I’m pushing fifty this year and feeling pretty awesome. I’ve lived a dynamic, high-stress, high-impact life that’s seen me travel every corner of the globe and every dimension of the human nature.

As a Jnani and a Tantrik, Hatha Yoga was not part of my normal routine during the time I spent in the hills. Fortunately my Master sent me South to Tamil Nadu and Kerala at one point and I was blessed to discover Ayurveda and the sciences of the body, too.

While interning at an Ayurvedic hospital in Alapuzha once upon a time, I was introduced to a very basic routine of body yoga that made up a course of rejuvenation therapies called pancha-karma. Every morning I would wake at five to begin the day with this routine and it is something that has stuck with me.

Honestly, I can’t say what has in fact kept me fairly limber and strong. When I asked my Master once upon a time to teach me Hatha, he laughed and exclaimed, “What do you think I’ve been teaching you all these years?! You see, David. When the Gyana rises and shines, naturally the body follows suit and comes into perfect condition.” That’s what He told me about that, and still He sent me South to discover the details. He also coached my wife on the precision needed when instructing people in the use of asana to heal disease of the body or mind. She’s actually a yoga-therapist by profession. Me, I just share knowledge.

So anyway, I wanted to share something that people might be able to put to use to benefit body and mind immediately and recalled this routine when a friend asked me what I do about my own back seeing as at my age I have not only been blessed with a child, but I also find myself all too often at the keyboard and the sedentary nature of writing into a computer has wreaked havoc on my sciatic nerve. As luck would have it, though, the COVID-19 forced lock-down of Japan has brought me home, giving me the opportunity to work on my body and breathe a bit – just like the good old days!

This morning routine has worked wonders on my nerves, strength and overall flexibility. It’s an easy and gentle 35-minute routine that anyone can watch and get into and covers joints, core-strength, flexibility and balance while giving a good massage to the innards as well. I also supplement it with 20–30 rounds of Sun Salutations which you can also find on this playlist and I follow it up with perhaps an hour of pranayama once a week. Nothing advanced here – anybody can follow along. And good thing, because most of the notes are in Japanese as I created the video for my students here in Japan. Anyway, have a look if you need a bit of body attention! The voice-over for the pranayama video is totally in Japanese so if anybody is interested in that just let me know in the comments and maybe I’ll put together an English version.

There’s also a 10-minute version of a similar basic routine on the same playlist for people who have to wake up and get out of the house quickly.

So anyway, good stuff. Enjoy that. Let me know if you found any benefit from that. I know I’m just a middle-aged guy now and there’s nothing pretty here like on Asana Rebel or other professional apps, but I thought the whole normalcy of it might be a good thing, too. So hey, give it a go. Hope it serves.