A yogi’s quarantine workout: yoga poses, body weight exercises for strength, movement routines, and a stationary bike provide balance
- Yoga teacher Andy Willner, who is in his 60s, combined body weight exercises for strength, and movement training, with yoga poses during his quarantine
- As we get older we lose mobility, agility and coordination, and Willner’s regimen helps him overcome this and age well
On my return to Hong Kong in late January from the UK, I went into a three-week quarantine in a hotel. As a mature yoga teacher with a long-standing practice, I would fold myself in and out of yoga poses, known as asanas, and time would pass easily in a Zen-like state.
That was not the actual plan, though.
As a sexagenarian – someone in his 60s, not someone who likes sex – I’m feeling in good physical shape. I have been active in sports all my life and took up yoga in 1999, so my flexibility, range of motion and balance are good. But I do recognise the need for a daily well-rounded exercise routine to maintain my strength and coordination, to safeguard my independence into old age.
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How a mature yoga teacher did calisthenics strength training in hotel quarantine
To that list, I would add mobility, agility and coordination, or MAC, which we definitely lose through ageing.
But can a yoga practice alone offer a fully rounded and balanced physical practice?