Yoga

[abowls]

Woohoo! I'm starting yoga again tonight. I did it for a year and a half but haven't done any in about 3 years. I'm AWFUL at it but it helps me physically and mentally. I'm stressed to the max right now and I decided last night that my options were 1) drink heavily or 2) do yoga. I looked it up and there is a beginner power yoga class tonight so I'm off to find out how bad I am.

[niaru]

Good for you! Yoga is a life (ahem, back) saver for me. If I go every week I am pain free. What I really should do is at least go through the Sun Salutations every day, but it's hard to get motivated without being in a class. What I love about it is that every pose can be modified to each individual's needs, no pressure.
Have fun!

[Unbound]

I wish I could find a "Yoga for 'Fluffy' People" class. I think I would love it, but I'm overweight, and I always figure I would feel self conscious among all the limber folks.

I do the yoga on the Wii Fit, but I don't think that's the same in any way...

[adcooper]

Unbound, my yoga instructor is quite plump and she rocks! I'm the skinniest one in the yoga room during my classes, and everyone else is far stronger and more flexible than I am, so don't hesitate. It is a great practice.

[abowls]

A lady in my building at work just got certified to teach and she's teaching classes for free every Tues and Thurs at lunch. I went yesterday and it kicked my butt. I'm so excited (and sore)! I've only ever done beginner yoga classes before. All of them involved a lot of pose of the child for a bit of rest. This lady WORKED us out for an entire hour! Ouch! I do find it hard to do shevasana (sp?) at work though. I can't completely relax.

[adcooper]

Interesting thing about yoga--my daughter has some problems with atrial fib--an irregular heart rhythm. She's got a pacemaker, which tracks her heart activity, and this week they looked at what her heart has been doing for the past month. There were two stretches of time--about a week each--when she had NO irregular beats. The first was when she was on vacation, and the second was when she had some extra time and did yoga every day for a week. No A-fib when she's relaxed or doing yoga! Hmmmm....I told her this could be a pretty painless way to manage her health!

[Skye Pilot]

I am tossing up the idea of trying Bikram Yoga. Let's see if I can stand the hot 105 degree room.

[diane]

I have been wanting to try yoga, but there isnt anyplace close to me... also pilates,, I bought a used pilates machine off ebay and dont know how to put it together and use it !!

[abowls]

I want to try bikram yoga as well. One of my coworkers does it. She likes it but told me that you should absolutely NOT eat within a few hours before doing bikram yoga. This is true of vinyasa as well but I can get away with it if I just eat a tiny bit.

I tried pilates but there was so much that I could not do that I didn't get much out of it. My hamstrings are incredibly tight. In yoga instructors can usually modify positions so that I can do some productive version of each position. That didn't seem to be the case in pilates but I may just not have had a good pilates instructor.

[ClaireLV]

I love yoga and if I don't go my aches and pains seem worse. I go at least once a week and try and go twice most weeks.

[niaru]

I've been procrastinating and my back is bothering me again!

What I discovered is the many different kinds of Yoga there are. It's amazing! I realized that when I was talking to a friend who tried Yoga and hated it, I asked her to describe what she was doing in yoga class and boy was it different from our class (Ashtanga). Ashtanga is pretty physical but like abowls says, each person can modify to his/her level/limitations. For instance, I skip the full back bends, too taxing on my lower back.

[adcooper]

Well, my yoga class is starting up again next week. I. Can't. Wait. I'll be right back to square one, but I am ready to resume this practice. It helped me so much last year, and I am a creaky mess lately. How are the rest of you doing?

[abowls]

Darn it! I stopped doing yoga for awhile b/c I left the job where we were getting it for free and couldn't fit it into my schedule. My new job pays for a gym membership so I'm working out at the gym but the yoga classes that they have are awful. I went to one and the instructor wanted us to dance around the room and sing .

I broke down and tried power yoga at our local studio on Saturday. It was AMAZING. I LOVED it. My husband is going to kill me! He will NOT see the sense in paying extra to go to a class that I can get at my free gym. I almost wish I hadn't gone. There is absolutely no way I can not go back. Power yoga rocks!

[niaru]

abowls it's the same for me, my job pays for a membership at specific gyms ( I hate gyms!) but does not cover my classes at the local yoga studio. I called Personal about it and they had some lame excuse - that studio cannot participate in the plan because it does not have shower facilities so they won't reimburse me!
It's all so silly. You can have free membership at a gym as long as you go sign in 8 times a month. And I know lots and lots of my colleagues who just go in, sign up, and leave. HellOOO ?

Oh well. For me it's definitely worth the extra $12 a class. Plus in the summer I can walk or bike TO the class, even more exercise!