I've heard that yoga is good for developing flexibility. If you lift a lot of weights it can help counteract the shortening of muscles that can reduce your range of motion. Swimming probably helps you with that too. It isn't cardio, but stretching the muscles in your torso, in addition to the breathing exercises, can help you take in a fuller breath, and that would help with cardio.

I don't do yoga myself. I'm into tai chi, but my Sifu considers yoga to be a complimentary art. Our stretching series and chi gong does bear some resemblance to yoga.

The only cautions I can think of is to make sure you are comfortable with your instructor. Doing a pose too quickly or incorrectly might cause you to tear something. Keep it slow and gentle.

Yoga is amazing. It will give you some strength and some cardio and a lot of flexibility. In my experience doing a lot of running or weightlifting decreases flexibility unless you do some nice deep stretching, which I am terrible about doing before and after my workouts. I did yoga for probably 10 years, off and on. It's so great if you can afford it!

Kind of like any class, there could be any level of rapport between you and your instructor, so if you don't like the vibe of the class, try a different one with a different person. For example some yoga classes will have a really intense "hippy vibe" that you may or may not like, vs. others that are just about getting into a position and doing the breathing that goes with it, without having to unfold the lotus of your heart to a new age soundtrack. Some classes might focus more on single positions and others more on flowing from one position to another.

Be careful not to push yourself too far in any one position. It should feel like a really amazing stretch like you might do in the morning before you get out of bed. I've never even kinda injured myself in a yoga class, but in a fencing class I had an instructor push me too hard into a stretch which ended up leaving me with a back injury. So, you can get hurt doing stretches, even though there is no impact.

Good luck and enjoy!

I recently started adding a little bit of yoga to my routine. I tried doing the Sun Salutation and discovered that I'm horrible at it. So my next goal is to stop being horrible at it. I do ok with the tai chi stretches, and some of those are fairly intense. (Even experienced yoga people have said so.) I guess I'm just moving my body in a different way then. Not all stretches work the same way apparently.

Well if my user name isn't a give away , I do almost exclusively yoga! I do dance, but yoga is my main form of "exercise!" I do heated Vinyasa Flow and love it! I think that all shapes, sizes, ages and genders can do some form of yoga. I've built up over 2 years, and my body has changed in ways I never thought it could(I'm in my 40's and have had 3 kids).Plus, it is better than an anti-depressant for me...I feel so much better in all areas when I am done :drinker: Good luck to you.

I have to admit - HUGE yoga fan! I used to do ashtanga yoga for 3 hours a week over 2 sessions in a class not far from work. Admittedly it was intermitted because of work commitments. But on Monday I'm going to a "hot and healthy yoga" class. It's designed to help with getting into deeper streches and the heat apparently helps with weight loss so I'm all up for it! Will let you know how I get on Monday!!