Preventative Care - Yoga

The single best way I know of making sure that your body can handle all your activities - being on your feet, lifting, bending, pushing, pulling at work, then going on to a full evening - is to make sure you're in good shape to begin with. One extremely effective way of getting there is through yoga or better yet, a mashup of yoga and pilates.

You don't need to be able to jog five miles without pausing or bench press 200 lbs to be fit for work and life. You do need a back that's both strong and flexible enough to handle OTJ activity, great posture (slumping causes lower back pain) and stamina. One program that has it all is Jonathan Urla's Yogilates workouts (yogilates.com). His DVDs (level 1 & 2 are approximately one hour, level 3 is 80 minutes) blend practical yoga postures for flexibility and pilates exercises for core strength into seamless routines. And unlike moderate or high impact workout, they don't stress joints - an important consideration if you're a food server, sales associate or nurse and your knees are already taxed to the max.

If you prefer a more social setting, sign up for a class. For good results, go to class or do your routine at home at least 3 days a week. If you've never exercised before or have done it only sporadically, consider starting out under the supervision of an instructor.

Here's my down-and-dirty routine, the one I do if I have only 15 minutes that day. Even that 15 minutes makes a huge difference in my energy level and how I feel after work:

• Forward bend, sitting - feet pointed, then flexed.
• Hurdle stretch - point/flex.
• Straddle stretch - point/flex.
• Plough & shoulder stand.
• Bridge & Fish.
• Side twists.
• And if I have time, the upright pidgeon pose.
  

This short routine hits all the body parts likely to get cranky during the course of eight hours of soldiering on - upper and lower back, knees, ankles and shoulders.

Try taking a yoga-pilates class once or twice weekly, do as much of the routine as you can remember (or get a DVD) for half and hour twice a week, and take a 20-minute walk during lunch break. See if this changes how you feel...and how productive you are at work and at Work.

Protecting Your Physical Energy - Breathe!

One way to rev up at the end of a long workday when you have plans for the night is to give your brain an infusion of oxygen. Here are a few breath exercises I've gleaned from various yoga classes over the years:

• Diaphramatic breathing: Sit up straight, breathe in as if your lungs are balloons, and breathe out as if you're deflating them. Let breath go all the way to the bottom of your lungs. You should feel and see your rib cage expanding.
• Alternate-nostril breathing: Close your right nostril by pinching it shut and breathe in through your left nostril. Breathe out through your left, then pinch it shut and inhale-exhale through your right nostril. Keep alternating.
  
• Hissing Snake: Take an enormous breath in, letting your chest and abdomen expand all the way. Hold for the count of 8. Exhale by hissing through your teeth slowly.

You can also pause every hour, on the hour and take 3-5 deep slow breaths. Like sipping water throughout the day, this will help you stay alert.