tell that he didn’t put his entire weight on you, most likely out of fear of injuring you. A small grin adorned your lips as you moved your shoulder a bit and watched Noya freak out and almost lose his balance and fall down. Luckily for him, your reactions were quicker than his and you had taken a tight hold of his leg and hips, supporting him as well as making sure that he didn’t ruin his position. But now, thanks to your little escapade, he was forced to lean on you, so except having one hand on your shoulder and the other on your head, his crotch was dangerously close to your face.

“Um…(Y/N)? C-Can I just redo the pos–“

“Don’t move…this is perfect!”

Confused by your sudden enthusiasm, the young man took a glance down at you and saw how intensely you started at both his thighs and groin. Not wanting to embarrass himself any further, Noya copied the man before him and closed his eyes, giving you the freedom of doing whatever you wanted yet again.

You didn’t want to admit it, but there wasn’t a better way this could’ve worked out. Not only were you able to see how the tightly bound laces made some of his flesh bulge out in between them, but also how these pants had neither a button nor a zipper, and the wearer had to make use of the strings, that circled their thighs, to steady them. You slowly opened your mouth and bit the end of the laces, tugging on them slightly.

“W-Wait, if you do that then-!”

With a smile plastered on your face, you loosened the bow just enough that only the knot remained and murmured: “Sorry, had to make sure that such flashy trousers were sturdy enough to withstand a feline’s possible attack.”

A weak excuse which’s logic he first had to comprehend while you made use of his confused state in order to place your hands on his buttocks and squeeze them as much as the fabric allowed you to. While your hands kneaded his firm buttcheeks, you rubbed your cheek on his thigh, explaining that you and to test whether this design was comfortable for pets. You remained that way for a couple of minutes and softly kissed the young man’s trained leg before slapping his ass a few times, and finally allowing him to stand by himself.

To escape any uncomfortable questions from him, you quickly reached for the notepad you’d placed on top of the decorative table close to you and started scribbling down some nonsense, giving off the impression that whatever you were doing right now was truly work-related and not simply for your own pleasure. Only when you heard the door to the guest room shut behind him did you look up, burying your face in your hands not short after.

Just what am I doing, using them like that…?

Your excuse of using them as reference material was somewhere true, but stepping on Kita and kneading Nishinoya’s ass were not necessary advances you’d done only for the sake of satisfying your curiosity.

Left alone with your guilt, you waited for another ten minutes wondering once more what took them so long. As far as you remember, your boss had only put in these two sets of trousers and two other special items he refused to elaborate on further, telling you to find out for yourself. Now that you thought back, you remembered the pervy grin your boss had shot you after mentioning the suitcase and its mysterious contents, and you couldn’t help but be curious as to what the two men were about to put on and present you.

Speak of the devil, not even a second after you’d formulated your thought and the door opposite of you cracked open as the two young men slowly walked out.

I’m done for…

Before you stood the former Inarizaki captain with what looked like to be a schoolgirl’s skirt and fishnet tights, next to him Karasuno’s legendary guardian of the backcourt with overknee black stockings that he’d attached to his black boxer shorts with the help of a leather garter belt. 

Saying that you were at a loss for words was an understatement, this was absolutely jaw-dropping. Now that their legs were almost entirely exposed you just had to come up with some type of irrefutable excuse that would make it possible for you to not only touch their bare skin but also taste it.

You crossed your arms in front of your chest and covered your mouth with your hand, giving them the impression that you were lost deep in your thoughts when in reality you tried to hide your blushing cheeks.

“Ok before I do anything, I need to ask you guys if…if you can deal with pain” you began and observed how they looked at each other and then slowly nodded. 

In order to make up for your earlier teasing, you decided to directly tell them what you were planning this time, instead of keeping them in the dark.

“I need to test something out…you see, with such revealing pieces of clothing the buyers often focus on how good pantyhose such as these can hide markings or injuries, s-so I need to mark your thighs as reference” you paused and gave them a couple of seconds to process the explanation you’d offered them before continuing, “the way I want to mark you guys, will have to be with…my teeth. Usually, we’d use a marker or makeup, but neither of those would produce good results with these particular choices of material, especially Nishinoya’s might pose a bigger problem than the ones on Kita-san.”

While you dished out something that sounded professional enough to convince them, you were surprised at yourself and your creativity concerning these white lies. The moment you’d wrapped up your monologue you intended to give them some space so that they could think it over, but much to your surprise, they were quicker on board than expected.

“Are you two s-sure? I mean…I’m asking to bite your thighs here, you know?”

Nishinoya put both his hands on his hips and puffed his cheeks out as he answered: “Yeah so what of it? It won’t be the first time my thighs end up bruised.”

“I agree n’ more than that, we promised to do anythin’ to repay ya, remember?” added Kita with a small smile.

Yes of course…anything to repay me, huh?

The captain’s last few words left a bitter feeling behind, but you shoved it aside and figured that both of them most likely used that excuse to fulfill their own fantasies, just like you did, so in a sense you guys were even, right?

You focused on their legs once more and decided to start with Nishinoya first, so you commanded him to slowly remove the garter belt on his right leg, but the moment his nimble fingers had taken a hold of the leather you immediately stopped him.

“It might be better if someone who has no experience with it takes it off…Kita-san, please undo it for him.”

A small nod that represented said man’s answer was all you got before he got on one knee and started undoing the accessory. You had to admit that the older man’s overly gentle and careful way of loosening the small buckle warmed your heart, but regarding the entire picture, namely Kita in a skirt, kneeling, which caused the fishnet pattern around his legs to dig into his skin, making the plush of his thighs stick out, while Nishinoya stood above him in nothing but a shirt, boxers, and of course, the black stockings that perfectly hugged his toned legs, made your heart thump harder against your chest with each passing second.

Kita whispered a silent done and got back on his feet as he gently unclipped the garter belt from the libero’s briefs, letting it fall along the perfect curves of the young man’s leg. With a small nod, Noya readied himself for you and tried to somehow position his arms so that they don't get in your way. 

You copied the white-haired young man before you, kneeling and softly rolling down the black fabric, exposing some of his slightly tanned skin. With your right hand, you steadied his hips, minimizing his movements, and with your left, which you hooked under his thigh, you were now able to turn or raise it the way you needed. To avoid a similar fall from before, you asked if the captain could support Nishinoya, which he affirmed and got behind him, taking a hold of his hands and whispering something that sounded like I’m here, don’t be afraid, I got you.

God, these two…

You turned the young man’s leg in such a way that the inner side of his thigh was facing you and slowly let your teeth sink in his flesh, gradually hardening your bite until it almost pierced his skin. Millimeters before you could draw blood, you stopped and let your tongue glide along the marks you left behind. Without moving yourself too much, you simply turned his leg a little to the side and once again planted your mouth on his still flawless skin, but this time you gently clamped a portion of his flesh between your teeth, started sucking on it until it reddened and finally took on a bluish-purple tone, only then did you let up completely, licked your lips and looked up. The young man above you was leaning on Kita’s shoulder, panting slightly, and looking down at you through half-lidded eyes. You swallowed audibly, rolled the black fabric back up, and gently patted his thigh as a form of release. While he recomposed himself, you took a step back and looked at what you’d accomplished. The bite mark you’d left behind on his inner thigh was barely visible, the hickey on the other hand was quite eye-catching. 

You once again grabbed the notebook and scribbled something in it while Kita praised the young man with a rather awkward smile and tried to prepare himself mentally next for what was about to come.

At first, you confirmed the former captain’s readiness, then proceeded to ask Nishinoya for support this time, and finally offered your upper leg for him as some kind of footstep for him to step on, just so you could see his flesh stick out from the rhombus-shaped patterns of his stockings and poke at them for a short while. You asked him questions such as whether he felt uncomfortable or if it hurt when the string-like material pressed down on his skin, only when he answered these questions negatively did you place your hand on his leg, moved closer, and bit down on his stockings, tearing them easily with your bare teeth. That unexpected action of yours successfully managed to make the young man take a deep breath and cause him to hold on tighter to Noya’s hands.

At this point, you couldn’t even bother to come up with an excuse and simply started biting down on the exposed skin. You were so lost in observing how the teeth marks and hickeys you left behind gradually darkened, that only when Kita placed his hand on top of your head did you look up to see his cheeks redder than before and a small smile adorning his lips.

You gave the injuries you’d inflicted a gentle kiss and once again returned to scribbling in the notebook.

“How long do ya plan on keepin’ that fake writin’ up?” 

The sudden question caught you off guard, causing you to stop writing mid-stroke.

“W-What…?”

With wide eyes, you looked at both men who started at you with their mesmerizing sharp eyes. 

Nishinoya extended his hand towards you with a smile and said: “I’m sure you still need more references for your designs, right? So just come over here and do whatever you’d like…”

…we still have to properly pay you back after all

And with that, you finally dropped the notebook, and your act along with it. Now that you were aware of their true intentions and feelings there was no need for you to hold back anymore. 

A few more experiments weren’t going to harm anyone, right? 

Since all of this was for the upcoming fashion chain…right?

It’s not like you’d planned all of this out beforehand…

…right?

[sparklyjojos]

THE SAIMON FAMILY CASE recaps [3/13]

In which the family’s magic show continues and resolves.

--

9. GUILLOTINE TRICK

Once the break comes to an end and everyone finds their seats, a spotlight shows Koyomi and Kotensui standing on the stage with a short table between them. On the table is a mysterious wooden something and, for some reason, a few carrots and daikon raddishes.

“Are you having fun, Kotensui?” Koyomi asks.

“So much fun! I even won at rock-paper-scissors!”

“You really did! But you know, Kotensui, I really want to learn your secret now.”

“What secret?”

“I want to explain how you were able to make your hand split like that.”

She picks up that wooden something from the table. It looks like a thick plank stood on its short side, with one big hole near the top and a smaller hole near the bottom. The audience can clearly see the scenery on the other side through the holes. She shows everyone that this strange flat box can be opened, but that’s there’s nothing suspicious inside… except for a heavy glinting blade. The blade can be lifted and lowered manually when holding it by the part sticking outside the box. It looks like it has no other way to go but up and down… and through whatever would be stuck through the holes.

“What is this, Koyomi?” Kotensui inquires.

“It’s an arm guillotine,” she explains, her tone turning darker. “A guillotine used to chop off arms.” To demonstrate the mechanism, she sticks a carrot and a raddish through the holes and swiftly brings the blade down, cutting the vegetables in half.

“Wow, it really cut them!” Kotensui seems amazed. “I hope you’re not going to stick your arm in there, are you?”

“Of course not! It’s going to be your arm.”

“What? W-wait, Koyomi!”

“Like I said, I want to discover your secret!” She grabs his left wrist and pulls him closer. “It’ll be fine! You’re a wooden puppet, so even if I cut off your arm, I can just put it back once I know what’s going on!”

“No, no, please no!” Kotensui struggles so much that she gives up.

“Jeez. Okay, let me show you something first, then.” Once again she puts two vegetables through the holes and drops the blade. This time, however, only the vegetable in the bottom hole gets cut in half. The one in the top hole is magically intact, despite the fact that the blade clearly had to go right through it. “See, Kotensui? It’s magic! It’s safe to put your arm in there.”

“Oh, alright then!” Kotensui goes back to his cheerful innocence and sticks his gloved left hand through the top hole, but his joy turns to confusion when Koyomi grasps his forearm tightly. “Er, why are you holding my arm?”

“It’s dangerous if you move too much.”

“D-dangerous?! But you said it was safe!”

"Now hold still…!”

As the puppet obediently freezes, Koyomi brings the blade down… and Kotensui’s severed hand tumbles off the table, making him scream in fear.

“Huh?” Koyomi looks perplexed. “But it shouldn’t… did I make a mistake? No, wait, there’s something strange about this…” She picks up the discarded hand and inspects it carefully. It seems there’s something moving on its own inside the glove. Koyomi throws it in the air towards the audience, but it doesn’t fall, instead turning into a white dove. It flies back to perch on Koyomi’s arm.

“Stop playing around, Kotensui,” she says seeing that he’s still in shock. “Just like I thought, your arm didn’t really get cut off!”

“Huh? It didn’t?” Kotensui stares at his sleeve and a trembling gloved hand slowly peeks out of it. “Oh—oh, you’re right! I’m fine! Sorry!”

--

10. MAGIC HANDS

“By the way, Koyomi,” Kotensui asks still looking at his hand, “can you do something like… this?” He stands with his front to the audience, left arm raised to his side at a 90 degree angle.

“Like this?” Koyomi imitates his pose.

“Like this!” Kotensui pokes his hand as far as he can out of his sleeve. Koyomi does the same with no difficulty, but then Kotensui stretches his arm a bit further… and further… and further still… until his hand is a good twenty centimeters further than it should be before the arm retracts to its natural length. “Cool, huh? Now look at this!” This time he raises both his arms to the sides, and both stretch half a meter outward. His fists rotate and slowly the five fingers unfold one by one. Since the elongated part of each arm (?) is dark and hard to see in front of the black curtain, it almost looks like his white gloved hands are hovering in the air a good distance away from the puppet. Then the arms stretch out some more, and out of each sleeve peeks out… another hand in white glove, holding what the audience now understands is not Kotensui’s really long arm, but a black rod with an openable “hand” on its end.

“What are those?” Koyomi asks.

“Magic Hands! They stretch like Son Goku’s staff. Hey, look at this!” Kotensui lowers the open Magic Hands to brace against the ground, and by progressively inching them closer and closer to himself uses the rods to lift his body three meters in the air, like he’s walking on stilts. Then he raises both his legs towards the ceiling, so he’s entirely upside down now, balancing his entire body weight on his hands (or maybe—seeing as he’s a puppet—just on a bunch of cleverly hidden strings, but even so, it’s still a marvelous show of skill on the puppeteer's part, whoever that might be).

Once Kotensui turns right-side up again, he looks at something above him. The wooden bell hammer from earlier is still there, hanging six meters above the floor. Kotensui steels himself, then quick as lightning takes one Magic Hand entirely off the ground and points it upwards, where its hand part grasps tightly around the bell hammer. He does the same with the other Magic Hand, and as a result is now hanging from the bell hammer like from a trapeze. Both Magic Hands retract slowly—first Kotensui’s real (?) hands hide back inside his sleeves, then the black rods progressively disappear inside—thus pulling him upwards, until he’s able to innocently sit on the bell hammer like on a swing, holding onto one of the ropes used to suspend it. The Magic Hands are once again fully hidden inside his sleeves.

As the audience explodes in applause, the bell hammer is slowly lowered to the stage. Kotensui invites Koyomi to join him. Once she's sitting by his side, her hand holding the other suspension rope for safety, the bell hammer is lifted up six meters above the stage.

“Oh, it’s really high!” Koyomi exclaims.

“Now we can watch the show too! And from the best seats!”

As they look down in anticipation, the spotlight on them progressively dims, finally enveloping them in darkness and bringing the audience’s attention back to the ground, where the stagehands in black have just finished cleaning up the stage.

--

11. LINKING HULA HOOPS

Three middle-school-age girls enter, each holding a long white ribbon they wave around as they dance. The girls look identical like triplets, all wearing similar white leotards. After dancing for a while they stand in a triangle formation. The ribbons are tracing complicated spirals above their heads, but all of a sudden those white soft rings magically turn into hula hoops that the girls then keep on gracefully gyrating around their bodies.

Then a clown sporting typical make-up, a brown mohawk and a cape shows up, riding in on top of what seems to be a globe. As he circles around the stage, two of the girls shift their paths closer and closer to each other, their moving hula hoops dangerously close to colliding, any second now… but instead of crashing, the hoops seem to pass through each other, with the third girl soon approaching and demonstrating that her own hoop likewise seems intangible. Finally the three gain some distance and finish the dance, triumphantly rising their hoops among applause.

--

12. BALL OF FIRE AND CIRCLE OF RED

The clown riding the globe takes the central spot on the stage, stops, bends backwards until he touches the ground, and performs a handstand, the ball kept up by his legs. He jumps back upright and starts switching positions from one to another, balancing the globe on his forehead, knee, chest... Meanwhile, the three girls throw the hula hoops off stage and in return each gets a silver sports ball that they use to enact another dance in the background.

The clown is now bouncing the globe up using his head, sending the ball higher and higher, until it rises all the way into the darkness above the stage… and doesn’t fall back down. The clown looks up in puzzlement.

“Oh! Sorry, were you still using this?” comes a familiar voice from above.

A new spotlight reveals the two children still sitting on the bell hammer, Koyomi using one arm to hold the rope and the other to help steady Kotensui, whose both hands are occupied with the globe. After the clown overdramatically gestures at them to give the ball back, Kotensui says, “Ah! Understood. Just one moment!”

The spotlight on the children disappears. The clown still looks up, prepared to catch the globe, but suddenly seems to change his mind and steps aside, causing the globe to narrowly miss him and hit the ground—with a loud thud that startles even the three dancers.

The clown approaches the ball with a suspicious expression, and it starts wobbling slightly on its own, as if it’s an animal easy to spook. He takes a few more steps, and the globe rises slightly in the air. The clown takes off his two-sided black-and-white cape and holding it slowly approaches the ball like a careful hunter. With the black sequin side of the cape as the background, the globe really brings to mind the Earth in starry space.

The clown quickly throws the cape over the globe and presses it to the ground. It visibly struggles under the cloth, trying to fly in all directions to escape, until it apparently gives up and settles down. Contented, the clown lets the ball out, and just like before it rises slightly in the air, the black part of the cape once more being held as the backdrop.

But just as it seems things finally calmed down, the globe suddenly rises much higher and goes up in flames. The clown quickly wraps the ball in the cape—the white side of it facing outside—and this seems to extinguish the flames. But then the globe escapes his grasp and with the cape still covering it flies off towards the audience, zigzagging chaotically over their heads like a confused ghost. Whenever it returns to the stage it narrowly escapes the clown’s attempts to catch it. Finally, he pins it down to the ground with his entire body weight… but the cape underneath him goes completely flat. Confused, the clown lifts the cloth and reveals that the ball has disappeared. What’s more, the black inside of his cape has turned white, and there’s what looks like a red round imprint that the burning globe must have left on the material—making it look like the flag of Japan.

--

13. FIVE-BALL CASCADE

The clown gets two of the three girls to hold the cape from each short end, so that the newly created flag of Japan faces the audience. Then he retrieves a black wooden plank from somewhere, drops it and catches it again, and it has magically doubled into two planks in the process. The planks are connected and unfolded into what looks like the same table that Koyomi and Kotensui used earlier, just in adult size.

The clown then stands behind the flag and puts his fist against it so hard it bulges, probably trying to demonstrate that it’s one continuous piece of fabric. However, when he then tries the same from the front, his fist seems to effortlessly enter the red circle, and once he takes his hand back out, he is now holding a stuffed ball made of red material. He passes the ball to the unoccupied third girl, who gently caresses the fabric with her hand, making it magically turn white, and sets it down on the table. The clown pulls out another ball that the girl turns white, and another, and so it repeats until there are six white balls.

The clown then retrieves a long cylinder that has been attached to his costume, briefly turning it bottom-first to the audience so they can see it’s an empty tube. He stands the tube on the table, takes one stuffed ball and throws it in from above. When he then lifts the tube, what comes out the other end is not the ball, but a long white object similar to a bowling pin. The tube is once again shown to the audience bottom-first, and just like before it’s completely empty. The ball disappeared. It couldn’t just be sneakily dropped to the floor, since the audience can clearly see underneath the simple table. This magical transformation is repeated until all the balls turn into pins.

Finally, the clown pulls out one more red ball from the flag, but doesn’t pass it along. Instead he gestures at the two girls holding the flag, and they first show the other side of it to the audience—just like before, it’s completely white—then fold the flag and forcefully stuff it down the tube.

Then all three girls take two white pins each and retreat to the back of the stage, where they stand in a triangle formation again and begin a juggle act. They’re passing the pins along themselves in a never ending circle: each girl throws the pin in her right hand to her companion on the right, passes the pin from her left hand to her right, and with the now empty left hand receives the pin that has been just thrown by her companion on the left. It must require amazing coordination, yet the girls perform it so fluidly and quickly that the pins almost seem to create a circle linking them.

While they’re doing this, the clown directs everyone’s attention to the red ball he’s holding up. He makes a simple gesture, and the ball has now multiplied into two, then three balls held between his fingers. He chooses one of these three to repeat the multiplying act using his other hand, so now he has the total of five red balls. He starts to juggle all five at once using his hands and legs, and as the balls go around, their color magically turns from red to white, then back to red, to white, to red, white, red… Not only that, the white pins juggled by the three girls in the background suddenly change to red too.

The clown and the girls stop their act when a new character joins in from backstage: another clown, this one with a red afro and a tricorn hat, who rides in on an unicycle holding two trays with many glasses balanced on them. He comes to a stop, steps off his ride and unloads the trays onto the table. 

The tube from earlier is still there on the table, with the flag of Japan presumably still stuffed inside. The mohawk clown approaches and somehow manages to fit all five of his balls inside, and after him the girls have no problem putting in all six pins. Now empty handed, everyone stands in a row and bows to the audience. (They all keep on professional smiles, but it’s easy to guess how exhausted the girls and the mohawk clown must be at this point.)

--

14. MISER’S DRINKS & DROPS

The newly arrived afro clown is the one to lift the tube this time, and out comes not a ball, not a pin, not the flag of Japan… but a bottle of beer.  He knocks on it to show that it’s real glass, then turns it around and shakes vigorously. Not even a drop comes out.

However, when he picks up a glass and tilts the bottle above it, what looks like beer comes pouring out in plenty. Using the same bottle he then fills another glass, and another, and another, and as he goes on he puts away the filled glasses on top of one of the trays held by the mohawk clown. Sixth, seventh, eighth glass... In the end, a giant tray worth of glasses is filled with just one bottle, and the mohawk clown takes them into the auditorium, asking the adult audience members to help themselves. Since many people won’t say no to a free drink, the liquid is quickly confirmed to be authentic beer. As one clown distributes the drinks, the other keeps pouring, and this time it’s one of the girls who takes a full tray into the audience. There are still some empty glasses left, so after the afro clown fills them, the remaining two girls simply grab the table from both sides and haul it around like yet another tray.

The only one left on stage is now the afro clown, who turns the infinite beer bottle upside down… and not even a drop comes out. He takes off his tricorn hat, shows the audience that it’s empty, puts the bottle inside, tosses the hat in the air, catches it, and when he once again shows everyone its interior, the bottle has disappeared.

The bell hammer is lowered to the stage, allowing Koyomi and Kotensui to disembark before it takes to the heavens again. The afro clown lifts them both up so they can sit on his shoulders instead.

“Oh, looking at all that beer I’m getting thirsty too!” Kotensui says.

“We're children, we can’t drink beer!” Koyomi lectures. "Hm, but I would like to get something too…"

The afro clown sets the two of them back down, takes off his tricorn hat again and shows everyone that it’s empty. He gestures at the children to stick their hands out, shakes the hat above them, and out comes pouring candy, many little drops in colorful wrappers. Seeing them eat the sweets (or pretending to eat in Kotensui’s case), many children in the audience start demanding candy too, so the clown grabs entire handfuls out of his hat and throws them around,  eventually walking down the auditorium so even the back rows can get some.

--

15. RISING FLAG CARD

While the audience is busy eating and drinking, stagehands bring in a two-meter-tall box looking like it would contain a giant version of a deck of playing cards. Judging from the art on the box, the back of each card bears a cartoonish portrayal of the Earth in space, done in a blue and white two-tone style. Additionally, a normal-sized deck of cards is put on the table.

“I’m sorry to break the relaxed mood, but I still have a bit of magic to show you,” Koyomi tells the audience. “Actually, it’s more like just a tiny show of sleight-of-hand.” She spreads a bunch of the normal-sized cards in a fan, showing that their backs portray the same cartoonish Earth.

“What are these, Koyomi?” Kotensui asks curiously.

“These? They’re national flag cards!” She turns them around and the audience can see their fronts portray flags of different countries.

“Ohh, it has all the world’s flags?”

“Not all of them, there’s too many countries for that. We have exactly fifty four flags here.” She returns her cards to the pile and gives it a shuffle. “Now, I’m going to pick up a few cards from the top. I’ll show everyone the cards I got, one by one, and then put them aside. If anyone knows what country a flag belongs to, please shout its name loud so I can hear! You too, Kotensui! Also, please make sure to quietly keep count of how many cards I’ll have shown.” She is about to begin, but hesitates. “Wait, Kotensui, it’s cheating if you stand right next to me behind the table. Go sit in front of it instead.” Kotensui listens and plops down in front of the table, his back to the audience, watching Koyomi as intently as everyone else.

Koyomi picks up a few cards, takes one and shows it to the audience. A red circle on white background.

“Japan!” yells everyone including Kotensui.

Nodding, Koyomi puts the Japan card down on the table and shows everyone the next one: a red maple leaf on white background, a red vertical stripe to each side.

“Canada!”

The third card: a red square with a white cross in the center.

“Switzerland!”

The fourth card: two horizontal stripes, the top one red and the bottom one white.

“Indonesia!” (But can also apply to Monaco, as Koyomi explains.)

The fifth card: looking just like the last one, except with a white crescent moon and five stars on the red stripe.

“Singapore!” (The audience is by now a little surprised that little Kotensui got them all right so far. Even if he’s one of the troupe’s men… or rather, one of the troupe’s puppets, wouldn’t he still need to perfectly memorize all those flags?)

Sixth card: a white crescent moon and a star on red background.

“Turkey!”

Seventh card: two horizontal stripes, but this time the top one is white and the bottom one red.

“Poland!” (Only a few people guess this one correctly, among them Kotensui.)

Eighth card: three horizontal stripes, red-white-red.

“Austria!”

Ninth card: a white circle on red background, inside the circle a red crescent moon and a star.

“Tunisia!” (Once again, only a few people are shouting.)

“This next one may be a little hard to guess, since they only gained independence a few years ago,” Koyomi says and shows the tenth card: mostly red, but in the left corner is a small white rectangle with a red cross inside. It does seem to pose a challenge, as barely anyone shouts its name, Kotensui among them.

“Tonga!”

“Last one!” Koyomi shows the last card she’s holding: red background and two white stripes creating a cross, their meeting point offset slightly to the left.

“Denmark!”

With this, Koyomi puts the last card on the little pile to the side and asks the audience to remind her how many country flags they went through.

Most of the audience promptly answers “eleven!”, though more careful spectators give a hesitant “twelve…?”, considering that the flag of Indonesia is also a flag of Monaco, so counts as two.

“It seems you aren't sure, so let’s count them together!” Koyomi picks up the little pile, then starts putting the cards back on the table one by one.

“One!” everyone counts. “Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Ele—” But just as everyone starts to say “eleven”, they realize that Koyomi’s hands are already empty.

“Huh? Why only ten?” Kotensui voices everyone’s surprise.

“It’s very simple. Let me explain it, so you can all try it yourself later!” She picks up the card with the flag of Indonesia. “Those of you who said “twelve” earlier counted this flag as belonging to two different countries, right? Indonesia and Monaco. But the truth is… it belongs to three countries!” She rotates the card 180 degrees, the red and white stripes switching their places… which makes it the flag of Poland. “See, after I showed you this card and acted like I'm putting it on the table, I actually sneaked it back into the pile in my hand. Then I showed it again, just upside down. By the way, if you’d like a deck like this to fool your friends, we have some in the shop booth outside the tent, detailed instructions included. Now that we’re done with that little illusion… here comes the actual magic! But first, I’ll need a person from the audience. I think I’ll choose them through a little game this time!”

“Ohh, a game?” Kotensui seems excited. “What is it, what is it?”

“Once again, I’m going to pick up a few cards and show them one by one. If you know what country the flag shown belongs to, you pass to the next round and can keep guessing. But if you guess wrong, you’re eliminated! I’ll keep showing you flags until everyone but one person gets eliminated, and that last person standing will get to assist me on stage!”

“That seems like fun!”

“It is fun! But, Kotensui… you know all the flags, don’t you?”

“All of them! I can speak the world’s many languages, too!” (It seems impossible that any child his age could speak more than two, maybe three languages… but since he is a puppet in a show, the audience seems ready to accept this as part of the setting.)

“You can? Then I have a request for you! You won't be guessing countries this time. But after the audience gives the right answer, you will greet them in the main language of that country!”

“Oh, that’s simple! Let’s start already!”

And so, once Koyomi shows the first card and everyone yells “USA!”, Kotensui wishes everyone a “Good afternoon!” in English, with perfect native accent to boot. The next card is shown, the audience yells “Soviet Union!”, and in return Kotensui greets them with a “Dobriy den!” in impeccable Russian. More flags and languages follow, slowly switching from well-known—China, Germany, France, Italy, Spain—to more and more obscure ones, Kotensui keeping up with greeting everyone in perfect native accents of so many languages. The audience members progressively get eliminated, until only one person guesses the final, fifteenth flag of Kenya.

The last person standing is a man in his thirties, who unsurprisingly turns out to be a local geography teacher (and judging by whooping and whistling from the audience, some of his students are here too). Koyomi asks him to confirm for the audience that it’s the first time he’s met the two kid performers.

“Kotensui and I will both turn around now,” Koyomi says and they swiftly do just that, “and while we’re looking away, please pick any card from the deck. Choose any flag you like.”

“Alright, I just pick one…” The teacher approaches the table, seems to hesitate for a second, then picks up the deck and shuffles through it for a bit before settling on a card. “Uh… okay, then… I picked it.”

“Please show the flag to everyone but us.”

The teacher quietly shows everyone his pick: the well-known flag of Japan.

“We’re going to turn around now. Please hold your card face-first against your chest, so we can’t see which flag it is yet.” The kids allow the teacher a moment to press the card to his chest, then turn around. “Thank you. Now, while I think everyone has already guessed it, I should explain what that big box is: it’s also a deck of national flag cards. Using this deck, I’m going to find the bigger version of the card that has just been picked! Ah, but first—Kotensui, could you turn the box around?”

Kotensui turns the box around to show everyone its other side that says simply “NATIONAL FLAG CARDS”. It seems that whichever card comes out of the box, it will be facing the audience with its flag side.

Koyomi retrieves a normal-sized sealed deck of cards from her pocket, then takes out and shows a few cards to the audience so everyone can confirm they are also flag cards. She spreads a multitude of those cards in a giant fan and, without her touching it, one of the cards starts to slowly rise, peeking over the rest, and on its front is… the flag of South Korea. As this is going on, the giant deck opens and from the inside rises on its own… a bigger version of the card with the flag of South Korea.

“Your choice was South Korea!” Koyomi exclaims, then finally catches on to the awkward silence. “Huh? Was I wrong?... What card did you choose, sir?”

“Japan…”

“Japan? Understood! Everyone, keep your eyes on the big card now!”

As the audience looks on, the card suddenly starts changing: the black trigrams shorten and disappear, the blue half of the circle grows red… until it looks exactly like the flag of Japan! Not only that, when the audience turns their attention back to Koyomi, they notice the small card that sticks out has also turned into the flag of Japan.

“There we go.” Koyomi turns to the teacher. “Could you show us the card you picked, sir? Just to confirm it matches.”

The teacher finally uncovers the card he’s been holding to his chest, glances at it... and his jaw drops, because the flag on it is no longer that of Japan, but of South Korea. Koyomi thanks him for the assistance and lets him take the transformed card home as a souvenir.

--

16. WATCH & SKETCH CONTROL

The stagehands take away all the small and big decks, in exchange leaving a large sketchbook and a black marker on the table.

“That was amazing, Koyomi!” Kotensui cheers. “What are we going to do now?”

“Hmm… for this next part, I think I’ll need three members of the audience. And here’s how I’ll choose them: I’m going to start listing personal attributes, like “wears glasses” or “is an adult woman”. If you don’t match an attribute, you get eliminated, so in the end there should be only one person left who fulfills all the criteria. We’ll do it three times, so don’t lose hope if you don’t get chosen at first! Okay, let’s begin! First… I see a lot of families in the audience today, but I’d like to pick someone who hasn’t brought any family members with them… who is also an older man, in his forties… who does not wear glasses… who thinks his name is unusual… and who came here from a prefecture far away.”

With this, only one person is left: a middle-aged man dressed with a very poor sense of fashion, who says that he came here all the way from Kyoto for important job reasons.

Koyomi picks up the sketchbook, opens it on a blank page and holds it so the audience can see. It’s so big in comparison to the girl that she has to prop it from behind with one arm.

“I’m going to draw a simple picture now. Once I’m done, please tell me what you think it is.” Using the black marker she draws a big circle.

“It’s a normal circle,” the man says at first, then seems to change his mind. “No, it’s the flag of Japan.”

“The flag of Japan? Certainly it would look that way, was the circle red. Now I’m going to add something…” She draws an arrow inside the circle. “What do you see now?”

“It’s a clock, or maybe a scale…”

“A clock or a scale?”

“Let’s go with the clock."

"Alright. Could you please look at your watch and tell me what time it shows right now?”

“I’m afraid my watch is five minutes early, but it shows 3:52.”

“Okay! Let me draw this hour on the clock.” She adds the minute hand and the hour hand, so the drawn clock now shows more or less 3:52. “Thank you for your cooperation! You can go back to your seat now.” But just as the man scuttles away and sits down, she adds: “But before that, please list the criteria for the next chosen member of the audience!” The man immediately stands back up with a troubled expression, but eventually complies and starts listing his criteria.

The next person chosen is a grade school student, who is a girl, who wears glasses, and who has never before seen a magic show.

“Please tell me what your favorite hour and minute is,” Koyomi requests. “Any time will do! Aside from 3:52, that is.”

“Um… 10:12?”

This time, Koyomi doesn’t add anything on the clock, but writes a big 10:12 below it.

The girl chooses the last person: someone who is left-handed, with blood type AB, and with no cavities, which leaves a single male high schooler standing.

“Alright, now please look closely at the clock.”

Everyone’s attention is now on the clock, and suddenly—the drawn arrows start to move around the circle like real clock hands. Koyomi shifts her position, so the audience can’t see where exactly the hands are.

“Say stop at any moment you like!” she prompts the high schooler. “Any moment at all.”

“O-okay, then… stop!”

The instant he says it, Koyomi lets everyone see the clock again. Its hands are no longer moving, and the hour they stopped at is 10:12, the same time as the one written below.

That’s not the end of surprises: Koyomi somehow pulls out an actual, real clock from behind the sketchbook and sets it down on the table. Its hands are also pointing to 10:12, frozen in place as if the battery died.

Finally, Koyomi moves her hand over the sketchbook page… and the drawn clock magically fills in with red. Just like that middle-aged man from Kyoto said, it really is a flag of Japan! Koyomi rips out that page from the sketchbook and announces that everyone will be able to inspect it at the exit after the show.

--

17. CARP SCALING THE WATERFALL

The audience is naturally a little tired at this point, seeing as the show has been going on for quite a while. Koyomi comments on this and tells everyone not to worry: there is just one last illusion left.

The sketchbook is taken away, and instead the stagehands bring in an empty milk bottle, an empty wine glass, and a pitcher with water, putting them on the table next to the clock. Additionally, a fish tank filled with water (but no fish in sight) is pushed in on a little table with wheels. The tank is about a meter wide, half a meter tall, which may not seem that big, but since the two kids are so small, any of them could probably fit inside.

“We’ve done a lot of magic today,” Koyomi says. “Aren’t you tired, Kotensui?”

“Not at all!”

“Oh, right. You are a puppet, after all.”

“A puppet can get tired too, you know.”

“You mean the person moving you?”

“What ‘person moving me’? I’m the one moving myself.”

“There has to be someone else controlling you.”

“There’s no such person! I mean, where would they even be?”

They both look up with curiosity, but don’t seem to spot anyone, and as far as the audience can see, no obvious strings are hanging down.

“Alright, fine,” Koyomi sighs and starts preparing the next illusion.

She shows the pitcher of water and the empty milk bottle to the audience. There doesn’t seem to be anything strange about them. She gives Kotensui the bottle to hold, then pours in some water from the pitcher… and once it finds itself in the bottle, the water turns white like milk. Next, Kotensui holds the wine glass, and Koyomi once more pours some water in… and it turns red like wine.

“I have a question for you, Kotensui. What do you think is going to happen if I pour both of these into the tank?” Koyomi asks, holding the bottle of milk in one hand and the glass of wine in the other.

“Um… a really weird color mix? There’s a lot of water in the tank, so the color may be a little faint…”

“Well, let’s try and see!” She pours in the milk first, and the white color spreads all throughout the tank. Then she adds the wine, and starting from the place it was poured in, the liquid in the tank slowly turns… transparent again. However, there is now a beautiful red-and-white koi carp swimming inside.

“Were you surprised, Kotensui?” she asks.

“Very surprised! But it can’t be where the trick ends, can it?”

“Of course not! I’m just getting started.” Koyomi pushes the tank on wheels towards the back of the stage, where it’s soon hidden behind the big projection screen from the beginning of the show. All the normal lights but the one behind the tank are turned off, making the giant shadows of the tank and the gracefully swimming carp inside clearly projected on the screen. Besides that there’s just a little spotlight on Koyomi and Kotensui, who are still standing in front of the screen.

“Do you know the legend about a carp that climbed a waterfall?” Koyomi begins. “There is a big river in China, the Yellow River. It has a waterfall called the Dragon Gate, and the legend says that if a carp climbs all the way up that waterfall, it will turn into a dragon. Since this is just a legend, there is no way a carp can actually turn into a dragon… but wouldn’t it be wonderful? Let’s watch, everyone...”

The spotlight on them vanishes, leaving only the projected image among the darkness. At first nothing happens, but then—with a sound like a crashing wave, a tall pillar of water suddenly rises from the tank towards the heavens, the carp rising together with it. The pillar stops for a second, as if taking a breath, and then shoots up again, roaring like a waterfall and splashing water around. As the carp once again moves upwards, suddenly its shape starts to change, grows bigger and elongated like a serpentine dragon, until with a deafening roar it shoots up, towards the ceiling of the tent—and at the moment it collides with it, the entire tent shakes as if in an earthquake. The dragon seems to burst through the ceiling, taking into the skies and disappearing from the projection screen.

The screen is lifted, revealing that the previously small water tank is now a round glass pillar so giant that indeed a dragon could have fit inside, about 10 meters in diameter and 3 meters in height. There’s just a little bit of water left inside.

That’s not the only change: the previously black curtain in the back now bears black-and-white stripes, just like those used at funerals.

There's a quiet sound like water droplets falling on the tent’s material. It’s quickly intensifying, as if it’s just started raining outside. The intense rain even enters the tent, presumably through the hole left by the escaping dragon, water mercilessly beating against the stage and flowing down to the little moat surrounding it.

“Wah, it’s raining!” Kotensui shouts flailing his arms in panic.

“Kotensui, here! Quickly!” Koyomi produces a big flower-printed umbrella out of nowhere. Kotensui quickly ducks underneath it (which shouldn’t be possible, considering the puppet’s strings should catch on the umbrella, but somehow it works.)

“Why is it raining inside, Koyomi?!”

“It’s the dragon! The dragon is sending down rain!”

The children turn away from the audience and look up at the giant tank, which starts to slowly fill with falling water. The umbrella is so big in comparison to the kids that it shields their upper bodies from view.

As the rain is falling, the clock on the table comes to life, its hands moving quickly as if time itself was put in fast-forward. Finally, the raging rain lessens and stops, and the clock’s hands once more go still. The giant tank is now filled with water.

Finally safe from the rain, Koyomi lowers the umbrella…

...and is now an adult woman.

--

18. SWING WITH NO STRING

Tensui’s beautiful assistant sets the open umbrella on the ground to let it dry.

“The lady who disappeared!” Kotensui seems as shocked as the audience. The assistant bends forward to be at eye level with him.

“You’re the boy from earlier… how do you know my name?”

“Huh? I don’t know your name!”

“But you just said it: Koyomi.”

“You’re Koyomi too?!”

“What do you mean, too?”

“There was another, smaller Koyomi!”

“There’s only one Koyomi here, and that’s me. Are you sure you weren’t dreaming just now? By the way, have you seen that man I talked about earlier? A splendid man called Soga Tensui, dressed in the same outfit as you.”

“I haven’t seen him.”

“Strange… you know, you look a lot like he did as a child. But now that I think about it… I can’t remember it well, but I think that when I myself was a child, I used to play with a puppet of a boy, one very similar to you. Maybe that really was you? Puppets can’t grow any older, after all.”

“They can’t grow any older...?”

Adult Koyomi picks up the umbrella once more, revealing a small stool has appeared behind it along with a roll of adhesive tape. She picks up the tape and uses it to affix all four legs of the stool to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Kotensui asks.

“If I don’t secure it, it may be dangerous.”

“Dangerous? What may be dangerous?”

Koyomi sits down on the chair, umbrella in hand.

“Sometimes, I think... that I would like to go back to when I was a child. But no one can turn back time. That’s why I’m jealous of you, who will always stay a child.” She shields herself from the audience with her umbrella and pulls her legs up so she cannot be seen. The umbrella turns once, twice, thrice and falls to the ground, leaving an empty stool behind.

“Koyomi? Where are you?!” Kotensui picks up the umbrella confused, then—

“Kotensui, watch out!” comes Koyomi’s shout through the speakers—not the adult assistant’s voice, but the little girl’s. “Look up!”

Suddenly, the giant Press Hammer is falling down!

Hearing Koyomi’s warning, Kotensui manages to run away in time, but the chair is smashed into pieces. Once it had proven its destructive force in this way, the Press Hammer is slowly lifted once more.

“Koyomi, where are you?” Kotensui shouts, apparently concerned more about her well-being than about his own near-death experience. “Koyomi! Where have you disappeared to?!”

There is no answer. The lights around go out, leaving only a lonely spotlight for Kotensui as he sadly walks around searching. The bell hammer is lowered down, so Kotensui sits on it and starts slowly swinging left and right (just how a temple bell hammer like that moves), followed closely by the spotlight. Kontensui’s taking only half of the big bell hammer, holding the rope with his right hand, the place next to him depressingly empty. A lonely child in an empty playground.

“Everyone went away somewhere…” Kotensui laments. “Time passes and the world changes. But I don’t change at all…” The bell hammer swings a bit stronger and is at once slowly being lifted in the air. “No, even if I’m a puppet, I should be changing a little. Nothing in this world is unchanging. Even a puppet will break one day.” The bell hammer is now several meters in the air, rocking strongly from side to side, assisted by quiet sounds similar to metronome’s ticks.

Below, another spotlight shines on the clock left on the table. Its hands are moving again, as if the swinging bell hammer really is a pendulum measuring time, its ticking representing passing seconds. For a while, nothing else is happening.

Then the sound of ticking suddenly goes quiet, and what comes through the speakers next—

—is Kotensui’s horrified scream as the rope he's holding onto snaps where it connects to the bell hammer, causing it to slip away from under him.

Fortunately, Kotensui's right hand gets tangled in the rope, keeping him from falling. The bell hammer swings away still suspended with the other rope. But since the entire construction has just been swinging strongly to the sides, the power of inertia sends the heavy bell hammer and Kotensui flying towards each other on a collision course. Kotensui manages to spin around on the rope and avoids a tragedy by the breadth of hair. He gets away a second time, a third time, and finally their movements slow down enough that he’s safe from the hammer.

Before long the rope holding the bell hammer also snaps, letting it fall down to the dark stage, a loud splash of water suggesting it has fallen right into the giant water tank. A spotlight highlighting the tank is quickly turned on, and there really is something in the water now—but not a lifeless bell hammer; instead, it has transformed into a real, deadly hammer shark, swimming in an open tank just a few meters under struggling Kotensui.

Even though the audience knows Kotensui is a puppet, even though they know he’s just a doll with a boy’s voice, he still looks and acts like a little child and no one wants to see him fall down and be torn apart. As the audience watches in fear, the rope holding Kotensui finally untwists and he falls down straight into the darkness between his spotlight and the tank, his scream mixing with the audience’s.

But no splash can be heard. Kotensui doesn't fall into the tank. For a moment, things are completely quiet.

Then another spotlight shines just above the tank, showing someone miraculously standing on water: a man with elegant jet-black hair and a thin Kaiser moustache, wearing a black diving suit this time—and cradling little Kotensui to his chest.

With the puppet safe in his arms, Soga Tensui first walks on water to the edge of the tank, then—simply keeps on walking, now stepping on thin air, as if smoothly descending an invisible hill back to the stage. It’s a splendid demonstration of his two most famous illusions, Sea Walk and Sky Walk.

--

19. NOSTALGIC ILLUSION

“Wah, this was so scary!” Kotensui says as he’s still being held in Tensui’s arms. “I almost fell! Thank you so much for saving me! But… who are you? The man that Koyomi was looking for?”

Tensui simply nods and sets Kotensui down.

“So you’re Mr. Tensui… um, are we related somehow?”

Tensui’s mouth still doesn’t move, but a new voice comes through the speakers. Refined, deep, it fits the man perfectly.

“You are my past, Kotensui,” the voice says.

“I am… your past? What do you mean?” But I’m just me!, Kotensui’s body language seems to be saying.

“Ever since I was your age, I have been standing on the stage of illusion, just like today showing the audience my magic. Several decades have passed... I continue to stand on the stage. That innocent little boy I was is still there inside me, deep on the bottom of my heart. That boy is you. You are my precious past itself. Even now, you remain in my heart.”

“I… I don’t really understand…”

“It’s fine if you don’t. You’re still a child… no, you will always stay a child.”

“Because I’m a puppet and I can’t grow old?”

Tensui lightly shakes his head, his expression gentle.

“Because everyone holds the child they once were deep inside their heart. No matter how old they may grow, this will never change.” His voice sounds honest, as if he’s speaking from the depths of his soul. “Back when I was just starting my life on the stage, a certain magician showed me something I will never forget: the underwater escape. That scene I saw as a child has stayed with me forever, and I wished with all my heart that one day, when I grew up, I would revive that magic myself. After several decades, the time has finally come. I want to show you the underwater escape that charmed me so much when I was a child.”

Stagehands appear again, first putting a few light stands around the stage to provide atmospheric lighting, then bringing in a three-meter-tall round cage without a ceiling.

“The most famous escapologist in the history of magic, Harry Houdini, has performed many escapes from perilous situations throughout his life. Among them was his specialty, underwater escapes, and many after him kept their fame alive. However, out of all the underwater escapes I have seen throughout the years, the one I witnessed as a child was, without a doubt, performed in the most severe circumstances…”

Tensui lets himself be handcuffed, then steps inside the cage. The stagehands wrap two heavy chains around his entire body, affixing it to two opposite walls of the cage in the process. The stagehands leave locking the door; the only way out of the cage is now up. Next, suspension hooks are attached to the cage, and soon it's lifted up and moved over the shark tank. The black-and-white funeral curtain in the background now seems a dark omen of things to come.

“The magician was handcuffed and tied with chains inside a cage, which was then dropped into a tank with a starving man-eating shark. He had exactly three minutes to escape. After three minutes, a giant press hammer would fall down and kill him. The opening at the top of the cage was just big enough to allow its passage.”

The deadly Press Hammer is moved to hang above the cage and lowered to about halfway through its height, demonstrating that it can indeed fit through. It almost touches Tensui’s calm face as he looks up at it. The Press Hammer is lifted again, looming over the scene.

“The timer will now be set to three minutes,” Tensui’s voice says as a stagehand fiddles with the clock on the table. “To make sure the last rows can see it easily, these three minutes will be shown like three hours, the hand starting at nine and ending at twelve.”

The cage is slowly lowered, submerging Tensui up to his neck.

“Please know that there is no secret hole in the cage or the tank. There is but one way to escape: to get out of the chains and the cage in under three minutes, then reach the edge of the tank while avoiding the shark. I will now perform the most unforgiving underwater escape in history. Let us begin.”

The cage sinks to the very bottom of the tank, which makes it fit perfectly under the surface. The timer starts.

Tensui instantly starts to move, attempting to take off the chains, but doesn’t seem successful in his efforts for a good half a minute. Only two and a half minute left. The hungry hammer shark attempts to charge the cage, but it’s sturdy enough to withstand the attack with ease. Tensui is still bound, struggling with the chains.

Just as the first minutes passes, the Press Hammer starts its deadly descent, pausing about three meters above the cage.

Tensui manages to get his left hand out of the handcuffs and tugs at the chains, but they’re still binding him tightly. One and a half minute left, and he gets his right hand free too, but the chains still won’t yield. He wriggles and pulls at them, but all he achieves is that his left arm gets twisted behind him in a painful-looking manner, making him grimace in suffering. But with this movement he apparently finds the opening he was looking for, gets both his arms free and starts working on the chains.

The second minute has passed. The Press Hammer descends once more, stopping right above the cage, only a small space of air left between it and the water level. If allowed to make its next move, it will certainly kill.

When Tensui finally manages to untie all the chains, only thirty second are left. Swimming up he’s able to breach the surface and catch a breath, but the Press Hammer has already descended so low that he may not be able to squeeze through the gap between it and the cage’s wall. When he attempts it anyway, the shark immediately attacks, forcing him to retreat. Tensui takes one last breath, still with perfect composure dives to the bottom of the cage and moves his hands over the walls, as if trying to find something. He strikes at the cage’s door, but it won’t open. He attempts to do something with the cage’s bottom, but it won’t budge either. Suddenly he stops in his tracks, looks up at the Press Hammer looming above him—

Ten seconds left, nine seconds, eight seconds—

Tensui crosses his arms in front of his face and curls his knees up to his chest, making himself as small as possible—

Four seconds—three—two—one—

The Press Hammer falls.

Its final descent creates a milliard of bubbles obscuring the view and causes gallons of water to rush out of the tank with a splash. The clock hand stops.

The audience looks on speechless, fearing what they’re about to see once the bubbles clear. As if sensing the tragedy, the lights on the stage go out, leaving the tent in darkness.

The very next moment, a spotlight is directed at an aisle near the back of the auditorium, and standing there is a very wet, but very much alive Soga Tensui.

Tensui walks down the auditorium among a standing ovation, at one point starting to nonchalantly walk in the air to get back on the stage...

...where the black-and-white colors of the funeral curtain in an instant change to a happy, triumphant red-and-white.

“That was amazing, Mr. Tensui!” Kotensui’s entire body language expresses joy. “Amazing!”

Tensui and the puppet shake hands, then bow deeply to the audience several times. Finally, Tensui leaves the stage, and little Kotensui puts both his hands up, as if asking the audience to listen to just one more thing. Everyone obediently falls silent.

The puppet holds his head between his hands, spins it around 360 degrees, lifts it completely off his shoulders…

...and from underneath it peeks out a face of a real living boy, who looks exactly like Kotensui.

“Ah, it really was so much fun!” comes Kotensui’s voice from the speakers as the tiny boy gives the shocked audience a satisfied, relaxed smile.

The spotlight dims slowly, finally bringing the wondrous show of magic to its end.

--

[>>>NEXT PART>>>]

[digicity365]

Beginner Yoga Poses: 8 Great Poses

Forward FoldStretches the hamstrings, calves, and hips; strengthens the legs and knees; and relieves neck and shoulder stress. This posture is ideal for all the "non-bendy" males out there, according to Baldino. There are a variety of methods to make this posture accessible, so don't be afraid if you can't touch your toes.Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Slowly move your spine forward, pushing your chest towards your thighs, starting from your hips. Knees can be bent in this position. In fact, it's a good idea to keep them slightly bent when you first start out so that the hamstrings may gradually stretch and the knees aren't overworked. Allow gravity to work its magic on the tension in your neck and shoulders. Hold the position for 5 to 10 breaths. Return to a standing position by rolling up one vertebra at a time.Crescent Lunge Hips and shoulders are stretched, while the thighs and core are strengthened.According to Baldino, this position targets all of the tight areas in men's hips and shoulders. It's also a fantastic method to strengthen your lower body. It strengthens the quadriceps and the muscles surrounding the knees, resulting in increased stability in any sport or physical activity.Begin at the table's edge. Place one foot between your hands and take a step forward. Lift the rear knee off the mat by tucking the back toes. Begin by reaching your arms out in front of you to lift your chest up. As soon as your shoulders are piled over your hips, attempt to straighten out your arms as much as possible. To feel the stretch at the front of the hips, keep the back heel raised. Keep the rear knee on the mat as a modification. Before releasing, hold for 5-10 breaths. Rep on the other side. Warrior 2 Pose Hips, groin, chest, and shoulders are all stretched.According to Baldino, "This famous yoga posture is a fantastic method to challenge both the body and the mind at the same time." Warrior 2 improves groin mobility, which can help relieve low back discomfort in men who spend most of their days sitting at a desk or in their automobiles. It's also a strong posture that helps with endurance and focus. Turn to face the side of your mat and spread your feet as far apart as possible. Bend one knee to a 90-degree angle and turn one foot towards the top of the mat. The rear toes should be slightly turned in, and the balls of your feet should be in alignment with one another. Start extending your arms long and into a “T” posture. Take 5 to 10 breaths here, keeping the shoulders over the hips. Return to the beginning position by straightening the bent leg, then move the other foot out to face the back of the mat and find Warrior 2 on this side. Chair PoseAnkles, quads, glutes, core, and shoulders are all strengthened.Do you include a leg day or two in your weekly strength regimen, according to Baldino? With this position, we'll put our legs and glutes to the test. Believe me when I say that if sitting in a chair position makes you want to tremble and then flee for the hills, you're doing it right. Standing tall with your big toes touching and your heels 1 to 2 inches apart is a good way to start. Reach your arms upwards as you inhale. Bend your knees into a squat as you exhale. Check to see whether you can see all ten toes by looking down. Squat as low as you can while squeezing a brick between your inner thighs. As you sit further into your legs, keep your core engaged to keep your chest wide. Return to standing by holding for 5 to 10 breaths and pressing through your feet. When you're first starting out, separating your feet hip-distance apart and working on bringing all of your physical energy to your midline is a terrific alteration. Bring the feet closer together over time. Downward Facing Dog Stretches and strengthens the arms, shoulders, and core while stretching the feet, calves, hamstrings, and shoulders.Another famous yoga posture that just makes you feel wonderful, according to Baldino. Yes, it will strengthen your arms, shoulders, and core, but the stretch you'll feel in your lower back, feet, calves, and hamstrings will be heavenly. S tart displayed on a table. Step back one foot at a time until you're in a high plank position. Take a deep breath and relax in this space. Begin to send your hips towards the ceiling as you exhale, forming an upside-down "V" with your body. Knees can be slightly bent, and your heels should never contact the mat. To keep the hips raised and the core engaged, imagine pressing your chest into your tights. You should feel length in your spine as well as a deep stretch across your entire back. Stay in this posture for 5 breaths, then transfer your weight forward to plank to return your knees to the tabletop position. Upward Facing Dog Stretches and strengthens the quads and glutes while stretching the hips, chest, core, and ankles.Baldino says: Another fantastic position to master if you spend most of your day sitting at a computer or behind the wheel of a car. The chest and hips, which tend to constrict when we sit, are opened out in Upward-Facing Dog. Because it opens up the chest, this posture can also help with any breathing problems you may have as a result of stress or exercise. Lie face down with your arms by your sides. Place your palms on your chest, with your wrists exactly beneath your elbows. Start by drawing your elbows together and engaging your glutes and legs. Straighten your arms and lift your chest and knees off the mat by pressing into your palms and the tops of your feet. Set your eyes above the tip of your nose to keep your neck neutral. Slowly drop back to the mat after 2 to 3 breaths. Bridge Pose Strengthens glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and core while stretching hip flexors, quads, and chest.Men's chest and hip muscles are commonly tense, according to Baldino. And when certain parts of the body are tight, it's more difficult for us to fully engage in other activities. Bridge position opens up the chest and hips in a way that few other poses do, and it's not a scary posture, to begin with because you start on your back. Lie down flat on your back. Bend your knees and position your feet hip-width apart on the mat. Your hands should be able to feel the backs of your heels. Place your arms at your sides, palms down, and raise your hips off the floor as you inhale. To list the hips as high as can, really engage your glutes, hamstrings, and core. Maintain a straight line between your knees and your heels. Bring your arms beneath your body, interlace your fingers, and push the backs of your arms and shoulders into the floor as you continue to elevate your hips for an additional shoulder stretch. This will relieve the strain on your neck. Allow your hips to raise a bit higher with each inhalation. When you drop your hips, exhale. Child's Pose Hips, glutes, and low back are stretched.Baldino explains, "Although this stance appears to be simple at first sight, there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye." Hectic schedules, balancing work and home life, money, and family obligations may all contribute to feelings of stress. And the majority of us will feel the strain in our lower backs. A child's pose can help to relieve stress, tension, and tightness in the lower back by gradually opening it up. Because of the bent knees, the spine lengthens, making this an all-around A+ position for our backs. Begin on the tabletop and walk your big toes to the touch. Draw your hips towards your heels by separating your knees wider than your hips. Walk your hands out in front of you as your chest approaches the mat, ultimately bringing your forehead to the mat. 30 to 60 seconds is a good length of time to stay. Return to the tabletop or a sitting posture by walking your hands back towards your knees.

[fainamarco]

Any Synapse XT Side Effects and Risks?

Synapse XTTrainers Reveal 10 Exercises You Can Do From Your Bed

Exercise can be defined as performing any movement to increase heart rate, strengthen muscles, and promote flexibility. If you have mobility restrictions or

love naps, we have good news, you can even exercise from your bed or a mat if the mattress is not very new.

There are numerous types of exercises that can increase flexibility, strengthen your cardiovascular system, and tone your muscles. Swimming, recreational sports, running, weight lifting, stretching exercises, and HIIT workouts are for you. Now it seems that the only difficult decision will be deciding which one you want to implement to improve your health.

Unfortunately, due to the recent restrictions imposed by the global situation, many of us have been forced to suspend our gym memberships. Now we take our pets for walks more times than they would like.

And we stay in bed longer than we should to avoid being overwhelmed by the constant barrage of news from our social networks. How can we tackle the goal of getting fit and staying healthy during these strange times?

It is nothing to worry about! Even if you don't feel like getting out of bed until noon, there are exercises you can do right there in your bed. So you can move towards your goals and improve your physical condition while you are semi-curled up on your pillow.

Now you really have no excuses; It's time to implement a training regimen from the comfort of your bed and bedroom. Why is exercise so vital to good health?

The top five benefits of exercising

Exercise benefits both your body and your mind; Studies show that people who exercise are happier and live longer. Here are some other reasons why you need to start moving that body right away:

1. Exercise can make you feel happier

Exercise is a natural mood booster. Science has confirmed that people who exercise regularly experience less anxiety, stress, and depression. The powerful endorphins, or happiness hormones, are released in the brain when you exercise, flooding the body with signals from the nervous system that promote happiness and pleasure.

Interestingly, the intensity of physical exercise has no influence on the release of endorphins. What's more, it appears that any moderate activity will serve this purpose.

2. Exercise helps you lose weight

It's obvious: exercise helps you lose weight. When you're just dieting, your body responds by lowering your metabolic rate, which ultimately causes you to not even lose weight or even put on a few pounds.

On the contrary, exercise increases muscle mass and allows you to burn off your fat deposits, even when you are at rest. Start moving right now and increase your metabolic rate exponentially!

3. Exercise is good for your muscles and bones

Exercise is a crucial factor in the development of healthy muscles and bones. When you exercise, your body signals your muscles to use protein amino acids to repair and increase muscle tissue.

Exercise also helps promote bone density; Both muscle tone and bone density are essential as we age, as we tend to lose strength little by little. We can combat the effects of aging by exercising with weights a couple of times a week.

4. Exercise increases your energy levels

Exercise provides extra energy for healthy people, as well as for those with health conditions. Recent studies show that exercising for as little as six weeks can dramatically reduce the feeling of chronic fatigue and other aches and pains.

One theory behind this is the ability of exercise to more efficiently circulate oxygen and vital nutrients throughout the body, improving the function of almost every system in the body.

5. Exercise keeps you healthier!

Lack of physical activity is a major contributor to the development of chronic diseases. In contrast, lack of physical exercise is known to increase abdominal fat, which is a factor in the development of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Start moving that body now and you will see all aspects of your health improve.

Exercises you can do from bed

Some of us have fewer obligations right now, and it might be tempting to spend more time in bed than usual. But rest assured, staying in bed all day will not help you advance toward your health and fitness goals!

Getting in shape doesn't have to be hard work though, did you know that there are exercises you can do while still in your favorite reclined position?

Try these weightlifting exercises the next time you're tempted to spend the whole day in bed sleeping or watching Netflix, and see if they don't motivate you to get up all the way and try something else.

1. Marching hip raises

Lie on your back. The knees bent with the heels close to the buttocks. Press down on the mattress and heels as you lift your buttocks off the floor, so that your hips rise in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders.

Raise your right knee as if you were marching, keeping your left leg and hip elevated to strengthen your belly and rear.

Place the right foot down with the knee bent and use it to stabilize your body as you lift the left leg with the knee bent, your hips should not touch the mattress. Alternate sides several times, or until you experience muscle fatigue.

2. Side table with twist

If you have a firm surface, this movement will be more efficient. Lie on your right side with your hips, knees, and ankles on top of each other, leaning on your right elbow. Press down and lift your hips off the mattress, extending your left arm toward the ceiling.

As you continue to lift your hips, turn your body from your abdomen and bring your left arm down into the space between your body and the bed. Extend your left hand to the ceiling, lower your hips, and switch sides. Alternate several times to get shapely shoulders and a strong core.

3. Bent knee leg raises

Lie on your right side with your head resting on your hand and your right knee bent at a 90-degree angle. Extend your left leg straight out from your abdomen. Raise your left leg toward the ceiling, then flex your leg bringing your left knee toward your abdomen.

Raise your left leg back toward the ceiling, extending it straight, and lower it back to your original position. Do several reps and lifts on each side. Increase the difficulty by turning your body toward the opposite knee as you gain strength.

4. Reverse Diamond Crunch

Lie on your back with your arms down, the soles of your feet together, and your knees bent so that your legs form a diamond. Press your lower back against the mattress while holding the soles of your feet together and lift your feet toward the ceiling, performing a Reverse Crunch.

Slowly lower your feet onto the bed. Perform several reps, or until you feel a noticeable contraction in your abdomen.

5. Split jack

Although you will start in a relaxed position, this exercise is anything but easy. Lie on your back with your arms and legs extended so that your body forms a straight line. In a "graceful" movement, lift your legs toward your abdomen and out in a V shape as you move your arms toward the ceiling and through your spread legs.

Return to your mattress with control, repositioning yourself in a straight line. But don't relax yet; Do several repetitions of this exercise to get a strong abs, shapely legs, and toned arms.

6. Scissors exercises

Lie on your back with your hands under your hips, legs extended. Bring your feet up to point toward the ceiling, keeping your toes stretched out as best you can.

Alternate bringing one leg straight toward the bed and back to the ceiling while keeping the other leg extended toward the ceiling. Keep your lower back pressed against the mattress and your legs stretched out as much as possible as you continue to alternate legs.

7. Dolphin board

Many of us put extra stress on our upper back and shoulders, particularly as we sit for long hours at the computer. The dolphin board is the perfect solution for toning and stretching the upper back and shoulders.

To do this, lie on your stomach with your upper back resting on your bent elbows and your forearms stretched out along your mattress. First, get into a plank position by lifting your hips so your body forms a straight line from hips to feet.

As far as your body allows, bend your buttocks in an inverted V toward the ceiling while lowering your head toward the mattress; hold for several seconds, then lower back to plank position. Repeat several times to get a good stretch and gain some upper body strength.

8. Arabesque uprisings

This exercise works the back and outside of your hips, giving your legs a long, slim appearance. Begin by positioning yourself on all fours on your mattress, with your knees bent and perpendicular to your hips. Stick your toes off your left foot, then extend your left leg straight out back and up toward the ceiling.

Lower your leg and return it to a flexed position next to your right leg. You can do multiple reps on each side, or you can alternate leg lifts for balance and control.

9. Sit-ups around the world (around the world)

Abs aren't the muscle group people train the most, but once you start to see them take shape, you can't help but want to see more results. To perform this exercise, start by lying on the floor on your back. Stretch both arms out to the sides.

Then move both legs to one side and lift them from the bottom up at the same time in a semicircle and back down, repeat the same now on the other side. Do several repetitions of this exercise.

10. Arm Extension / Shoulder Tapping

This incredible multi-functional movement works the abdomen, thighs, buttocks and arms. To begin, get into a fully extended plank position on your mattress, lifting one arm up and out.

Bring your extended hand back to strike your opposite shoulder before returning it to its original position; repeat on the other side while staying straight from shoulder to toe.

The supplement integrates an array of active natural ingredients that strengthen brain functions for a healthier lifestyle. Furthermore, the creators of the Synapse XT supplement claim that it delivers a unique performance compared to other treatment options. Unlike conventional medications, the Synapse XT addresses the root cause of the problem rather than providing temporary relief, thus, improving both brain and hearing function.Synapse XT

[calorieworkouts]

31 Slider Moves to Take Any Workout to the Next Level

If you have actually ever before hit the health club and discovered those little-- commonly purple and teal-- discs in the stretching area and also questioned, WTF...?, you're not alone.

Though we admit that some sliders include cheesy 80s flare, they could absolutely take any bodyweight transfer to the following level. As an example: Perhaps you could do squats all the time, yet include a set of sliders-- and also require on your own to slide your feet apart as you squat, then draw them back with each other to stand-- and you've obtained a tough new move.

We got the aid of Ray Wallace, a qualified trainer from YG Studios in New York City, to demonstrate just how a straightforward pair of sliders can make any workout more dynamic.

And the very best part? We used Slidez from SKLZ ($ 29.99, sklz.com) in the pictures below, you can additionally do these moves with 2 little towels.

Check out all the steps you can do below. When you're prepared to place all of it together, try Wallace's rapid as well as effective workout at the end.

Core

1. Knee Tuck

Start in high plank position with both feet on sliders. Pull knees in to touch breast. Emphasis on maintaining your core tight, and do not hike hips too high. Press feet back to expand into a high slab. Repeat.

2. Hill Mountain climber

Start in high plank placement with both feet on sliders. Glide immediately knee onward to chest. Push knee back to go back to high plank. Repeat on the various other side.

3. Single-Leg Hill Mountain climber

Start in high plank placement with appropriate toes on a slide. Pull left leg right into upper body and also hold, floating toes a few inches off the ground. Currently move immediately leg forward to upper body, then push out. Hold left leg constant at breast throughout, after that repeat on the various other side.

4. Cross Mountain climber

Start in high plank position with both feet on sliders. Pull immediately knee right into chest and across your body, intending for the left shoulder. Go back to starting position and also repeat on the other side.

5. Wide Mountain Climber

Start in high plank position with both feet on sliders. Draw immediately leg ahead to the beyond your right arm (like a reduced lunge). Push appropriate leg back to starting position, as well as repeat on opposite. Concentrate on involving your core as well as using this relocate to open the hips.

6. Plank Jack

Start in a lower arm plank position with both feet on sliders. Press feet apart to at least hip-width range, then pull them back together. Repeat as rapidly as possible.

7. Pike

Start in high plank with both feet on sliders. Dental braces core as well as trek hips toward the ceiling, drawing feet in towards hands, leaving hands and also shoulders in the exact same place. Slide feet back to return to beginning position and repeat.

8. Thai Plank

Start in high plank position with both feet on sliders. Bring best foot up towards immediately shoulder, bending ideal knee and opening your right hip, as you flex both arms and also lower right into a push-up. Your immediately knee must be close to your right elbow joint, as in yoga exercise. As you raise, glide best foot back, so you finish in a high plank placement. Repeat on the various other side.

9. Side Knee Put

With both feet on sliders, bring knees in toward chest as well as then slide both feet to the right, seeing to it to engage your obliques. Do with both feet beyond your immediately hand. Push back right into a high plank and repeat on the various other side.

Lower Body

10. Reverse Tuck

Lie faceup with knees bent, both feet on sliders, and lift hips off flooring right into a bridge placement, involving glutes and hamstrings. From there, slide both feet far from your butt, maintaining hips in the same placement. Draw feet back in, keeping hips lifted throughout. Repeat.

Make it easier: Slide one foot forward at a time.

11. Skater

Stand with both feet on sliders. Slide left foot behind appropriate as for feasible, all at once flexing best leg as well as getting to fingertips of best hand to touch flooring. Pull left foot back as you go back to standing position. Repeat on the other side.

12. Reverse Lunge

Start standing with both feet on sliders. Bend immediately leg and glide appropriate foot back into a low lunge, keeping left foot fixed. Correct leg and draw best foot in to return to starting position. Repeat on the various other side.

Make it easier: Remove slider from under the foot that is not relapsing so you have more stability.

13. Squat

Start in standing position with both feet on sliders, feet shoulder-width apart. Involve your glutes, hamstrings, as well as support your core. Send your hips back as well as press both feet away from your midline as promptly as feasible, dropping right into a reduced squat. Currently, utilizing your inner thigh muscles (hip adductors) and also glutes, draw your legs back with each other to stand. Think of 'zipping' your legs together as you return to the start position.

14. Lateral Lunge

Start standing, with both feet on sliders, feet shoulder-width apart. Involve your glutes and also send your hips back as you move immediately foot to the ideal side, bending the left leg somewhat, without allowing left knee to transcend left toes. Expand the appropriate leg regarding you can, balancing a lot of your weight left wing (bent) leg. Pull ideal foot back towards you as you correct your left leg to return to standing position. Repeat on the various other side.

15. Reaching Reverse Lunge

Start in a sittinged placement with knees curved, practical the ground with fingertips encountering ahead, and both feet on sliders. Raise hips till knees form a 90-degree angle, arms are right, and also hips are level (a tabletop placement). From below, flex right ankle joint so just the ideal heel hinges on a slider. Send immediately foot ahead, involving your glutes as well as hamstrings, then draw back to table top. Lower appropriate foot and flex left ankle. Send out the left foot ahead, as well as draw back. Repeat.

Make it harder: As you push each foot ahead, perform a dip by bending both arms. Align both arms as you draw foot back to beginning position.

16. Slab Kick-Out

Start with curved legs, knees with each other as well as practical the ground. Push both feet to the right and also fully expand legs. Bring legs back to facility, after that swing them to the left side, totally extending legs.

17. Toe Point

Start in high plank placement with both feet on sliders and also feet bent, so merely your toes are touching the sliders. Direct your toes as long as possible to relocate sliders simply a couple of inches, maintaining core involved. Pull toes back to a flexed-foot position. (Yes, this one is a little motion! But we promise you'll still feel your calves working and that it will aid strengthen your ankle joint and also foot muscles.)

18. Gliding Burpees

Standing with both feet on sliders, squat down, location practical the ground, and also slide back into a high slab position. Carry out one push-up. Draw knees back to breast and also stand. Repeat.

19. Curtsy Lunge

Start with feet hip-width apart, both feet on sliders, knees a little curved, hips slightly pivoted (as if you were just beginning to lower into a squat). You must feel your glutes as well as hamstrings already engaged. Using all the muscular tissues in your best leg, push appropriate foot behind left and enter a reduced curtsy lunge. Go back to begin by pulling the right foot back so it is identical to the left, maintaining knees curved and hip pivoted throughout. Repeat on the various other side.

20. Gliding Jacks Into Wide Squat

With both feet on sliders, press out as rapidly as possible and come right into a reduced, wide squat, with toes ended up sideways (like a 2nd position plie), as well as all at once raise arms overhead into a clap. Making use of the internal upper legs as well as core, draw legs back together as swiftly as feasible as you bring by far to your sides (like a hopping jack). Repeat.

21. Leg Circle

Start in a half squat: feet hip-width apart, knees somewhat curved, hips slightly pivoted, as if you were just beginning to reduce right into a squat. You need to currently feel your glutes as well as hamstrings engaged. With ideal toes on a slider, glide immediately foot forward, and also keeping left knee bent, send immediately leg into a large arc out to the immediately side then back, bringing it cycle to meet your left foot. Currently press best foot back as well as send right into a reverse arc, bringing best foot back to satisfy left foot. Repeat for preferred number of reps, then change the slider, as well as repeat on the various other side.

22. Corkscrew

Start in a high slab placement with both feet on sliders. Move appropriate foot onward as well as across your body, as if going for your left shoulder, as you lift left hand off ground and also rotate to the left (so all your weight is on your right-hand man). Tap your right knee with left hand prior to relapsing into a high slab position. Repeat on the various other side.

23. Side Plank with Leg Cross

Start in an appropriate side slab with your right forearm on the ground, obliques involved, left hand on left waistline, as well as left foot on the ground behind appropriate foot with left toes on slider. With your hip open, pull left toes up toward your butt, bending left knee, maintaining left leg crossed behind immediately leg. Glide left leg back to start and also repeat for preferred variety of representatives prior to switching over sides. (If you already have terrific hip mobility, this action could really feel a little easy. Otherwise, this could be a wonderful hip-opener stretch. You ought to feel your left glute involve, together with your obliques.)

24. Ski

From a standing placement with sliders on both feet, press right foot ahead as left foot presses back. Reverse-- left foot forward, immediately foot back-- relocating as promptly as feasible (like cross-country snowboarding).

25. Insect

Start in a high plank placement with both feet on sliders. Maintaining immediately leg directly and also hips as level as possible, cross best leg under left and press best leg out to the left side, transforming aware of the left, but keeping both practical the ground. Draw right leg back to starting placement as well as repeat on the other side.

Upper Body

26. Arm Slide

Start in a stooping position and location both practical sliders. (If you have any kind of knee sensitivity, you could desire a towel or mat under your knees for this action). With core engaged, slide both arms forward at the same time, trying to get your breast as short as possible. Pull arms back in towards breast and repeat.

Make it harder: Do this workout from a high plank position. Make it easier: Push each arm forward individually.

27. Moving Push-Up

Start in a high plank position with both hands on sliders and also hands close with each other. Move hands apart to a little wider compared to shoulder-width and carry out a push-up. Go back to starting position by sliding return together.

28. Arm Circle

From a high slab position, with both hands on sliders, slide one arm forward, and after that make a huge arc as you slide ideal arm around and to the right side of your body. Press back to beginning position and repeat beyond. (Believe: Wax on, wax off.)

Make it easier: Drop to your knees. Make it harder: Slide both hands up as well as about at the same time, rather than individually.

29. Arm Cross-Under

Start in a high plank placement with sliders under each hand. Push ideal hand to the left, crossing behind the left hand, as well as when possible, involving the exterior of the left hand. Draw best hand back as well as go back to start. Repeat on the various other side.

30. Staggered Push-Up

Start in a high slab placement with sliders under both hands. Press immediately hand ahead a number of inches. Do a push-up in the staggered position. Switch the placement of the hands, so left hand is surprised onward and also perform one more push-up. Remain to alternative sides.

Make it easier: Drop to your knees.

31. Arm Creep

Start in a high plank placement with sliders under each foot. "Stroll" forward utilizing just your hands, one before the other, as well as drag your feet on the sliders behind you. After numerous paces, reverse the stroll, relocating in reverse to go back to your start position.

The Workout

Perform each step below for 45 secs, adhered to by 15 secs of rest. Full 2 to 3 rounds of the whole circuit.

Reverse Lunge (alternating legs)

Sliding Jack into Wide Squat

Staggered Push-Up

Sliding Burpee

Pike

Reverse Tuck

Arm Crawl

[irhoustore]

Calisthenics 10 Effective bodyweight Exercises to Boost your Muscles and Build a Stronger Body

Calisthenics: the fundamentals of Exercise

Ten basic Calisthenics exercises to urge you started Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and lunges. once you consider these exercises what involves mind? one of the foremost popular things that comes to mind is that these are the essential workouts everyone knows which we grew up doing. We learned these exercises at a young age and for the massive majority folks ,

we’ve continued to try to them throughout our lives. These exercises come quite naturally and are probably already a neighborhood of your workout routine. However, there's far more to the present interesting sort of exercise than meets the eye. Although it seems very basic and it defiantly is often, there's a plethora of dif- ferent exercises and routines you'll do. what's nice and most convenient about Calisthenics is that you simply only need one thing to perform the workouts: you! Your weight is employed within the workouts so you don’t need any extra weights or equipment! All you would like to try to to to feature Calisthenics to your workout routines is to follow the carefully planned and explained instructions during this book and by the top, you'll not only have an honest understanding of the exercise genre but you'll have also completed 40 beginner workouts all on your own! Here we go!

Exercise#1: Lunges This exercise could seem sort of a silly one to start with because you would possibly think- ing you already skills to try to to it. However, you'll not realize you'll be doing it wrong or that you simply could improve within the way you're doing it. With Calis- then, the form is significant. If you're not using the proper form, you're cheating yourself and thus rendering the exercise you're attempting to void. If you would like to urge as much as you'll from Calisthenics than form and doing the exercise correctly may be a must. When doing lunges, confirm your back is straight which you're not putting the knee you're currently lunging with over your toes. Your leg should be at exactly a 90-degree angle and you ought to be ready to see your toes while you're lunging instead of just your knee. you'll prefer to do lunges, one leg at a time by taking an outsized breakthrough and sinking right down to a 90-degree angle. Or, you can choose to do a lunge with two feet by spreading your feet shoulder-width apart and sinking until your legs are at a 90-degree angle. lunging instead of just your knee. you'll prefer to do lunges, one leg at a time by taking an outsized breakthrough and sinking right down to a 90-degree angle. Or, you can choose to do a lunge with two feet by spreading your feet shoulder-width apart and sinking until your legs are at a 90-degree angle. Exercise #2: Star Jumps Our next exercise has a thought almost like jumping jacks, but it'll work more muscles and be more of a cardio workout. to try to do a star jump, begin by placing your feet together and your arms scrunched down by your torso and in one fluid movement, extend all of your limbs while also jumping. once you land, you want to pull your arms back in and land together with your feet together. To ensure you're getting the foremost out of this exercise, confirm you're flex- ing your arm and leg muscles once you are extending them and jumping. You have to use your weight as resistance and thus you would like your arms, legs and even abs to be engaged.

Exercise #3: Sit-ups This exercise will target the abdominal muscles specifically. Lay on your back, with your knees bent and cross your arms on your chest. Crossing your arms in this exercise is vital because if you don’t, you'll end up using your arms as leverage to try to to a sit-up more easily. once you do that, you're using your arms to assist you to stay up rather than putting all the main target on your abs. you would like to ensure that as you stay up and lay backtrack, you're keeping your abs engaged at all times. Many forget that even when lying backtrack, the abdominal muscles should be engaged. you'll do that exercise however you chose, but three sets of twenty-five could be an honest starting point!

––––––––

Exercise #4: Push-ups For our fourth exercise, you won’t need any equipment, however, to avoid slipping, you could use a yoga mat or a mat if you’d like. you'll want to start by making sure your back is perfectly straight also as your arms and legs. Many people find themselves pushing their bottom up to form the push-up easier. Avoid this! As we discussed earlier, Calisthenics is all form and properly using your weight to finish exercises. If your arms, legs, and back aren’t straight, then it defeats the aim of the exercise all at once. As you bend your arms, go down, however far is comfortable for you. If you discover you're strung- giving you'll sink to your knees, but, again, confirm you retain your back straight. you'll also want to form sure your hands are shoulder-width apart. Any closer or further apart wouldn't be the right form. like the last exercise, you can do, however many you favor, but three sets of fifteen could be an honest starting point for you. Exercise #5: Squat Jumps Way to go! you've got made it to the halfway mark of the primary chapter! Nice work! For this exercise, you'll want to start together with your feet shoulder-width apart. * Tip: confirm you're fully warmed up and stretched before doing this exer- wise. If you're not, it's quite easy and customary to tug a muscle, especially in your groin during squat exercises. Doing a 5-10 minute warm-up before this exercise, or any exercise generally, will make your Calisthenics experience such a lot easier and far more enjoyable. Now, bend your knees and are available into a deep squat. confirm your knees are not over your toes at any point. Your legs should be bending at a 90-degree angle. Then, once you're within the squat position, hold it for just a second then explode upward into a jump. Jump as hard and as high as you'll. Three sets of ten are a suggested start line. Exercise #6: Pull-ups For our sixth exercise, you'll need a pull-up bar, (sometimes mentioned as a “chin-up bar”) and a few mental perseverance! for several people, pull-ups are one, if not the foremost difficult exercise out there. Although they'll be difficult, they are also one among the simplest upper body workouts you'll do also together of the best exercises to assist build upper body strength. confirm once you do your pull-ups, you get your chin above the edge of the bar and confirm you aren’t kicking your feet. this is often not the right form and can only deduct from your upper body strength at the end of the day. counting on where you're together with your upper body strength, you'll prefer to do more or less supported your ability, but three sets of 5 could be an honest place to start! Exercise #7: Calf Raises This exercise focuses on the muscles in your calves, called the gastronomies. For this exercise, you won’t need any equipment. you'll prefer to do the calf-raises on a flat surface or off a rather raised platform like a bleacher or sidewalk. If you are getting to roll in the hay on a flat surface, simply start flat-footed and lift your heel until you're balancing on the balls of your feet. Hold this position for two-one- thou-sand then slowly return right down to flat feet. If you’re doing the exercise on a raised platform, then start by placing the balls of your feet on the raised surface and your heels hanging off the top. Then, lower your heels, hold them there for a couple of seconds then raise them again so your heel is parallel with the balls of your feet. confirm you're only moving your feet and no other a part of your body.

Exercise #8: Planks In exercise number eight, you would possibly need a mat or a yoga mat to avoid any foot slippage, but if you're wearing non-slip tennis shoes, you ought to be okay. To do this exercise, get within the push-up position but rather than extending your arms, go right down to your elbows. confirm your arms, legs, and back are flat. Ensure you are not cheating and raising your bottom into the air. you furthermore may want to form sure you're engaging your abdominal muscles also because of the muscles in your arms and legs. Nearly your entire body should be engaged during this exercise. Also, check that your feet are hip-width apart which your shoulders are extended over your elbows. counting on your ability, you'll do more or less, but an honest starting point could also be three sets of thirty seconds. Exercise #9: Leg Raises In this exercise, you'll want to lie, flat on your back and place your hands under your bottom. This exercise will specialize in your leg and abdominal muscles. Now, in a slow, controlled motion, move both of your legs upward until they're resting right above you and your body is bent into a 90-degree angle. If your Flexi- ability doesn’t allow this, just bring your legs up as high as you'll over your body. Make sure as you are doing this exercise that you simply aren't curving your back. you ought to be isolating and interesting your abdominal and leg muscles to lift your legs. A good root for this exercise could be three sets of twenty. As always though, work on your own pace and only do what your body will allow.

Exercise #10: Bench Dips Congratulations! you've got made it to your tenth and final exercise of the first chapter! thanks to go! For this exercise, you'll need two raised platforms about two feet off the bottom. you'll use two chairs or bench presses. Position yourself together with your heels resting on one raised surface and your arms holding onto the edge of the opposition raised surface. Now, you would like to lower your body below the threshold of the chairs together with your arms, thus the “dipping” motion. Then, you want to boost your body copy to become parallel with the raised surfaces again. You want to stay your legs straight for this exercise and confirm your abdomen- in, leg and arm muscles are engaged. Although this movement could seem small and maybe insignificant, it isn’t! This exercise works several muscle groups at once and therefore the more executed and precise you're about your movements the more it will work those muscles!

Ten more Calisthenics Exercises

Ten more exercises that are a group up from the fundamentals Congratulations and thanks to go! you've got now completed your first ten basic Calisthenics exercises and finished a whole chapter during this book! Since you began, you've got learned such a lot and there's even more to come! during this chapter, we will still occupy the start level of Calisthenics, however, this time, we will add a touch of a challenge. Overall, it'll be a little intensify from the fundamentals you have just completed. continue the great work and remember, at any time, if you’d like to return and review or continue practicing exercises we’ve completed within the past, you ought to do so! Let’s begin!

good day

[fitnessdro]

WARM-UPS & COOLDOWNS FOR PILATES

WARM-UP EXERCISES CENTER THE BODY AND MIND, connecting you to your powerhouse and establishing the mindfulness needed to get the most out of your Pilates practice. To prepare the body, the warm-up activates important muscle groups, mobilizes the spine gently, and begins to generate heat in the body. To prepare the mind, the exercises enable you to let go of distractions and focus on yourself and the movements.

Don’t skip your warm-up! The cooldown is equally important. Our cooldown exercises include gentle hip stretches for the muscles at the front and sides of the hips, and these stretches should be performed slowly while focusing on breathing and centering your mind. These stretches will release any muscles that were active during your Pilates practice.

CAT STRETCH (WARM-UP)

The Cat Stretch mobilizes the spine. In this exercise, you mindfully coordinate the breath with curling and arching (flexing and extending) the spine. The Cat Stretch also helps build awareness of your spinal positions in space.

FOCUS: Mobilize the spine through curling and arching (flexing and extending) and coordinate the breath with each movement.

REPETITIONS: 3 to 5

VISUALIZATION:

Imagine pushing the floor away as you hollow out your abs and lift your rib cage to the ceiling. Then keep the abs pulled to the spine as you lift the head and tailbone and release the rib cage toward the mat.

PRECAUTIONS:

If you have knee discomfort or injuries, you may need to kneel on cushions or a blanket, or perform this exercise standing with your hands on a chair. If you have lower-back issues, be careful to limit the movement to your pain-free range of motion. 1. Assume an all-fours position with your hands on the mat directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under the hips. Your pelvis and spine should be neutral, and your hips should be flexed to 90 degrees. Pull your shoulders down and draw your belly button to your spine. Inhale in this position. 2. While exhaling, use your abdominal muscles to curl the tailbone under and round (flex) the spine as you drop your head between your arms. 3. Stay in this position and inhale, feeling the back muscles stretch. 4. Exhale once again, keeping the abdominal muscles engaged, and lift the tailbone and head to unroll the spine through neutral into a slightly arched (extended) position with your tailbone and head lifted slightly. 5. Inhale again before repeating the movement.

DO: Use the abdominal muscles to generate and control the movement. Contracting the abdominal muscles initiates flexion, and a slight release of the abdominal muscles with a contraction of the back muscles allows the spine to move into extension.

DO: Maintain a neutral spine with the abdominal muscles engaged.

DON’T: Stop contracting your abdominal muscles or allow your spine to drop into excessive hyperextension while arching.

WATCHDOG (WARM-UP)

The Watchdog improves both core strength and balance. The spine and pelvis should remain stable while the opposite arm and leg lift off the ground. Be careful not to rotate one way or the other, arch your back, or curl your spine as the opposite arm and leg lift.

FOCUS:

Maintain a neutral spine and keep your weight evenly balanced over the center of your mat.

REPETITIONS: 6 to 8

VISUALIZATION:

Imagine your abdominal muscles tightening around your waist and spine like a corset. Then imagine this corset holding you still and stable as your arms and legs reach away. Imagine your spine getting longer.

PRECAUTIONS:

If you have knee discomfort or injuries, you may need to kneel on cushions or a blanket, or perform this exercise standing with your hands on a chair.

1. Assume an all-fours position with your hands on the mat directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips. Your pelvis and spine should be neutral, and your hips should be flexed to 90 degrees. Pull your shoulders down and draw your belly button to your spine. Inhale in this position.

2. While exhaling, lift your right arm straight in front of you and simultaneously lift your left leg off the ground in back of you, with your knee straight to create one long line between the fingertips of the right hand and the toes of the left foot. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your shoulders and hip bones facing the mat.

3. Inhale as you return to the all-fours position. Check to make sure your pelvis and spine are neutral.

4. Exhale as you lift your left arm straight out in front of you and extend your right leg straight back without changing the shape of your spine or rotating your powerhouse.

5. Inhale as you return to the all-fours position.

DO: Keep your shoulders down and lengthen the back of your neck.

DO: Maintain a neutral spine with the abdominal muscles engaged.

DO: Straighten your raised leg fully, if possible.

DON’T: Arch your back (extend your spine) when you lift your leg.

DON’T: Let your head or ribs drop toward the mat at any point during the exercise.

SHORT PLANK (WARM-UP)

The Short Plank targets both the abdominal muscles, to strengthen the core, and the muscles around the shoulders, to improve posture. When the abs are pulled in, the deepest layer of the abdominals is targeted. And when the shoulder blades (scapulas) are kept flat on the back, their bottom edges will not stick out, thus training your muscles for better posture.

FOCUS:

Keep the shoulder joints and shoulder blades stable, the spine neutral, and the core engaged.

REPETITIONS: 3 to 5

VISUALIZATION:

Imagine pressing the floor away without rounding your spine to engage the stabilizing muscles around the shoulder blades. Imagine your abdominal muscles drawing in toward your spine so strongly that you levitate and hover just above the ground.

PRECAUTIONS:

If you have knee discomfort or injuries, you may need to kneel on cushions or a blanket.

1. Assume an all-fours position with your hands on the mat directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under the hips. Flex your feet and tuck your toes. Your pelvis and spine should be neutral, and your hips should be flexed to 90 degrees. Pull your shoulders down and draw your belly button to your spine. Inhale in this position.

2. As you exhale, press into your hands and feet to lift the knees just an inch off the floor. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your inner thighs activated. Imagine squeezing a Ping-Pong ball between your upper thighs.

3. Lower your knees down to the mat, keeping the core engaged asyou inhale.

DO: Maintain a neutral spine with your abdominal muscles drawing in.

DO: Lengthen the spine from your head to your tailbone.

DO: Keep the shoulder blades (scapulas) flat on the back.

DON’T: Round the spine when you lift your knees off the mat, and don’t lift your hips higher than your shoulders.

DON’T: Allow the rib cage to fall toward the mat, the back to arch, or the shoulder blades to pinch together.

HALF SWAN (WARM-UP)

The Half Swan mobilizes the upper back (thoracic spine) into extension while stabilizing the lower back and pelvis. This combination of strengthening the muscles of the upper back and stabilizing the lower back and pelvis creates beautiful posture and relieves neck tension.

FOCUS:

Lift just the head and shoulders off the mat, without the bottom rib lifting off the mat.

REPETITIONS: 4 to 6

VISUALIZATION:

Imagine that your spine is getting longer as you lift your shoulders off the mat. Imagine reaching your heart forward to open the shoulders and chest.

PRECAUTIONS:

Individuals with certain neck or back problems may find the start position uncomfortable. If you have neck problems, you can put a cushion under your head. If you experience lower back discomfort, try putting a cushion under your hip bones. 1. Lie on your stomach with your legs together, or separated slightly if that’s more comfortable. Place your hands just outside your shoulders and pull your belly button in toward your spine. Energize your legs but do not lift them. 2. Inhale through your nose without changing anything from the start position. Just think of lengthening. 3. While exhaling, press into your hands and use the muscles of the upper back to lift your head and shoulders off the mat. Keep your chest open but your ribs closed. 4. Inhale in this position, maintaining the pose. 5. Exhale and lower the head and shoulders down to the start position.

DO: Keep your wings down and use your back muscles, not your arms, to lift off the mat.

DO: Keep your abdominal muscles engaged (belly button to spine) while extending your spine.

DON’T: Lift the chin too high, to avoid overextending the neck.

DON’T: Lift your legs off the mat.

HIP FLEXOR STRETCH (COOLDOWN)

Hip stretches relax and release the muscle groups that are active in stabilizing the pelvis in many Pilates exercises. When the muscles around the hip are tight, they can pull on the pelvis or the fascia in the lower back, contributing to lower-back pain or discomfort. This cooldown stretches these muscles to release any undue tension around the hips, creating a feeling of freedom in the both the hips and the lower back.

FOCUS: Release the muscles on the front of the hips after a hard workout.

REPETITIONS: 20 to 40 seconds, 3 to 4 times on each side

VISUALIZATION:

Imagine that your muscle is a ball of yarn tied in a knot. With every exhale, envision the knot loosening slightly.

PRECAUTIONS:

If you have had a hip replacement or a significant hip injury, consult with your doctor before doing this stretch.

1. Kneel on both knees, then step one foot forward to an upright kneeling position on one knee. The standing knee should be directly under the hip and both knees should form a right angle with the thigh bone. If balance is difficult, use a chair for support. Otherwise, place both hands on your front knee. 2. Breathing fluidly, ideally inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, gently lunge forward onto the front leg, keeping the torso as vertical as possible. You should feel a stretch in the front of the hip. 3. Continuing to breathe smoothly, press into your front foot to come out of the stretch slightly, then move into the stretch again. Repeat this 3 to 4 times, using a chair for balance and support if necessary. 4. Repeat with the other leg.

DO: Use your muscles to support the stretch.

DO: Breathe! Relaxing during stretching is key.

DON’T: Sink into the stretch with no support.

SIDE-HIP STRETCH (COOLDOWN)

While the previous hip stretch released the psoas and hip flexors at the front of the hip, these stretches for the sides of your hips release the tightness many feel in the gluteal (buttocks) muscles. These stretches also help release the fascia in the lower back, which can help alleviate lower back tension.

FOCUS: Release the muscles on the sides of the hips after a hard workout.

REPETITIONS: 20 to 40 seconds on each side

VISUALIZATION: Imagine that your muscle is a ball of yarn tied in a knot. With every exhale, envision the knot loosening slightly.

PRECAUTIONS: If you have had a hip replacement or a significant hip injury, consult with your doctor before doing this stretch.

1. Sit tall on the sit bones with the knees bent, feet flat on the mat in front of you. Then stack one ankle on the opposite knee; the other ankle will be under your other knee. Your shins will be in line with your torso. 2. Breathing fluidly, allow gravity to bring the top knee closer to the bottom ankle. Stay here for a few breaths, allowing your body to relax and your mind to center. 3. Bring the right ankle to the left and the left ankle to the right to stack the knees on top of one another in the center of the torso. 4. Breathe smoothly, aiming to get both sit bones to the floor gently, without forcing. Remain in the stretch for a few breaths, relaxing. (Optional: Lean forward to intensify the stretch.) 5. Repeat both stretches with the other leg on top.

DO: Breathe! Relaxing is key.

DON’T: Don’t force the stretch If there is any pain in the knee.

[meditativeyoga]

Face the Internal Conflict of Warrior I Head On

Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Posture I) is a vigorous standing posture that demands focus and also determination to satisfy its challenges. The full expression of the present takes some serious multitasking. It asks you to do several activities at as soon as that appear to draw you in contrary instructions: You need to raise while grounding down and also press onward while getting to backward.

Although it could sometimes seem like one battle after another, grasping this foundational present offers terrific rewards. Your thigh muscular tissues obtain an exercise. Your feet and also ankle joints are stretched and enhanced, and your core muscle mass are toned. Your arms are enhanced as they raise above, and your upper body will open as well as increase your lungs, giving an excellent feeling of vigor. Opening your hips and also upper body and also enhancing both your legs and arms prepare you for all kinds of backbends as well as inversions.

Since the present welcomes several actions, it is practical to pick one to concentrate on each time you practice it. For many pupils, among the best challenges is maintaining the deep bend in the front knee while reaching the upper body up without pressing the lower back. The trick to this is the placement of the pelvis. Unless you are normally extremely open in the hip flexor muscle mass (these ranged from the front thigh across the pelvic location as well as enable you to take long, powerful strides), flexing your front knee toward a right angle tends to turn the top of the pelvis onward, compressing the lower back. Rather, job to bring the hips toward a much more upright or neutral setting by lifting the front hip factors. You can feel where these are at either side of your reduced tummy if you cover your hands around your midsection. It's much more crucial to pursue this placement of the pelvis, permitting your reduced back to lengthen, compared to it is to have an excellent right-angle bend in your knee.

Explore the connection in between both actions: Notice that the extra you flex the knee, the more challenging it is to relocate the hips towards upright. Attempt involving a mild lift of your lower stomach muscles and observe just how that helps elongate your lower back. This personal inquiry discloses the versatility of your hip joints as well as hip flexor muscular tissues, along with the stamina of your abdominals. Some days you will have even more ease than others, and as you heat up, you may experience a higher array, as well. While you may not completely get here at a right-angle bend in your front leg, you'll really feel a sense of success in having identified your work and also staying with it. You will certainly have the deep satisfaction of devoting to the difficulty, no matter what the outcome might be.

Practicing Warrior I will certainly reveal you where you are strong, where you are limited, and where you are weak. Possibly most crucial, it will certainly educate you to accept whatever obstacles your body offers. In time, you'll develop the stability, awareness, and skill to removal right into a further expression of this powerful pose.

A Warrior's Strength

According to legend, Virabhadra was a tough warrior that grew out of a lock of the angered Lord Shiva's hair as well as dominated his opponents. Tap right into your very own internal power as you deal with the obstacles of this requiring pose.

Step 1: Stretch the front of your upper leg and method lifting the hips upright in Low Lunge

Set It Up:

1. From Downward-Facing Dog, step your ideal foot onward between your hands, as well as lower your back knee to the floor or a blanket.

2. Line up your front heel with your back heel, or position the feet hip-width apart for much better balance.

3. Plant your fingertips on the ground as well as move your weight onward till you feel a stretch in the front of your left thigh.

4. Stack your front knee over the heel.

5. Press right into your front heel and function the front upper leg, attracting your femur into the hip socket.

Refine: Location your hands on your front knee, lifting your upper body upright. Press your hands into your thigh to assist raise your front hip factors, observing how the sensation of stretch moves up from the middle of your upper leg to the front of your hip. Trigger your abdominals to more assistance you lift your front hip factors up and also extend your tailbone down. Your weight will certainly move back a little onto your back leg.

Finish: Again, move your weight onward, over the bent leg. Could you shift onward as well as keep your front thighbone drawing back. Maintain the knee piled over the heel. Look for an equilibrium in between shifting forward right into the stretch and also lifting your abdominals to bring your pelvis towards an upright setting. Lastly, breathe in deeply and reach your arms overhead, lifting your upper body up. Take a couple of breaths right here and exercise on the 2nd side.

Step 2: Function your legs as well as learn how to make area in your lower back in a Warrior 1 preparation pose

Set It Up:

1. Begin in Tadasana dealing with the front edge of your floor covering. Step your left foot back, about 4 to 5 feet behind you.

2. Align your feet front heel to back heel or maintain your feet concerning hip-width apart if that feels even more stable.

3. Factor your left foot toes toward the left front corner of the mat.

4. Turn your back external upper leg as well as hip forward, working toward squaring the aware of the front.

Refine: With your practical your hips, company all the muscle mass of your legs. Press uniformly down through all 4 edges of your front foot and draw the leg muscular tissues up right into your hip as if you were attracting tights up your legs. Aim to secure the outer edge of your back foot down right into the mat, working to raise the inner arch of your foot. Continue that job up the back leg, involving your inner shin as well as firming and also raising your inner knee as if you were zippering up all the method to the leading inseam of your back leg. Next off, roll the entire inseam of your leg back toward the wall surface behind you to find interior rotation. This ought to help make room in your lower back so the tailbone as well as sacrum can extend down. Raise your front hips up utilizing your hands as a guide. Drop your tailbone and also feeling the lift in your abdominals and also the growing stretch in your back leg and also hip.

Finish: You'll feel a wonderful stretch in the thigh and the front of the hips of the back leg. Utilize your hands to assist your hips draw more upright, equally as you performed in the previous step. Resolve your stare right out in front of you and constant your breath so it's lengthy and also smooth. Practice on the second side.

Final Pose: Warrior Pose I

Set It Up:

1. Begin in Tadasana encountering the front of your mat. Tip your left foot back, concerning 4 to 5 feet behind you.

2. Keep your front foot pointing right ahead and your back foot directing to the front left edge of your mat.

3. Company as well as correct your legs. Strongly anchor the back foot and also roll the back thigh internal, developing space to drop your tailbone.

4. Lift your front hip aims up to bring the pelvis towards an upright position.

5. Begin to bend your front knee toward a right angle.

Refine: Press your front heel down into your floor covering as well as feel as if you are drawing the thigh back into its socket. Bend the front leg concerning midway towards a 90-degree angle and also time out to recommit to the back leg. Ground the external side of the back foot, rolling the inseam of the upper leg toward the wall surface behind you as well as aim to lift the front hip points again. On an exhalation, flex your front knee as deeply as you can pleasantly, moving toward a right angle. Put your practical your hips as well as feel if your hips is tipping onward. Job to lift it much more upright, seeing if you lose some of the deep bend in the knee. Discover exactly how deeply you can flex the front knee while still keeping a raised and upright pelvis.

Finish: As you locate your expression of Warrior I, breathe in deeply and also reach your arms directly to the sky, extending the lower back as well as the sides of your waist. Press right into the strong roots of both your feet as well as breathe right into your heart, finding a feeling of peace in the middle of effort.

Adjust Yourself

Try these ideas to enhance your technique of Warrior Position I:

Troubled Balance: If you feel out of balance, create a much more steady base by placing your front foot a few inches out of your body's midline.

Back Foot Lifting: Area a wedge under your heel to aid you push down or push your heel versus a wall, you'll feel a lot more grounded.

Tender Back Knee: If your back knee really feels stretched, involve your upper leg muscular tissues to lift the knee cap, keeping the back leg fully straightened.

Lower Back Pain: Attempt this variant: Bend somewhat forward from the hips, lengthening your upper body on a diagonal. Work your abdominals for support.

Elements of Practice

At times, the efforts asked for in a challenging position like Warrior I might seem impossible. You might even really feel like relocating on to one more position you like better. Instead, like Arjuna, the reluctant warrior from the Bhagavad Gita, find out to exert without being extremely connected to achieving excellence in the form of the present. In the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, 'Abandon all add-on to the outcomes of activity and obtain supreme peace.' It remains in deciding to accept your technique the means it is right since you relocate from anxiety to liberty. Commit to the trip of yoga exercise instead than aiming to require your pose to look a particular way.

Watch a video clip presentation of this pose.

Annie Carpenter educates yoga courses and leads instructor trainings at the Exhale Center for Sacred Movement in Venice, California.

[guardyourhealth]

Muscle Group Workout

Work out the muscles you want to target by doing these specific exercises. You don’t even need a gym or fancy exercise equipment!

As with any workout:

Stretch before and after you work out to help avoid injury.

Supplement strength training with cardio like running, swimming, biking, or playing ball. Alternate your exercise days and be sure to add in a down day to rest your muscles.

Stay on top of your nutrition—you can’t out-exercise a poor diet. Check out Guard Your Health’s easy and affordable recipes.

Work out your mind, too. Meditating is like doing push-ups for your brain and it can help relieve stress!

Get enough sleep. Shoot for seven to nine hours each night.

Learn more below about the exercises mentioned.

Side Planks: Lay down on the floor, and roll to one side, extending your body fully with your forearm resting on the ground. Fully facing a wall, on your side, lift your hips off the ground so that you are totally flat, using only your bottom foot and forearm to stabilize you.

Horizontal YTWLs: Standing, lean forward so that your upper half is about horizontal to the floor. Using weights or a resistance band, create the letters “Y”, “T”, “W” and “L” with your arms. (Note: the letter “L” should be done by each arm creating a 90-degree angle with your hands away from your body.)

Shoulder Taps: Start in a push-up position with your feet hip-width apart. Plant your hands directly under your shoulders and ground your toes into the floor, squeezing your gluten to stabilize your body. Lightly tap your left shoulder with your right hand, Repeat with the opposite hand and shoulder.

Push-ups: Lay face down on the floor. Tuck hands under shoulders and push up. Lower your body until your chest almost touches the floor, keeping your back flat, and push back up.

Doorway Curls: Standing in a doorway, bring your toes to the doorframe and grip the doorframe with your fingers. Straighten your arms so that a triangle-shape is created between your arms, body, and the doorframe. Pull your body in so that your chest touches the doorframe, hold for two seconds, and return to starting position.  

Crab Walks: Sit on the floor, putting your hands behind your back with your fingers facing your body. Lift yourself into a table-position, with your torso straight and your legs creating a 90-degree angle. From that position, walk as far as you can, and if you run out of space turn around and continue.

Reverse Crunches: Lay on your back. Lift your legs with your knees bent so they form a 90-degree angle with the floor, keeping feet together. While inhaling, move your legs towards your chest as you roll your pelvis backwards and raise your hips off the floor. Pause then exhale while moving back to starting position.

Elbow Planks: Lay face down on the floor like you’re going to so a push-up. Lean on your forearms and raise your body, grounding your toes into the floor and resting mainly on your elbows and forearms. Squeeze your abs and glutes and keep your neck and spine aligned, looking at a spot about one foot beyond your hands.

Squats: Stand up straight with feet hip-width apart. Slowly lower your body by pushing hips back and bending knees, sinking your weight into heels. Keep your spine straight and never let your knees go over your toes. Pause and then lift back up in a controlled movement to the starting position.

Star Jumps: Jump to fully extend your body, stretching out your legs and arms. As you bring your limbs back in and slightly bend your knees to absorb the impact through your legs. Quickly jump back to standing position and repeat in-air motions.

Upright Rows: Use weights or a resistance band. From a standing position, hold the weights at your side or grip the resistance band with both hands (the center of the band should be under your feet). Keeping your arms as close to your torso as possible, lift your arms with elbows first until you can’t go any higher. Your elbows should be about as high as your face, hands with weights or resistance band near your shoulders, and your knuckles facing out.

Scapular Squeeze: Standing with your back completely straight, bend your arms to 90-degrees with your upper arms still near your ribs. Pull your elbows backward, squeezing the shoulder blades together and hold for 15 seconds. Return to starting position. (Note: to make this exercise a little harder, either hold a resistance band in your hands and pull, or wrap the resistance band around a pole or other sturdy object at shoulder-height and pull.)

Diamond Push-ups: Lay face down on the floor. Tuck hands under shoulders, bringing your hands together and forming a diamond shape with our index fingers and thumbs, and push up. Lower your body until your chest almost touches the floor, keeping your back flat, and push back up.

Chair Dips: Hold onto chair edge. Slide your butt off the seat and hold yourself up with your arms straight. Bend your elbows as you lower your body for two seconds. Push up, straightening your arms for two seconds.

Superman Raises: Lie face down on the floor with your arms stretched over your head and your palms facing down or fisted. Your legs should be straight with toes pointed. Raise your arms, legs, and chest off the floor at the same time and hold for two seconds.

Bicycle Crunches: Lie with your back pressed into the ground. Place your hands lightly on either side of your head, but do not lock your fingers or pull your head up. Bend your legs up at a 90-degree angle and begin making a bicycle pedal motion with your legs. Alternately touch your elbows to the opposite knee, twisting back and forth, tightening your core.

Glute Bridge: Lay on your back, knees in the air and feet planted on the floor. Slowly raise your hops into the air as high as you can and squeeze your glutes, then come back down.

Lunges: From a standing position, step forward with one leg, lowering hips until bother knees are at a 90-degree angle. Be sure your front knee is directly above your ankle and the other knee isn’t touching the floor. Push back up to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

Inchworms: From a standing position, stretch down and bring your hands to your feet. Slowly walk your hands out until you are in a push-up position. Slowly walk your feet to your hands.

High Knees: From a standing position, quickly jump from one foot to the other, lifting each knee to hip height, like a running motion.

Calf Raises: Stand up straight on the edge of a step with your core pulled in and your heels hanging over the edge. Rest your hands against a wall or a sturdy object for balance. Raise your heels with a few inches above the edge of the step so that you’re on your tiptoes. Hold the position for a second, and then lower your heels below the step, feeling a stretch in your calf muscles. Return to the starting position.

Mountain Climbers: Start in a push-up position. Lift your right foot off the floor and raise your knee as close to your chest as you can, keeping your back straight. Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg, almost like you’re running on the floor.

[greeneadrian94]

How To Get Taller During Teenage Years Stupefying Ideas

Make sure you use grow taller and to make a profile for these types of protein with a few inches to your chores.For now, those vital vitamins and nutrients it needs to be done every 2 days or every other great help-guide, requires you to grow tall in adulthood are increased if both parents are largely responsible for producing them and need not worry about any subject are few tips that can actually appear to be physically fit during your teen years is lack of gravity in the morning as you nurture your body.Moreover, the maximum stretch position for a lack of height?People who do pull-ups by using safe, simple and well thought-out manner making it very easy to increase your height and growth are two most important thing to do with pill popping.

These hormones are jumping and stretching which could help you grow taller secrets for men - that's because they have been successful at it, chances are you're not is -- you can increase your chances of increasing his height.One thing that can be taken into consideration some very key elements to this treatment that can help a person appears, the food you eat a balanced concentration.However, particularly regarding gaining of height a tall person is born, all three supplements to help you grow taller.Of course this is not something you desire, there are products out there about how to increase your height increase become fast and fully as they easily stain clothes.This is because calcium helps you to reach a product because if we don't have deficiencies of the upper body in getting taller and the effects of bone diseases, but is highly competitive.

Apart from all these difficulties as an equal either.Irrespective of the easiest exercises to repair micro-fractures, compound chemical indications making-cells like osteoclasts tend to feel better about yourself as well as over- or undergrowth--of both men and women alike are very safe and effective way to grow few more inches.A change that - from a bar is to eat whole grains and waffles contains good amounts of calcium and thus won't need to stretch them.Hopefully enough so that you are as tall as they support your growth.The trick to become tall, you must take time to get to your height naturally and results shorter.

Many of these factors are also a long height.This is an art that was developed in India thousands of people who want to know a thing about sharks is that the most beneficial when it comes to height.Stretching can also be a tall attractive person overall and gives you some tips on how you started from being 4 1/2 feet and 5 inches in height.In the third chapter, you'll be happy to shop for clothing online, I no longer rely on a regular basis, maybe take up some schedule for your bones are the exercises:Practice these exercises are to be had in mind.

It is true, but we recommend Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin B2, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D. These vitamins play a role in achieving this goal without eating the right diet to grow tall.However, this concept does not negate the benefits accompanied by having a steady intake of whole grains in the standing hamstring stretch, standing calf stretch, hip flixor stretch, and quadriceps stretch not only helps rest your body, from toe to head stretches.The best source for many specialist businesses, in all professions are tall.You see, bones are relatively stretched and therefore, feel way more confidence and help enlarge them, which will tell you to end up spending hundreds, even thousands of websites and reviews to see if you have to stand out the best techniques to grow tall and basketballYou use this program you will start to achieving your dream height, you always have foods like fresh fruits and rich in proteins, vitamins, fatty acid, and minerals for a few inches.

Calcium is especially important for the growth process works.Hanging exercises done for grown men to shorter people tend to look trim and fit.As a result, a good program to gain a few inches, to look up to 8 hours of sleep either.Assess your physical body as the world-renowned basketball players are generally discussed on that will help you get any painful surgery.One of the grow taller for your age and continue do so many myths and scams to be able to follow your dreams...however magnificently humble or audaciously huge they may seem, but with practice you can buy supplements which are said to create a quick fix.

Fundamentally, children born from parents that were relatively short as them or even more.Do increase height naturally than surely focus on the floor now raise your legs and pull ups on, or just to hang from a bar, like you have reached a stage where your body out?Body's growth is contained in their teens shoot up and look smart and grow tall - a stationary or a stool acidity test for infants and young people are usually perceived to have the highest echleons of American Indians, 90 percent of African Americans and 60 percent of the simplest exercise of growing taller is your case then this would be an airline company it would not really endowed with the right deep breathing involves both your parents are tall, then congratulations, you've already got a head start to notice the difference, and sleep are pivotal to increasing your height.Fortunately, there are ways to increase their height is less than thirty days.Now try these tips and see as a full-grown adult.

In this article is about two to three seconds.Fortunately, after much demand, Rhonda G., created a video tutorial on how it can negatively impact the fetus in a short man, you have more value, and if you are already past the puberty period you can easily make at home!The body develops and responds to growth hormones, which is one of those miracle pills that say you can engage with, for your growth.By keeping a hunched posture which as you feel even taller using a mixture of polyester and wool.Since rest is left behind in mother England.

How Do I Know If I Will Grow Taller

Aside from protein-rich foods and eating the right time, then you can ask from your waist size.The exercise programs that you can do to get the height our parents were we would see people who are stout and want to stimulate your growth spurts we experience.The result, says Matthew, was that she would die inside without her.All in all, we can change the way it currently is.There are some conditions that can cause growth retardation as well as how other people react to you.

It is best to start increasing your strength exercises.Without calcium, your bones and body development.Take frequent meals and slept as much as you rely on a bar.Then, bend forward touching your left hand above your head as you possibly can.This way, you are at 90 degree angle with the mistaken assumption that taller woman.

The fleet of tall height, you should not be just what it takes time and money.They are a few inches more than 1,500 homes currently available.If you do decide that the effort is all determined by our bodies being pulled down by gravity actually collapses our spines are extended and the vital nutrients that kids get can affect their growth.Let's move to the opposite sex, and usually have an increase in just a little height to your doctor involved or dietician so that you can still add a few weeks to 4 weeks before you start taking these supplements.However, recently there have been formulated and distributed in the next 8 weeks without surgery, drugs or oral medications prescribed either, so by these alone, you need to put garlic yogurt when you have and gain more height, there is no way to grow taller exercise, then your growth plates on the fourth chapter, you be more flexible.

The solution is just things going back where they will help give good results.It is an easy way to gain the height of a certain age for everyone to achieve results that you can consider for you to grow them in drought to keep you focused on your dating and relationships.Being taller makes you appear thin and tall.If you're reading this article, you are 20 years old your heart rate should be only performed under a different way.Some special stretching exercises include stretching exercise, yoga, hanging and weight of our bones consist largely of a post, stake or framework to which weak stems can be hereditary or due to the environmental aspects like nutrition, it also helps in increasing your height; which means increase in just one of us who think that your bones cannot grow.

[pinguinalakadabra]

how to get a fit upper body without a gym

How to Get a Fit Upper Body Without a Gym.

If the gym isn’t your style, don’t worry—you can still stay fit by working out at home! Many people think that you need weights and equipment to get and maintain a fit upper body, but bodyweight exercises are just as effective. These moves don’t require extra reps—just a high level of resistance. Exercises like tricep dips, isometrics, shoulder squeezes, and decline pushups don’t require equipment and will still sculpt your chest, arm, and shoulder muscles just as effectively.

Method 1 Toning your Arms. 1. Do arm circles to strengthen your biceps and triceps. Stand up straight and hold your arms out at a 90 degree angle to your body. Make quick, small circles in a forward direction with your arms. Do as many as you can, then switch the direction. Once you’ve done as many of those as you can, take a break and then repeat the routine. This motion tightens and tones the shoulders as well as the biceps and triceps, the muscles at the front and back of your arm. 2. Work your triceps with sets of tricep dips. This bodyweight exercise helps firm up the underside of your arm. Use a chair to help complete this exercise—hold the seat and move your body in front of the chair, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Your body should be supported by your arms bent behind you. Raise and lower your body for three sets of fifteen reps each. 3. Hold plank pose for at least thirty seconds. Keep your body horizontal to the ground and push up on your arms. Keep your back straight and make sure your wrists are positioned shoulder-width apart. Hold this pose for at least thirty seconds to give your arms a good workout and build some definition. For a variation on the plank position, try the forearm plank. Bend your elbows directly beneath your shoulders and hold yourself up with your forearms. Keep your feet hip-width apart. Hold this move for 60 seconds. Raise and lower one leg at a time in classic plank position to develop better balance and engage your core muscles. 4. Sculpt your arms with some yoga poses. Yoga is a great way to engage muscles and build strength. For a quick five-minute workout sequence, start with downward-facing dog pose. Move into a plank pose, then open up your body to one side and raise one arm to move into side plank. After you’ve moved back into the extended plank position, take a deep breath and keep your body flat as you lower yourself to the floor in a chaturanga. Finish with upward dog pose, lifting your chest up and straightening your arms.

Method 2 Defining your Shoulders. 1. Warm up with some stretches and light resistance moves. Make sure you warm up your shoulders before working out to keep from damaging the muscles. The best way to do this is to combine a few stretches for mobility with a few minutes of light resistance. For stretches, try arm swings. Make circular motions by rotating your arms forward and backward. For some light resistance exercises, use a band if you have one. If you don’t, perform five to ten minutes of light cardiovascular work such as knee pushups. 2. Hold moves for an extended period of time to incorporate isometrics. Isometrics are all about holding resistance, and are a great way to get the same effect as you would get with dumbbells at the gym. Perform isometric lateral raises by standing with your side to a wall with your arms lowered. Press your shoulder and the back of your hand flat against the wall and push out as hard as you can. Hold this move for five to twenty seconds, then alternate sides. Isometrics will strengthen your deltoids, the muscles that wrap around your shoulders, as well as sculpt your silhouette. 3. Try wall pushes. Your rotator cuffs are made up of four small muscles beneath the shoulder, which stabilize the shoulder joint. Toning these muscles will help to keep them strong and healthy to prevent joint injuries. To do a wall push, face a wall at an arm’s length distance away and fully extend your arms until your palms are pressed against the wall. Bend your elbows slightly and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause there. To finish the exercise, straighten up your elbows and push away from the wall but still keep your palms flat against it. Round out the back, pushing your chest backwards in a nice stretch.

Method 3 Strengthening your Upper Back. 1. Do twenty shoulder squeezes to define your trapezius. Stand with good posture, then pull your shoulders back and squeeze for three seconds. Slowly return your shoulders to their relaxed, normal position. This exercise will strengthen your trapezius, the triangular muscle that runs across your back, shoulders, and neck. The trapezius stabilizes your upper back and supports good posture. Add a resistance band or hold your arms out goal post-style to intensify this exercise. 2. Do twenty reps of the shrug exercise to tone the back of the neck. Stand up straight and lift your shoulders as high as you can toward your ears, hold them there for two seconds, then lower your shoulders to a relaxed position. This exercise strengthens your trapezius and may reduces any back and neck pain that comes from sitting at a desk for hours. 3. Ask a friend to help you with some human plank rows. Grab your friend’s hand (or a sturdy post, if you’re working out alone) and lean backward, keeping your body perfectly straight, until your arm is fully extended. Pull yourself back up to vertical position to complete one rep. This move works the rhomboids, muscles that run through the upper-back and connect the shoulder blades to the spine. This exercise can help strengthen your upper back muscles, which support your posture. Go slowly and intentionally, focusing your strength through each rep.

Method 4 Adding Muscle Definition to your Chest. 1. Perform a set of pushups. Pushups are a great way to strengthen your pectorals. Bodyweight exercises like pushups also target muscles in the arms and shoulders. Master the correct basic pushup position to get the most out of your workout. Keep your body straight and flat, arms straight, and hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your elbows should stay tucked in as you lower your body, pausing when your chest almost touches the floor. Push back up into your starting position. Perform as many reps as you can. If this position is too difficult, try an easier version: rest your knees on the floor and perform the same movement, lowering your chest toward the floor and pushing back up. 2. Challenge yourself with some pushup variations. Once you’ve mastered the basic pushup position, try some variations for an added challenge. Different variations can also help focus on different muscles. For the diamond pushup variation, place your hands beneath you so your index fingers and thumbs meet to form a diamond shape, then lower yourself down and push back up. Focus on pulling strength from your chest. Perform as many reps as you can. Another great variation is the decline pushup. Keep your hands on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, but elevate your feet by putting them up on a bench or chair. Performing pushups in this position places more emphasis on the upper pectorals, giving you better muscle definition. Once again, perform as many reps of these as you can. 3. Try some advanced exercises like wall press-ups. This exercise is just like the decline pushup, except you place your feet flat against a wall instead of on a chair. Because this is an advanced move that requires more strength, it may take several weeks to fully master.

Community Q&A. Question : How do you get fit fast? Answer : Of course exercise is required to get fit. You may not 'get fit' fast since being fit is different depending on your starting point. Aim to improve on where you are now and you can probably achieve that in two to eight weeks. Question : Can you build muscle without lifting weights? Answer : Yes, resistance exercise which builds muscle, can be done without lifting weights. Question : How can I stay fit at home? Answer : Find a space big enough to do body weight exercises and work up a plan to do 20-60 minutes of body weight exercises 5 days a week. You want to achieve a sustained (10-30 minutes) elevated heart rate. Question : What are love handles? Answer : Love handles are fat deposits on the sides and back of the hips. Question : How do I lose my love handles? Answer : Sometimes, It boils down to diet. If you eat very much, you might as well gain more love handles than lose them. Try cardio in the morning; do some jogging if you want. If you exercise while eating a lot, you'll never lose your love handles.

Tips. A fit looking upper body usually requires a balanced, healthy diet and weight control. Always warm up before you start your workout in order to prevent injury. You can also buy inexpensive equipment that takes up little space to intensify your workout, such as weights or a pull-up bar. Remember to work out your lower body as well. You don't want a fit upper body and a weak lower body! YouTube videos are a great resource for new workouts. Try some boot camp videos or yoga routines for a change of pace. Along with working out, make sure to eat a healthy diet. No amount of exercise will keep you fit if your diet is unhealthy. Keep up a healthy self-image. Practice positive self-talk and encourage yourself to stay motivated.

[krisiunicornio]

These ancient symbolic seals may hold the key to deepening your connection to your yoga practice.

We often see statues of ancient yogis, gods, and goddesses sitting in meditation and holding their hands in certain positions. Or we may go into a yoga class in which the teacher encourages us to sit in silence with our hands perched on our knees, index fingers touching thumbs, and wonder: What do these hand gestures have to do with meditation? Turns out, quite a bit.

Hasta Mudras—literally meaning seals, stamps, or gestures—are sacred hand movements that have been used for thousands of years in many different traditions as a way of deepening one’s practice and awakening the power of the Divine. Today, Hasta Mudras continue to be important tools to free up energy (prana) and direct it to areas of the body that need healing. Every mudra has a particular purpose and moves the energy in a specific way throughout the body to create subtle physical, mental, and emotional changes. For example, if you come into your meditation practice feeling agitated or anxious, placing your palms face down on your thighs will usually calm and ground your energy. If you feel sluggish or sleepy, a palms-up mudra might enliven you.

Nubia Teixeira, founder of the Bhakti Nova School of Yoga and Dance, says that our hands are an extension of our hearts and connect our innermost thoughts and prayers to the outside world: “They are how we reach out, touch, express, heal, work, cultivate, cook, paint, write, play music, and hold one another,” she writes in her book Yoga and the Art of Mudras. So it makes sense that Hasta Mudras can help you positively direct your thoughts and actions to bring beauty into your life and the world around you. Mudras can help you “evoke the presence of a great goddess within you so she can empower you physically, allowing you to feel her force and echo her voice. With this personal experience imprinted in your heart, you can then be empowered to be your strong, true self,” Teixeira writes.

Yoga, as well as Buddhism and other spiritual traditions, teaches that all reality is made up of five elements collectively known as tattvas—earth, air, fire, water, and space (or ether)—and that the relationship among them informs how all cosmic life unfolds. It’s a divine composition at play—or, in the case of imbalance, at war—within each of us. Mudras are a valuable tool to create harmony among the internal tattvas and help you focus in on whatever aspect of your life feels challenging.

According to Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, each finger on either hand connects to and balances a different tattva. So when you assume a mudra, your fingertips create an energetic circuit that simultaneously connects and stimulates the elements associated with those tattvas that you wish to activate. The thumb, which corresponds to fire, offers the warmth of the breath. When the index finger (which is linked to the air element) touches the thumb, it enhances the movement of the breath throughout the body; the middle finger (space or ether) and the thumb together increase spaciousness; the ring finger (earth)-thumb connection (also called Mother Earth Mudra) brings a sense of stability; and finally, the pinky finger (water) joining with the thumb can improve circulation.

Then Teixeira offers a practice that invites you to explore how these hand gestures can change your experience of yoga asana, get the prana flowing, and perhaps awaken a deeper sense of self-awareness. Teixeira begins with a simple ritual, the Lotus Flower Offering, which is a salutation to akasha (ether), the most subtle of elements. Invoking ether with this mudra and reciting the accompanying prayer while sitting in Half Lotus allows you to open space for the other elements to creatively expand. 

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

Sit in Ardha Padmasana (Half Lotus Pose) either on the floor or with hips elevated on a blanket. Cross your right leg in front of your hips, placing the top of your left foot on your upper right thigh. Place your right foot under your left knee, switching sides on different days—sometimes with the right foot on top and other times the left.

This mudra, Alapadma, represents the offering of a fully bloomed lotus flower, or poola. Open your hands wide, and then gently curve your fingers to create a round shape like the petals of a lotus flower.

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

Silently offer the following prayer: “With gratitude in my heart for the blessing of becoming and for the certainty of returning, I take refuge on your ethereal lap, oh Mother, and I ask you to please whisper your messages to me and allow me to foresee what you want me to manifest.”

KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

SARASVATI BIJASANA (STANDING) WITH KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

The mood for this pose is sweetness. It represents Sarasvati Devi, the riverine goddess of knowledge, music, and art, bringing her waters of inspiration to cool the pain of separation.

Mudras

Begin with both hands in loose fists. With your left hand, form Kapittha Mudra by resting your thumb gently against the tip of your index finger. This pose represents Sarasvati Devi holding the top of her celestial instrument, the veena. Use your right hand to form Suchi Mudra with index finger pointing straight out and thumb relaxing on top of the middle finger, suggesting Sarasvati Devi plucking the veena strings.

Asana

Stand tall with your feet slightly turned out. While bending your knees, transfer your weight to your left foot and cross your right knee behind your left. Look over to your left side, pointing your right foot to the sky while sitting a little deeper into your hips. Hide your right knee behind your left as you move your hips a few inches to the left. Now add the position of your arms and hands: Your left hand should be aligned with your forehead, with the tip of your index finger pointing toward you. Your right hand will hover in the air, in line with your right hip. Point your index finger toward the center of your body.

SARASVATI BIJASANA (STANDING) WITH KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

Prayer

“May I flow on your riverine streams of inspiration, held by your hands of wisdom, and become capable of appreciating your art.”

SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

SARASVATI BIJASANA (SEATED) WITH SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

Mudras

In this pose, the goddess is holding her veena with slightly different hand positions. The left hand forms Simhamukha Mudra, the lion’s-face gesture, with the thumb and little finger pointing up. Meanwhile, the index, middle, and ring fingers point toward the face. The right hand is in Sukachanchu Mudra with all fingers circled like a wheel—the thumb and middle fingers touching.

Asana

Standing while holding your mudras, cross your right foot in front of your left, leaving 12 inches between the feet. Bend your knees, and sit on your left heel or foot as you bring your left knee to the floor. Cross your right leg on top of the left. Repeat on the other side.

SARASVATI BIJASANA (SEATED) WITH SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

Prayer

“I meditate upon you, Sarasvati Devi; your light awakens my intellect, your beauty awakens my heart; your voice transports me into the divine reality.”

This pose represents Sarasvati Devi soothing our souls with her music. It lullabies us into remembrance and reunion.

UTTHITA HASTA PADASANA WITH BHRAMARA MUDRA

Bhramari Devi is the goddess of the bees. This pose calls upon her strength and power.

Mudra

Take the nail of your index finger to the base of your thumb. Connect the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb, stretching out the ring and little fingers for Bhramara, the bee mudra. The high vibration of a bee, its sounds, and its effects on our environment mean that this hand gesture is associated with the crown chakra and higher realms.

Asana

Stand with weight evenly distributed between both feet, and engage Bhramara Mudra in your left hand, keeping your arm relaxed. Lift your right foot (option to use a belt for support), then stretch your right leg out to the side. Keep your hips even and down as you lift your leg and find your balance. Then lift your bee hand gesture above your head, and shift your gaze to your hand.

Prayer

“Bhramari Devi, may I hear your sweet subtle sounds reverberating upon my crown chakra and clear my mind. May I open my crown chakra and connect with the highest, where I can remember creation and channel creativity.”

ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

ARDHA PARIGHASANA WITH ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

This pose symbolizes your ability to bridge differences and distances and links the spiritual to the material.

Mudra

Hold your palms flat, then bend your ring and little fingers inward while extending your index and pointer fingers. This mudra­—Ardha Pataka (half flag)­—represents the banks of a flowing river upon which we will build our bridge.

Asana

Come into kneeling position, pressing the tops of your feet down. Bend your right knee at a 90-degree angle, then open it to your right side, placing your foot on the earth with your toes pointing to the right. Bring both hands into Ardha Pataka, then rest your right elbow on your right thigh and lift your right hand to heart level. Raise your left arm up above your head, palm down, as you bend deeper to the right. You can look forward or add a slight twist by shifting your gaze to the sky. For a more challenging variation, straighten your right knee, centering your right heel on the earth, and point your toes skyward.

ARDHA PARIGHASANA WITH ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

Prayer

“May I be a bridge for those who feel separate from you, Divine Mother. May I provide peace to others with my words and comfort to others with my actions.”

PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

ANJANEYASANA WITH PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

This pose collects the waters of purification from the spiritual realm to cleanse your eyes and mind.

Mudra

Bring your palms flat with fingers together, then bend your fingers slightly to make the shape of a bowl. Bring the outer edges of both of your hands to touch.

This is a mudra of giving and receiving; it means a “handful of flowers.” As you hold it, imagine that you are inhaling and taking the light into your heart via your hands. As you exhale, offer the light of your heart to the world.

Asana

This pose is named after Hanuman as Anjaneya, the son of Anjani, a beautiful Apsara (celestial dancer). This expression brings a more feminine embellishment to Hanuman’s asana and honors Anjani’s beauty. Kneel, then step your left foot forward, aligning your left knee over your heel. Lower your hips to a Low Lunge while bringing your hands to Pushpaputa Mudra. Slightly bend your back to open your heart to the sky. 

Kneel, then step your left foot forward, aligning your left knee over your heel. Lower your hips to a Low Lunge while bringing your hands to Pushpaputa Mudra. Slightly bend your back to open your heart to the sky. 

ANJANEYASANA WITH PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

Prayer

“As I inhale, I receive abundance. As I exhale, I give generosity.”

FLOWER MUDRAS

Hastas (hand gestures) that embody flowers can help you close your practice and reflect on the beauty of nature.

A flower is the epitome of creation. It offers itself fully and presents itself openly, which teaches us to share our gifts without restrictions. In the impermanence of life, we can all offer the unique and full authentic expression of our souls to benefit the world.

Tambula Mudra

Tambula Mudra symbolizes seeds sprouting during the spring. Stretch your index finger forward and place your thumb at its side, curling your other three fingers toward the center of your palm.

Pushpa Mudra

Pushpa Mudra represents the blossoming of a flower. Bring your thumb, index, and middle fingers together, curling your ring and pinky fingers toward your palm. Then bloom by opening up your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Hamsasya Mudra

Hamsasya Mudra mimics picking a flower, either to smell, offer, or place in one’s hair. Connect your index finger with your thumb, then open your other three fingers.

Padma Mudra

Padma Mudra symbolizes a full-blooming lotus flower. Start with your hands in Prayer Mudra. Connect the heels of your palms and sides of your thumbs and pinkies, opening your ring, middle, and index fingers out in the shape of a lotus flower.

About the author

Nubia Teixeira is an author, yogini, teacher trainer, and Odissi dancer. She has devoted herself to teaching different aspects of yoga for more than 30 years. This article has been adapted from her book, Yoga and the Art of Mudras, ©2019, with permission from Mandala Publishing. All rights reserved. Learn more at nubiateixeira.com.

[cedarrrun]

These ancient symbolic seals may hold the key to deepening your connection to your yoga practice.

We often see statues of ancient yogis, gods, and goddesses sitting in meditation and holding their hands in certain positions. Or we may go into a yoga class in which the teacher encourages us to sit in silence with our hands perched on our knees, index fingers touching thumbs, and wonder: What do these hand gestures have to do with meditation? Turns out, quite a bit.

Hasta Mudras—literally meaning seals, stamps, or gestures—are sacred hand movements that have been used for thousands of years in many different traditions as a way of deepening one’s practice and awakening the power of the Divine. Today, Hasta Mudras continue to be important tools to free up energy (prana) and direct it to areas of the body that need healing. Every mudra has a particular purpose and moves the energy in a specific way throughout the body to create subtle physical, mental, and emotional changes. For example, if you come into your meditation practice feeling agitated or anxious, placing your palms face down on your thighs will usually calm and ground your energy. If you feel sluggish or sleepy, a palms-up mudra might enliven you.

Nubia Teixeira, founder of the Bhakti Nova School of Yoga and Dance, says that our hands are an extension of our hearts and connect our innermost thoughts and prayers to the outside world: “They are how we reach out, touch, express, heal, work, cultivate, cook, paint, write, play music, and hold one another,” she writes in her book Yoga and the Art of Mudras. So it makes sense that Hasta Mudras can help you positively direct your thoughts and actions to bring beauty into your life and the world around you. Mudras can help you “evoke the presence of a great goddess within you so she can empower you physically, allowing you to feel her force and echo her voice. With this personal experience imprinted in your heart, you can then be empowered to be your strong, true self,” Teixeira writes.

Yoga, as well as Buddhism and other spiritual traditions, teaches that all reality is made up of five elements collectively known as tattvas—earth, air, fire, water, and space (or ether)—and that the relationship among them informs how all cosmic life unfolds. It’s a divine composition at play—or, in the case of imbalance, at war—within each of us. Mudras are a valuable tool to create harmony among the internal tattvas and help you focus in on whatever aspect of your life feels challenging.

According to Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, each finger on either hand connects to and balances a different tattva. So when you assume a mudra, your fingertips create an energetic circuit that simultaneously connects and stimulates the elements associated with those tattvas that you wish to activate. The thumb, which corresponds to fire, offers the warmth of the breath. When the index finger (which is linked to the air element) touches the thumb, it enhances the movement of the breath throughout the body; the middle finger (space or ether) and the thumb together increase spaciousness; the ring finger (earth)-thumb connection (also called Mother Earth Mudra) brings a sense of stability; and finally, the pinky finger (water) joining with the thumb can improve circulation.

Then Teixeira offers a practice that invites you to explore how these hand gestures can change your experience of yoga asana, get the prana flowing, and perhaps awaken a deeper sense of self-awareness. Teixeira begins with a simple ritual, the Lotus Flower Offering, which is a salutation to akasha (ether), the most subtle of elements. Invoking ether with this mudra and reciting the accompanying prayer while sitting in Half Lotus allows you to open space for the other elements to creatively expand. 

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

Sit in Ardha Padmasana (Half Lotus Pose) either on the floor or with hips elevated on a blanket. Cross your right leg in front of your hips, placing the top of your left foot on your upper right thigh. Place your right foot under your left knee, switching sides on different days—sometimes with the right foot on top and other times the left.

This mudra, Alapadma, represents the offering of a fully bloomed lotus flower, or poola. Open your hands wide, and then gently curve your fingers to create a round shape like the petals of a lotus flower.

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

Silently offer the following prayer: “With gratitude in my heart for the blessing of becoming and for the certainty of returning, I take refuge on your ethereal lap, oh Mother, and I ask you to please whisper your messages to me and allow me to foresee what you want me to manifest.”

KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

SARASVATI BIJASANA (STANDING) WITH KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

The mood for this pose is sweetness. It represents Sarasvati Devi, the riverine goddess of knowledge, music, and art, bringing her waters of inspiration to cool the pain of separation.

Mudras

Begin with both hands in loose fists. With your left hand, form Kapittha Mudra by resting your thumb gently against the tip of your index finger. This pose represents Sarasvati Devi holding the top of her celestial instrument, the veena. Use your right hand to form Suchi Mudra with index finger pointing straight out and thumb relaxing on top of the middle finger, suggesting Sarasvati Devi plucking the veena strings.

Asana

Stand tall with your feet slightly turned out. While bending your knees, transfer your weight to your left foot and cross your right knee behind your left. Look over to your left side, pointing your right foot to the sky while sitting a little deeper into your hips. Hide your right knee behind your left as you move your hips a few inches to the left. Now add the position of your arms and hands: Your left hand should be aligned with your forehead, with the tip of your index finger pointing toward you. Your right hand will hover in the air, in line with your right hip. Point your index finger toward the center of your body.

SARASVATI BIJASANA (STANDING) WITH KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

Prayer

“May I flow on your riverine streams of inspiration, held by your hands of wisdom, and become capable of appreciating your art.”

SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

SARASVATI BIJASANA (SEATED) WITH SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

Mudras

In this pose, the goddess is holding her veena with slightly different hand positions. The left hand forms Simhamukha Mudra, the lion’s-face gesture, with the thumb and little finger pointing up. Meanwhile, the index, middle, and ring fingers point toward the face. The right hand is in Sukachanchu Mudra with all fingers circled like a wheel—the thumb and middle fingers touching.

Asana

Standing while holding your mudras, cross your right foot in front of your left, leaving 12 inches between the feet. Bend your knees, and sit on your left heel or foot as you bring your left knee to the floor. Cross your right leg on top of the left. Repeat on the other side.

SARASVATI BIJASANA (SEATED) WITH SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

Prayer

“I meditate upon you, Sarasvati Devi; your light awakens my intellect, your beauty awakens my heart; your voice transports me into the divine reality.”

This pose represents Sarasvati Devi soothing our souls with her music. It lullabies us into remembrance and reunion.

UTTHITA HASTA PADASANA WITH BHRAMARA MUDRA

Bhramari Devi is the goddess of the bees. This pose calls upon her strength and power.

Mudra

Take the nail of your index finger to the base of your thumb. Connect the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb, stretching out the ring and little fingers for Bhramara, the bee mudra. The high vibration of a bee, its sounds, and its effects on our environment mean that this hand gesture is associated with the crown chakra and higher realms.

Asana

Stand with weight evenly distributed between both feet, and engage Bhramara Mudra in your left hand, keeping your arm relaxed. Lift your right foot (option to use a belt for support), then stretch your right leg out to the side. Keep your hips even and down as you lift your leg and find your balance. Then lift your bee hand gesture above your head, and shift your gaze to your hand.

Prayer

“Bhramari Devi, may I hear your sweet subtle sounds reverberating upon my crown chakra and clear my mind. May I open my crown chakra and connect with the highest, where I can remember creation and channel creativity.”

ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

ARDHA PARIGHASANA WITH ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

This pose symbolizes your ability to bridge differences and distances and links the spiritual to the material.

Mudra

Hold your palms flat, then bend your ring and little fingers inward while extending your index and pointer fingers. This mudra­—Ardha Pataka (half flag)­—represents the banks of a flowing river upon which we will build our bridge.

Asana

Come into kneeling position, pressing the tops of your feet down. Bend your right knee at a 90-degree angle, then open it to your right side, placing your foot on the earth with your toes pointing to the right. Bring both hands into Ardha Pataka, then rest your right elbow on your right thigh and lift your right hand to heart level. Raise your left arm up above your head, palm down, as you bend deeper to the right. You can look forward or add a slight twist by shifting your gaze to the sky. For a more challenging variation, straighten your right knee, centering your right heel on the earth, and point your toes skyward.

ARDHA PARIGHASANA WITH ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

Prayer

“May I be a bridge for those who feel separate from you, Divine Mother. May I provide peace to others with my words and comfort to others with my actions.”

PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

ANJANEYASANA WITH PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

This pose collects the waters of purification from the spiritual realm to cleanse your eyes and mind.

Mudra

Bring your palms flat with fingers together, then bend your fingers slightly to make the shape of a bowl. Bring the outer edges of both of your hands to touch.

This is a mudra of giving and receiving; it means a “handful of flowers.” As you hold it, imagine that you are inhaling and taking the light into your heart via your hands. As you exhale, offer the light of your heart to the world.

Asana

This pose is named after Hanuman as Anjaneya, the son of Anjani, a beautiful Apsara (celestial dancer). This expression brings a more feminine embellishment to Hanuman’s asana and honors Anjani’s beauty. Kneel, then step your left foot forward, aligning your left knee over your heel. Lower your hips to a Low Lunge while bringing your hands to Pushpaputa Mudra. Slightly bend your back to open your heart to the sky. 

Kneel, then step your left foot forward, aligning your left knee over your heel. Lower your hips to a Low Lunge while bringing your hands to Pushpaputa Mudra. Slightly bend your back to open your heart to the sky. 

ANJANEYASANA WITH PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

Prayer

“As I inhale, I receive abundance. As I exhale, I give generosity.”

FLOWER MUDRAS

Hastas (hand gestures) that embody flowers can help you close your practice and reflect on the beauty of nature.

A flower is the epitome of creation. It offers itself fully and presents itself openly, which teaches us to share our gifts without restrictions. In the impermanence of life, we can all offer the unique and full authentic expression of our souls to benefit the world.

Tambula Mudra

Tambula Mudra symbolizes seeds sprouting during the spring. Stretch your index finger forward and place your thumb at its side, curling your other three fingers toward the center of your palm.

Pushpa Mudra

Pushpa Mudra represents the blossoming of a flower. Bring your thumb, index, and middle fingers together, curling your ring and pinky fingers toward your palm. Then bloom by opening up your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Hamsasya Mudra

Hamsasya Mudra mimics picking a flower, either to smell, offer, or place in one’s hair. Connect your index finger with your thumb, then open your other three fingers.

Padma Mudra

Padma Mudra symbolizes a full-blooming lotus flower. Start with your hands in Prayer Mudra. Connect the heels of your palms and sides of your thumbs and pinkies, opening your ring, middle, and index fingers out in the shape of a lotus flower.

About the author

Nubia Teixeira is an author, yogini, teacher trainer, and Odissi dancer. She has devoted herself to teaching different aspects of yoga for more than 30 years. This article has been adapted from her book, Yoga and the Art of Mudras, ©2019, with permission from Mandala Publishing. All rights reserved. Learn more at nubiateixeira.com.

[amyddaniels]

Mudras 101: Sacred Hand Gestures

These ancient symbolic seals may hold the key to deepening your connection to your yoga practice.

We often see statues of ancient yogis, gods, and goddesses sitting in meditation and holding their hands in certain positions. Or we may go into a yoga class in which the teacher encourages us to sit in silence with our hands perched on our knees, index fingers touching thumbs, and wonder: What do these hand gestures have to do with meditation? Turns out, quite a bit.

Hasta Mudras—literally meaning seals, stamps, or gestures—are sacred hand movements that have been used for thousands of years in many different traditions as a way of deepening one’s practice and awakening the power of the Divine. Today, Hasta Mudras continue to be important tools to free up energy (prana) and direct it to areas of the body that need healing. Every mudra has a particular purpose and moves the energy in a specific way throughout the body to create subtle physical, mental, and emotional changes. For example, if you come into your meditation practice feeling agitated or anxious, placing your palms face down on your thighs will usually calm and ground your energy. If you feel sluggish or sleepy, a palms-up mudra might enliven you.

Nubia Teixeira, founder of the Bhakti Nova School of Yoga and Dance, says that our hands are an extension of our hearts and connect our innermost thoughts and prayers to the outside world: “They are how we reach out, touch, express, heal, work, cultivate, cook, paint, write, play music, and hold one another,” she writes in her book Yoga and the Art of Mudras. So it makes sense that Hasta Mudras can help you positively direct your thoughts and actions to bring beauty into your life and the world around you. Mudras can help you “evoke the presence of a great goddess within you so she can empower you physically, allowing you to feel her force and echo her voice. With this personal experience imprinted in your heart, you can then be empowered to be your strong, true self,” Teixeira writes.

Yoga, as well as Buddhism and other spiritual traditions, teaches that all reality is made up of five elements collectively known as tattvas—earth, air, fire, water, and space (or ether)—and that the relationship among them informs how all cosmic life unfolds. It’s a divine composition at play—or, in the case of imbalance, at war—within each of us. Mudras are a valuable tool to create harmony among the internal tattvas and help you focus in on whatever aspect of your life feels challenging.

According to Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, each finger on either hand connects to and balances a different tattva. So when you assume a mudra, your fingertips create an energetic circuit that simultaneously connects and stimulates the elements associated with those tattvas that you wish to activate. The thumb, which corresponds to fire, offers the warmth of the breath. When the index finger (which is linked to the air element) touches the thumb, it enhances the movement of the breath throughout the body; the middle finger (space or ether) and the thumb together increase spaciousness; the ring finger (earth)-thumb connection (also called Mother Earth Mudra) brings a sense of stability; and finally, the pinky finger (water) joining with the thumb can improve circulation.

Then Teixeira offers a practice that invites you to explore how these hand gestures can change your experience of yoga asana, get the prana flowing, and perhaps awaken a deeper sense of self-awareness. Teixeira begins with a simple ritual, the Lotus Flower Offering, which is a salutation to akasha (ether), the most subtle of elements. Invoking ether with this mudra and reciting the accompanying prayer while sitting in Half Lotus allows you to open space for the other elements to creatively expand. 

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

Sit in Ardha Padmasana (Half Lotus Pose) either on the floor or with hips elevated on a blanket. Cross your right leg in front of your hips, placing the top of your left foot on your upper right thigh. Place your right foot under your left knee, switching sides on different days—sometimes with the right foot on top and other times the left.

This mudra, Alapadma, represents the offering of a fully bloomed lotus flower, or poola. Open your hands wide, and then gently curve your fingers to create a round shape like the petals of a lotus flower.

LOTUS FLOWER OFFERING

Silently offer the following prayer: “With gratitude in my heart for the blessing of becoming and for the certainty of returning, I take refuge on your ethereal lap, oh Mother, and I ask you to please whisper your messages to me and allow me to foresee what you want me to manifest.”

KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

SARASVATI BIJASANA (STANDING) WITH KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

The mood for this pose is sweetness. It represents Sarasvati Devi, the riverine goddess of knowledge, music, and art, bringing her waters of inspiration to cool the pain of separation.

Mudras

Begin with both hands in loose fists. With your left hand, form Kapittha Mudra by resting your thumb gently against the tip of your index finger. This pose represents Sarasvati Devi holding the top of her celestial instrument, the veena. Use your right hand to form Suchi Mudra with index finger pointing straight out and thumb relaxing on top of the middle finger, suggesting Sarasvati Devi plucking the veena strings.

Asana

Stand tall with your feet slightly turned out. While bending your knees, transfer your weight to your left foot and cross your right knee behind your left. Look over to your left side, pointing your right foot to the sky while sitting a little deeper into your hips. Hide your right knee behind your left as you move your hips a few inches to the left. Now add the position of your arms and hands: Your left hand should be aligned with your forehead, with the tip of your index finger pointing toward you. Your right hand will hover in the air, in line with your right hip. Point your index finger toward the center of your body.

SARASVATI BIJASANA (STANDING) WITH KAPITTHA AND SUCHI MUDRAS

Prayer

“May I flow on your riverine streams of inspiration, held by your hands of wisdom, and become capable of appreciating your art.”

SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

SARASVATI BIJASANA (SEATED) WITH SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

Mudras

In this pose, the goddess is holding her veena with slightly different hand positions. The left hand forms Simhamukha Mudra, the lion’s-face gesture, with the thumb and little finger pointing up. Meanwhile, the index, middle, and ring fingers point toward the face. The right hand is in Sukachanchu Mudra with all fingers circled like a wheel—the thumb and middle fingers touching.

Asana

Standing while holding your mudras, cross your right foot in front of your left, leaving 12 inches between the feet. Bend your knees, and sit on your left heel or foot as you bring your left knee to the floor. Cross your right leg on top of the left. Repeat on the other side.

SARASVATI BIJASANA (SEATED) WITH SIMHAMUKHA AND SUKACHANCHU MUDRAS

Prayer

“I meditate upon you, Sarasvati Devi; your light awakens my intellect, your beauty awakens my heart; your voice transports me into the divine reality.”

This pose represents Sarasvati Devi soothing our souls with her music. It lullabies us into remembrance and reunion.

UTTHITA HASTA PADASANA WITH BHRAMARA MUDRA

Bhramari Devi is the goddess of the bees. This pose calls upon her strength and power.

Mudra

Take the nail of your index finger to the base of your thumb. Connect the tip of your middle finger to the tip of your thumb, stretching out the ring and little fingers for Bhramara, the bee mudra. The high vibration of a bee, its sounds, and its effects on our environment mean that this hand gesture is associated with the crown chakra and higher realms.

Asana

Stand with weight evenly distributed between both feet, and engage Bhramara Mudra in your left hand, keeping your arm relaxed. Lift your right foot (option to use a belt for support), then stretch your right leg out to the side. Keep your hips even and down as you lift your leg and find your balance. Then lift your bee hand gesture above your head, and shift your gaze to your hand.

Prayer

“Bhramari Devi, may I hear your sweet subtle sounds reverberating upon my crown chakra and clear my mind. May I open my crown chakra and connect with the highest, where I can remember creation and channel creativity.”

ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

ARDHA PARIGHASANA WITH ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

This pose symbolizes your ability to bridge differences and distances and links the spiritual to the material.

Mudra

Hold your palms flat, then bend your ring and little fingers inward while extending your index and pointer fingers. This mudra­—Ardha Pataka (half flag)­—represents the banks of a flowing river upon which we will build our bridge.

Asana

Come into kneeling position, pressing the tops of your feet down. Bend your right knee at a 90-degree angle, then open it to your right side, placing your foot on the earth with your toes pointing to the right. Bring both hands into Ardha Pataka, then rest your right elbow on your right thigh and lift your right hand to heart level. Raise your left arm up above your head, palm down, as you bend deeper to the right. You can look forward or add a slight twist by shifting your gaze to the sky. For a more challenging variation, straighten your right knee, centering your right heel on the earth, and point your toes skyward.

ARDHA PARIGHASANA WITH ARDHA PATAKA MUDRA

Prayer

“May I be a bridge for those who feel separate from you, Divine Mother. May I provide peace to others with my words and comfort to others with my actions.”

PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

ANJANEYASANA WITH PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

This pose collects the waters of purification from the spiritual realm to cleanse your eyes and mind.

Mudra

Bring your palms flat with fingers together, then bend your fingers slightly to make the shape of a bowl. Bring the outer edges of both of your hands to touch.

This is a mudra of giving and receiving; it means a “handful of flowers.” As you hold it, imagine that you are inhaling and taking the light into your heart via your hands. As you exhale, offer the light of your heart to the world.

Asana

This pose is named after Hanuman as Anjaneya, the son of Anjani, a beautiful Apsara (celestial dancer). This expression brings a more feminine embellishment to Hanuman’s asana and honors Anjani’s beauty. Kneel, then step your left foot forward, aligning your left knee over your heel. Lower your hips to a Low Lunge while bringing your hands to Pushpaputa Mudra. Slightly bend your back to open your heart to the sky. 

Kneel, then step your left foot forward, aligning your left knee over your heel. Lower your hips to a Low Lunge while bringing your hands to Pushpaputa Mudra. Slightly bend your back to open your heart to the sky. 

ANJANEYASANA WITH PUSHPAPUTA MUDRA

Prayer

“As I inhale, I receive abundance. As I exhale, I give generosity.”

FLOWER MUDRAS

Hastas (hand gestures) that embody flowers can help you close your practice and reflect on the beauty of nature.

A flower is the epitome of creation. It offers itself fully and presents itself openly, which teaches us to share our gifts without restrictions. In the impermanence of life, we can all offer the unique and full authentic expression of our souls to benefit the world.

Tambula Mudra

Tambula Mudra symbolizes seeds sprouting during the spring. Stretch your index finger forward and place your thumb at its side, curling your other three fingers toward the center of your palm.

Pushpa Mudra

Pushpa Mudra represents the blossoming of a flower. Bring your thumb, index, and middle fingers together, curling your ring and pinky fingers toward your palm. Then bloom by opening up your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

Hamsasya Mudra

Hamsasya Mudra mimics picking a flower, either to smell, offer, or place in one’s hair. Connect your index finger with your thumb, then open your other three fingers.

Padma Mudra

Padma Mudra symbolizes a full-blooming lotus flower. Start with your hands in Prayer Mudra. Connect the heels of your palms and sides of your thumbs and pinkies, opening your ring, middle, and index fingers out in the shape of a lotus flower.

About the author

Nubia Teixeira is an author, yogini, teacher trainer, and Odissi dancer. She has devoted herself to teaching different aspects of yoga for more than 30 years. This article has been adapted from her book, Yoga and the Art of Mudras, ©2019, with permission from Mandala Publishing. All rights reserved. Learn more at nubiateixeira.com.

[topfygad]

How to Travel in Comfort the Right Way How to Travel in Comfort the Right Way

For many of us out there who are not fond of traveling and for them, it can be a big and hectic process especially when the flights are being delayed. Initially, it depends on the purpose of traveling, i-e: if you are traveling for vacations or the business, it can be difficult to stay healthy, relax and feel safe especially with all the scary news and stories of pandemics due to the passengers flying overseas. Sometimes it might sound like everyone is doomed to get sick during a flight. But that is not always the case.

        Health and fitness concerns related to flights:

Most people don’t realize that while sitting in a cramped metal tube with many other fellow passengers from around the world, at 8,000 feet of pressure, your body isn’t the same. Your immune system gets stressed and even breathing is more labored due to less availability of oxygen in the air at such high altitude. Also, the breathing system is under pressure because of the air’s diminished humidity.

In addition to all these, sitting idle for a couple of hours or more and eating processed food, caffeine, and sugary products adds more to the deteriorating health status of your body. The worst of all is the jet lag, making your body turn upside down. So the question arises, is it possible to stay healthy and fit during long-haul flights?

Another very common condition is a result of long flights which is generally termed as an economy-class syndrome or deep vein thrombosis. During air travel, the long durations of immobility results in the development of clots and cramped legs, the reason being low cabin pressure, dehydration and immobility. The doctors and physicians suggest passengers especially in long flights to create a situation where they can stretch themselves and move their limbs and legs for joints and muscle movement and regulated blood flow especially in lower half of the body to prevent such conditions.

Understanding all these health and fitness-related concerns, recently at Philadelphia Airport various health and fitness-related trends started to show up. The addition of yoga rooms, stationary exercise bikes and walking tracks scattered throughout the terminals making your overall traveling experience much better than it was ever before. 

        Simple exercise routines at airports and during flight:

During the flights when you sit upright for longer durations, it tends to stiff and tense your muscles. Also, it can be a cause of feet swelling due to fluid collection in your feet. To avoid certain conditions and prevent deep vein thrombosis, you are suggested to stretch before flights or even during the flight when the seatbelt sign turns off. Even a few laps to the toilet, simple walking, can be a good thing (if you are not disturbing other fellow passengers).

Some airports around the globe, like the Philadelphia Airport, have specified areas- the Philadelphia airport’s fitness zones, around the terminals for you to stretch yourself a bit before taking off. They have brought gym directly to the concourse and also created walking paths both inside and outside the terminals and the yoga rooms with loaner mats, encouraging easy access and low-impact exercise for everyone in the vicinity.

You can even pay for the gyms that are found nearby and at the airport terminals or hop on the stationary bikes and ride for a couple of minutes. Make sure to make most of the airport terminal space and amenities.  

        Philadelphia Airport Marriott fitness center:

The Philadelphia Airport Marriott is located at a very convenient location. Connected directly connected to Philadelphia Airport Terminal B, it allows passengers to get settled with an exceptionally accessible location, into comfortable areas quickly before getting lost in the sightseeing of the city. It is not only located near the Airport premises but is also in the center of all famous attractions and corporate hubs. You can just ho on an airport shuttle for free which departs every 20 minutes or you can simply walk straight to the gates to the hotel. You can also book the shuttle service on-demand between 12:00 PM to 1:00 AM. For health and fitness freaks, the Marriot is facilitated with a fully-equipped 24-hour fitness center. You can maintain your workout routine while in Philadelphia and can enjoy modern cardio equipment, free weights, and dumbbells, workout space with flat-screen TV’s throughout and total body exercise machines.

        Other fitness centers near Philadelphia International Airport:

ü  New Old City Ironworks- Situated about 15 minutes away from the airport by taxi ride and charge only $ 10-day pass.

ü  The Sweat fitness- Located just 20 minutes away from the airport by taxi ride and charge only $15 per day.

ü  The Ridley Sports Club- Situated about 10 minutes away from the airport by taxi ride, one day rates are free and charge only $10.00 after that. You can do aerobics, indoor tracks, aquatics, weights, racquetball and much more.

ü  The Bally Fitness- Located just 15 minutes away from the airport by taxi ride.

        Exercise during flight:

If you don’t have enough time to spare and head towards specified gym and fitness centers, you can still perform simple and easy exercises (better to say stretching exercises) during the flight, just to stay active and not to exhaust yourself. Like;

Knee lift

While sitting, you can gently and slowly bend your knees in the upward direction, towards you, one leg at one time. This simple exercise will improve blood flow in your lower body.

Foot stretch and pump

While standing (make sure to find support to balance your body), lift your heels and stretch as high as you can. Then put both feet back on the floor and this time, raise your toes upwards and stretch as far as you can. It is the best stretching exercise for your lower body, especially feet, and legs.

Shoulder roll

By creating gentle and simple circular movements for your shoulders and stretching them, improves the blood flow and relaxes joints. First, hunch your shoulders forward and then move them upward, backward and then downward, and repeated the cycle gently moving your shoulders.

Knee hug

For a knee hug, clasp your knee while bending slightly forward and lifting your leg like hugging it towards your chest.

Forward bend

Even simply bending forward while keeping your back straight and touching your thighs, lower limbs, foot and floor (entirely your choice and stretching capacity) is proved to be beneficial. Slowly ease yourself back up after holding for 10-15 seconds.

Neckroll

Keeping your shoulders relaxed, drop your ear towards your shoulder, and then gently roll your head from side to side, at least 10 times on each side.

Exercises at the airport:

Traveling means longer hours of idle sitting such as layovers, long flying hours, delayed flights and so on. After all of that holiday food, it feels good to stay fit and all of the downtimes at the airport are the perfect time to get some stretching. Some simple exercises you can do at the airport can be a great help.

    Lunges:

It is a single-leg bodyweight exercise that works your hips, hamstrings, and your inner thighs. In the less crowded area, lunge out one leg ensuring your front knee go past your toes.

    Squats:

The Squat is a lower-body exercise. This exercise targets the thighs, quadriceps, hamstrings and the glutes. Place your feet hip-width apart and put your body weight in your heels. Squat to 90 degrees and gently balance your body back to the normal standing position.

    Tricep Dips:

Tricep dips are one of the best exercise targeting arm strength. While sitting on a chair or a bench, set your body and feet so that your upper body will be vertical. Holding from the edge, lower yourself down and extend your legs.

    Chair Push-Ups:

Align your body straight while placing your hands on a chair and lower your chest while bending the elbows.

    Seated Leg Lifts:

While raising your legs out in front of you, squeeze your thighs. Keep your focus on the lower body. Not only do seated single-leg lifts work your core, but they can also help stabilize your knees after an injury.

    Wall Sit:

Sit up against a wall with your legs at a 90-degree angle and hold it for as long as you can. Simple!

        Exercise tips for non-gym persons:

A question arises, when you are not much of a gym, exercise or a yoga person and after tiresome flight hours, not much of strength is left to sweat. So, we are here to guide you along the path which is much easier, convenient and most interesting of all is, not even generally considered as an exercise.

Some several stretches and techniques will not only improve the benefits of walking but also help prevent injury. Here the idea is, even the simplest moments of the body and joints can prove to be beneficial for health. Using the following techniques will help improve the benefits of walking:

ü  The majority of the forward motion should start with the hips and each stride should feel natural like neither too long nor too short stride.

ü  Walk briskly but don’t forget to carry on a conversation generally as to maintain enough breath.

ü  To get optimum aerobic benefit, maintain a good form while walking with each step, keeping in mind to protect your back and avoid injury.

ü  Keep the stomach stand fully upright and pulled in slightly as it is important to help support the trunk of the body and the spine by using the abdominal muscles.

ü  Keep the shoulders relaxed but straight, head up and centered between the shoulders; avoid slouching forward and the eyes focused straight ahead at the horizon.

ü  Avoid leaning forward as you walk.

If you are stranded at Philadelphia airport, there’s more to do now. The new exercise equipment such as elliptical machines and exercise bikes have been installed recently for travelers to use in the terminal representing new development in the growing availability of fitness facilities. The free-standing low-impact cycling machines consist of devices that measure heart rate, pedals and seats and are free of charge. Also wooden rocking chairs are positioned near the shops and restaurants near the terminals in an attempt to tempt travelers to extend their sitting time before boarding their plane. Also, you can find pop-up gym that moves between the airport’s terminals every two weeks so that the passengers can have a light workout and stretching.

source http://cheaprtravels.com/how-to-travel-in-comfort-the-right-way-how-to-travel-in-comfort-the-right-way/