Flexibility is an important part of keeping your body limber and healthy. Yoga poses are great for lengthening your muscles, loosening your limbs, and energizing your body. Try these poses anytime you need to stretch out.

Child’s Pose #1
Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Make sure your knees line up with your hips and your wrists line up with your shoulders. Your back should be flat and your abs pulled in.

Child’s Pose #2
Sit back into your hips and extend your arms out overhead. Let your head drop down towards the mat. Take 3 deep breaths in and push back up onto all fours. Repeat this as often as you like!

Sun Salutation #1
Stand up tall and lift your chest up towards the sky. Take a deep breath in and raise your arms out away from your body until your hands meet overhead.

Sun Salutation #2
Exhale as you bend over from your waist and round your back. Reach your hands down toward the floor and hold. Take 3 deep breaths and inhale as you roll up slowly to standing position. Repeat as often as you like!

Cat’s Pose #1
Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Make sure your knees line up with your hips and your wrists line up with your shoulders. Your back should be flat and your abs pulled in.

Cat’s Pose #2
Inhale as you pull your belly button up towards your spine as you round your back. Focus on lifting you spine up towards the ceiling. Lower your head and look at your stomach. Exhale as you lower your spine back to neutral position.

Downward Facing Dog #1
Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Make sure your knees line up with your hips and your wrists line up with your shoulders. Your back should be flat and your abs pulled in.

Downward Facing Dog #2
Inhale as you curl your toes under, and exhale as you push back into your heels and lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Drop your head in between your arms and hold for a moment. Your abs should be contracted to avoid hyper extending your back. Your heels do not have to touch down on the floor, but you can make it a goal to stretch them in this pose to gain more flexibility in your calf muscles. Take a deep breath in and exhale as you come back to starting position.

Warrior Pose
Start standing tall with your chest lifted and abs pulled in. Step out into with one foot into a nice wide stance. Bend your knee and lunge forward a bit on your front leg and keep your back leg straight. Keep your hips square to the front as you turn your back foot out at a 45 degree angle. Raise your arms overhead and press your palms together. Press your shoulders down and look up towards your hands. Take 3 deep breaths in and release back to starting position. Try this on the other side to energize your body!

If you are looking for some moves that will make your legs strong, lean, and toned, then these are for you! You won’t need any equipment, and you can do them in your own home. Perform these moves in a circuit (one after another) 3 times a week to strengthen your legs.

Glute Lunge #1
Step one foot forward into a wide stance. Lift your back heel and try to lower your back knee down towards the floor. Make sure to keep your front knee behind your toes!

Glute Lunge #2
As you come up, shift your weight onto your front leg and lift your back leg straight out behind you. Squeeze your rear as you lift your back leg. Then pass your back leg through, and step it out in front of you. This should place you in a wide stance to repeat the move on the other leg.
Do 2 sets of 10 lunges on each leg to strengthen your lower body.

Side Lift Squat #1
Start with feet shoulder-width apart. Keep your hands on your hips or out in front of you. Sit back into a squat like you would sit down in a chair. Keep your knees behind your toes!

Side Lift Squat #2
As you come up from the squat, lift your right leg out to the side and squeeze your outer thigh.

Side Lift Squat #3
Sit back down into the squat, and as you come up, lift your left leg out to the side.
Repeat this 15-20 times.

Seated Leg Lift #1
Sit down on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you. Keep your back straight and your chest lifted. Bend one knee and put your arms around it to help you maintain good posture.

Seated Leg Lift #2
Use your quadriceps (thigh) muscles and your abdominals to lift your leg off the ground and lower it. To make this move more intense, try holding it for a few counts in the air or add ankle weights for more resistance.
Do two sets of 15 lifts on each leg.

Bridge #1
Lie down face-up on the floor. Bend your knees, keep your feet shoulder-width apart, and place your hands by your side.

Bridge #2
Squeeze your leg and rear muscles to lift your hips off the floor and towards the ceiling. Try to make this move slow and controlled. Imagine yourself peeling your back off the floor one section at a time, starting at your hips. Push up until your body has made a diagonal line. Avoid going too high, which might bother your neck.
To make this move more intense, bring your knees and feet closer together to perform the move or hold the position in the air.

Outer Thigh Lift #1
Lie down on the floor and prop yourself up on your side. Place one hand in front of your stomach to balance, and place your top leg directly over your other.

Outer Thigh Lift #2
Use your outer thigh to lift your leg about 12 inches (or a little higher than your hip). Then lower it and repeat. To make this move more intense, hold your leg in the air or do little pulses in the air. You can also place a dumbbell of your thigh or add ankle weights for resistance.
Perform this move until you feel a slow burn to tighten and tone your outer thigh.

Inner Thigh Lift #1
Lie down on the floor and prop yourself up on your side. Place one hand in front of your stomach to balance, and bend your top leg over your bottom leg (or you can bend it behind your bottom leg).

Inner Thigh Lift #2
Squeeze your inner thigh to lift and lower your leg. To make this move more intense, hold your leg in the air or do little pulses in the air. You can also place a dumbbell of your thigh or add ankle weights for resistance.
Perform this move until you feel a slow burn to really work your muscles.

Remember that with any exercise, you should consult your physician to learn if it is safe for you. You should not feel sharp pains during exercise, so consult your doctor if you feel them. Strength training muscles will feel like a slow burn that increases throughout the move, but fades away when you are finished.
These moves will leave you feeling strong and lean in your legs!

“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the studio…  Not an anchor was stirring… they were ready to go!”

While it’s not Christmas Eve, it is the beginning of the holiday for the Good Morning Indiana crew.  Paul and Tom were off today, taking part in a holiday production for WZPL radio this morning.  Crystal and Joni did a fabulous job of filling in for them.  Thanks, ladies!  Paul and I are off all next week.  Dan and Tom are taking off a couple of days next week, as well.  It may be 2008 until the entire team is back together again.

As much as the RTV-6 crew is an extended family, we’re all looking forward to being with our families for the holiday.  During this blessed Christmas season, I hope you enjoy good food, good times and a good break from work.  And please, don’t forget the reason for the season.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Happy Thursday, everyone!  You can tell everyone on the Good Morning Indiana team is in the holiday spirit.  Well, Dan is probably feeling like a scrooge right now.  He’s feeling a bit under the weather.  Get well soon, Dan.  A special thanks to Julie today, who helped me with the anchoring duties.

Tom decided to “surprise” the anchor team by having a live reindeer and an elf come into the studio.  Well, I had a feeling something was up.  Paul was talking and talking, but he wouldn’t make eye contact with me for very long.  That’s how I knew something unexpected was about to happen.  (As long as Paul and I have been working together… I can read him like a book… or at least, a teleprompter).

At any rate, low and behold… Julie and I spotted the elf and the reindeer, making their way to the anchor set.  It was too funny.   The reindeer was trying to cozy up next to Julie, but Julie is more of a cat person.  (I know she and her family have at least one cat right now. )   By the time the interview was over, Julie was practically sitting on my chair with me.  It’s a good thing we get along so well!

The real “fun” happened during the commercial break.  I glance over to the weather wall, and Tom has this strange look on his face.  He then points to the floor.  It seems that “Fruitcake” the  reindeer left a little something on the floor that wasn’t very sweet.  I’ll tell you who was sweet, though.  Joni Michaels, who will be filling in for Tom while he’s off, was in the studio today to learn the traffic computer.  She kindly got some supplies and cleaned up the deer droppings.  Thank you, Joni.  You can drop by and see us anytime.

 Well… here we go… our final days before Christmas.  If you haven’t purchased all of your gifts, you have less than a week to go!

While Dan and I are finished with our shopping, we learned this morning that Paul and Tom still have some buying to do.  Waiting until the last minute might pay off big for them, with many retailers slashing prices.  Many stores are reporting that sales are a bit down this year, so they’re doing what they can to try and get people to buy more gifts.

I heard something on Good Morning America recently that really stuck with me.  The anchors were talking about what people really want for Christmas.  The anchors said they were surprised at how many people listed big ticket items like cars and computers.  Chris Cuomo said he’d love the gift of time.  As a parent, I know exactly what he means.  Even those who don’t have children would love to have more time.  Time to spend with relatives… time to spend with friends… time to work-out as much as health experts say we should… time to organize our living spaces… time to have fun… and time to volunteer our time to help others who are less fortunate.

Well, I don’t think any of us will find a 30 hour day under the tree this year.  However, we can make a resolution in 2008 to use our time wisely.  Better yet, why wait?  Maybe… just maybe… instead of spending hours and money in the mall this weekend, our loved ones would really love us to spend more time with them.