Side Effects of Yoga

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  • RiverDancer68
    RiverDancer68 Posts: 221 Member
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    This is so wonderful! Thank you for all of the responses!

    I have no intention of quitting anytime soon because I have already noticed so many of the things that have been mentioned in this thread :happy:

    I also love that I am always motivated to do it! I feel like my combination of lifting and yoga with a sprinkling of light cardio is my perfect mix and that makes me SO happy!!!!


    @OmShaktiOm.....your arms are from yoga alone??!!!! That is awesome....you look great :happy:

    Thank you :smile: and yes only yoga...I'm actually dipping my toes into lifting, but when I took that picture (this summer) I hadn't lifted at all (except for my own body weight). Yoga brings me bliss :flowerforyou:
  • droneofvelvet
    droneofvelvet Posts: 290 Member
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    I enjoy yoga and it helps with flexibility. Sometimes the relaxation yoga intensifies my anxiety and I get panic attacks. :brokenheart:
  • wedjul05
    wedjul05 Posts: 472
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    I've recently started doing bikram yoga and I'm in love! I need high intesity to feel like I am doing an exercise.

    I find my joints much better. I've terrible glute/IT band/knee issues and the bikram really helps iron these out plus my foam roller usage.
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
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    I think I've been able to up my squats. OHP, and bench because of yoga...my core is so much stronger. As you know from my mind-vomits on the SL board, that I love it so much. I feel better after tough lifting sessions, and I think my squats are better because I'm able to get *kitten* to grass.

    Also, I "teach" yoga during our Enrichment classes on Wednesday mornings, and I love going into chaturanga during class and holding it...whilst the boys in my class (that didn't want to be in the class in the first place) try it and DIE.

    Haha yup I'm pretty sure it was you who convinced me to try it!

    BTW chaturanga is crazy talk....omg soooo hard!
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
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    - My back screams a lot less at me and I haven't had an exacerbation in years (I started yoga after I pinched my piriformins and ended up sleeping on the floor for a few weeks cause my bed was too painful)
    - I can touch my toes. And the floor. While bent in interesting ways. I never could do that in my 20s. Matter of fact I can out-bend many 20-some-year-olds (that's right, who is old and stiff now? :tongue: )
    - It helps me wake up on days when caffeine just won't do it.
    - It helps me go to sleep on nights when nothing much else will.
    - Improved body awareness (which comes in handy with lifting cause I know where all my bits are and how they're aligned).
    - Better posture.
    - Better balance.
    - Better focus.
    - There's muscles under all that tummy flab I swear !!!!
    - I can't do a push-up but I can at least hold a plank for a good while, so there. :tongue:
    - Breathing. You'd think I know how to do that since I do it all the time, but it turns out when left to my own devices, all I know to do is shallow breathing; had to actually learn the deep/controlled breathing.

    As to beginner DVDs my favorites are Yoga Zone cause they have two 20-minute workouts that you can do separately or combine into 1 session. I also like Rodney Yee although I can't keep up with his power yoga DVD (and probably never will). Anything Gaiam is decent. Check Youtube for some material. These days I mostly design my own workouts depending on what needs stretched the most and how much time I have. I also use the Simply Yoga app with some Zen music in the background because it lets me design my own routines, or follow the pre-canned ones; whichever I happen to be in the mood for.

    I've been doing yoga for about 10 years or so and it's the only exercise that I've actually stuck with for this long, which is a record for me. If I haven't done it in a few weeks, my body definitely lets me know! You get used to not being so tight all the time. There's really no downside to yoga whatsoever; it's pretty amazing and will easily complement and improve everything else you happen to be into exercise-wise (and life in general).
  • annepage
    annepage Posts: 585 Member
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    bump.
  • tdawg875
    tdawg875 Posts: 29 Member
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    Bump
  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 732 Member
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    DVDs? I have quite a few. One I like in particular, beginner or intermediate, is Yoga For Everybody by bodywisdom media. It has all kinds of routines on it for whatever you're in the mood for. 30 minutes focused on a stiff sore neck, a full 60 minute routine for the whole body, a session for just the floor, a session for standing poses... Pick your level. Nice starter video with a lot of variety to keep you enjoying it for awhile.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Yoga helps me emotionally and mentally and to reduce stress. Yoga helps me with my dance training and to loosen up my body and joints. It increases my flexibility (I am addicted to flexibility) and the kind of strength I need for dancing. Yoga reduces body pain and helps me with my past injuries. Gives me a very strong core, even after having two kids. It's a fun workout. I like that it is graceful, artistic and dance-like. Helps me to keep up with my back bend skills that I need for my dancing. I agree that it compliments my weight training and adds variety. I can do yoga with my children also.

    I agree about yoga helping me wake up (I do not consume caffeine because it causes me anxiety and jitters). I do yoga first thing in the morning. And it also helps me when I have a tummy ache.
  • SwimKitty
    SwimKitty Posts: 122 Member
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    Bump for some yoga inspiration.
  • zillah73
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
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    I love yoga! Not great at it, but love it. I find that it calms and centers me. Also, I do weight lifting/strength training at the gym and my body tends to bulk up easily. I feel like yoga helps to sort of lengthen out the muscle, helps make my strong but feminine.
  • brownmousemama
    brownmousemama Posts: 49 Member
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    Could someone recommend some good yoga DVDs?

    I second this question, I have tried a couple of DVDs that I did not care for and would like something for a beginner.
    If you have a smartphone, try this app called All-In Yoga. It has a ton of different yoga sessions to target different things all organized by level (beginner, intermediate, etc) and has a picture/video of each pose as well as a teachers voice telling you when and how to change poses, all to nice soft relaxing music. It's AWESOME! And it has a calendar that keeps track of the days you do it and such.
  • extraordinary_machine
    extraordinary_machine Posts: 3,028 Member
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    As far as DVDs go, I've really liked the Baron Baptiste and Rodney Yee ones.

    I started getting Yoga Journal a couple years ago--my school was doing a magazine fundraiser and it was cheap--and through there I discovered yogaglo.com . I tried a 15 day trial and I was hooked--it's $18 a month and you have access to a bajillion different classes in all different styles. So, that's another something to try...
  • Alicia7519
    Alicia7519 Posts: 160
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    I started practicing yoga when I started MFP last August and got hooked. I do yoga 5-6 times a week. I attend two classes and one yogalate (yoga-pilates class). Three years ago, I fractured my left leg and sprained my ankle badly. As a result, I could not balance on my left foot. I can now stand on that foot for a couple of minutes which is a vast improvement. My overall strength has increased.

    The yoga video that I recommend are Brand Spanking New Yoga which can be downloaded from Yogaonline. I have watched several yoga videos and this one IMHO is the best one. Yogaonline has several good videos.
  • cdgabbert
    cdgabbert Posts: 55 Member
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    It has really helped with my lower back pain.
    Helps with balance and posture.
    This last week I also did an assisted hand stand :drinker:

    I'm hoping it will eventually strengthen my lower back - I've been going for two weeks and my lower back as never hurt more actually... and I am in a class, not trying to do on my own...
    Thursday I couldn't sit still in Sukasana... literally tingling in my spine...

    Chiropractor on Monday hoping for a realign to assist and then work through it...
  • shoshi68
    shoshi68 Posts: 407 Member
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    Benefits of yoga: less back pain, fewer headaches, more patience and inner calm, milder menstrual cramps.

    Downsides of yoga: none.
  • MadameMoustache
    MadameMoustache Posts: 54 Member
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    bump
  • Doberdawn
    Doberdawn Posts: 732 Member
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    Benefits of yoga: less back pain, fewer headaches, more patience and inner calm, milder menstrual cramps.

    Downsides of yoga: none.

    This is not exactly true. One downside of yoga is that you may get too relaxed during a session, then fall asleep on the floor in your final relaxation pose, like corpse pose, and wake up later feeling pretty silly that you're sleeping on the floor. Just saying.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,783 Member
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    I'm hoping it will eventually strengthen my lower back - I've been going for two weeks and my lower back as never hurt more actually... and I am in a class, not trying to do on my own...
    Thursday I couldn't sit still in Sukasana... literally tingling in my spine...

    Chiropractor on Monday hoping for a realign to assist and then work through it...

    Have you told your teacher?
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,783 Member
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    Side effects may include: happiness, calmness, flexibility, strength, balance, change in attitude, change in diet, change in sleep patterns, also a change in how you spend your money :tongue:

    When I started, I was having daily headaches due to tension in my neck (combo of straight cervical spine and tight trapezius) . I went to a chiropractor for a couple of years, but it didn't help. Just going once a week (back in the day), my neck improved. By year 6 or so, it no longer bothered me, now I rarely have headaches at all. Most grateful, I am.

    Join us:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/1484-generic-yoga-group

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