Do you do yoga?

Parent Cafe
1

I exercise at least 5 days a week for 45 minutes or so. Light weight lifting, aerobics and kick boxing is the usual. All at home. Sometimes I walk for several miles. Although this is usually a 6th day activity with H. I am 61 yrs. old.

Several of my equal aged friends, living far away from where I live, participate in yoga classes. They give very high praises. When I kiddingly said I can’t stand on my head, they said it’s important to find an appropriate teacher for your age but that it is wonderful.

So, if you do yoga and love it, why? Will it really add to my exercise regiment? How will it improve it?

And if a class says all abilities welcome, is that legit?

2

I just started yoga this winter. I go once a week, twice this summer because of free outdoor classes. I’m really glad I’ve added it to my exercise routine.

I avoided it in the past because I’m not flexible and was unnerved by some of the difficult poses (like headstands). The place I go is not strict at all. You are encouraged to adjust poses to what you can do. The instructor will describe a more difficult pose, and some people do it but many people like me never do. Sometimes the instructor comes over and gives me suggestions or gently realigns me, but never pushes me to do something I can’t do. The instructor often reminds us that we can and should get out of a pose that is stressing us, and revert to a simple child’s pose for a break if needed.

The studio is heated to 90-95 degrees, and I found that loosens me up and helps me stretch more.

Why do I like it? It’s a nice combination of benefits. I like the stretching. There’s a lot of balancing (standing on one foot), which is valuable as we age. My heart rate increases, so there’s a cardio component, too. I have osteoporosis, and many of the poses are really good for that.

I’m not in it for the spiritual stuff, or for stress release, but a lot of people do it for those reasons, too. The classes I go to usually end with 5-10 minutes of quiet, peaceful meditation.

A friend recommended the studio, so maybe I just lucked into a good situation. I think there are places that are more rigid. There are yoga studios cropping up all over the place, with Yelp reviews, so I would think you could find something that fits your needs near you.

3

I’ve been taking yoga classes at the gym for about four or five years now. If you’re curious about it I would encourage you to give it a try.

My whole life I’d considered myself to be pretty inflexible. At 52 I can say that I am more flexible now than I was in my 20s! Yoga does wonders for strength and balance, too.

When you first begin, it seems tricky to learn all the new movements. You’ll be sore (but the good kind of sore). If you don’t click with the first instructor, try a different one.

If a class is for all levels, then the instructor will give variations of the poses to try, and each student chooses the appropriate level for them. My favorite instructor is fond of saying “choose the pose that is right for the body you brought with you today”.

Give it a try. After a while, I bet you’ll be glad you did.

4

I love my yoga and go as often as time allows. I work out at least 5 times a week and I find the yoga is a wonderful addition and it keeps me flexible. If I do the weight machines for a couple of days straight, I start to feel tight. The yoga really loosens things up. I usually just do a vinyasa class and every once in a while I do a hot yoga class.

5

No hot yoga for me, but I like my vinyasa class, especially because of the teacher. We never do head stands. She really helps people progress.

I’ve watched the kick boxing class, and it looks fierce. They move so fast, hard to imagine catching on.

6

I go two to three times a week…and I love it.

7

I have been wanting to try yoga for flexibility, but now with my PVC’s, I’m interested in it for stress release. What is the difference between the two? I ound a studio close by that has a 2 week introductory unlimited for $30. Yoga is not cheap! One class is $17, 10 are 135… With numerous other options. Do most of you go just once per week?

8

I took a class through our local school system’s community Ed a couple of years ago. I was impressed at how much it increased my flexibility, balance, and core strength. Then I herniated a disc in my back (cause unknown). After months of PT it is mended, but I am now wary of some yoga poses that put a lot of stress on that area. But I still do some others. And a lot of my back PT was a variation on the Cobra pose. :slight_smile:

9

Love my yoga class! My teacher is wonderful and tells everyone to only do what they feel comfortable doing. I find the stretches have really helped with my lower back pain and tight calves. It’s also super relaxing and great for de-stressing. I take class through my districts community ed program, too. It’s about $65 for once a week for 8 weeks. Worth every penny.

10

Intparent, I hear you. I backed off from yoga for a few years after my car accident. I couldn’t even use my shoulder to
For down dog. My teacher also has neck and shoulder injuries, so encourages modifications. She’ll grab a block for someone to help with some positions.

Con mama, I currently take a class in my gym, which is no frills, cheap place. I use to go to a yoga studio, which is definitely costly. The studios have classes for beginners and up. It could be a good place to start. I like the more relaxed class in the gym, as beginners are encouraged to join.

Who am I kidding? Whatever I do at my gym, I always know someone. If I went to a yoga studio or a barre studio, I’d be among strangers.

11

Can someone do a quick synopsis of the types of yoga??

Hot Yoga
Vinyasa
Whatever else

12

I added yoga to my fitness regime (mostly walking and short runs) two years ago, and I love it for all the reasons noted by other posters. I take one class a week at the local library, very inexpensive! This class meets during the day and is geared towards older women - at 53, I am one of the youngest in the class. It’s very gentle, and yes you can modify poses for level of intensity. The class went on hiatus for the summer, and I really miss it! I desperately want to add more classes to my schedule, but will have to find the right studio/teacher/class, and commit to the added expense. But it will be worth it - flexibility, strength, balance, stress relief - all worth investing in! Give it a try, and as others said, you might have to try a few teachers to find the right fit.

13

I started practicing yoga about a year ago. I saw a real change a few months ago when I committed to going 3X/week.
My body is toning up and balance is improving.

I am not at all coordinated so I have long been intimidated by any type of workout class, but yoga is non-judgmental and not competitive. Everyone has his/her own practice.

I encourage you to try it!

14

@abasket #10

“Vinyasa,” “Vinyasa flow,” or “flow” classes are ones where you move from one pose directly into another, with movement coordinated with breath. Because you are moving constantly a Vinyasa class can be an effective form of exercise. Almost all contemporary yoga classes are Vinyasa classes.

“Hot yoga,” or “Bikram yoga” are classes done in very warm rooms, like 95 to 100 degrees. The theory is that the heat loosens the muscles leading to greater flexibility. Hot yoga classes are generally Vinyasa style classes. (Many people love hot yoga but I hate it).

You asked about what other kinds of classes there are. Some of the more common are:

“Ashtanga,” which is rigorous style of Vinyasa with a set sequence of poses.

“Power yoga,” which again is a rigorous Vinyasa style with emphasis on fitness, with Pilates-inspired poses often included.

“Iyengar,” which focuses on getting the individual poses exactly right, and holding them for longer periods.

“Gentle” or “restorative,” are styles of classes for folks with physical limitations that are less about fitness and more about gentle stretches, relaxation and breathing. They also offer a lot of props to help people get into poses that they wouldnt otherwise be able to do.

“Hatha” is the generic term that refers to the whole system of poses in contemporary yoga as practiced here, but it is also used to refer to classes that are less movement or fitness based than a “Vinyasa” class. (Vinyasa is technically a style of Hatha).

The yoga studio I go to also has something called “Kundalini” yoga, which I gather incorporates more complex breathing exercises and chanting and is more new-agey than the typical classes that are more fitness oriented.

Also, just for clarity, virtually all yoga classes will involve a series of movements called “poses” that are coordinated with breath, so you do particular movements on the inhale and others on the exhale and you pay attention to your breath as you hold the poses. It is that focus on breathing that gives yoga the meditative aspect and is what makes it more relaxing and inwardly focused than other kinds of exercise classes. So you can come out of a yoga class feeling both like you’ve gotten a good, sweaty work out but are also thoroughly relaxed.

15

About a year ago I started attending a “gentle” yoga class it has tremendously helped with flexibility and strength. I would highly recommend looking for a free trial or taking some sort of an intro course at a well regarded studio. You will learn proper positions and can ask them to show you positional modifications. Then you can safely attend group classes at your club or community center.

My friend practices yoga at a higher level and her body is TONED!

16

If you can afford it, I highly, highly recommend investing in a few private lessons at a dedicated yoga studio to get started. I did that after going to a couple of group classes and I learned that I had been doing the poses all wrong, and not really getting the full benefits out of them. Although the teachers in group classes will provide “adjustments” from time to time, there’s nothing like having someone work directly with you for a couple of hours to get you to truly understand the poses. It is expensive, though.

17

This was really helpful.

Back in college Bob Anderson led stretching sessions in the women’s gym at lunchtime. The lights were off so there was only the sunlight filtering in from the high windows. I remember feeling so good afterwards and so relaxed. I think i’m going to give yoga a try and see if there is some similar effect. @nottelling – I like your suggestion of a couple of private lessons to get started the right way.

18

I’ve done some yoga, but it’s not really for me. For about a year I went to a pretty gentle class with two friends. It was very relaxing and meditative, but the timing was such that I went straight from it to the gym with dh. Which kind of killed the vibe!

Later I was the architect for a yoga studio that was moving its quarters. The teacher gave me a monthlong pass to the old studio so that I could get a good idea of how the classes worked. I went to a bunch, liked some better than others. Unfortunately in one I managed to overstretch something in my chest (I think doing cobra - it didn’t hurt at all until the next day) and it bothered me for a good year. I still have to be careful doing pullups and the like. Haven’t been to a yoga class since.

I’ve only been to one class (the same one where I got injured) where anyone was doing headstands and it was only a couple of people in that class who tried.

I would definitely go to a class. I was always getting straightened out. I’d think I was holding the pose correctly, but apparently not!

19

There is a difference between Bikram yoga and Hot yoga.

Bikram is a prescribed set of poses, Hatha style, not flow, done in a 105 degree room. Classes last 90 minutes. I like Bikram because I like the predictability. You are always working on these poses.

Hot yoga is also in a heated room, but classes do not follow a script like in Bikram. A studio could have its own set hot yoga series, but it’s not like Bikram where every studio, every class follows the same poses and sequence. Hot yoga is not supposed to follow the same sequence as Bikram–Bikram has sued studios for doing so.

I love Bikram, but I know people who have been to hot classes that they preferred. My daughter likes a flow class more, so often she prefers a hot yoga class.

Both are very sweaty experiences!

20

Every studio will have an intro or beginners class. Start with that to see if you like it.