How To Structure Your Safe Workout Exercise Session -

When you know how to structure an exercise session you are in a position to help your body in any given situation. You may just need a brief loosening and re-adjustment of your position during a very uncomfortable situation, or you may be planning to go for a jog or a two hour yoga session. Whatever your exercise involves, and whatever method or discipline you are following, the basic structure of an exercise session remains he same and comprises the following 9 elements:

1. Environment (the space to move)
   
2. Mirror or Video (the visual awareness of your body)
   
3. Clothing (comfort in what you wear)
   
4. Ventilation (fresh air)
   
5. Breathing and Timing
6. Warm Up
7. Content (which exercise routine is for you?)
   
8. Relaxation
9. Recovery

Points 6 (Warm Up) and and 8 (Relaxation at the end of an exercise session) are usually respected in most dance and fitness classes. Unfortunately the remaining points above are often ignored by professional institutions like gyms and fitness clubs where people come in dressed in their latest fitness attire and trainers to compete, judge, compare and, if lucky, to socialise without the least concern about what their bodies have to say about it all.

Find enough space to move freely. Enough space means lying on the floor on your back with your limbs stretched out to make the largest possible X shape without hitting any people or  furniture. A room full of furniture or a crammed aerobics class just doesn't give you the space your body needs to move through its full potential range of movement.

Step out of your self and see yourself as others see you. You need a tall mirror in which you can see your whole body. With an additional small mirror held at an angle you can also find your profile and your back view. An alternative way of studying your body is to record your movements with a camcorder and observe where and how improvements can be made. Body awareness is not vanity or narcissism but the most effective way to correct bad habits and achieve great change.

As I mentioned before, wearing the latest fitness guear and most expensive training shoes is not going to help you get fit. If you are working out at home, wear nothing or your pyjamas, shorts or very loose bottoms and Tshirt. Most importantly do not wear shoes. If you are working out at the gym wear the most comfortable and most simple attire and, if allowed, take off your shoes.

Air conditioned or centrally heated buildings are not the body's favourite places to be in, let alone to exercise in. With the lack of clean fresh air in cities and city buildings it is almost impossible to find a place to exercise that will give you enough clean fresh air. Some people do TaiChi in the parks, others play voleyball on the beach. Any form of outdoor activity will be beneficial to the body. Walking, playing games, climbing a mountain, cycling along a river bank... There are thousands of activities that you could chose to do instead of locking yourself up in a gym where opening a window is out of the question for "security reasons"!

Coherence of action, breathing and timing is shown below. An exercise is like a wave of energy, breath and rhythm. Simple 8 bar phrased music helps to keep the timing steady. Try this now just by squeezing a fist while following the chart below to feel the power of breathing and timing.

Before you start an exercise session consider which body parts you will be exercising. If you are going to do a full-body session, warm up the whole body by dancing around for five to ten minutes before you start. Or if you don't feel that energetic, just do some improvised floor movements to loosen your bones and get warmed up that way.

Every "body" is different with different needs. The content of your exercise session will depend on whether you are working alone or in a group led by a teacher. If you are working on your own you should know exactly which exercises work for your particular needs. If you are in a class or at the gym, you may have been given exercises to do that you either don't need, or that are really uncomfortable for you. In that case don't do them. Exercise is not punishment, performing the right moves for you is an extremely pleasant experience. Dumbly following moves that are uncomfortable for you will do more harm than good. Learn to remember the moves you like and are effective for you. Ignore the moves that you hate doing. Never force yourself to perform an uncomfortable move.

It is absolutely imperative that an exercise session is closed with a brief period of full relaxation. During this relaxation, lying flat on your back with your eyes closed, you visualise every part of your body, starting at the feet, and flowing up the through the body, to fully give in to gravity. On each expiration of your breath, your body parts sink deeper into the floor until you can hardly feel your body at all. When you have reached complete relaxation you may slip into a meditative state. This altered state of consciousness clears your mind of unnecessary worries and clutter and is the cream on top of your exercise session's cake. When you are ready, slowly come back to the here and now, ready for a full recovery.

When you decide to come out of relaxation, back to the normal day-to-day world, begin with

1. a deep breath and a full body stretch, like when you wake up in the morning. Rebuild yourself by
2. slowy getting up, to a squat, then
3. lift your buttocks until your legs are straight but leave your upper body down, still forwardly bent, with your arms, shoulders and neck still relaxed. Let the head hang loose.
4. Now pick up your spine from its base, from the coxis, one vertebra at a time until finally you
5. lift up your neck ( again, starting at the base), and
6. head last of all. Then, to fully re-energise,
7. lift up your arms high while you
   
8. rise up on your toes and try touch touch the ceiling. Now
9. slowly lower the heels
10. lower the arms, relax the shoulders and
11. try to maintain this wonderful tall, stretched feeling you've just achieved until your next exercise session.

That's it! You are ready to go, content, strong, revitalised.

Structure an exercise session, with your space all set, a way to see what your body is doing (mirrors or video), dressed loosely, breathing fresh air, knowing your favourite exercise programs to your favourite tunes and at the end of your session take time to fully relax, to clear your mind, and fully recover. If you stick to these rules you will always enjoy your exercise sessions and look forward to the next one.

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