I Don't Get Yoga

Molly_Maguire

I've tried a few yoga dvds and have been to a class or two, and...I don't get it. Wtf is the appeal, if any? I always did everything exactly like the instructors said, and I barely broke a sweat, wasn't sore or tired afterwards, and just found myself rolling my eyes and sighing the whole time just because it was so d*mn BORING!

Does anyone else feel this way? I'd like to tone and lean out and get more flexible, which they say yoga is great for, but can anyone else NOT STAND it? I've never been more bored in my life! Are there other types of yoga I could try that are, like, fun? Or at least not make me want to shoot myself in the face?

KBGirts

I went to one class and never went back. I would love to get into it for the flexibility, but I just can't justify the time spent when I am too busy working out in other ways.

Mokey41

Yoga is for flexibility and relaxation more than anything. You aren't supposed to be sweating and sore afterward. There are some forms that are more aggressive but you'd probably want to work up to those.

DavPul

I felt this way too, until I tried a tough power yoga session. It was brutal. And much more my speed. I've got friends that swear by bikram but I've never tried. Mostly, I desperately needed to gain some flexibility but can never commit to a stretching regimen. Yoga takes that spot for me

Mighty_Rabite

I've never even done hot yoga but I have sweat a TON every time I've done yoga. Never been sore as a result of yoga, but it definitely improves flexibility and muscle tone. I can't speak much for boredom of it though, as in my experiences with it, I've always been fighting to perfect the forms (the more advanced ones can be obscenely difficult).

Natihilator

I don't get it either. I've tried but just...nope.

I actually find it kind of stressful, because my hands and feet get sweaty and I slip all over my mat. i've tried a mat towel and gloves (which HURT because I still slipped with them, and the gloves dug into the skin between my fingers, ouch!)

Maybe I'll try it again when I get more flexible and strong doing other stuff.

sjohnny

There are many different styles of yoga. Most of it is for the purposes of engaging your body mind and spirit and living in a more mindful and present manner. There are styles such as Ashtanga or Power yoga that will give you a hell of a workout if you apply yourself.

3dogsrunning

For years I felt like that. I could not wait to get through the last meditation we did where you just lay quietly and clear your mind/do visualizations/ etc. it was like i was too hyper to enjoy it and, like you, i was rolling my eyes. I kept trying it every few years becaise i was getting stiff from running.
One day, I found that I love it. I don't know what made me switch, maybe because I am older, maybe because I have more stress than I did then so I enjoy the relaxation, or maybe just found a good class, I don't know.
Plus, this one great teacher I had did a lot of stretching that helped where I needed it most and I always felt great.
Yoga isn't and never was about working out or sweating (i havent done any of the more intense classes) for me so I don't mind not breaking a swear.

Hannah_Banana

I agree, I never got that 'into' yoga. It seemed way too meditative, not necessarily functional. Now it is a part of my daily routine, thanks to DDP Yoga (also known as YRG). I've never been able to do exercise videos but I LOVE my morning yoga with Mr. Page. It focuses not just on flexibility and balance, but also strength through the core principle of dynamic resistance.

Its as hard as you want to make it, to suit your fitness level, and while you break a mild sweat, no you probably won't be sweating like you do if you're tackling Insanity. But yoga has excellent health benefits and it just makes you feel fantastic. My mood is extremely elevated for hours after doing yoga, I can't think of a better way to start my day. :bigsmile:

DiaryOfaThickFitWoman

I've tried a few yoga dvds and have been to a class or two, and...I don't get it. Wtf is the appeal, if any? I always did everything exactly like the instructors said, and I barely broke a sweat, wasn't sore or tired afterwards, and just found myself rolling my eyes and sighing the whole time just because it was so d*mn BORING!

Does anyone else feel this way? I'd like to tone and lean out and get more flexible, which they say yoga is great for, but can anyone else NOT STAND it? I've never been more bored in my life! Are there other types of yoga I could try that are, like, fun? Or at least not make me want to shoot myself in the face?

I actually stumbled across yoga by accident, during a prolonged stretching session a few years back, then I realized I was in fact doing yoga or yoga equivalent positions. Yoga is simply stretching of the body. It's about meditation, breathing and pulling the body- scratching and pronouncing the body to it's extremitys. I have never went to a session or watched a video. I just do my own moves in combination with ones I've googled. I'm personal not into the extra bologna and terminology.

It takes concentration and a peaceful state of mind, a peaceful atmosphere too. Sometimes I position my body in different animal - like positions, which is mind simulating and a good stretch. I focus on breathing and again, pulling the muscles. I personally like to hold positions, specially if it's a awkward stance, it feels great in a strange way. Yoga is not meant to be energetic, it's more so a relaxation exercise. It calls for a acquiring taste. I love it and try to do it at least twice a week. I do it my way though, I think it's a great exercise to make your own. I may try a class one day...

Oh and if I break a sweat, it extremely light, but I always feel my heart pumping, and it doesn't hurt afterwards.

gingerveg

OP, if you really want to do yoga and you want to sweat look for the words "power" "ashtanga" and/or "hot/Bikram" styles. On a physical level yoga will help you prevent injury and stay flexible especially as you age. It is a great addition to lifting, running, or whatever you do for exercise because it works your whole body. For instance right now I am working on my feet and ankles because I had an injury from running and it is doing wonders for me. Yoga has made me so strong, flexible, and balanced. But to be completely honest it sounds like you have already formulated negative feelings towards yoga so in my opinion I don't think you should practice. Yoga is an ancient practice that ideally should be approached with love and respect.

If you change your mind and/or for the sake of anyone else interested I'll try to offer some basic insight on the subject. People do it for different reasons, but in virtually all cases it is not really like a typical western gym workout. Yoga has been studied for thousands of years as a means (just one way) towards the path to self-actualization/enlightenment. Among all of the poses in the various sequences Savasana (final resting/corpse pose) is actually the most difficult for most people. It is meant to offer you a rare moment of stillness (many people never get to the point of actual meditation but it doesn’t matter. Wherever you go is further than where you would without the practice). So while yoga is considered a workout it was born out of Vedic philosophy (various religions have stemmed from Vedic philosophy such as Hinduism and Buddhism). This doesn't mean one needs to be religious to practice yoga (I am an atheist and I've been practicing for about 20 years). It just means that it is important to be educated and understand where some of the rituals come from and be respectful of the history.

Okay so while at its core the entire point is to clear one's mind for meditation it still does have extraordinary physical benefits. Many of the greatest benefits come from working subtle muscle groups that are not normally isolated. It is best when one is able to hand oneself over to the poses entirely (again a very difficult thing to do). It is challenging but we need to try to put aside our ego (also a very difficult thing to do) listen to our bodies and trust the practice (again respect for the fact that people have perfected the art over thousands of years). Yoga can bring up suppressed feelings sometimes it even makes people angry and we have to respect that our practice is different every time we do it. If you commit to regular practice you will lose weight, become long, flexible, strong, and cultivate a calmer personality. It will help prevent injury. It is the kind of workout you can sustain for a lifetime (even with disabilities/injuries).

The more we are able to tap into the multilayered aspects of yoga, the more beneficial our practice will be. The louder your "monkey mind" (a reference to the inner chatter in one's brain) the less beneficial yoga will seem (it might seem boring or pointless but it is always doing good work for you). You might find that you are in the wrong place, you may have the wrong instructor, or it might be the wrong time for you. It is also possible you may never come to yoga. But there is a reason why so many of us find it so utterly amazing. Personally, it has changed my life in so many ways. It doesn’t seem to matter what variety I choose (I’ve done virtually all of them including the non-physical types of yoga). In the past I was a competitive runner and dancer and while I love both of those things at 39 years old if I could choose only one workout to do for the rest of my life it would absolutely be yoga.

DiaryOfaThickFitWoman

OP, if you really want to do yoga and you want to sweat look for the words "power" "ashtanga" and/or "hot/Bikram" styles. On a physical level yoga will help you prevent injury and stay flexible especially as you age. It is a great addition to lifting, running, or whatever you do for exercise because it works your whole body. For instance right now I am working on my feet and ankles because I had an injury from running and it is doing wonders for me. Yoga has made me so strong, flexible, and balanced. But to be completely honest it sounds like you have already formulated negative feelings towards yoga so in my opinion I don't think you should practice. Yoga is an ancient practice that ideally should be approached with love and respect.

If you change your mind and/or for the sake of anyone else interested I'll try to offer some basic insight on the subject. People do it for different reasons, but in virtually all cases it is not really like a typical western gym workout. Yoga has been studied for thousands of years as a means (just one way) towards the path to self-actualization/enlightenment. Among all of the poses in the various sequences Savasana (final resting/corpse pose) is actually the most difficult for most people. It is meant to offer you a rare moment of stillness (many people never get to the point of actual meditation but it doesn’t matter. Wherever you go is further than where you would without the practice). So while yoga is considered a workout it was born out of Vedic philosophy (various religions have stemmed from Vedic philosophy such as Hinduism and Buddhism). This doesn't mean one needs to be religious to practice yoga (I am an atheist and I've been practicing for about 20 years). It just means that it is important to be educated and understand where some of the rituals come from and be respectful of the history.

Okay so while at its core the entire point is to clear one's mind for meditation it still does have extraordinary physical benefits. Many of the greatest benefits come from working subtle muscle groups that are not normally isolated. It is best when one is able to hand oneself over to the poses entirely (again a very difficult thing to do). It is challenging but we need to try to put aside our ego (also a very difficult thing to do) listen to our bodies and trust the practice (again respect for the fact that people have perfected the art over thousands of years). Yoga can bring up suppressed feelings sometimes it even makes people angry and we have to respect that our practice is different every time we do it. If you commit to regular practice you will lose weight, become long, flexible, strong, and cultivate a calmer personality. It will help prevent injury. It is the kind of workout you can sustain for a lifetime (even with disabilities/injuries).

The more we are able to tap into the multilayered aspects of yoga, the more beneficial our practice will be. The louder your "monkey mind" (a reference to the inner chatter in one's brain) the less beneficial yoga will seem (it might seem boring or pointless but it is always doing good work for you). You might find that you are in the wrong place, you may have the wrong instructor, or it might be the wrong time for you. It is also possible you may never come to yoga. But there is a reason why so many of us find it so utterly amazing. Personally, it has changed my life in so many ways. It doesn’t seem to matter what variety I choose (I’ve done virtually all of them including the non-physical types of yoga). In the past I was a competitive runner and dancer and while I love both of those things at 39 years old if I could choose only one workout to do for the rest of my life it would absolutely be yoga.

That was informational. Based on my post, do you think I'm in the right direction? Just wondering, either way I love how I do it.

BinaryPulsar

I also do power yoga. It's also called Ashtanga Vinyasa or Flow. It is similar to gymnastics (and some contortionist qualities) and flows continuously from one pose to the next. Handstands of many different variations, back bends of different variations, balancing on one leg while moving it into many different angles and positions while also moving the body as a whole and not putting the foot down. Obviously the more advanced it is the funner and tougher it will be. I like it because I am a dancer, so it helps me with my dance training and I just enjoy being able to do all that stuff with my body for lots of other reasons. As a dancer I crave flexibility and to be able to get to every single aspect of my body. If I use the computer, I need to do back bends afterwards to stretch myself back out again. But, if you don't enjoy being bendy and flexible, nimble, supple, agile, graceful...then you probably won't enjoy it. Not everyone likes the same things.

Hatha Yoga is probably what you did. It is slow, stretching. I also find it boring and don't enjoy it. It also depends on the teacher. I don't like when teachers have breathing exercises. I like to connect breath with movement, move continuously and just do the last five minutes of on the back meditation (while putting the legs into stretches such as happy baby pose and other stretches). But, that helps me to reduce stress also and I need that (not everyone does).

imoquenn

When I viewed exercise as a way of burning calories, I always felt like yoga was a waste of my time. Lately, though, I've sort of forgotten that I used to exercise so I could eat more... I do it because it feels good. And now yoga holds an appeal that wasn't there before. It's calming, it builds flexibility, and it helps me become more mindful and comfortable in my body.

Molly_Maguire

Most of it is for the purposes of engaging your body mind and spirit and living in a more mindful and present manner.

See, this is what I mean! So before yoga, my body/mind/spirit are NOT engaged? Engaged in, uh, what? Living in a present manner? As if I was living somewhere ELSE before? What does that even mean?? I'm pretty sure someone made that up, because it makes no sense at all, lol. Anyone who's seen "I Heart Huckabees" can maybe relate to how I feel about nonsense Confucio-talk like that. (No personal offense, poster)

DiaryOfaThickFitWoman

When I viewed exercise as a way of burning calories, I always felt like yoga was a waste of my time. Lately, though, I've sort of forgotten that I used to exercise so I could eat more... I do it because it feels good. And now yoga holds an appeal that wasn't there before. It's calming, it builds flexibility, and it helps me become more mindful and comfortable in my body.

Very true.

BinaryPulsar

Most of it is for the purposes of engaging your body mind and spirit and living in a more mindful and present manner.

See, this is what I mean! So before yoga, my body/mind/spirit are NOT engaged? Engaged in, uh, what? Living in a present manner? As if I was living somewhere ELSE before? What does that even mean?? I'm pretty sure someone made that up, because it makes no sense at all, lol. Anyone who's seen "I Heart Huckabees" can maybe relate to how I feel about nonsense Confucio-talk like that. (No personal offense, poster)

I love yoga and meditation and find it extremely useful for my mind to be able to be calm and relaxed. And I am an atheist and a skeptic and married to a scientist. Sam Harris (a neuroscientist) does meditation and talks about vipassana meditation. The benefits on grey matter in the brain has been demonstrated. But, again, it's not for everyone. Not everyone needs it. People who are very cerebral need a break sometimes. People with various stresses need time to calm themselves and gain those skills. It can be helpful to people that benefit from it.

eatathome

Most of it is for the purposes of engaging your body mind and spirit and living in a more mindful and present manner.

See, this is what I mean! So before yoga, my body/mind/spirit are NOT engaged? Engaged in, uh, what? Living in a present manner? As if I was living somewhere ELSE before? What does that even mean?? I'm pretty sure someone made that up, because it makes no sense at all, lol. Anyone who's seen "I Heart Huckabees" can maybe relate to how I feel about nonsense Confucio-talk like that. (No personal offense, poster)

If you think thousands and thousands of years of Eastern philosophy are "nonsense," yoga probably isn't for you.

For anyone else who is actually interested in mindfulness and meditation, The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh is a good place to start.

schondell

You seem like someone who needs physical stimulation as opposed to mental. Look into "hot" yoga studios in your area, it's pretty much doing more intense yoga poses in a hot room. You sweat a lot!! I got into yoga by doing hot yoga with a group of friends, a few of us really enjoyed the experience and now I practice regular yoga (not in a hot room) often. Also, try to keep an open mind about yoga, it's not exactly physically strenuous but it can be challenging and rewarding! :flowerforyou:

DavPul

When I viewed exercise as a way of burning calories, I always felt like yoga was a waste of my time. Lately, though, I've sort of forgotten that I used to exercise so I could eat more... I do it because it feels good. And now yoga holds an appeal that wasn't there before. It's calming, it builds flexibility, and it helps me become more mindful and comfortable in my body.

Every word of this post is WIN

BinaryPulsar

Most of it is for the purposes of engaging your body mind and spirit and living in a more mindful and present manner.

See, this is what I mean! So before yoga, my body/mind/spirit are NOT engaged? Engaged in, uh, what? Living in a present manner? As if I was living somewhere ELSE before? What does that even mean?? I'm pretty sure someone made that up, because it makes no sense at all, lol. Anyone who's seen "I Heart Huckabees" can maybe relate to how I feel about nonsense Confucio-talk like that. (No personal offense, poster)

If you think thousands and thousands of years of Eastern philosophy are "nonsense," yoga probably isn't for you.

For anyone else who is actually interested in mindfulness and meditation, The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh is a good place to start.

I love Thich Nhat Hanh.