I Don't Get Yoga

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  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
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    I read philosophy for enlightenment, I go to the gym to get fit. Yoga is too cult-like for me.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    That makes a little more sense. I really don't have much stress in my life, never really have. (crap. I just jinxed myself, didn't I?) So the meditation and clearing the mind never really did anything for me. And I have always been led to believe that a workout should always involve, racing heats, sweating and panting when you're done, so it's entirely possible I am a little biased. I'll look into some more fun styles and see if I like them.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    I read philosophy for enlightenment, I go to the gym to get fit. Yoga is too cult-like for me.

    THANK YOU
  • Natashaa1991
    Natashaa1991 Posts: 866 Member
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    Amen
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    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:

    Cool, thanks!
  • so_losin_it
    so_losin_it Posts: 25 Member
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    I got really into it after about 5 classes of Ashtanga yoga---but with a good instructor. I think that makes a difference. It isn't something to "power" through. Yoga has lots of health benefits and helps with flexibility, but the main goal is to quiet the mind---a VERY VERY difficult thing to do, probably harder than toning the body. Eventually, with practice, it goes from boring to really enlightening. But I think it makes such a difference who your teacher is.

    You might like Ashtanga because it has a bit more cardio involved, and I found it to be more interesting than the more gentle stuff. People who do "hot yoga" burn a ton of calories and detox. I have friends who swear by it, but I'm not brave enough to try.
  • jlohcook
    jlohcook Posts: 228 Member
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    Yoga builds Flexibilty, balance and strength when you move to advance stage. It does require lots of patience to do it, and to do it right, as it requires your mind to be calm and focused, focused on the part thats being stretched. if not, it is easy to get an injury, pulled muscle, tendon, and i have heard many who got injured because of yoga. The traditional basic moves will not make you break into sweat unless you have moved into advance stage, where strength is required to perform some moves. If you are at basic, it's to build mainly flexibility and balance.

    If you are looking for sweating it out, burning lots of calories, yoga is not the right exercise.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    That makes a little more sense. I really don't have much stress in my life, never really have. (crap. I just jinxed myself, didn't I?) So the meditation and clearing the mind never really did anything for me. And I have always been led to believe that a workout should always involve, racing heats, sweating and panting when you're done, so it's entirely possible I am a little biased. I'll look into some more fun styles and see if I like them.

    LOL, I would hope you don't believe in jinxes. :wink:

    And yoga is not a cult. That seems a bit fearful to me. If it seems like a cult, you are in the wrong class.

    I don't do hot yoga. I like normal temperatures.
  • FairyMomma408
    FairyMomma408 Posts: 41
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    I wish I could do yoga, but honestly I always feel stupid and light headed, I never understand what they're asking me to do and spend all my time trying to look at there pose, and then I can't lift my arms above the level of my shoulders or I almost faint. I prefer to meditate and stretch separately.

    I do think yoga looks super graceful and elegant, I think my body doesn't want to be graceful though :S
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    Yoga is not a cult :noway:
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
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    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.

    Yes absolutely You posted as I was writing that novel so I didn't read it until after I posted and my first thought was "wow amazing you got all that without even a class"! It is not a competition but it took me years to mentally get as far as you have and look at you without even a class--impressive.
    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.
    Yes it is all about the breath and breathing into those spaces in the body.
    It takes concentration and a peaceful state of mind, a peaceful atmosphere too.
    There is an aspect of community with yoga and it is meant to be done in a dedicated (even sacred) space. So the good energy created by everyone during practice (in the studio or ashram) is shared. This is why we thank the person who leads us and everyone in class at the end of yoga. This also helps cultivates a much larger shared responsibility and love to and for our fellow humans.
    Sometimes I position my body in different animal
    These poses are meant to help create a respect for the animals on this planet, generate connections (and thereby encouraging good stewardship), and also to help us adopt the strengths of each particular animal (for instance, eagle cultivates an eagle eye, concentration, eagle strength and balance).
    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."
    Yes they are meant to be held for a period of time. This is both physically and mentally demanding. If done with purpose it can be far more demanding than other things like distance running and/or weight lifting.

    You are definitely onto something. I hope you keep going because you are so wise. :)
  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
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    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.

    Yes absolutely You posted as I was writing that novel so I didn't read it until after I posted and my first thought was "wow amazing you got all that without even a class"! It is not a competition but it took me years to mentally get as far as you have and look at you without even a class--impressive.
    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.
    Yes it is all about the breath and breathing into those spaces in the body.
    It takes concentration and a peaceful state of mind, a peaceful atmosphere too.
    There is an aspect of community with yoga and it is meant to be done in a dedicated (even sacred) space. So the good energy created by everyone during practice (in the studio or ashram) is shared. This is why we thank the person who leads us and everyone in class at the end of yoga. This also helps cultivates a much larger shared responsibility and love to and for our fellow humans.
    Sometimes I position my body in different animal
    These poses are meant to help create a respect for the animals on this planet, generate connections (and thereby encouraging good stewardship), and also to help us adopt the strengths of each particular animal (for instance, eagle cultivates an eagle eye, concentration, eagle strength and balance).
    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."
    Yes they are meant to be held for a period of time. This is both physically and mentally demanding. If done with purpose it can be far more demanding than other things like distance running and/or weight lifting.

    You are definitely onto something. I hope you keep going because you are so wise. :)


    Yeah.....I lift heavy weights to challenge my body, and I read Derrida to challenge my mind....Yoga has nothing on that guy!
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Yes, there are many different types of yoga. Saying you don't like yoga is about like saying you don't like fruit... while you might not like melon, berries are very different.
    And like some other exercise, form matters. We tend to do things in ways that use muscles and stretches where it's already comfortable, but just a small adjustment in angle or a weight shift can make a big change in the way a pose feels and how difficult it is. Especially if you are trying to change your body, you may need to find an instructor who will help you do the poses that will help you get what you want.
    If you really don't like yoga, there are other ways to get what you want. But if you're still interested in giving it a chance, try other types and other instructors.
    Good luck!
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
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    I took a couple of tai chi classes once, with an instructor who was really good at eliciting visualizations (and prob the other stuff, but I'm in no position to judge that). Those visualizations were *powerful*. I have not been able to replicate the experience on my own (not that I've tried that hard though).

    Also, I was totally freaked to find that I felt something possibly chi-like. It was while doing that 'holding a ball' thing you see people do in the park, and after doing something to the space btwn my index finger and thumb.

    Didn't carry on with it (scheduling, priorities), but if I wanted to get deeper into a more robust awareness of proprioception (and meditation/mental stuff too, I guess), I'd try tai chi again. With that guy. Another guy at the Y had us do tai chi by numbers (literally, he had us walk over numbered foot stickers on the floor).

    Probably would be similar with the right kind of yoga. Sometimes I do sun salutations to warm up.
  • AnnaVee84
    AnnaVee84 Posts: 345 Member
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    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

    ^^ Agree as well. It may not burn as many calories but yoga has it's place in my workout schedule and definitely gets my heart pumping at times, especially when done in a hot studio. I'm really good at pushups now :tongue:
  • maqsmj
    maqsmj Posts: 697
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    i do yoga twice a week, honestly i sweat like hell with all the weird positions and huge inflexibility in my legs, i do it more of stretching than anything else and our instructor is really good
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    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.

    So just because something has been around for "thousands and thousands of years" it MUST be correct, right?

    There have also been philosophies and beliefs teaching that headaches and infections were the result of demonic possession. Just because a culture believes something for thousands of years doesn't mean aspects of it aren't nonsense. Do I think yoga can have some good effects on the body? Sure. Do I think it makes sense that sitting and breathing in certain poses can bring you mystical "enlightenment" (again, does anybody know what that really even means, if anything?) or "oneness with the universe and blah blah"? Not in the very slightest.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I took a couple of tai chi classes once, with an instructor who was really good at eliciting visualizations (and prob the other stuff, but I'm in no position to judge that). Those visualizations were *powerful*. I have not been able to replicate the experience on my own (not that I've tried that hard though).

    Also, I was totally freaked to find that I felt something possibly chi-like. It was while doing that 'holding a ball' thing you see people do in the park, and after doing something to the space btwn my index finger and thumb.

    Didn't carry on with it (scheduling, priorities), but if I wanted to get deeper into a more robust awareness of proprioception (and meditation/mental stuff too, I guess), I'd try tai chi again. With that guy. Another guy at the Y had us do tai chi by numbers (literally, he had us walk over numbered foot stickers on the floor).

    Probably would be similar with the right kind of yoga. Sometimes I do sun salutations to warm up.

    I know what you mean. I used to do Tai Chi also.
  • DiaryOfaThickFitWoman
    DiaryOfaThickFitWoman Posts: 406 Member
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    I read philosophy for enlightenment, I go to the gym to get fit. Yoga is too cult-like for me.

    THANK YOU

    I do it for the good stretch and to relax. I don't know about the background and don't care to.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    Yoga is not a cult :noway:

    Lol, nobody is saying it is an actual cult. But for someone who knows next to nothing about it and they keep hearing experienced yoga-ers throwing around seemingly nonsensical terms like "enlightenment" "mindfulness" "centered" and "inner eye", pluse seeing how scarily gung-ho and devoted the followers are, it's easy to see how it looks a like a cult.

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