If you’re considering purchasing a Nintendo Wii Fit, congratulations! The Wii Fit has many different exercises and games to help you improve your balance, muscle tone, strength and stamina. The Wii Fit allows you to create a Mii character for yourself. This character will accompany you through many of the games and exercises you choose.
Nintendo’s Wii Fit has a yoga component that is both fun and is helpful for your posture and muscle tone. The yoga poses make use of the balance board, which will keep track of how steady you are when you are holding a pose. Don’t worry if this is difficult at first. With practice, you will improve. For those who are unfamiliar with yoga, you may feel a bit intimidated before you try it. There is nothing to worry about, however… just pick your onscreen instructor and they will guide you easily through the exercises. The onscreen instructor comes in two choices: male or female. Pick the one you like best and get ready to discover the world of yoga. The Wii Fit is actually a great way to get an introduction to yoga for beginners, even though some of the later poses can be a bit more challenging.
Each yoga demo allows you to see a 3D model of the exercise you have chosen. Your instructor will model it for you. Watch the exercise in real time from any angle you wish so you develop an indepth understanding of what you are expected to do with a given pose. You can repeat the demo as many times as you wish until you feel comfortable trying it.
The Wii Fit offers a total of 15 yoga poses to practice. When you first begin, 4 are unlocked. More poses are unlocked by accruing exercise time. The Wii Fit keeps track of how long you actually exercise and puts a coin or two each time into your piggy bank. Every so often, you get a new exercise unlocked because you have enough “funds” in the piggy bank to open them.
The first yoga exercise is just standing still while breathing deeply and evenly. This is to teach you breath control. Being able to remain steady and still while breathing deeply in and out according to the rhythm that is set for your is a good introduction to yoga, since breath control plays a big part in how you hold your poses.
During each pose, the balance board monitors your balance. There are circles or bars on the screen that you are encouraged to use to monitor your balance by keeping a small red dot within the designated area. After you’ve finished your pose, an animation will appear on the screen showing you how well you balanced. It may look like you wobbled all over the place, but trust me… even the best wobble sometimes.
Your yoga instructor will give you tips on improving your balance and provide you with feedback after the exercise on how well you did. They are always positive, so even if you need more work on a particular pose, they will help you be eager to improve your balance. You are also given a ranking, of either Yoga Newcomer, Yoga Novice, Yoga Trainer or Yoga Master. This lets you know how you’re progressing.
As you progress in the yoga component, you’ll be able to try more poses, like the Half Moon, the Warrior and the Tree. After some time working on these, you’ll be able to unlock the Sun Salutation, the Standing Knee, the Palm Tree, the Chair, the Triangle, the Downward-Facing Dog, the Dance, the Cobra, the Bridge, the Spinal Twist and the Shoulder Stand. Some of these last few can be very challenging for those new to yoga. Be sure to spend plenty of time on the earlier exercises and watch the demos for the more complicated poses as much as you need to before attempting them.
All in all, the Wii Fit is a great way to get acquainted with yoga. You can try these in the privacy of your own home, and if you find you like yoga, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a class nearby. The Wii Fit is a fun way to explore some new ways to exercise.