IstockphotoFrom Health magazine
Not all workouts leave you sweaty with your heart pounding. These three fun, good-for-you moves let you set your own pace.
Rock climbing
Indoors or outside, the art of rock climbing requires strength, agility, balance, and mental control to cope with challenging physical feats. “A variety of techniques allow climbers to ascend what appear to be blank faces and challenging cracks. Movement can be very physical but can also have the beauty and grace of ballet,” says Mark Gunlogson, president of Mountain Madness, a Seattle-based global-adventure company. “The methodical approach required to surmount an obstacle cant be done fast. Its a matter of analyzing the sequence, visualizing it, and then following through with the moves.”
Tantric sex
Connect with your partner on a deeper spiritual level with 5,000-year-old sexual practices for intimacy that prolong lovemaking and channel energy through your and your partners bodies. “In tantric sex, you learn how to find your energy, then fire it up and direct it, fueling the energy with sex drive,” says Judy Kuriansky, PhD, clinical psychologist at Columbia University Teachers College in New York City and author of The Complete Idiots Guide to Tantric Sex. The overarching goal is not orgasm (though thats definitely a bonus) but a deep connection with your partner to reach ecstasy, enlightenment, and even sexual healing, she says.
Belly dancing
Stretch and strengthen muscles with low-impact movements that follow your bodys natural flow. Belly dancing requires good posture, which improves flexibility and helps mend many back problems, says Tamalyn Dallal, a belly dance instructor and author of 40 Days and 1001 Nights: One Womans Dance Through Life in the Islamic World. “It looks easy, but the movements come from inside. Westerners look for flashy, crowd-pleasing movements, but Middle Eastern tradition focuses on subtlety and emotion. True emotion is expressed when movements are derived from within,” Dallal says.
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