Richard Hittleman's Yoga: 28-Day Exercise Plan Book

First attempt at yoga, so here I go! Exercises are sectioned into 4 day increments, so I'll review every 4 days.

Days 1-4: On Day 1 I didn't think I would continue, but wanted to give it a fair chance, and day 2 changed my mind. I felt very stretched and awake after exercising. Day 3 introduced 'leg over,' which I am terrible at. But hopefully through practice, I'll become more limber! Overall, the exercises stretch me just enough to feel more limber without feeling sore all day. I feel good, and except for the 'leg over,' the exercises are great and I'm able to complete them.

Days 5-8: Here are the positions I now know: complete breath standing, chest expansion, triangle, knee and thigh stretch, simple twist, circular motion, lion, scalp exercise, back stretch, backward bend, modified head stand, cobra, leg over, complete breath, lotus. I'm able to do all the positions as shown except leg over. I'm still nowhere close to the image! Hopefully practice will make that one more successful. I also can't extend as much as she in the forward extreme position of chest expansion. Overall, good exercises. Each day is followed by 'thoughts for the day,' and there's a funny, dated bit about being a housewife and still deserving to spend time on yourself.

Days 9-12: Went on vacation, so missed about 5 days. Didn't seem to affect my ability to complete the exercises when I returned, however. New exercises learned in this section are: abdominal lifts, both standing and on all fours; side bend; locust; chest expansion with additional leg movements; cobra with additional turning movements; and head twist. I seem to have no trouble with any of these, though the abdominal lifts give me a case of the burps afterward, haha. And the locust is a bit difficult--I doubt I'm raising my legs that much. I remain unable to perform the full leg over exercise like last time, though my right leg is getting better (no change in left leg). The exercises in the next section look more intimidating!

I've returned! I practiced, at an abbreviated rate, all previous exercises to make sure I could still complete them. I seem to be performing exactly the same, despite many months having passed. I still can't manage the leg over!

Days 13-16: New exercises: Shoulder stand, plough, extended back stretch, extended backward bend, bow, rishi's posture, and bust exercise. I almost hurt myself doing the shoulder stand and plough, so I am not doing them. These just don't seem safe alone at home! I really like the back stretch exercises. The rishi's posture requires a lot of balancing on tiptoes. I'm not there yet, but I think with practice I should get better. The bust exercise also feels good. I definitely sit up straighter after these exercises!

Days 17-20: New Exercises: Neck Roll, Balance Posture, Dancer's Posture, Elbow-to-Knee, Side Raise. These are all great exercises. The days during this set focused on specific parts of the body for each day. This is problematic with my heart/BP problem, because I can't stay in the same position for too long. This is why I've always avoided yoga. I will have to combine the exercises on different days so I'm not stretching in the same posture in a single day. Other than that, the exercises are going well.

Days 21-24: New Exercises: Slow motion firming, Back Push-up, Posture Clasp, Leg Clasp, Alternating Leg Pull. Guess what, I can only do the last 2.

I am now ceasing these exercises, though only 4 days remain. It seems to be exacerbating my POTS, so yoga is not a good fit for me. However, I'll take a few of these exercises and incorporate them into my exercise routine. I'm sure for most people, this would be a great primer on yoga. It's dated (there's a constant assumption the reader is a stay-at-home mom), but it does give good instructions.