Yoga and Pilates

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AlissaFL
AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just looking for other Yoga or Pilates enthusiasts. Also if anyone has before and after photos or really amazing body transformation stories, please do share them.

I have been doing Pilates 2x a weeks for about 10 weeks and Yogilates 1x a week for 10 weeks. I love it. Once I am strong enough, I want to add Yoga also. I have seen new definition, inches lost, toning and weight loss. I am very overweight, so it has been challenging, but I have had more success with this than with any other form of exercise while being overweight. I haven't had any injuries or pulled muscles, tendons or ligaments. No blisters or joint pain. No heart beating out of my chest, think I'm going to die experiences and I haven't had to modify the movements much at all. I can't do real push-ups or have my foot above my ankle for tree pose, but that's about it. Oh, and I can't do an inverted V or teaser pose very well either...so 3 things. I really do think this is an excellent exercise choice for the overweight, out of shape, hasn't exercised much in years person.

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  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
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    I don't really have pictures other than the ones on my profile but I reached my goal weight (loss of 14 lbs) through yoga, daily walks with my dog, and eating clean. When my husband came back from deployment he was so surprised! Maybe not the "transformation" you were looking for but it was a big deal for me!
  • T34418l3angel
    T34418l3angel Posts: 474 Member
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    I love yoga and palates! I do it every day whether I work out that day on top of that or not :) I am definitely seeing results but I can't pin point what is helping these results since I also have been lifting weights, boxing, doing trx, and other various exercises.
  • AlissaFL
    AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
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    I don't really have pictures other than the ones on my profile but I reached my goal weight (loss of 14 lbs) through yoga, daily walks with my dog, and eating clean. When my husband came back from deployment he was so surprised! Maybe not the "transformation" you were looking for but it was a big deal for me!


    No that's a great transformation! I wanted to meet others and hear their stories about it. Thanks for sharing. Do you still continue to do Yoga?
  • highflyer88
    highflyer88 Posts: 148 Member
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    ok you have me curious what is yogilates? a mix of yoga and pilates? I love pilates just haven't done it in a long time. I could find my old pics from the first time I lost weight using pilates as one of my main exercises to post....have to go through some old photo albums and get them scanned in. I can tell you I went from 240 to 165...and down to a 33" waist, size 11/12 from a 22. I loved the way my body transformed through the effort I put in. Of course then I had my boys and let myself get wrapped up in being a mom so now I am on my journey again. I haven't started incorporating the pilates again due to a couple of injuries but it is on my list to start doing in the next couple weeks. I am walking and using a exercise bike and some ab/back strength work. I miss the pilates due to the intensity of the workout in a short period of time and how quickly I saw the results!
  • AlissaFL
    AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
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    ok you have me curious what is yogilates? a mix of yoga and pilates? I love pilates just haven't done it in a long time. I could find my old pics from the first time I lost weight using pilates as one of my main exercises to post....have to go through some old photo albums and get them scanned in. I can tell you I went from 240 to 165...and down to a 33" waist, size 11/12 from a 22. I loved the way my body transformed through the effort I put in. Of course then I had my boys and let myself get wrapped up in being a mom so now I am on my journey again. I haven't started incorporating the pilates again due to a couple of injuries but it is on my list to start doing in the next couple weeks. I am walking and using a exercise bike and some ab/back strength work. I miss the pilates due to the intensity of the workout in a short period of time and how quickly I saw the results!

    That's amazing! Yes, yogilates is a mix of both...we do flows like yoga but also stretches and muscles lengthening like pilates and the terms are a mix of both. Good luck to you on your weight loss journey!
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,786 Member
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    I consider myself as a work in progress more than a before and after. I have a couple of pictures on my profile you should be able to see of a myself in yoga poses (my current picture is a little messy crow pose)

    The changes I've made after I started doing yoga 12 years ago are: quit smoking, less stressed, more content, more grateful, my eating completely changed, the activities I enjoy have almost completely changed, and of course: stronger and more flexible. I'm sure I could think of others as well.

    There's a yoga group that's open to everyone if you would like to join:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/1484-generic-yoga-group
  • mela216r
    mela216r Posts: 23
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    I am so glad you posted this! I'm 53 & have been on MFP for about a month with really exciting results! Have a lot to lose but I'm down quite a bit for starters & the diet itself is going quite well. I have been walking & swimming mostly, with a little dancing thrown in...but I have an arthritic left knee and when I tried kettlebell for strength training, the lunges caused pain & swelling for several days. My friends/family have suggested either yoga or pilates but I'm not sure which would offer better strength/resistance, or maybe the "yogalates" is the best? Since I have erratic work hours I haven't joined a gym, I don't think I would be able to consistently attend enough to get my money's worth! But I was thinking of a park district class 1x or 2x weekly, or perhaps a good DVD. Does anybody know a good DVD for beginners? Thanks for any feedback!
  • AlissaFL
    AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
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    I am so glad you posted this! I'm 53 & have been on MFP for about a month with really exciting results! Have a lot to lose but I'm down quite a bit for starters & the diet itself is going quite well. I have been walking & swimming mostly, with a little dancing thrown in...but I have an arthritic left knee and when I tried kettlebell for strength training, the lunges caused pain & swelling for several days. My friends/family have suggested either yoga or pilates but I'm not sure which would offer better strength/resistance, or maybe the "yogalates" is the best? Since I have erratic work hours I haven't joined a gym, I don't think I would be able to consistently attend enough to get my money's worth! But I was thinking of a park district class 1x or 2x weekly, or perhaps a good DVD. Does anybody know a good DVD for beginners? Thanks for any feedback!

    I don't know any yoga DVDs but maybe if you join the yoga group referenced above, someone will know one that will work for you.
  • jmperry18
    jmperry18 Posts: 34 Member
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    Greetings! I love pilates and have gained alot of strength from doing it. In January I could not do one regular pushup. After taking pilates for 3-4 months, I can drop down and do 10-12 with no problem!

    Here is one DVD that you might want to buy.
    Yogilates Beginner: Level 1

    I purchased mine on Collagevideo.com and I love it! Also, check out Ellen Barrett's DVDs. I love her. You can get a good workout, with lower impact and tone and sweat at the same time. :)
  • jablumer
    jablumer Posts: 5
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    I've been doing Yoga and Pilates for about 5 years. I go to Yoga 1xweek and PiYo (combo Pilates and Yoga) 1xweek in addition to lifting and cardio. The areas where I have seen differences are shoulder and core strength, balance and overall flexibility. I always feel taller after a Yoga class! I would recommend Yoga to everyone-there are variations for every move so you can match the moves to your ability level.
  • AlissaFL
    AlissaFL Posts: 80 Member
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    I've been doing Yoga and Pilates for about 5 years. I go to Yoga 1xweek and PiYo (combo Pilates and Yoga) 1xweek in addition to lifting and cardio. The areas where I have seen differences are shoulder and core strength, balance and overall flexibility. I always feel taller after a Yoga class! I would recommend Yoga to everyone-there are variations for every move so you can match the moves to your ability level.
    Thanks for sharing. I have been so pleased with yoga/pilates and it is nice to hear from other regular folks who have also had great experiences.
  • mela216r
    mela216r Posts: 23
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    Thanks for all the info & especially for the DVD help (jmperry). Will definitely follow up on the yoga group too.
  • StrongSandra
    StrongSandra Posts: 21 Member
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    I have been doing Pilates for about 4 years now. I don't do classical Pilates, more of a 'group workout' version on machines at small gyms called Pilates Plus. It made me feel really strong. I lost weight and really toned up when I was dedicated to it and eating lean. I even changed wardrobes to a size smaller after about 3 months. When I would stop doing it for a few months, my clothes would fit tight!

    It's a bit expensive, about $160 per month for my unlimited membership, so I'm going to try doing Pilates at home by following Cassie's POP Pilates videos from Blogilates (http://blogilates.com/) . There's a MFP group for POP Pilates I just joined: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/7697-pop-pilates

    I also think I'm going to try doing one or two classical Pilates private or semi-private sessions per month. A private session is about $50, while a group session is about $30.
  • RheneeB
    RheneeB Posts: 461 Member
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    I a so glad you started this post. I am 48 years old and get so discouraged over all these other fitness workout DVD's that say anyone can do them.....right!! My sister currently has 3 active brain anuerisms and hasn't been able to workout for a long time. She just bought some beginning yoga DVD's because she has gained a lot of weight. She is having brain surgery soon but still will not be able to do heavy workouts because they are only able to fix 2 of them. I have recently been looking into yoga DVD's and found some beginner ones at ****'s Sporting Store that I think I am going to go ahead and purchase - this post helped me decide to go that route!! This way I can get into shape and help keep my sister motivated too!!

    Thank you!!
  • bikinisuited
    bikinisuited Posts: 881 Member
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    BUMP
  • elisemarieh
    elisemarieh Posts: 3
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    Yoga has been lifechanging for me this year! I have a really bad knee from a sports injury 10 years ago. About 1.5yrs ago my knee flared up really bad (my knees been up and down since the original injury) and got so bad that I could barely put any weight on it, there was no way I could crouch down and even sitting at my desk all day was painful! I started doing yoga 10 months ago. At first it was really painful on my knee and I had to modify a lot of the moves and couldn't do some of them. Now, I do yoga twice a week, I can do all the moves with no modifications and my knee has improved sooo soo soo so much! Because my knee has improved, I can do other activities like step classes and it doesn't hurt to do simple things like crouch down to tie my shoes. Anyways, I haven't lost weight from yoga but yoga has allowed me to strengthen and stretch important muscles so that I can do more varieties of exercise.

    I even started a yoga class at work. I found an instructor to teach during the lunch hour and a bunch of my colleagues and I pitched in to pay for the instructor which ended up being a lot cheaper than going to a studio. We now have 3 classes a week during the lunch hour at my work and my employer was happy to let us use one of the larger meeting rooms to host the class. It's also a smaller class size of 10 so each of us gets individul attention!

    Anyways, I'm a huge supporter of yoga. I think it's so healing and recommend it to anyone! I'd love to become an instructor one day.

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