yoga help

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55Megamus
55Megamus Posts: 40
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a large man, I used to compete in Olympic style wrestling and as such have some muscle mass with not the best flexibility. Through my wrestling I was used to training at least 2 hr a day at high intensity, I am now completely sedentary and trying to get back into being active.

I have learned the hard way that no matter how much I love it, I cannot get back into my high intensity workouts anytime soon, I need to start at square 1, and this is where I have failed time and time again in the past, I get into it too fast, do too much too soon, aggravate an old injury get shelved for a few weeks, get depressed about my failure and give up all together, falling back into being sedentary.

This time I want to take it easy, I have an elliptical and am going to start using it, but not everyday, I thought doing Yoga would be a perfect compliment to my elliptical and eventual running routine. It would be low impact on my joints, help with my flexibility and would allow me to do something everyday without hurting myself by going to intense.

My question to you folks is: What suggestions do you have for a good beginner yoga DVD program, and what do I need to get started.

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Start with a few classes at a yoga studio. Teacher will correct your form verbally or (with your permission) by touch.

    Proper form is so important.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,784 Member
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    I would go to at least a few yoga classes as well. No one asks what sort of wrestling video they should do to learn wrestling, why should you learn yoga from a video?
  • 55Megamus
    55Megamus Posts: 40
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    My issue is one of time. with the work schedule of me and my wife and caring for my 2 young children along with our location (not a lot real close), I don't have the freedom to go out to a studio or a gym very often at all, I was looking for something I could do from home. I understand it would be ideal to go to a studio with an instructor, but for my situation it wouldn't work. There are many many yoga videos out there, they make them for a reason, presumably so people can do them at home, on their own time. Lots of people have taken up Yoga at home, I believe I can too. I appreciate the input but I am looking for feedback on my question (what videos are best).
  • patsully98
    patsully98 Posts: 40 Member
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    My issue is one of time. with the work schedule of me and my wife and caring for my 2 young children along with our location (not a lot real close), I don't have the freedom to go out to a studio or a gym very often at all, I was looking for something I could do from home. I understand it would be ideal to go to a studio with an instructor, but for my situation it wouldn't work. There are many many yoga videos out there, they make them for a reason, presumably so people can do them at home, on their own time. Lots of people have taken up Yoga at home, I believe I can too. I appreciate the input but I am looking for feedback on my question (what videos are best).

    I hear you on that, but editorgrrl is right; it's really optimal to go to a studio for a while so you know what you're doing. But if that doesn't work for you, there are a lot of good resources out there. I use my sister's Yogaglo account, which is awesome but fairly expensive ($18/month). If you have a smartphone or, even better, a tablet, I've heard good things about Daily Yoga and Pocket Yoga. On YouTube, search for beginner videos; Rodney Yee, Sadie Nardini, Seane Corne and Tiffany Cruickshank are a very, very small sample of the many excellent teachers out there. Good luck and Namaste!

    By the way, I'm a lifelong wrestler too. I hadn't been on the mat for about 10 years, and then discovered Brazilian jiu jitsu. I know time and location are factors for you, but beginning to train BJJ is the best thing I've ever done for myself (practicing yoga is up there as well).
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,784 Member
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    you could try your local library and see what they have. See what appeals to you before you buy.
  • crystalewhite
    crystalewhite Posts: 422 Member
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    The library is definately a good source to try before you buy. Do you have any sort of On Demand service through your cable company? I have had some luck with free yoga sessions through that.
  • Hot9Stff
    Hot9Stff Posts: 7 Member
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    I think it is perfectly acceptable to start at home with a DVD. Here are a couple I really like

    This one is made especially for athletes, the poses are not too complex but it is a very intense workout so it may take you a few weeks to get through the whole thing if you are started at a lower fitness level - normal and don't be discouraged.

    http://www.amazon.com/Power-Yoga-Athletes-Adrienne-Reed/dp/B000A6M9U8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393339213&sr=8-1&keywords=adrienne+reed+power+yoga+for+athletes

    This one is a tiny bit shorter and is also really good.

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Trainers-Edge-Long-Lean/dp/B0002DSPZW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393339319&sr=8-1&keywords=long+and+lean+yoga+baron+baptiste

    You really will feel amazing if you are able to complete the workouts and yoga really does make a difference in your body quickly. If you are lacking the motivation to make it all the way through the workouts after a few weeks then I would look into classes. It is much easier to motivate with people around you, but if you are enough of a self starter to do them at home there is no reason you can't get a great workout on your own.
  • 55Megamus
    55Megamus Posts: 40
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    My issue is one of time. with the work schedule of me and my wife and caring for my 2 young children along with our location (not a lot real close), I don't have the freedom to go out to a studio or a gym very often at all, I was looking for something I could do from home. I understand it would be ideal to go to a studio with an instructor, but for my situation it wouldn't work. There are many many yoga videos out there, they make them for a reason, presumably so people can do them at home, on their own time. Lots of people have taken up Yoga at home, I believe I can too. I appreciate the input but I am looking for feedback on my question (what videos are best).

    I hear you on that, but editorgrrl is right; it's really optimal to go to a studio for a while so you know what you're doing. But if that doesn't work for you, there are a lot of good resources out there. I use my sister's Yogaglo account, which is awesome but fairly expensive ($18/month). If you have a smartphone or, even better, a tablet, I've heard good things about Daily Yoga and Pocket Yoga. On YouTube, search for beginner videos; Rodney Yee, Sadie Nardini, Seane Corne and Tiffany Cruickshank are a very, very small sample of the many excellent teachers out there. Good luck and Namaste!

    By the way, I'm a lifelong wrestler too. I hadn't been on the mat for about 10 years, and then discovered Brazilian jiu jitsu. I know time and location are factors for you, but beginning to train BJJ is the best thing I've ever done for myself (practicing yoga is up there as well).

    Thanks for this, and I have dabbled in BJJ as well as Judo and kickboxing, I love them all and one of my goals is to work my way to a black belt in BJJ, but I want it to be something I do with my son and/or daughter and they are not quite old enough to get on a mat.
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
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    You could try here

    http://www.yogajournal.com/

    There is also a print magazine. They show poses well - I started there and found it really helpful. I'm not a "Let's join a class" type of guy so it was perfect for me at home. Really helped tighten my core as well as increase flexibility. If you have a problem with flexibility to start I would definitely recommend picking up a yoga block and maybe a strap (although I used and old belt.)

    I use it strictly for flexibiity and strength.

    cheers

    Just look under the "Poses" tab if you aren't interested in the rest of the lifestyle messages.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I like Yoga Journal's stuff best for beginners because of the excellent instruction they give. Theirs don't tend to be beginner's workouts, but they certainly can be (just don't push too far!). My favorite is an Iyengar instructor named Patricia Walden. YG has a nice DVD or set that has her as the teacher. Highly recommended!

    Otherwise, I'd still go with an Iyengar DVD of some sort if you can't take classes. It's a form that's not too fast like vinyasa yoga (bad when you are just learning form), but still athletic and focuses on alignment, etc, when in the poses. So the teacher always talks about what you should feel your body doing in a pose. I find it much better for flexibility than the faster styles. It's not as much calorie burn as those, but that's fine with me.

    I suggest you stay away from fast-paced yoga if you have no real-life instructor. You need something where they go slowly enough to discuss the pose. It's still very challenging; the strength poses are held for a long time, and the stretching poses give enough time for a very good stretch of the muscles involved. Good luck!

    You can do vinyasa/power yoga later once you get the form down. It's just a more blood-pumping workout and very nice, too :) Doing those with sloppy form is not yoga, though! That's risky and ups the chance of injury.
  • auzziecawth66
    auzziecawth66 Posts: 479 Member
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    You can do a week free at gaiamtv and it's only 10$ a month to subscribe after, they have a ton of streaming ones to choose from (all their yoga DVDs that you can buy from the store are on there, but this is a nice route so you can try different styles and teachers and see what suits you better)
  • wrengoldenrod
    wrengoldenrod Posts: 8 Member
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    Hey, I don't know of any DVD's in particular, but you might want to look into books from the library too. I developed my own at home yoga routine from a book called "Power Yoga" that I got at the library. I like it because it has step by step poses with pictures and instructions, so it's easy to follow along.
  • rnbrat97
    rnbrat97 Posts: 2 Member
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    I like Chaz at Yogamazing.com. You can buy videos from him online or go to his youtube channel and get some for free.

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