Friction. Clap your hands, stomp your feet, or give them a mini-massage. But you already know that one, so consider…

Yoga. Lie on your back with legs against wall, perpendicular to the floor for as long as comfortable. When leg muscles relax, blood vessels open up and circulation improves.

Aerobic exercise. Take a walk, ride a bike, or do jumping jacks—anything that makes you work up a sweat.

Still feeling frosty? Consider thermal bio-feedback, a natural therapy that trains patients to warm their hands and feet in about 20 sessions. For a referral, talk to your care provider or go to bcia.org.

How to Shake Off a Chill The Saturday Evening Post

A new DVD from Dr. Lisa, women’s health champion and co-host of the award-winning talk show The Doctors, orders up funky dance moves, strength exercises, and power stretches. “Yoga Blast is a fun blend of my favorite exercises. These workouts fit into any busy lifestyle, and can help people feel more flexible, empowered, and energized,” she says. Here’s a sampling:

Target: Cardio
Exercise: Push-Turns with Side-Steps Combo

Push-Turns

1. To pivot body counter-clockwise, stand with feet hip-width apart. Step left foot to front, swinging weight to left hip and then back to center.
2. Continue by stepping left foot to left, back, and right, swinging weight to left hip with each step.
3. To pivot body clockwise, stand with feet hip-width apart. Step right foot to front, right, back, and left, swinging weight to right hip with each step.

Side-Steps

1. Take large step to left side. Bring right foot to left foot.
2. Take large step to right side, bringing left foot to right foot.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2.

Target: Strength
Exercise: Lateral Stretch

1. Stand with feet turned out and knees bent, then raise arms until palms are parallel to the ground.
2. Keeping lower body steady, shift torso from side to side.
3. Keep tail bone lengthening down and focus on drawing the belly button toward spine for support.
4. Do for 30 seconds side-to-side, pulse in the middle, then repeat 30 seconds for a total of 2 minutes.

Target: Stretch
Exercise: Funky Chair

1. Stand with feet together, knees bent, and hips dropped low as if sitting into a chair behind you. (Beginners can use wall for balance.)
2. Bend right leg and rest on left knee. Legs will create a figure-4 pattern.
3. Raise and rotate arm(s) inward and alongside ears.
4. Fold forward at waist, sweeping arm(s) toward floor and then up to frame head. Balance checks: keep abdominals pulled toward spine, and pulse gently in position.
5. Build up to holding position for 30 seconds. Repeat on other leg.

Photo courtesy Lisa Masterson.

5 Minute Fitness with Dr. Lisa The Saturday Evening Post

Side Bending Pose

1. Stand with feet parallel and hip-width apart. Reach arms overhead. Ground body strongly with both heels.

2. Hold right wrist with left hand. Exhale and bend to left side, stretching both sides of torso. Inhale and return to standing position. Repeat for 30 seconds.

3. Hold left wrist with right hand. Exhale and bend to right side. Inhale and return to standing position. Repeat for 30 seconds.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3.

Downward Facing Dog

1. Come to all fours with hips directly over knees and shoulders directly over hands.

2. Turn toes under and lift knees off ground.

3. With legs slightly bent, push hands firmly into ground and move hips toward wall behind you. Feel the extension from your index finger to your sitting bones. Without compromising this extension, straighten legs as much as possible.

4. Hold posture for 1 to 2 minutes, noticing your breath and making micro-movements to find ease and alignment.

Cobblers Pose

1. Sit on ground with soles of feet together and knees dropped open to opposite sides. (Do not push knees down, but instead feel the release deep inside hip sockets.)

2. Place hands beside hips and extend side seams of waist, lifting chest and creating ease in lower back.

3. Hold ankles and bend slightly forward, keeping a feeling of length in front body while breathing easy and complete.

4. Hold posture for 1 to 2 minutes with a sense of discovery and play.

Rodney Yee’s latest DVD is A.M. & P.M. Yoga for Beginners with Colleen Saidman. (Gaiam) Buy it from Amazon.

5-Minute Fitness: Yoga Stretches The Saturday Evening Post

“Isolation movements are a great substitute for sit-ups to achieve a lean core,” says popular fitness and dance expert Jennifer Galardi. “With slight shifts of the body you can isolate and strengthen the abdominals without stressing arms or wrists. In a similar way, yoga can tone the midsection, improve posture, and help keep us moving through the day!”

Firm and flatten your core with Galardi’s 3-step workout:

1. For upper and side abdominals

What to do:

Stand with feet just wider than hips, knees bent and stomach in.

Move chest forward (by expanding the ribcage) and then pull it back. Keep shoulders and hips steady and square. No slouching! Work up to 15 repetitions.

Now, slightly shift ribcage from right to left. Again, keep shoulders and hips steady and square. (Don’t lean to the side.) Work up to 15 sets.

2. For lower abdominals

Image courtesy of Cory Sorensen.

What to do:

Stand with feet just wider than hips, knees bent, and stomach in.

Pull lower abs in and up. (Think of pulling navel to spine and scooping pelvic floor forward.) To emphasize this motion, place fist on lower belly. Then, roll it under and up as you engage the lower abs. Keep gluts relaxed. Work up to 15 sets.

3. For abs, back, chest, and shoulders (Yoga Pose)

What to do:

Begin on all fours, with hands slightly in front of shoulders and at shoulder-width. Position knees slightly behind hips and at hip-width.

Spread fingers wide. Support weight between forefinger and thumb, and roll shoulders back and down.

Breathe in deeply and gaze down about five inches in front of you. On you exhale, draw navel to spine, tuck toes under, and straighten legs, bringing head, shoulders, hips, and heels into one straight line. Keep it comfortable! Hold for a few seconds at first and gradually work up to 3 minutes.

Jennifer Galardi’s latest DVD “Flowetry” features a customizable menu of core strengthening and toning yoga poses. Available at livWhole and other online stores.

5-Minute Fitness The Saturday Evening Post

Bone may look dry and dormant, but they are actually living tissue that can get stronger with the right kind of exercise. Research now shows that new bone cells develop in areas where muscles tug at bones and when body weight impacts the ground with more than usual force.

“The body is ever changing,” explains physical therapist Patrice Winter, M.S. “Exercise that ‘loads’ or puts extra pressure on bones causes new bone cells to grow—not as efficiently as when we were young, but enough to make a significant difference.”

Depending on your health and fitness level (and with your doctor’s permission), consider these exercises to help bones stay strong as you move through life.

Light Weights: To strengthen wrist bones, hold onto soup cans and move the joint in all directions. Instead of using soup cans, look around your home for bottles of dish or hand soap that fit easily in your hand. When empty, fill them with sand, or small pebbles from the yard.

Stair Climbing: If your balance is good, climbing stairs is a great way to build bones in the hips, legs, and feet. Going up and down stairs involves standing on one foot in order to move the other one, and will further improve balance and prevent potentially devastating falls.

Take 10, Three Times Daily: Everyone can do three 10-minute sets of exercises that are matched to their capabilities. Beginners can sit in a chair and kick their feet out, or use the soup cans to do arm (biceps) curls. When standing, lift the cans in front of the body or above the head. March in place.

Work up to 30 minutes, Five Days a Week: Most people can do Tai chi. Yoga practice ranges from gentle movements performed sitting in a chair to Hot Yoga that works every body system. Use common sense, and always adapt Tai chi and yoga positions to what is comfortable for you. Brisk walking, golfing, and dancing all provide full range of motion. Hiking puts more pressure on the body than walking on a paved surface, and using a walking stick loads bones of the upper body as well.

Know Your Start Zone: Remember, exercises to tone the bones must put more pressure on skeleton than do your everyday activities. But don’t do too much, too soon. Honor your body, and consider consulting a medically trained physical therapist to design a fitness plan that is safe and effective for you. For a nine-question quiz to assess your current level of motion, and to find a physical therapist near you, visit www.moveforwardpt.com.

Physical therapist Patrice Winter, M.S., is affiliated with the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Academy of Manipulative Physical Therapists, and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Strong Bones for Life The Saturday Evening Post