Brenda Strong, best known for her role as Mary Alice Young in 'Desperate Housewives', is also well known in the yoga community as a 500hr EYRT registered yoga teacher.

Brenda has researched and developed a proprietary approach to yoga for fertility – known as Strong Yoga4Fertility™. Her line of DVDs has been sold worldwide to help support women on their path to motherhood. Brenda has three DVDs in the series: Yoga4 Fertility, Yoga4Partners and the latest – Yoga4Pregnancy as well as her latest creation: the Fertility Ball (Pat.Pend).

The Fertility Ball is a result of years of research into Tibetan finger pressure techniques (acupressure), combined with the use of the yoga ball to open the flow of Qi to the “vessel of conception” points on a woman’s body. Its use in conjunction with Brenda’s yoga method has met with acclaim from women facing fertility issues since she began using it in 2008. The ball is set to be on sale by the end of 2009. 

Here's a few fitness tips for those who don’t have time for the luxury of a 90-minute yoga class. Without having to jump in your car, or do anything histrionic, in the comfort of your bedroom or living room here are a few tips to keep you calm, toned and fit.

Strong's tip is to take the typical A-Sun Salutation and create a variation on a theme.

Everything you need to stay fit exists in this simple exercise; upper body strength, flexibility, back bends, forward bends, weight bearing and cardio.

Here’s how:

Mix it up- when I teach yoga classes I find a way to mix up a classic sun salutation to juice the most out of it for fitness and presence of mind. On busy days when I don’t have time to go to class, this helps me stay in shape.

Here are some tips:

Slow it Down: Spend 5 Breaths in each phase of the classic A Sun Salutation to warm up and tone the body. This is a quick daily fitness regimen that tones the body, calms the mind and gives you instant results.

1. Tadasana: When done properly this pose can make you break a sweat even though it appears static. Standing in Mountain Pose is the template for every pose in Yoga. Stand with your feet together, heels and toes touching. Ground through all four corners of your feet. Activate all the muscles in your legs by pushing the floor away-this rebound of energy will help the torso lift off of the thighs. Slightly release the tailbone toward your heels, while moving your thighs back and slightly internally rotating your inner thighs. All of this will stabilize the legs, which are your foundation for safety, security and grounding in life. Gently lift the frontal hipbones and draw your organs toward your spine to engage your abdominal wall. Soften your front ribs and expand the front and back body evenly, torso suspended above the legs, filling with breath like a cylinder suspended above the waist. Arms are active; triceps engaged, collarbones wide, shoulder blades moving onto the back, while the neck is long and extending toward the ceiling to allow the head to float above the torso. It should feel that from the waist down the energy is grounding through the legs and from the waist up; you are lifting off of your legs extending upward. (5 Breaths here)

2. Arms sweep overhead- palms touch or remain shoulder distance: This helps to elongate the spine, open the shoulders and work the arms and heart. If your shoulders are tight, keep the arms apart shoulder distance and focus on wide collarbones, and rotating your triceps inward. This will be intense enough for you. Keep the shoulder blades down, but extend through the arms and keep the rest of the body in Tadasana (especially the floating ribs which tend to pop out and close off the kidneys in the lower back area as soon as your arms go up.) Concentrate on working the upper arms behind the ears without losing the integrity of the torso and legs from Tadasana in the previous pose. This is the trick. If palms do touch without closing off your shoulders and neck, then press the little finger side of the palms together to emphasize the rotation of the arms inward to widen the shoulder blades. (5 Breaths here)

3. Swan dive: As you exhale, slowly hinge in the hips extending the spine out of the waist and sweeping the arms wide to open your heart as you fold forward. Release your head at the bottom.

4. Ardha Uttanaasana: On an inhale- lift your heart, fingertips on the floor or shins. This is a way to extend the spine, stretch the hamstrings and firm and tone the legs while getting a slight inversion which helps blood flow and circulation to the brain and endocrine system in the body. Move your shoulders away from your ears and feel the bottom tips of the shoulder blades move in toward the heart to extend the spine in a slight “cobra” pose in the thoracic area of the spine. Rotate the inner thighs back and lift the knee caps to engage the thigh muscles. (5 Breaths) Every time you inhale extend the spine, every time you exhale, soften.

5. Uttanasana: Forward fold. Legs are active, spine extended, breath is long. As you inhale breathe space between each vertebrae, as you exhale release the head and elongate the spine. (5 Breaths) Allow the head to be heavy, spine extending out of the hips like a waterfall, fingers in line with the toes, palms pressing the floor if reachable, otherwise clasp the back of the calves. (5 Breaths)

6. Plank: This resembles the top of a push up position and works the entire body, arms, legs, abdomen, and spine. You are basically back to Tadasana, pose, but are balancing on the palms instead. This helps firm the abdominal muscles, strengthen the arms and helps in concentration and equanimity. Hold for five breaths, following all of Tadasana’s instructions to find balnce and stability. (5 Breaths)

7. Chatturanga or lower all the way to the floor: This helps upper arm and abdominal strength when done properly, when done incorrectly, it can strain the rotator cuffs and hurt the shoulders. Better to drop knees and lower to floor if you can’t support your own weight. Chatturanga Dandasana should end with arms in a right angle, shoulders onto your back and abdominal muscles lifted to support the organs and low back. If this pose cannot maintain it’s integrity, be honest and just lower to the floor on a count of 5. Other wise, 5 breathes in Chatturanga helps stamina and strength. (5 Breaths)

8. Urdhva Mukkha Svanasana: or “Up Dog” as it is fondly called. Pressing into the palms, rolling over toes and onto tops of feet, to lift your chest between the upper arms and lift the kneecaps and lengthen the legs out of the hips. Hips are low, legs active, arms strong and heart open. Gaze is to 3rd eye or straight ahead with neck issues. (5 Breaths)

9. Downward Facing Dog: (Adho Mukkha Svanasana) Lift the navel and exhale the hips back and up until the head is now dangling between the upper arms and you are in the shape of an upside down “v”. Press the tops of the thighs back with a slight internal rotation of the thighs, rotate the triceps toward the ears and breath space into the spine on the inhale and draw energy into your spine and elongate as you exhale. (5 Breaths)

10. Step or float forward: Put everything in reverse now. Uttanasana (5 Breaths) Ardha Uttanasana (5 Breaths) Reverse Swan dive, (on long inhale) Arms Overhead (5 Breaths) and Tadasana. (5 Breaths)

This should take approximately 6 to 7 minutes from start to finish. You should feel energized, connected to your breath and all the major muscle groups have been activated in addition to getting the spine warmed up and ready for whatever the day brings. The key is the length and depth of the breath. Ujjayi Breath, or ‘Breath of Victory’ is most important to get the most out of this sequence. (In and out of the nose, with an aspirated sound in the throat, sounds like the ocean or Darth Vader from Star Wars). To learn Ujjayi Breath, you can contact Brenda at www.yoga4women.com.

Brenda also has a three DVD-box set of her yoga practices available right now? The set is called Strong Yoga 4 Fertility and contains three DVDs: Yoga 4 Fertility, Yoga 4 Partners and the brand-new Yoga 4 Pregnancy. It is priced at $59.99. The DVDs can also be bought individually for $24.99. They are available at www.yoga4fertility.com.