Yoga Practicioners

[Snowymoon]

Not sure if this is the proper forum, as this is the first thread (how cool is that?), but I thought it would be neat to start a discussion on the practice of yoga. :grinhappy:

I have worked yoga into my workout routines for years now. Lately I have enjoyed a more fucused yoga practice (when I don't forget to practice). I especially love the final meditation, and I find it helps me tremendously with stress when I practice regularly. I also find that the meditation techniques help me get to sleep easier, and falling asleep has always been difficult for me. I try to do a few poses and meditation in the morning, and I should be practicing longer later in the afternoon/evening. :ooh:...:blush: I have not been regular with that, though.

[Clare-Dragonfly]

I... well, used to practice yoga. :sweatdrop: I went to a weekly yoga group for about three years, I think. I stopped when I went to college, and haven't really gone back during breaks. I'm too lazy. I know it's good for me, though, and do some of the exercises I remember every once in a while. I know exercises to do when my back or legs hurt, and I always do a certain series of stretches before any sort of exercise.

Do you have yoga DVDs or something like that, Snowy? I'd like to try those, because it's hard for me to remember all the useful exercises and what order I should do them in.

[Koala Kim]

I practice yoga on a semi-regular basis. I *really* need to start a more regular and routine exercise program (not just yoga ;) ).

My back usually loves yoga!

[Snowymoon]

I have a couple Rodney Yee DVDs that I absolutely love. I have a Sean Corn DVD set as well, but I really love the Yee DVDs I have. I really would like to try some live instruction and perhaps develop my own personal practice routine, but I have not had the time or extra finances to fit that in (currently taking violin lessons, and I have a teen daughter :gurn:).

[Koala Kim]

Snowy- I *love* Rodney Yee's A.M. Yoga. That workout rocks! :whoohoo:

In addition to Rodney's workout I have:

Yoga for Every Body (this is an awesome workout for those who are just starting yoga, as well as advanced)

Yoga for Scoliosis

Yoga 4 Fertility (haven't really tried this one yet :blush: )

When I actually do yoga- I feel *so* much better, both physically and mentally. I just need to remind myself to do it. :ooh:

Clare-Dragonfly- not Snowy, but my suggestions for DVD's would be Rodney Yee or the Yoga for Every Body. HTH! :flower:

BTW- why is there a panda smiley and no koala smiley? <sniffle, sniffle> :sob:

[Snowymoon]

I have the Yoga for Flexibility and Yoga Conditioning for Athletes. Love them both. Rodney Yee is very good, and the music and backdrop are very relaxing.

I agree with Koala. My mind, body and spirit all feel much more calm, centered and strong if I practice regularly. :grinhappy:

[bowie]

Hi Girls!

I love Rodney Yee's dvd's as well. Although, I used his Ab yoga one, and was not very strong in the --ahem--abs and I wrecked my back with it a year 1/2 ago. It got better when I stopped doing the DVD. My problem was that I did not know my precautions at the time. Now I do, and would not do some things on yoga tapes (for me, due to my spine issues):eureka:

[enitsirk]

Yoga for Scoliosis




Yoga for Scoliosis?? I need to get that. I haven't had it checked on but I remember being told in about 4th grade that I have mild scoliosis. And I love yoga.

I used to do it all the time because there used to be a channel on cable where they'd cycle through some exercise shows for a few hours in the morning (it went from ~6-10 and there were....I think 2 yoga shows and 2 aerobics shows or something, and I'd do them all just because it was so much fun!)

But then the show disappeared and I didn't really have motivation to do it anymore =/

I need to go get a new Yoga mat (I like using yoga mats!) and get some DVDs and start up again..I think I shall look for that one. Thanks KK :)

[wonderlywroughte]

I also have scoliosis and I want to try the yoga for scoliosis one too! It's all your fault, KK!! :innocent:

[kimberlily]

I do online yoga classes at Yoga Yak (http://www.yogayak.com/amember/go.php?r=28&l=uggc%3A%2F%2Fjjj.lbtnlnx.pbz)

It is wonderful, because I can do yoga whenever it is convenient for me, and I don't have to leave my home. It is also cheaper than buying videos, and you get a good variety of yoga to try.

That said, I'm a big fan of Rodney Yee. I don't have any of his videos though, but I've done them with a friend. I also have Ali McGraw's Yoga Mind & Body, which is also lovely. It was my first yoga video.

[shawngal]

I've been thinking about doing Yoga and Pilates since I think it would help w/ my back and stress issues. I've heard good things about Rodney Yee and Ali's DVD's so I may have to check those out. So far all I have is Gaiam's Yoga for Beginners(which has Yoga for Flexibility on it) and Gaiam's Pilates conditoning for Weight Loss. Any ideas on some Yoga DVD's for beginners?

[teela1978]

I've never been good with videos or DVD's, but our local gym has yoga classes for $7 per session. I try to go once a week or so at least, but really wish I could make it more often. The cost and actually making it to the scheduled time tend to impede my attendance.

Maybe I should try the video thing, flexible times at least :)

[eucalyptus]

yoga for scoliosis? I have moderate scoliosis, which gives me some trouble with posture and back pain and stuff. I hadn't thought of yoga before. I'll have to look into that.

[Koala Kim]

Thanks KK
You're welcome enitsirk! :)

I also have scoliosis and I want to try the yoga for scoliosis one too! It's all your fault, KK!! :innocent:
:p

Here's a link to the website. I bought mine new on eBay. :happy:

http://www.yogaforscoliosis.com/index.htm

[Shell]

I'm also a yogi! I have been doing yoga fairly regularly for about 9 years, and irregularly since I was little (yoga on tv in the 70s). It's great if you can make it to a few classes if you're just starting out, and then doing it on you own or with DVDs is great. There are also some great books out there once you understand some of the basics.

Yoga is great for body and mind; I can't imagine life without it.

[Snowymoon]

I have a question.

When you are in the poses, are you supposed to be pushing yourself and or tensing certain muscles to get to your limits in stretching, or should you be totally relaxed in them? :ooh:

I did Rodney Yee's Total Body DVD, which 1-1/2 hours, and it KILLED me. I was dying!!! Yikes! I was really pushing myself as far as I could go, though, and this required tensing up the opposing muscle groups to those being stretched in different poses. I also kept thinking, "One more push-up, and I am going to DIE!!!" :gurn: :sweatdrop:

[kimberlily]

Snowy, it really depends. If you're doing Bikram yoga, for instance, you're going to work up a sweat (partly because it is done in elevated temperatures, and partly because you're supposed to push yourself). Some types of yoga are meant to relax your body and mind, and others are meant to strengthen your body, which means it will need some real effort. I mostly use yoga as a moving meditation.

[Shell]

Snowy, it really depends. If you're doing Bikram yoga, for instance, you're going to work up a sweat (partly because it is done in elevated temperatures, and partly because you're supposed to push yourself). Some types of yoga are meant to relax your body and mind, and others are meant to strengthen your body, which means it will need some real effort. I mostly use yoga as a moving meditation.

I agree, but I would add that it is actually a balance between tension and relaxing into a pose. Something like Tree pose or Dancer's pose is a good example. Obviously if you relax completely you'll fall over! But once you've attained your balance through adjustment (in other words tensing up certain muscle groups) then you relax into the pose. In order to be doing yoga (instead of calisthenics), I personally believe both must be going on--along with breathing!

[Snowymoon]

Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to be sure I was not doing it wrong. :ooh: Wow. Yoga can be a super challenging workout! :grinhappy:

[AshenLady]

I am trying to do Zen Yoga but I have to be careful to use the seitzi position because of back surgery many years ago and hip surgery two years ago.

I hope that it is true that it is the meditation and not the position that one uses that really counts in meditation.

[SunCat]

Before I injured my knee last year I was doing Yoga every day along with using my Pilates Performer Machine. The yoga I do is from the Yoga Zone series that was on the Health Channel a few years ago and I recorded the 30 minute sessions and would do at least 2 sessions a day. I just now got to where I can stand and do the Sun Salutation and a few standing poses and I also do the breathing exercises sitting in my computer chair.

[Shell]

I am trying to do Zen Yoga but I have to be careful to use the seitzi position because of back surgery many years ago and hip surgery two years ago.

I hope that it is true that it is the meditation and not the position that one uses that really counts in meditation.

Generally I would say that the meditation is much more important than the pose. That said, there are schools that are more strict about it, and Zen Yoga could be one of those. I know that regular Zen practitioners are very strict about sitting in zazen, but I am quite sure that for an injury they would make an exception. Most importantly--keep meditating!

[Lalita]

Hari Om!
I was so happy to see this thread here as yoga is a very important part of my life.

I spent two months living in a yoga ashram where i also took my yoga teachers training and advanced teachers training courses. I have always struggled with the discipline of having a daily personal practice (even as a teacher!) but through lots of help from my teacher i am conquering these obstacles and practice pretty much every day although i would like to be doing two sessions a day.

I practice classical hatha yoga according to the teachings of Swami Vishnu-Devananda. If you are interested in yoga, check out the book "the Sivananda Companion to Yoga" which was written by one of the centers and outlines the whole practice in a really easy to comprehend way. It starts out for beginners but has great intermediate and advanced variations so you can continue using the book as you advance. Even very advanced students can continue referring back to it for reference. It discusses the 5 points of yoga: exercise, breathing, relaxation, diet, positive thinking and meditation so you get a complete practice which will give better benefits on the whole as opposed to only focusing on the asanas.

[AshenLady]

Thanks, I intend to persevere......my orthopaedic doctor said I could do whatever I wanted; go skiing right after the operation, if I wanted. I didn't want to. LOL

[Kuchen]

*raises hand* another scoliosis sufferer here! I'm about to try ashtanga (having done vinyasa classes for a while and then had a long, ahem, break). Has anyone done ashtanga? Is it a really bad idea for someone with joint problems? :rain:

[Valorie]

Ashtanga here! Can't say enough good about it. But definately do it in a class with a qualified instructor if you can...it is 'fire buliding' which is to eliminate toxins in the body. It is very strenous once you really get into it. My classes take more out of me than running for 5 miles, but I feel so much better body/mind. But if you have not done that kind or have been on break for a while it probably would be very optimal to have a guide to teach the proper alignments because it can make all the difference and prevent injury.
It is funny when I mention ashtanga yoga to people who don't know anything about yoga, the response i normally get is something like.. oh yeah ...stretching and breathing.:boggle:
uh, yeah...and alot more than people know! But the body benefits are an extra to what it does mentally, spiritually, and emotionally (at least for me).
David Swenson's dvd's are probably good. I have one by sri sri pattabhi jois, but it is mainly for demonstration. I do it because I have already done the primary series in class...but it still kicks my butt!

[Kuchen]

Well, Valorie, it was great. I'm not sure if it was "proper" ashtanga, but it involved all the poses I knew from vinyasa, done in more flowing, faster sequences. I'm still sore (two days on) but it feels like muscle soreness, not joint problems. Definitely going back again! :happy:

[Elenna]

I've been doing yoga & pilates (three times a week) since September. Plus trying to go vegetarian. My problem is balance. I can do the other poses fine, but anytime a pose requires one leg off the floor. I get wobbly. I'm determined to overcome this, and have gotten better.... I just don't feel strong.

From time to time, the yoga teacher wants us to do head stands too!

Elenna :kitty:

[freznow]

I haven't done yoga but I very very much want to! There's no place nearby though...

Did any of you hear that the 'Fit Board' or whatever they're calling it (it'll be coming out I think in summer), for the Nintendo Wii will come with software that teaches yoga. I think that's pretty cool, though I wonder if it'll be any good.

[Islandgrrl]

Elenna... I'm a yoga teacher. I can offer some suggestions to help improve balance.

Some key things to remember:

Focus your drishti (eye gaze) on a point that makes you feel comfortable and solid on two feet before you try to balance on one leg. Maintain the drishti throughout the pose.

Deep ujjayi breathing! Focused breath always helps balance and stability.

Practice poses that develop foot ankle and leg strength: Warriors I, II, III are excellent for this.

I'm sure this is nothing your yoga teacher hasn't covered but I'll do it anyway:

Start from the ground up. Set your foundation solidly on the ground and work upward from there, bringing strength into your legs, drop your tailbone straight down toward the floor and gently draw your abdominals in toward your spine - hold them there. Lift through your sternum and bring the top of your head upward while you draw your shoulders away from your ears. Above all, keep a relaxed attitude about it all. When you wobble, check and correct your alignment. If you fall out - say "so what?" and give it another try. And if you fall out again, so what? Take a deep, full breath and start over.

Making balance second nature takes a lot of practice, but as you develop both the strength and confidence, it becomes much, much easier.

Remember - no one has perfect balance. I cannot even count the number of times I've demonstrated a balance posture and completely fallen out in front of a class of 30+ people. So what?

Namaste...

[Teacherbear]

Islandgrrl has given some fabulous advice!

I found (when I was practicing regularly) that if I had a lot of sugar the day before yoga that my balance was off. I also had a lot of trouble with tree. I finally "gave up" and kept my foot just above my ankle (opposite leg). I did that for a few months, then one day I tried it above my knee and *viola* I was able to stand. I'm sure it was me working on my stance, focusing on breathing (and all of those other bits of advice from IG) etc, but I was so pleased I could do it.

As my yoga instructor always said, "it is called yoga PRACTICE, not yoga perfect"

Enjoy!

[Elenna]

Elenna... I'm a yoga teacher. I can offer some suggestions to help improve balance.

Some key things to remember:

Focus your drishti (eye gaze) on a point that makes you feel comfortable and solid on two feet before you try to balance on one leg. Maintain the drishti throughout the pose.

Deep ujjayi breathing! Focused breath always helps balance and stability.

Practice poses that develop foot ankle and leg strength: Warriors I, II, III are excellent for this.

I'm sure this is nothing your yoga teacher hasn't covered but I'll do it anyway:

Start from the ground up. Set your foundation solidly on the ground and work upward from there, bringing strength into your legs, drop your tailbone straight down toward the floor and gently draw your abdominals in toward your spine - hold them there. Lift through your sternum and bring the top of your head upward while you draw your shoulders away from your ears. Above all, keep a relaxed attitude about it all. When you wobble, check and correct your alignment. If you fall out - say "so what?" and give it another try. And if you fall out again, so what? Take a deep, full breath and start over.

Making balance second nature takes a lot of practice, but as you develop both the strength and confidence, it becomes much, much easier.

Remember - no one has perfect balance. I cannot even count the number of times I've demonstrated a balance posture and completely fallen out in front of a class of 30+ people. So what?

Namaste...

Islandgrrl

Thank you very much. I will print out your post and refer to it. What is deep ujjayi breathing? So it may very well be that my foundation (connection to the ground is off). If that is what you are saying.

I am in the beginning yoga classes and went to a more advanced class about a month ago. They were doing more difficult poses and a lot faster. But what really got me was the instructor did a backward pose with feet and hands on ground. It seems to me that to get this far a person has to do daily yoga.

Anyway Namaste

[Islandgrrl]

Elenna, there's a pretty good description of Ujjayi breathing here: http://www.doyoga.com/bk_ujjayi.html

That pose that the instructor did is called Wheel (or Full Backbend). It's not actually that difficult, but you do have to have some arm strength and a fair degree of confidence. I usually teach this pose on an individual basis and offer plenty of physical support as a person is learning what to do with their arms.

One way to safely practice this pose is to drape yourself over a stability ball that is small enough to allow your hands and feet to solidly reach the ground. You can then push with hands and feet to get a little lift off from the ball. The first few times you do this, though, make sure you have assistance from someone experienced. Last thing you want to do is injure yourself!

Namaste!

[kimberlily]

I remember signing up for a beginner's yoga class and listening to the instructor tell us that we probably wouldn't be ready for tree by the end of the 8 weeks, so I did it, cheeky bugger that I am. He insisted that I belonged in an advanced class, even though I'm still very much a beginner. I've just always had an easy time with tree.

[Teacherbear]

I find it curious that he thought tree was an advanced pose. Granted, I only know about yoga from my own experience, but it seems to me tree pose is hugely dependent upon balance, not complicated moves. I mean, if one has slight balance, can focus on a dristy (sp), then tree is simple. If either of those aren't refined, then I can see tree being difficult.

Of course, I'm thinking any version of tree (palms together at heart center and foot above ankle of other foot - all the way to legs and arms twisted).

:twocents:

I really need to get back to yoga. I wish the class was later in the day on Saturdays/Sundays. AND, my yoga/massage studio closed. :(

[Diamondbell]

I am planning to do yoga - I used to do a bit - nothing very complicated... like the lotus posture, and some simple ones. What is the best time to do it? Early morning or evening?

[Carolyn]

Is anyone doing yoga? I started about a year ago and love it.

[Emichiee]

I am new to Yoga and I was wondering if you Pros have any recommendations for me?

Am unsure as to what type of Yoga is best, I am almost 5mths pregnant and rather stiff around my torso, lower back tends to hurt and my hip is not straight :-/

So far I have just been doing Asanas that looked like I can do them ^^