Yoga - Do you know it? Do you love it?

kevanos
kevanos Posts: 304 Member
edited October 10 in Food and Nutrition
I'm 6'3" and 265 lbs, definitely not they type of dude that you tend in a yoga class. It is usually filled with girls with rock hard bodies (not that that is a bad ting).

I started with Bikrams Yoga. It is in a room heated to 40 degrees C (104F). The amount of sweat is insane, I would drench a large beach towel all the way through with sweat. I would even get dizzy and have to lie down to get my composure back. But when you leave that place you feel like a million bucks.

After a dozen or so sessions I move to Moksha yoga, a little less intense and a little less heated. Very good work out as well tho.

Now I'm in a new town, small town, and haven't tried the yoga here but I just did the P90x yoga from home. I must say, it wasn't as good as the in class session, probably because there was nobodies else's energy in the room, but it was still a good program. Challenging and pretty high tempo, I will try it again but maybe after I try some other ones I have. I haven't tried many from home yet. Anybody have any good recommendations for other home yoga sessions?

Anybody else loving yoga her at MFP?

Replies

  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
    This has no business being in food and nutrition.

    Oopsies!
  • autumn13
    autumn13 Posts: 295
    Love Yoga!I agree I take classes in a heated room at Life Time....After those it isn't the same with out:(
  • deannar417
    deannar417 Posts: 193 Member
    Wii fit has yoga. There are other yoga for wii as well that I cant remember the names but was told they are good. Good Luck
  • chicnsweet83
    chicnsweet83 Posts: 97
    I do yoga on the wii. It's also offered at the gym I go to but my schedule doens't work around it :/ However, doing yoga on the wii seems to be just as good. You've got a trainer to help motivate you with kind words and what you should on more based on how well you performed. The more you do yoga, the easier it is to move your body. I love the feeling of stretching and moving!
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
    I'm becoming a fan of Iyengar (aka persnickety) yoga, and am taking classes through a community college.
  • vzepol
    vzepol Posts: 131 Member
    I love my yoga classes. The 24 hour fitness has a couple ii of great vinyasa/power yoga classes. I try to get there 2 - 3 times a week. When I started I was also the big guy in class, now I almost fit in hah ha. Good luck finding a new class.
  • delilah514
    delilah514 Posts: 126 Member
    I am also a fan of yoga, but I find that I enjoy the more relaxing versions of it better. I have a Yoga for Meditation dvd (just did it yesterday) I really love that one. Offers a great stretch for not only my body, but also my mind. I felt so good after I had finished it. I have also done some classes at the gym which I enjoyed as well.

    I tried the P90X yoga & found that it was just to intense for my liking. There was to much movement where I needed to support myself with my wrists & since I broke one of mine 3x as a kid it gets a little sore with all that action. I can only do so many downward dogs into a cobra before it starts to hurt!

    I do yoga to relax and unwind and I do it on rest days from heavy exercise.
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    My boyfriend is an ex-yoga teacher, so I started getting into it at his encouragement. He loves Bikrams for the same reason you do, but he also loves warm weather, and I despise it. Seriously, hot temperatures make me feel very grumpy, lethargic, and quite frankly, ill. So I figured Bikram was not a good idea for me, haha! I do love yoga in general, though. I'm not super educated about it, but I'd say I've done many different classes, hatha, kundalini, and most recently, vinyasa-style flow. I'm in okay shape, but the flow classes kick my butt! According to my yogi boyfriend, many flow classes are pretty much the same as Bikram as far as asanas go, but with the very big and obvious difference of the heated room. I feel SO amazing after coming out of a 90 minute flow class! Like a million bucks! And like I could fold myself into a giant pretzel! haha. It's such an amazing feeling--I feel so emotionally rejuvenated, too. Extremely smiley and happy and powerful! I just wish I knew how many calories I was burning--I sweat buckets!--since apparently you can't use an HRM for it, and MFP doesn't take into account different styles of yoga in the database.
  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
    Ya, doing/going a couple times a week is when you can really see the differences add on.

    I've been going to the gym a lot lately, but swapping some sessions for more yoga is more fun and at least just as good.
  • monylove311
    monylove311 Posts: 251 Member
    I love yoga. I was doing Astanga at my studio, but had a pinched nerve. I've been looking for a local class again too.

    I don't like the Wii yoga. There's no transition of poses, boring, really lacks that energy you wanted. I like Rodney Yee's yoga DVD's.

    Best Wishes, Monica
  • monylove311
    monylove311 Posts: 251 Member
    This is a total side note so ignore if you want, but I watched a sad documentary on yoga and how Bikram is suing any of his old students who became teachers for using "his" unique yoga poses sequence. I'm sorry, but regardless of what the court said, I don't see how any one man can "own" yoga poses or a sequence of poses.

    Anywho, my rant is over. I think it was called Yoga, Inc. FYI. : )
  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
    delilah514 (are you from the Montreal region?): I have to try some of more meditative yogas, I have I feeling I would enjoy them.

    agdeierl: I know you mean when you say you leave there all smiley, the connectedness with yourself the rest of the class really massages the soul. The bikrams teacher at my place mentioned about how many calories you burn. It must be different for each person and I don't remember the exact number he said, but it definitely over 1000 calories and I have no trouble believing him.
  • midmomike2
    midmomike2 Posts: 213
    Yeah, I have to admit, I never thought of Yoga as anything I would even begin to consider doing. That was till I started doing P90X. Yoga is done for 92 minutes once a week and twice a week in "recovery" week. Through it, I have greatly increased my balance and strength (total suprise to me!). I have since taken some yoga classes at my gym, although I am 1 of only 3 guys to do such (1 of which is the instructors husband). I like the yogaX better.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I got into yoga about 2 years ago.
    I attend a heated Vinyasa class and love it.
  • Shokei
    Shokei Posts: 71 Member
    I hear ya'! That's how I felt about yoga however yoga has changed my life.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Kripalu-certified yoga teacher here. Yoga has helped me on so many levels. I even listen to Yoga for Emotional Flow at the dentist office when having work done. (1st CD discusses yoga philosophy and modern psychology and the author, Stephen Cope, has a very soothing voice. 2nd CD is three guided meditations.)

    Can't do heated yoga - passed out - low blood pressure. For DVDs, I like Rodney Yee. Looking forward to being able to do my two hour routine again once I have lost weight and gotten fitter.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,359 Member
    edited August 2015
    Yes, I Love it. I go the restorative yoga every Thursday and our instructor is also a liscenced massage therapist. What I love is the way she spots anyone who needs one on one help and shows that person how to modify if needed. She is not just up there performing, she's Teaching!
    Most classes I've seen, the instructor is oblivious to the class and just performing a routine. Sometime I wonder if we are supposed to applaude at the end....
    Teachers who read this, please teach others, not just show off.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Here is a DVD: Ali MacGraw (w/ Erich Schiffmann) - Yoga Mind & Body
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,789 Member
    I practice Iyengar yoga. I'm working on my Iyengar teacher certification. (I'm already a teacher, but the Iyengar certification is much more work).
    I don't like heated yoga much but for some people it works really well. I think Bikram himself is a jerk, and I wouldn't give him a cent of my money even if I liked the style. I have a lot of respect for Ashtanga yoga, which has a lot of movement and reasonably hot (usually around 90 degrees F).
    There's also a yoga group on mfp: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1484-generic-yoga-group
  • KnitSewSpin
    KnitSewSpin Posts: 147 Member
    I'm a yoga teacher as well. I teach mindful and yin yoga. I think the athleticism of yoga is good for some people, but for others we benefit more from the slower versions :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    KnitSewSpin wrote: »
    I'm a yoga teacher as well. I teach mindful and yin yoga. I think the athleticism of yoga is good for some people, but for others we benefit more from the slower versions :)

    Yes, there's a style for everybody :)

  • crystalewhite
    crystalewhite Posts: 422 Member
    I absolutely love it, and I really need it. I get so tightly wound because I rarely stretch and it was starting to cause other issues.
    I go 2-3 times a week, and I like classes better than doing it at home.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    The more weight I lose, the more in enjoy yoga. I literally tipped over the first time I tried it and nearly landed on my asp. They say yoga is for everyone, but yoga was not for me when I was 250 and large busted, lol. No, no and no.

    Now, I like doing it and I don't tip!

    I'm not sure that it burns a ton of calories, but it's enjoyable and since you get better at it, you can measure your progress.

    I love Denise Austin yoga tapes. She's got a lovely yoga voice. :)
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    I do some power yoga, and hatha yoga. I do and teach aerial yoga-with the assistance of a fabric to use as a prop.
  • sthoms2
    sthoms2 Posts: 41 Member
    I have tried different types of yoga. Right now my favorite classes are vinyasa flow. I tried Bikram. I liked the heat but it was too much on humid days (and it gets really humid in Chicago). Besides walking , yoga is the only exercise I do. I don't really like cardio because I find it boring. Yoga is interesting and you can still work up a sweat. Plus you can always do the more difficult variations of poses if you get bored.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I do yoga a couple times per month to keep me stretched. Definitely enjoy it. It obviously isn't much in the way of calorie burns, but it makes me feel good nonetheless.
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