After a nacho-filled weekend in Cabo or one too many cocktails at dinner, it can be tempting to hit the juicer to detox. But did you ever think that a yoga routine might have the same cleansing effect? Mandy Ingber, who has sculpted the bodies of Jennifer Aniston and Kate Beckinsale, says that detoxing doesn’t have to be all about what you put into your body — what you put into your mind is just as important.
“When you abstain from old, self-defeating talk and replace it with positive self-talk, your body chemistry changes, making you feel lighter and happier. When we reprogram ourselves this way, we come from a happy and satisfied place of gratitude and make healthier self-loving choices. Believe me, I have tried whipping myself into shape, and I have adopted the positive approach that I use now. This has given me consistency and allowed my body to fall into place effortlessly, as if it happened all by itself.”
Ingber created this cleansing yoga routine to help clear up any funkiness going on in your body (“Twists literally wring the toxins out of the body,” she says). Starting the routine with some meditation on all the good your body can do can make the workout that much more effective. For more moves, pick up her new book, “Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-Body Makeover.”
THREE-LEGGED DOWNWARD FACING DOG
Come to your hands and feet, with your hands shoulder-distance apart and your feet about hip-width apart. Press your heels down as you lift your hips up. Shift your body weight forward toward your hands as you draw your right knee in toward your forehead. Engage your abs as you hold for five breaths.
TWISTING LUNGE
Step your right foot forward between your hands and come up onto the ball of your left foot as you press your heel back. Try to straighten the left leg. Bring your left hand to the floor on the inside of your right foot. Twist your right arm up toward the ceiling and look up. Make sure your spine is extending from the tailbone through the crown of your head.
CHAIR AND CHAIR TWIST
With feet together, bend both knees and sit your hips back into an imaginary chair. Extend your arms up toward the ceiling, tuck your tailbone and use your core to lift your body away from the thighs. Bring your palms to a prayer position and hook the left elbow on the right knee. Press your palms together. Look up toward the ceiling. After holding for five breaths, unwind your body and go back to Downward Facing Dog. Repeat the sequence on the opposite side before transitioning to Boat Pose.
BOAT
Balance on your sit bones and extend your legs upward and your arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor. If it is too challenging to keep your legs straight or if you have a lower back issue, you may bend the knees.
SEATED TWIST
Bend your left knee on the floor in front of you. Cross your right leg over to bring your right foot to the outside of the left knee. Hook your left elbow on the outside of the right knee and press your right hand into the floor near the base of your spine. Inhale as you extend your spine up, then exhale as you twist back. Repeat on other side.
RECLINING TWIST
Lying down on the floor, extend your arms out to the sides and bring your right foot on top of the left thigh. Slowly lower the right knee toward the left and look over your right shoulder. Relax into this twist. Repeat on other side.
Excerpted from Yogalosophy: 28 Days to the Ultimate Mind-Body Makeover by Mandy Ingber. Published by Seal Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright 2013
