Shopping maven Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City famously said "Shopping is my cardio." These days heading to the stores on Black Friday is more like a contact sport. As retail stores kick off the holiday season with crazy sales, I have a few tips on keeping your body happy while shopping.

• Be kind to your feet. Wear the comfiest shoes you own. You may not be the type to wear your running shoes when not exercising, but channel Carrie B. and think of this as exercise.
• When standing in line, don't lock your knees. Keep this joint slightly bent. Also avoid shifting your weight from one leg to the other and jutting your hip out, as this can throw your back out of alignment and cause you pain.
• When your load becomes too heavy to bear, walk your bags to your car and then resume shopping.
• If your back bothers you while standing in line, take a moment to casually squat down and stretch your low back. It feels great.
• I would also set a time limit on shopping, and to do so, plan on attending a yoga class to stretch out and de-stress after surviving the busiest shopping day of the year.