Yoga Yoga yoga

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muziclver
muziclver Posts: 145 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm considering getting yoga incorporated into my fitness routine although I'm concerned about my flexibility. (It's borderline pathetic) Any beginner tips, videos, books you can recommend? I also have short amount of patience when it comes to things that I suck at, so something that eases you into it would be nice.

For you yoga fanatics, what do you like about it? Does it help you in any way other than just a use for exercise?

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  • ZyheeMoongazer
    ZyheeMoongazer Posts: 343 Member
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    The best advice I can give you is look for a beginner yoga class in your area. I don't like to recommend videos or do it at home instructions for beginners. It is so important that you have a trained yogi there to help you learn each pose.

    Don't worry about limited flexibility, yoga on a regular basis will fix that up quickly. There are also many ways each pose can be modified for your level of flexibility.

    For me, yoga is meditative and spiritual. I prefer Yin or Hatha style. My boyfriend likes the faster Vinyasa and "fitness" yoga. There are so many styles of yoga, try out a few different types and find what feels best for you.

    The biggest thing to remember is that its your practice, make it your own.
  • liftreadphilosophize
    liftreadphilosophize Posts: 180 Member
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    I've had a good experience with doyogawithme.com -- they have a ton of free videos for all kinds of fitness levels and the instructors give really good tips on how to "do" the different poses. So that's another way to go.
  • warrow8282
    warrow8282 Posts: 13 Member
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    The best advice I can give you is look for a beginner yoga class in your area. I don't like to recommend videos or do it at home instructions for beginners. It is so important that you have a trained yogi there to help you learn each pose.

    Agreed... Even if it is just for a month or two...

    I thought I'd try yoga for the first time ever after I had ordered some videos and darn near broke my neck trying to do some of the poses, and I was always so frustrated because I couldn't tell if I was doing them right, or how to "open my hips" or whatever they were trying to tell me to do on the video. I finally just gave in and went into a class for about 6 weeks, learned how to do some of the basic poses correctly, then returned to doing the videos at home. My favorite, favorite, favorite videos are the Gaiam videos with Rodney Yee. He's amazing and doesn't make me want to throw things at the tv.

    When I started doing the yoga in the class, and not feeling so frustrated about it, it was such an amazing feeling after. I was relaxed and energized all at the same time... I was always in a better mood and smiling. I miss yoga... You've made me want to start back up :-) Thank you for reminding me why I loved it so much, and it's worth it to make time in my day for even just 30 minutes of it a day!
  • JackiLean
    JackiLean Posts: 62 Member
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    The best advice I can give you is look for a beginner yoga class in your area. I don't like to recommend videos or do it at home instructions for beginners. It is so important that you have a trained yogi there to help you learn each pose.

    Agreed as well.

    Classes will help you get a group vibe that you can't achieve on your own. There's more support and overall, you'll feel more accomplished because you won't have the option to press PAUSE.

    Go with a friend. Yoga is infectious and soon, you'll be addicted.

    There are SO MANY types of yoga as well. I started with Bikram (hot, 26 pose set yoga). It created a routine that I got really used to and is definitely for beginners. It's just really hot which makes you feel AMAZING afterwards.

    Good luck!
  • maulop
    maulop Posts: 15 Member
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    go to any yoga class i guess. Where i go there are advanced and beginner students, and they all do the same routine, except that the teacher makes them correct their poses, and the Advanced ones do the excercises with proper form. (it take years to master the basics) so it will also help with your patience.

    i started three months ago without any flexibility, now i can grab my feet easily, so it works, and i didn't noticed until a few days ago.
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
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    I also suggest doing a class for a while if you have the option. Sadly, I've never had the luxury of being able to take a class so I've always done videos. If you can't get to a class, search for beginner yoga videos on Youtube. There's ALOT of videos on there. I haven't done that many yoga ones so I can't say which ones are better than others though.
  • zekni
    zekni Posts: 25 Member
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    Agreed with the find a yoga class. Your risk of injury skyrockets if you don't.You need to learn the poses properly, by being corrected, as you can't see yourself like an instructor can.
    Where I live most of the studios have "10 days for $10" intro for beginners. And watch groupon and those websites for good deals to make it affordable.
    When you have a solid base, go for it if you want to do videos.
  • aprmay
    aprmay Posts: 216 Member
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    Yoga is amazing. I do them 2x a week now and other times I do a combination of yoga and Pilates, etc. As others mentioned it's best to start with some classes. When I first began I started with videos. While I like them it wasn't as great as going to a class. In the beginning I was worried that I was the fat one in the class and all these skinny people were going to laugh at me but it wasn't like that at all. Different shapes and sizes, men and women all go to yoga and a lot of times everyone is in different levels. While you may see some amazing flexibility, you also find lots of modified poses. The yogi or yoga instructor will help you achieve your poses so you won't injure yourself. What's wonderful about yoga is that you will improve everyday with practice. You may not do everything the first day or even the first week, but it feels amazing to get better, stronger, and more in tune with your own body. I hope you give it a try. Namaste.

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