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10-MINUTE YOGA WORKOUTS
POWER TONE YOUR BODY FROM TOP TO TOE
Barbara Currie
To my wonderful family: my mother Babs, my husband Gordon, my children Lysanne and Mark, and my brother Richard with many thanks for your unconditional love and support.
I would like to thank: Wanda Whiteley for her enthusiasm and encouragement and for making this book possible; Samantha Grant for all her help and creative ideas with our photoshoot; Simon Gerratt; Matthew Cory for his wonderful work in editing my initial script; Guy Hearn for his brilliant photography and his patience and help with the photoshoot; Sallyann Sexton for my beautiful make-up and hair-dressing in impossible positions; Polly Zabari for typing my script and meeting all my deadlines with a big smile – despite giving birth halfway through the book; Julie Drakeford-Lewis, Kelly Defoy, Claire Mullins and Jay Ridout, my yoga A-Team, for posing so beautifully for the illustrations in this book; and Joanne Cassidy for her patience and help during the photoshoot; Natasha Fidler for her beautiful page design and Sonia Dobie for the wonderful cover.
Not all exercises are suitable for everyone. To reduce the risk to you, please consult your doctor before beginning this exercise programme. The instructions and advice presented are in no way intended as a substitute for medical guidance. The writer and publishers of this book do not accept any responsibility for any injury or accident as a result of following this exercise programme.
Contents
PART I: YOUR DAILY TEN-MINUTE SEQUENCES
Chapter 1 The Ten-minute Miracle – Your Morning Essential
Chapter 2 The Advanced Ten-minute Miracle
Chapter 3 Power Toning Your Thighs and Bottom: Part I – Yoga Balances
Chapter 4 Power Toning Your Thighs and Bottom: Part II – Floor Movements
Chapter 5 Power Toning Your Abdominals, Midriff and Waistline
Chapter 6 Power Toning Your Arms, Bust and Neck
PART II: MORE AMAZING MOVEMENTS
Chapter 9 The Yoga Hand Balances
PART III: TOTAL HEALTH WITH YOGA
Chapter 12 Yoga and Your Health Problems
I’ll never forget my first yoga class. It was one grey dreary Monday morning that I ventured inside a hall on the outskirts of Glasgow, and enrolled for yoga lessons. At that time I felt tired, stiff, out of shape and frazzled, due to having just moved house with two children under the age of 3. I had only a vague idea about yoga but thought that it might help me reshape my body after the birth of my children, and also help me to get to know my new neighbours.
It was an incredibly humbling experience, I couldn’t believe how stiff and uncoordinated I was, I was only 29 but people twice my age were in much better shape and much more flexible than me. My biggest shock was seeing my teacher, then in her late fifties, move effortlessly into seemingly impossible positions with the agility of a child. Her body was fantastic – she was slim and perfectly toned – but it wasn’t just this that amazed me; it was something much, much more. She had an energy that literally radiated from her, lighting up the room.
I left the class feeling so much better, my tiredness had gone, I felt calmer and more in control. I was walking taller and felt uplifted by the experience. One thing was certain – yoga was definitely for me. As I continued with the classes, I was thrilled by the progress I was making, my body had become firmer, my flexibility had improved and my energy level was getting better and better.
Eventually I decided to take a three-year teacher training course and this gave me a fantastic understanding of yoga, its history, philosophy and many uses. Over the years I have continued to study and teach yoga at my yoga school in Surrey and I have taught literally thousands of pupils. I have now perfected my own method of teaching which, I feel relates this brilliant 5,000-year-old system to the needs of people living today.
I am delighted to have this wonderful opportunity of sharing it with you. I do hope you will enjoy it and will
