Yoga
 

I do yoga once a week, Monday nights for 45 minutes at the gym. My instructor is okay, I'm sure there are better instructors. I've been lax because of the holidays but next week I am back full swing. Anyone doing yoga?

I downloaded some podcasts and made myself sore.

http://content.answers.com/main/cont...i-portrait.jpg

HEY HEY! DO ME!

So adorable.

I just started doing yoga in Sept. At first I went twice a week now I'm going mon-fri and weekends when I can. I love it!! You should try other places besides your gym. I take classes with 3 or 4 different instructors and each one has a completely unique approach.

Yeah the instructor I have is okay, really laid back. I'm sure there are better intructors out there...I just wouldn't know. I really want to stick to doing yoga at my gym, I don't want to pay another membership. I've been begging for more pilates and yoga classes at my gym, it's a new gym so hopefully they'll offer more. What's your favorite pose?

I love warrior and king dancer. There are places you can just pay a per class fee.

I did it for a few years in college and I'm still more flexible than most people I know 6 years later. Lately, I've been thinking about doing that or even trying Pilates because my hip and shoulder flexibility have declined quite a bit, and I've been doing a lot of weight-lifting.

Do you practice away from the gym? I used to do poses at least 3 days a week and anytime I was going to meditate.

I havent done that yet, or maybe I have and havent realized it. I like downward dog into cobra and I like Warrior 1 and Warrior 2.

It's proven so far to make me more flexible, I feel like I'm in pain a lot less.

I dont do it away from the gym because I need to hear the intructor telling us what to do.

There's a range of people in each of the classes I've taken. Some are recovering from surgery or have issues with a knee, hip or shoulder. The teachers give alternatives to the poses so if you are at risk for injury you do the modified version. Everyone has there own level of flexibility. Some people I've seen are like Gumbys.

I've had back surgery in 2001 so I have a back history as well. At first the yoga did hurt my back a little but nothing serious. So I didnt try so hard and I slowly worked my way into intermediate poses. In the long run your back will thank you.

http://www.santosha.com/asanas/
This site has is a list of poses with pics and instructions. I tried to copy/paste a picture of king dancer but it didn't work. It's not an especially difficult pose it just makes me feel good. I like down dog too!

I'm going on about 6 years of steady practice now. I have found an excellent studio dedicated to just yoga, where I attend classes at least 3 times a week. On the other days I do an abbreviated practice in the morning before work or just meditate.

It sounds silly but yoga has truly changed my life. I was one angry dude and certainly headed for an early death if it wasn't for yoga. (Heart disease in the family; Dad died at 46) It has calmed me down, made me more flexible, pretty much eliminated my lower back trouble and made me an all around better person.

If anyone is around NW NJ, here's where I practice: Highland Yoga

i did yoga a couple of times a week a few years ago. it helped with my back.
I haven't in a while though. i just don't have the time.

ok so maybe you guys have persuaded me to try a yoga place out.

The DVD will help familiarize you with the poses. That's HUGE when you're just starting out and are self-conscious about your abilities.

If you are having trouble with anything, get a yoga brick (or, since you have small children, maybe borrow their blocks) to ease yourself into the stretches. Don't push too hard. On one of my tapes, the instructor says "nobody's trying to win yoga" and that's true.

I have 2 VHS tapes (Yoga Zone) and 1 DVD (Gaiam) in addition to having my own sticky mat. If you don't have a sticky mat, I highly recommend you get one, even if you have carpeting in your house. It will help you feel more grounded when you're trying to do balancing positions and moving lunges. . .I know it helped me a lot with my form and hand-placement.

I try to get to classes whenever I can. Since yoga is best practiced in the morning, a lot of classes are only offered while I am at work, which really blows because I enjoy it so much.

The last class I took was at my gym the day after my 3rd Avon Walk. I didn't over-exert myself, but I hadn't trained as well as I should have, so I needed a nice, low-impact, deep stretching type of activity to feel energized enough to face the remainder of the week. Yoga was (and is) perfect for that.

For me, yoga was part of a "spritual" phase I was going through (I'm an atheist), so it was all about learning to check the ego and finding stillness in the body and the mind. I try to carry that into everything else I do, and not really worry about everyone else. Just try to live up to my potential.

now, i have horrible knee and hip problems, but i am normally not horribly effected by it. so, would yoga be the best thing for me to excercise, or would pilates be better? i really dont know much about excercise, but i am not as active as i once was.

I started doing yoga 2 years ago at a yoga studio in Astoria - http://www.the-yoga-room.com/yogaroo...ria/index.html - and been doing it off and on ever since.

I dig it. It's hard - you use a lot of muscles you don't normally use in your core - but I love it. I would recommend going to a class at least on a semi-regular basis, because a good yoga instructor is going to give you adjustments to your poses that will help your progress and keep you from putting the wrong pressure on your joints.

It's best when you find an instructor you can identify with, because there is a spiritual element to the practice. I've taken classes with some airhead types spouting New Age-y nonsense, and you just have to let that go and focus on the poses. But I had an instructor last year that I really liked. Every class she would come in with something very pertinent and interesting to say about our lives, about making space for change and setting my intentions for what I was about to do. Simple, thoughtful points that made sense to me. Plus, I have to admit I had a pretty serious married guy crush on her. When she got pregnant and stopped instructing I kinda stopped going so much.

I think yoga chicks are the hottest. Sometimes it's hard to be in downdog or cat/cow, and not be a little turned on. I'm respectful, I never ogle. But that doesn't mean I don't want to.

It's motivation.

yoga
 

I have back issues also, in fact I had surgery only 3 weeks ago ....I started the Power 90 in October and lost 15 lbs fairly quick, I stopped a month ago to prepare for the operation and I was given the go ahead from the Dr. to start it up again today. I love it, it has some yoga some cardio and resistance with the bands, they say after you do it for 90 days you can move the the P90x, that is all over the infomercials ...it is fun and effective, I run the DVD while the Buddays are on ...it is great.

good luck everyone!

If you are starting to get back into being active, I personally think that HATHA style yoga would be perfect for you.

You can probably practice every day without doing yourself too much damage if you just take it slow and pay attention to what your body needs. When you attend a class, try to get there a bit early and speak to the instructor to let them know that you're a beginner, and want to learn how to do the poses properly.

Many instructors will give you modifications if you are not very advanced or flexible; this is good and don't try to ignore the advice.

Hope this helps!

i did yoga a couple of years ago, but stopped for one reason or another. Now with baby #2 on the way. i don't think i'll ever have time to get back to it

Get a prenatal yoga video and run it by your OB. Honestly, I would recommend Yoga Zone.

Yoga Zone usually has easy-to-follow workouts, broken into 2 complete sessions. I don't remember if they are 15-minutes each or 30-minutes each, as mine are on VHS and Matty moved the VCR into the bedroom about 2 years ago for work and never moved it back to the living room after he lost that job, so I've not seen mine for a while (miss them!).

This usually works out very well for folks on-the-go and, of course, those with small children.