Big Boy Yoga

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bigboytriathlon
bigboytriathlon Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I understand the mind / body benefit of Yoga, as well as the increased flexability and strength of long, lean muscles it provides. Here is the kicker, even when I was in the best shape of my life, climbing for 10 hours a day (ok, 20 years ago), i could never touch my toes. i am NOT flexible. SO, couple that with the fact that I weigh 300 pounds, what is the reality of yoga for me? I think I would benefit, but honestly, get a touch embarassed easily. Are there any big yogi's out there with advice?

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  • ellesbelles57
    ellesbelles57 Posts: 8 Member
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    I had a large muscly guy in one of my yoga classes a few years back. He was mighty fit ans strong, but could barely touch his knees, let alone his toes! He started yoga to increase his flexibility, and in the six months or so I saw him at class he certainly improved.

    You might find it a slow process to start with, but I've always found the classes to be really mixed ability. Hopefully you can find a beginners class with a nice friendly instructor.

    Good luck!
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
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    You are not necessarily good (or better) at yoga if you can go deeper or touch your toes or twist yourself into a pretzel. The people who do that, who can do that, actually have to go that far to get the exact same experience as the people that are less flexible. We all have to start somewhere, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses. The only guarantee is that if you never do it, you will never get better.

    To use myself and DH as an example. I am WAY more flexible than he is. He cannot touch his toes, and that's okay. He can just bend his knees to get there (and that's perfectly acceptable). I have horrible balance. He can hold a tree pose after doing yoga for 3 months, and I fall out ALL the time, and this is after years of practice. Because my balance sucks, there are several poses I have trouble with, because they're balancing poses first, flexibility second, and without the former, I cannot get to the latter. Yet, I keep trying, because that's the only way to get there, wherever that might be.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I'm not a big yogi ..... but I highly recommend checking it out. There are so many benefits.

    Try checking your local library for some beginner videos ... just to try a little bit at home and see how it goes.

    Some videos to look for (I've not done any of these):
    Just My Size Yoga
    Mega Yoga
    Heavyweight Yoga
    Yoga for the Rest of Us - this is for the "inflexible"

    Beginner yoga - Crunch Candlelight Yoga is "instant streaming" on Netflix. This is by Sara Ivanhoe ... I really like her.
  • bigboytriathlon
    bigboytriathlon Posts: 25 Member
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    I really apprecaite all of your resposnes, there is an underlaying theme of just do it, am I right? LOL. I guess my biggest concern was from a self-conscious area, but if I want to experience the benefit of yoga, I have to practice yoga and not be worried about the others in class.

    Thanks all again!
  • schneidersas
    schneidersas Posts: 84
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    Yoga is not about touching your toes but about experiencing your body and working with your limits.
    Try to do the poses you like and you your body feels comfortable with .... the rest will come with the time.
    The others in the class are secondary, it's about you ...

    If you don't dare to go to a class, there are really good youtube vids that help you start by yourself .... but you should go to a teacher once you feel comfortable .

    good luck and ... just go for it ...

    greetings, Sascha
  • MissNations
    MissNations Posts: 513 Member
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    Find a class you feel comfortable in with an instructor you like. These things are key to getting you to come back. :smile:

    There are some studios that are mostly meat markets and some where you get people of all ages and shapes and sizes who are just there to work on their own stuff. Find one of the latter and you're golden.
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
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    I really apprecaite all of your resposnes, there is an underlaying theme of just do it, am I right? LOL. I guess my biggest concern was from a self-conscious area, but if I want to experience the benefit of yoga, I have to practice yoga and not be worried about the others in class.

    Thanks all again!

    Yoga is very inwardly driven. You are focusing on your breath and where your body is on that day, and working within your limitations at the moment. Chances are extremely good no one will be paying the least bit of attention to you, because focusing on others takes away from doing your practice properly.

    Go to a class, talk to the instructor about your concerns, and stay in the back of the room if it makes you feel less self conscious. Really though, you don't have any reason to feel self conscious.
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
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    I really apprecaite all of your resposnes, there is an underlaying theme of just do it, am I right? LOL. I guess my biggest concern was from a self-conscious area, but if I want to experience the benefit of yoga, I have to practice yoga and not be worried about the others in class.

    Thanks all again!

    You really don't have to take yoga classes. Thanks to Amazon and the web, there is a TON of information readily available out there, including websites, books, and home practice DVDs.

    I've been practicing for a little over 5 years, and when I started I was about 240. I confess I took a few private lessons right at the beginning - they were expensive and not much help. Now, I have a library of about 20 books and about the same number of DVDs, and really love my practice.

    Definitely start with a beginner DVD, and I highly recommend the book "Anatomy of Hatha Yoga" so you can get an idea of what muscles you're using and when. Lots of yoga stretches deep muscles that we aren't even aware of, and knowing how those muscles connect, what they do, etc., is very helpful - I would even say crucial. That way, when you're in a pose, you can start to self analyze where you're strong and where you need extra work - and then you can probably find another pose that focuses on that specific weak spot.

    Definitely modify your poses at the beginning and take it all very slowly. You should never feel any pain. Use blocks, belts, blankets, etc. to help you. You won't need them forever, but they help a lot at first.

    If you'd like a few DVD and book recommendations, send me a message. And good luck - once you start yoga, you'll never want to give it up. The benefits are amazing, and I always feel so much better after a good sequence. (Oh, and btw, I still can't do a full forward bend with my back flat, like you see in the pictures - and that's after 5 years. And when I was in my teens, I could do full splits (martial arts). Don't get discouraged, it's about you the practice makes you feel, not how fully/deeply you can hit a pose.)
  • schneidersas
    schneidersas Posts: 84
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    ....... and I highly recommend the book "Anatomy of Hatha Yoga" so you can get an idea of what muscles you're using and when.
    that one is big tobacco ..... better start with beginner stuff and get this one later ....
    it's good but won't get you started with postures or asanas ....

    greetings, Sascha
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
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    ....... and I highly recommend the book "Anatomy of Hatha Yoga" so you can get an idea of what muscles you're using and when.
    that one is big tobacco ..... better start with beginner stuff and get this one later ....
    it's good but won't get you started with postures or asanas ....

    greetings, Sascha

    Not sure I get the 'big tobacco' reference, but I agree it's not a beginner book. The problem with most of the beginner books I've seen is that they don't adequately discuss the physiology, eg, how the psoas work and why you should care. It's definitely a lot to take in, but why not start? The DVDs will help you with the postures themselves - the instruction on most of them are excellent and very thorough.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    the true benefit of yoga is within yourself. Despite what others have said, I would highly recommend that you take at least a few clasees to learn proper form for the poses. Without proper form it is fairly useless. DVD's are ok, but without an instructors feedback, you may think you have the proper form, but most likely you do not. thats VERY common.

    As far as being self conscious, dont be. you will find that if you focus as you should, the others in the class will cease to exist.

    Noone is paying attention to you either

    try it...you will like it
  • bigboytriathlon
    bigboytriathlon Posts: 25 Member
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    Everyone has been so kind with the suggestions. I think for me, the road to yoga and the reasons are really about the mind / body connection and learning to challenge myself. As a shy person, there is benefit from doing some yoga practice at home. But, I also need to directly challenge my prconceptions and one way is to go into a class. My gym has free classes, and you all have inspired me to go in and get lost in the class. i plan on talking to the instructor first and let them know I am new and see what suggestions they have. My first class will be on Sunday, so i will let you all know how it goes.
  • schneidersas
    schneidersas Posts: 84
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    My first class will be on Sunday, so i will let you all know how it goes.

    Cool, and good relaxation :)
    I would love to here how it' worked for you ...

    Namaste :)
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    I do yoga... not for the mystical/metaphysical/chakra/etc reasons... (although I do put on some praise and worship music and it is my "quiet time")

    I was over 300# when I took my first class... needed a PE requirement in college... and this counted... and it wasn't basketball or something hideous!....

    my teacher did say to me after the second or third class that she was concerned when she first saw me but that I did great...

    the key is to learn how to adapt the poses when your body interferes with them... there are certain transitions I have to do in multiple steps (like I can't go from a plank to a position with my feet by my hands in one smoothe step... I do it in several steps)... so my teacher helped me to adapt... it helps to know your anatomy... it helps to be strong... it helps to be open minded... I recomend taking a class with someone who is knowledgeable and can teach you.... now that I know how the poses work and how to adapt them I come up with my own routines based on what I want to work on... I like to do my poses and hold them (I might go through a routine in 45 minutes and only get 2 repitions of each pose because I held it for 3-5 min) some people like to make their yoga fast... I like it long slow and deep (LSD ;)
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    and I learned that even if people were paying attention to me... they wanted to either help me with my form... or see how I was doing something so they could learn how to do it better... or they liked my adaptatoin of the form and wanted to do it my way
  • MoveTheMountain
    MoveTheMountain Posts: 764
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    Good for you, and enjoy. My last bit of encouragement would only be this... if you don't enjoy the class, keep in mind that what you didn't enjoy was just that class - it doesn't mean you won't enjoy yoga. There are many types of yoga (fer instance:

    http://yoga.about.com/od/typesofyoga/a/yogatypes.htm

    http://www.matsmatsmats.com/yoga/yoga-disciplines.html )

    so just because you don't have a good experience in a class, don't extrapolate beyond that single experience and give up on yoga itself. You might not like that style (and definitely ask the teacher what kind/style of yoga he/she teaches - that's totally a fair question!!), it might be the wrong level class for you, and it might just be that you don't click with that teacher. Each of those things can lead to a negative experience; but finding the right fit will completely turn it around.

    And beginner or not, I highly recommend you read as much as you can, so you can determine which style, etc., is right for you right now, and what styles you also might like to try over time. E.g., lots of people love Bikram/hot yoga, but I can't stand it. I love Ashtanga, which a lot of people think is too fast and hectic. Keep learning about it, and you'll find the right mix/practice for you.

    Best of luck!

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