Ten ways to get kids active

Whether it’s playing with friends or family, taking part in sports and other physical activities, or joining in regular family activities, being active is good for everyone!

1. Get active early
Active kids are more likely to become active adults so teach them to enjoy it now!

2. Variety, variety
Encourage kids to try a range of sports and activities to develop a range of skills, and find one or two they really like.

3. Have fun
Sounds simple but the basic rule is that sport and activity should be enjoyable.

4. Take the lead
Kids take their cues from parents – so make activity a regular part of your family routine.

5. Give toys a miss
Help kids get active by giving sporting goods rather than toys as gifts.

6. Try something new
Develop a new family activity such as indoor rock-climbing, bike riding, skiing or sailing.

7. Handy action toys
Keep a touch footy ball, basketball or tennis ball handy to grab on your way outdoors for an easy 20 minutes of fun.

8. Find a balance
Help kids find their own balance of friends, physical activity, indoor play and homework with unstructured play such as daydreaming, creating, thinking and reading.

9. Give the chauffeur the day off
That’s you! Introduce kids to the way we all once got around – walking with them or riding bikes.

10. Everyday action
Aim for 30-60 minutes of moderate activity every day, plus 20-30 minutes of stronger activity up to three times a week.

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Is it possible to be allergic to water?

Water allergy, or "Aquagenous urticaria", is such a rare condition that there are less than thirty patients in the whole world that have been diagnosed with it. Fourteen year old Heidi Falconer is unique because she's the only person on record to have been born with this allergy. When water touches her skin or mucous membranes (like the inside of her mouth) she breaks out in a rash and often blisters, if she has a severe response it can lead to anaphylaxis — where her airways swell and close. It's like any other allergy - an over-reaction of the immune system — where production of histamine causes the symptoms. Doctors are still unsure as to why this happens with something as essential as water — one theory suggests that unusual proteins in Heidi's system react to the water. And because we're all made up of 80% water, Heidi is actually allergic to herself — her saliva, sweat blood and tears all blotch her skin. There is no cure for aquagenous urticaria. The only relief for Heidi is a special barrier foam developed in Sweden that stops water from touching her skin. Heidi has applied it religiously every four hours for the past couple of years and it gives her the freedom to do basic things — like having a shower.

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10 minute yoga

I start every day with a 10-minute yoga routine. I want to show how to make the most of 10 minutes' yoga a day.

The first lesson is how to breathe properly. Over the next 10 weeks, we are going to give you simple exercises with breathing instructions. Take a moment to check how you are breathing. If you are taking shallow breaths, you are not relaxed.

Take deep ones through your nose, expanding your diaphragm and feeling your tummy rise. It is almost impossible to feel stressed if you breathe properly.

Our first exercise will relax your spine, your neck, help firm your bottom and your waist. Consult your doctor if pregnant, recovering from an operation or you have any medical concerns before beginning an exercise routine. Stop if you feel any pain.

Savasana/Corpse pose: Lie on your back, head in line with your spine, with your feet falling out to the sides. Hands to the side, palms facing up, relax. Concentrate on breathing through the nose deep into the chest and belly, then deepen the breath; this is called a yogic breath. Pavanmuktasana/Supine knee squeeze posture: From corpse, bring your legs together, inhale, bend knees and bring into chest, hold with your hands to the shins. On the next inhalation, bring the head to the knees. Hold for a breath, then, as you exhale, release head down. Supine twist :With the legs still at the chest, place the hands behind the neck, elbows to the side. Keeping both shoulders on the floor as you exhale, twist to one side, inhale return to centre, then repeat on the other side. Nikki Page is Ambassador at Large for the Variety Club's Children's Charity

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Dance/Movement: Learning to Do Yoga Safely

If you're planning to purchase only one new dance or movement DVD this year, make it Anatomy for Yoga With Paul Grilley. Comprising almost four hours of enlightening lectures and highly educational demonstrations, plus lots of informative special features, this DVD is well worth its suggested retail price of $39.95. Designed to be used as part of yoga teacher training programs, it focuses on the natural anatomical variations from one body to another and how these should be acknowledged in the practice of yoga.

A stimulating, holistically beneficial form of exercise that has soared in popularity in recent years, yoga, despite its positive effects, can also cause injury. Such injuries often occur when practitioners try too hard to replicate the way an instructor or a classmate looks in executing a pose. In this DVD, you will learn what kinds of adjustments different body types need to make in order to remain injury-free while doing yoga, adjustments that in no way lessen the overall benefits of the exercise.

Even if you don't practice yoga, you will find the basic concepts presented in the DVD extremely useful, as they are applicable to all movers. Understanding how and why different bodies need to perform similar movements differently can be invaluable for professional dancers and actors working to meet the physical demands of choreography or characterization.

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Hollywood guru Bikram sells yoga to "ugly society"

Bikram Choudhury, the yoga guru who stirred controversy by copyrighting his "hot yoga" style, is known as much for his love of diamond-studded wrist watches and Hollywood clientele as for his supple poses.

Beverly Hills-based Choudhury, 62, founded Bikram Yoga, a series of yoga poses done in a heated room, more than four decades ago, and says his global franchise now reaches 50 million students worldwide.

He has upset yoga traditionalists by aggressively protecting the Bikram Yoga brand through lawsuits, trademarks and copyright. Critics have denounced his moves as selfish, but Choudhury is unfazed.

"When I'm in India I do things like an Indian, when I'm in Japan, I'm a samurai, and when in Hollywood I'm a playboy," he told Reuters in an interview.

Beefy and brash Choudhury, who started practicing yoga at the age of three, does not charge for his classes in India, but his classes in the United States go for around $20 per session.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You have to protect your intellectual property by making copyrights, trademarks and franchising, so I did," he said. "Whatever people think of me, it doesn't matter. Those who know me, they love me and the world will do anything for me."

Only teachers trained by him and who pay franchising fees can use the name and series of 26 poses in their studios. Many yoga instructors say that this runs counter to the basic principles of yoga, an ancient Indian practice uniting the mind, body and spirit.

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