Hopeful, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing slowly and carefully so that your body gets used to what you are asking it to do. You should listen to your body as it will tell you what it can and can't do. When you are not used to exercise, any slight increase in your activity will be of benefit. When that stops feeling like an increase, you have benefited and then you can add a little more.

I have recently gone back to yoga class after about a 20 year layoff. I'm enjoying it, even though I can't do a lot of what I used to and have to really rein myself in from trying to be 30 again.
BUT for gentle exercise and relaxation combined I have found you can't beat Tai-Chi! It focuses the mind wonderfully, and is so gentle. I started to learn in September, and now have almost 30 seconds worth that I can do! It is definitely not a thing learned quickly - you tend to work, like yoga, to your own ability in perfecting the movements. The full "form" is about 104 movements, and I think we have learned the first 4 or 5 in 3 months! I love it!

I used to go to a gym, but I can't use a lot of the upper body machines because of my shoulders and neck, and I kept getting pain in my left arm on the treadmill (went to the hospital treadmill and had ECG at my doctor's- nothing wrong with the ticker as far as they could see). So my bike will be out of the shed when the weather warms up. It's a creaky old thing and is the same age as me (51) but it has handlebars that curve round and hold my arms in a more natural and relaxed position with my shoulders down, unlike the modern bikes. Besides, it's got a "proper" saddle! Both of us (built for comfort, not for speed) need the exercise, so that is this year's good intention. That, and lose the caffeine if possible as well as the stone that has crept on over the last year or so.


Liz, please remember the name of that tea!

Andrea