I do the Five Tibetans every morning, and they may meet these requirements.
They don’t raise a sweat on me, except for the 5th. I can’t say whether they will for you.
I do them indoors.
They are free.
They only take 10 minutes—much less if you’re not doing the full 21 reps of each exercise. How long does it take for you to be bored?
This isn’t the only thing I do for fitness, but it does seem to have a significant effect for me. The other things I do probably don’t meet your requirements: using a bicycle for transport whenever practical (sweat and sunshine), running (ditto), taiko drumming (sweat, sweat, and more sweat), lifting weights (my own, bought with money), and taking the stairs, not the lift (sweat?).
These do not seem to violate any of my listed requirements (possible exception being sweat, but I would have to determine that empirically). So, in accordance with the exercise, I will at least try them once I know what’s up with my heart problem. However, I suspect that they will be physically painful (several components of the series look like they will cause or exacerbate the sort of headache I tend to get, and forms of yoga in general that I have tried in the past were distinctly unpleasant).
I have only an ostensive definition, not an intensional one. The bits that stuck out to me were the spinning (this would worsen an existing headache but probably not cause one), the leg raises (which would not directly cause a headache but would lead to a sort of strain that might), the leaning in the third rite and the head-dangling in the fourth and fifth (it sounds like I’d wind up with my head upside-down or close to it, which could worsen or cause a headache). Sudden sharp head movements (voluntary or otherwise) also do this, and this is one reason, along with worsened kinetosis, that I can no longer ride roller coasters.
If you’re learning the Tibetans, you start with three repetitions of each move, and only add one or two repetitions per week until you’re up to 21 reps. If you need to do them slowly, they might require more strength, and that might mean you’d add more repetitions more gradually.
I don’t know whether your concern with spinning is related to dizziness. If so, I’ll note that I’ve got some evidence that Feldenkrais’ theory that dizziness is caused by holding one’s breath has something going for it, and the Tibetans are a good way to work on breathing while turning.
The fourth involves keeping your head level with the ground. T5T offers leaving your head vertical through the move as an option, or leaving your head and shoulders on the ground.
The fifth does involve having your head at about a 45 degree angle facing down, but not dangling.
You can do the movements slowly and get the benefits from them.
BTW, I’d advise caution with no.2, the straight leg raise, as it demands quite a lot of the abdominals. It can be substantially eased by letting the legs bend at the knees.
That’s interesting. I’ve never had any problems with #2, and my abdominals aren’t in in great shape—I’ve never been able to do an unassisted sit-up. Even when I was a kid, I needed to put my feet under something.
The fourth Tibetan is the big challenge for me—my chest and shoulders are very tight, and it took me a while to even realize that was the problem rather than the universe being out to get me. I’ve managed one rep of #4 that felt right—like a coherent stretch across the front of my body.
One of the good things about T5T was realizing that I didn’t have all the possible problems with the Tibetans. Another was one of the warm-ups (hands behind head, circle upper body) which improved my awareness enough that I could realize I was pulling against tightness in #4 rather than just having unspecified difficulty.
Some of the material about breathing in that book gave me some sense (no doubt incomplete) of how much I hold my breath.
I was going to start the second paragraph with ‘#4’, and that paragraph appeared in large boldface. Markdown, stop helping so much!
I do the Five Tibetans, too, though not with utter reliability.
Notable effects: they get rid of lower back pain for me. They strengthen the muscles around my knees. I believe they’re the reason I was able to fall safely when I slipped on some ice the winter before last. (Previously, when I fell on ice, I’d twist something and sprain it.)
Normally, I can do at least one of them better than usual. This cheers me up.
I’m inclined to think that by doing them slowly and/or doing fewer of them, you could avoid working up a sweat.
I do the Five Tibetans every morning, and they may meet these requirements.
They don’t raise a sweat on me, except for the 5th. I can’t say whether they will for you.
I do them indoors.
They are free.
They only take 10 minutes—much less if you’re not doing the full 21 reps of each exercise. How long does it take for you to be bored?
This isn’t the only thing I do for fitness, but it does seem to have a significant effect for me. The other things I do probably don’t meet your requirements: using a bicycle for transport whenever practical (sweat and sunshine), running (ditto), taiko drumming (sweat, sweat, and more sweat), lifting weights (my own, bought with money), and taking the stairs, not the lift (sweat?).
These do not seem to violate any of my listed requirements (possible exception being sweat, but I would have to determine that empirically). So, in accordance with the exercise, I will at least try them once I know what’s up with my heart problem. However, I suspect that they will be physically painful (several components of the series look like they will cause or exacerbate the sort of headache I tend to get, and forms of yoga in general that I have tried in the past were distinctly unpleasant).
Can you go into more detail about what sort of movements are apt to give you headaches?
I have only an ostensive definition, not an intensional one. The bits that stuck out to me were the spinning (this would worsen an existing headache but probably not cause one), the leg raises (which would not directly cause a headache but would lead to a sort of strain that might), the leaning in the third rite and the head-dangling in the fourth and fifth (it sounds like I’d wind up with my head upside-down or close to it, which could worsen or cause a headache). Sudden sharp head movements (voluntary or otherwise) also do this, and this is one reason, along with worsened kinetosis, that I can no longer ride roller coasters.
If you’re learning the Tibetans, you start with three repetitions of each move, and only add one or two repetitions per week until you’re up to 21 reps. If you need to do them slowly, they might require more strength, and that might mean you’d add more repetitions more gradually.
I don’t know whether your concern with spinning is related to dizziness. If so, I’ll note that I’ve got some evidence that Feldenkrais’ theory that dizziness is caused by holding one’s breath has something going for it, and the Tibetans are a good way to work on breathing while turning.
The fourth involves keeping your head level with the ground. T5T offers leaving your head vertical through the move as an option, or leaving your head and shoulders on the ground.
The fifth does involve having your head at about a 45 degree angle facing down, but not dangling.
You can do the movements slowly and get the benefits from them.
BTW, I’d advise caution with no.2, the straight leg raise, as it demands quite a lot of the abdominals. It can be substantially eased by letting the legs bend at the knees.
That’s interesting. I’ve never had any problems with #2, and my abdominals aren’t in in great shape—I’ve never been able to do an unassisted sit-up. Even when I was a kid, I needed to put my feet under something.
The fourth Tibetan is the big challenge for me—my chest and shoulders are very tight, and it took me a while to even realize that was the problem rather than the universe being out to get me. I’ve managed one rep of #4 that felt right—like a coherent stretch across the front of my body.
One of the good things about T5T was realizing that I didn’t have all the possible problems with the Tibetans. Another was one of the warm-ups (hands behind head, circle upper body) which improved my awareness enough that I could realize I was pulling against tightness in #4 rather than just having unspecified difficulty.
Some of the material about breathing in that book gave me some sense (no doubt incomplete) of how much I hold my breath.
I was going to start the second paragraph with ‘#4’, and that paragraph appeared in large boldface. Markdown, stop helping so much!
I do the Five Tibetans, too, though not with utter reliability.
Notable effects: they get rid of lower back pain for me. They strengthen the muscles around my knees. I believe they’re the reason I was able to fall safely when I slipped on some ice the winter before last. (Previously, when I fell on ice, I’d twist something and sprain it.)
Normally, I can do at least one of them better than usual. This cheers me up.
I’m inclined to think that by doing them slowly and/or doing fewer of them, you could avoid working up a sweat.
There’s free information about the Tibetans online, but I strongly recommend The 10-Minute Rejuvenation Plan: T5T: The Revolutionary Exercise Program That Restores Your Body and Mind—it’s by a teacher who’s taught 700 students, and has a good warm-up set and a lot of advice on modifying the Tibetans if you find them difficult.