Anyone here do yoga? (mini-rant included)

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Replies

  • KarCrib
    KarCrib Posts: 39 Member
    I want to...does that count? I just need to find the right program etc. I'm a little intimidated by the whole thing.
    My workouts are 1/2 and 1/2 cardio and weights hard core at this point and I *really* need some stretching and flexibility.

    I posted earlier today (but got no response) if anyone knows any good yoga sessions to be found on you tube.

    I wish I could help. :( I don't know any YouTube videos, but Rainbeau Mars and Rodney Yee both make good DVDs you can get for cheap on Amazon and other websites. :)

    There is a free site called DOYOGAWITHME.COM.... I use it for yoga, which I do five times a week to round out my running, swimming and biking, it is awesome.
  • alaliberte
    alaliberte Posts: 205
    I'm a yoga instructor and I see some good, bad and ugly on MFP from time to time on posts. It depends upon the style of yoga you take and the teacher you take from. They vary as widely as the opinions you see on the replies to your post. I think yoga is largely misunderstood.

    You can get a very fit, strong and flexible body by doing yoga. A good place to start is going to an online site such as yogadownload.com or yogaglo.com. They have online classes ranging from 5 minutes to 90 minutes. By becoming a member of one of these sites, you can practice when you have time and dont have to rely on a studio schedule. Eventually you will want to take more classes in person to get the individual instruction you need for the Level 2 and 3 poses.

    I encourage you to check out Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar. It's not really a cover to cover read--more of a guidebook as you practice at home--super important and not to be underemphasized is alignment. You need good alignment to make sure you are not going to injure yourself!!! Anusara and Iyengar classes are good to learn about alignment.

    Good Luck!
  • alaliberte
    alaliberte Posts: 205
    ha ha ha. I meant to say...good bad and ugly YOGA posts....sorry!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I'm a yoga instructor and I see some good, bad and ugly on MFP from time to time on posts. It depends upon the style of yoga you take and the teacher you take from. They vary as widely as the opinions you see on the replies to your post. I think yoga is largely misunderstood.

    You can get a very fit, strong and flexible body by doing yoga. A good place to start is going to an online site such as yogadownload.com or yogaglo.com. They have online classes ranging from 5 minutes to 90 minutes. By becoming a member of one of these sites, you can practice when you have time and dont have to rely on a studio schedule. Eventually you will want to take more classes in person to get the individual instruction you need for the Level 2 and 3 poses.

    I encourage you to check out Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar. It's not really a cover to cover read--more of a guidebook as you practice at home--super important and not to be underemphasized is alignment. You need good alignment to make sure you are not going to injure yourself!!! Anusara and Iyengar classes are good to learn about alignment.

    Good Luck!

    I'm kind of surprised that an instructor would advise novices to try to learn from videos instead of going to actual classes where someone can correct their form and teach them properly.

    Done wrong, yoga can be anything from just plain useless to actually causing serious injury.
  • taelardinois
    taelardinois Posts: 30 Member
    You can get a very fit, strong and flexible body by doing yoga. A good place to start is going to an online site such as yogadownload.com or yogaglo.com.

    Thanks for posting these! I've been looking for some new ways to practice. :)

    I personally love yoga. I stopped doing it because I started focusing more on weight training. Over the years, I've lost a lot of flexibility. I'm gaining some of it back now but it certainly is a journey. I think both weight lifting and yoga have a place in workouts (at least with me).
  • shaybuggie
    shaybuggie Posts: 160 Member
    I just started doing yoga this past Saturday. I even found some yoga for kids On Demand that my youngins enjoyed (possible Christmas present?). I'm a beginner, but I love it already!
  • Alicia7519
    Alicia7519 Posts: 160
    I saw the thread and to each his/her own.

    I love yoga. I hate to exercise, so when I started making lifestyle changes, I decided that I would try yoga. A few years ago, I attended a few classes but stopped because I was lazy. Now, I try to do yoga 6-7 times a week. I have a membership at the Rec Center at the university where I work, so I go to two classes weekly. At home, I use a video called "Brand Spanking New." I downloaded it from My Yoga Online. It's the best video I have used. The video I first used is "Yoga for Complete Beginners." It is 20 minutes long and can be found on YouTube. Another video I have used is "Yoga for Weight Loss for Beginners," by Yoga Zone. This one is a little difficult, but what is great about Yoga is that you can modify poses and still get the benefits.

    I have been doing yoga for over three and a half months. I am an emotional eater and yoga has helped me to relax, and feel less anxious and/or depressed. Also, doing yoga has made me a lot stronger. A few years ago, I broke my left leg and as a result, it was very weak. Yoga has helped strengthen the muscles in that leg, so it does not hurt anymore.
  • ZombieFoodSlayer
    ZombieFoodSlayer Posts: 65
    Bikram Hot yoga is the best!! I did that for 6 months, now back at gym to up my cardio!!
  • littlewhittles
    littlewhittles Posts: 402 Member
    I like yoga! I strength train with heavy lifting, but also with yoga, body sculpt and boot camp classes. I think they're all legit. I can really tell yoga helps, too, because I can feel it burn when my muscles are sore, so I know it's working.
  • jjscholar
    jjscholar Posts: 413 Member
    I also do not understand why people would hate yoga...

    I have found that yoga is not only relaxing but also key to controlling the pain in my muscles and joints...

    In addition, I have gain flexibility as well...

    A final pleasant effect of yoga is that I experience a sort of suspension of time...
  • sjhaar
    sjhaar Posts: 43 Member
    I love it! In fact my four year old and nine year old nieces love doing it with me. A while back I had gotten them a couple of kids yoga dvds, they'll say they are going to watch a movie and you go into the room and they are doing their yoga movie. Now the nine year old wants one for Christmas that is a little more challenging for her!
  • Jonesie86
    Jonesie86 Posts: 446 Member
    Okay I won't lie....before doing it I thought, "hmmm that can't be that hard....pffft". Then once I started it I thought, "wow I'm going to die of boredom".... Then I gave it about 4 weeks, and a few charlie horses and some gained flexibility later, I fell in love with it haha! You have to give it time, and really give it a honest go. Best thing I have ever done and the way my body feels after is sooooooooo good :happy:
  • Pema10
    Pema10 Posts: 13
    :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
    Yes.
    I don't see much of a way to compare strength training with yoga. Strength training is...... strength training. It's pretty simple to describe and do. You do the exercises, and you gain muscular strength. It's a very coarse and narrow method of adding muscle to your body. That's not a bad thing at all. It's just a very tiny part of a path to overall health in life.

    Yoga on the other hand, has so many facets. It's much more of a lifestyle than a simple means of physical exercise. There are physical exercises in yoga, but those exercises are a small part of an entire plan for wellness. Yoga grounds you, and acts as a guide along your path in life. There are both philosophical/religious and physical aspects to yoga. Combined together, they can help you to achieve far more than strength training ever will. You may not gain as much muscle mass as you would through strength training, but you'll gain a unique understanding of your mind and body. You'll learn what it truly is to breathe and to love and to eat mindfully. Yoga will encourage you to be a better person, and show you how to make better decisions in everyday life. It will add flexibility, balance and strength to your body. It will teach you how to eat properly. The benefits are sooooooo numerous.

    One is a set of prescribed exercises. One is a lifestyle.
  • Sweet_Pea0107
    Sweet_Pea0107 Posts: 90
    I love yoga! I do it mainly for mental health. I have suffered from depression since high school and was on prescription meds. For me I didn't want to rely on meds the rest of my life and I found that yoga really helped calm me down and it made me feel less depressed. Now I control my depression completely with exercise and yoga is a big part of that.I also do cardio and strength training (I don't lift heavy tho).
  • Excepticon
    Excepticon Posts: 83 Member
    <3 Yoga!

    On a normal gym visit I'll do strength, cardio and yoga within 70-90 minutes since I like to vary up my workout. Some days may be light cardio, heavy strength/heavy yoga or any variation of the 3.

    However I do find that by doing yoga 1st, then cardio, then strength, then more cardio, my body feels better after (not as sore).

    And you can make it as difficult as you like with personal variations. So, yes I agree - people that say yoga is "easy" haven't ever done it religiously in conjunction with their normal workouts!

    Merry (early) Christmas!
  • liquidpete24
    liquidpete24 Posts: 25
    I pay for yoga lessons, they did more for my core than anything else I do.

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