2. Start with sun salutations, do six on each side. There are several versions of this, pick the one you are most comfortable with.
3. Next up the yoga sit-ups. Lie on the ground and lift your legs in the air. Make sure your stomach muscles are switched on. This is very important, not only is this part of the exercise, but it will ensure you don’t damage your back. As slowly as you can, release your legs onto the floor. Do one for each year of your age. GET ON WITH IT!e
4. Now go for the bridge. I love this one. I can FEEL my buttocks getting tighter with every second.
Lie down on the back. Bend your knees, bringing the soles of your feet parallel on the mat close to the buttocks. Lift your hips up towards the ceiling, one vertebrae at a time. Interlace your fingers behind your back and straighten your arms, pressing them down into the mat. Roll one shoulder under and then the other. Lift your hips as high as you can. Make sure your feet stay parallel and keep your chin tucked towards your chest. Hold for a count of twenty-five working up to fifty by adding five each time. If you’re feeling extra strong then raise one leg at a time (both would be tricky) towards the ceiling, while keeping your hips level. Release your hands and come back down, again, one vertebrae at a time. Bring your knees into your chest and give yourself a hug.
5. The plank goes as follows: From downward dog (that’s the one where you look like an upside-down V, bum in the air, release the torso forward until the shoulders are over the wrists and the whole body is in one straight line. Just as if you are about to do a push-up.
Press your forearms and hands firmly down; don’t let your chest sink, keep your neck in line with your back. Then slowly release your arms so that your whole body hovers about four inches above the ground. HOLD IT for a slow count of eight. Repeat.
6. Finish off the tough stuff with warrior pose. From downward dog, bring your right foot forward next to your right hand. Next turn on the ball of the left foot and drop the left heel to the floor with the toes turned out about 45 degrees from the heel.
Bend your right knee directly over the right ankle, so that your thigh is parallel to the floor. Make sure that your hips are facing the front. Lift your arms out to the side and raise them above your head. Bring your palms to touch and gaze up toward your thumbs, moving into a slight backbend. Hold for a count of fifty. Repeat on the left side.
7. Calm down with a tree pose: Stand up tall with your weight equally distributed on all four corners of your feet. Begin to shift your weight over to your right foot, slowly lifting your left foot off the floor. Bend your left knee, bringing the sole of your left foot high onto your inner right thigh. Press your foot into your thigh and your thigh back into your foot so they support each other. Keep hips squared. Focus on something that doesn’t move to help you balance. Repeat on your left foot.
8. Collapse on the floor for a good few minutes.
PS Look online if you can’t work out a pose. You’ll find lots of helpful images from every possible angle to help you out.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost a huge thank you to my lovely publisher Martin Rynja at Gibson Square, for his relentless commitment, hard work and belief in me. I would like to thank my girlfriends, to whom I have dedicated this book. They have all helped in so many ways; from inspiring me, letting me steal their jokes to listening to plot ideas and coming up with thoughts. A special thank you to Carla who put up with me endlessly tapping away on our yoga retreat, Noch and Justine for reading the early manuscript and Annika for providing so much material I can write another 20 novels, at least.
A huge thank you also to Jean-Claude Mas (no relation to the fictional Jean-Claude) who took time away from his own wine-making to teach me about it. I highly recommend you try his wines, especially the Arrogant Frog. Thank you JC, for years of excellent wines, fun and taking the time to explain mildew, among other things. Any mistakes in the wine-making parts of the novel are entirely mine.
I also owe a thank you to my agent Lizzy Kremer who gave me the idea for the novel; and to Rhonda Carrier for her excellent editing; and of course my mother Ella Fallgren and my French friend Jacques Kuhnlé for proofreading.
Finally a big thank you to Rupert, my husband and favourite editor, this is not really his kind of book, but I hope he likes it anyway.
Also by Helena Frith Powell
More France Please
Two Lipsticks and a Lover
Ciao Bella
The Viva Mayr Diet
www.helenafrithpowell.com
Copyright
First published in 2011 by Gibson Square Books
www.gibsonsquare.com
ISBN: 978–1906142773 (Print Edition)
ISBN: 978–1906142797 (E-Book)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the publisher. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library.
The right of Helena Frith Powell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Copyright © 2011 by Helena Frith Powell.
Printed by Clays, Bungay.
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