What Do You Think About Yoga?

[kayeandjim00]

I recently picked up Kathy Smith's New Yoga Basics for Beginners and today was the first day I'd seriously concentrated on going through the tape. It was a GREAT workout. My legs haven't been so shaky after a workout in a while - so I know I'm working different muscles and that's great. So all of you yoga lovers - what has been the benefit to your body from practicing? What areas do you feel you have improved the most - tummy? thighs? Did it take you a while to get used to the breathing? I am having a hard time concentrating on how to breathe AND doing the actual poses so for now I'm working mainly on the poses and once I'm comfortable with how to do them I will work on breathing correctly. It is very relaxing and I felt great when I was done so I'm anxious to hear how others feel about it's benefits! Thanks in advance.

 

[Bakerone]

Personally I love Yoga, when I do it. I haven't done any in a long while. When I was doing it on a regular basis, I sure felt and looked a lot better.
Kudos-keep it up

 

[Melissa M]

For me, the benefits of yoga have carried over into my everyday life. My posture has improved, I handle stress more easily, I care more about what I eat and what I put in and on my body. Overall, I have an increased body awareness.

 

[AlreadyexcitedGrammy]

take more time out of my days to use it as a great stretching and relaxation method. DH and I go to an hour class once a week and I always tell myself - must do more of this and I get back to class and haven't had the mat out since the last week.

I also try to use the breathing in everyday life - and when I am out walking (training for the 1/2 marathon at WDW) many times I just get into the mindset of "lighter, softer, freer" (our first yoga instructor always said do a pose, breathing, etc and then make it lighter, softer, freer) I know I have walked further, faster and up hills telling myself that and by george, I can usually accomplish the mini-goal.

to me benefits of yoga are tremendous!

 

[tracy51]

I saw this post and well, yoga's always sounded interesting to me. I've wanted to try it for awhile now, but not sure where or how to start. Taking a class isn't an option at the moment. Anyone have recommendations for books or tapes that are good for a beginner to check out?

 

[Melissa M]

Originally posted by tracy51
I saw this post and well, yoga's always sounded interesting to me. I've wanted to try it for awhile now, but not sure where or how to start. Taking a class isn't an option at the moment. Anyone have recommendations for books or tapes that are good for a beginner to check out?

An excellent book is Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann.

Any of the videos put out by GAIAM are great.

 

[pixiedust23]

I recently started taking a yoga class at my gym. While the instructor may be...umm how to put this nicely...off her rocker, I really go enjoy going. I found that on my second time at yoga I was ok on the breathing. It just becomes natural. However I did take a couple months of pilates first, which uses the same breathing techniques. I enjoy yoga b/c I usually just run 4 or 5 miles a day on the cross trainer, so this breaks up the routine and also works out my upper body.

 

[swilphil]

I find that yoga is great for stretching and for posture, and all the mind benefits others have mentioned. Unless you are doing power yoga, I don't know that you will see as many cardio benefits as you would from an aerobics class, running, biking, walking, etc. If I did yoga more than once a week, I'm sure I would see a bigger difference in my abs. I run and go to classes in lifting weights and spinning (cycling). Yoga seems to be the only way I can get my old muscles properly stretched.

 

[TriMom]

I took a class for about 6 weeks from a dedicated yoga studio. It was one of the best strength training workouts I have ever done. Abs, arms, and legs - while deeply relaxing. Unfortunately, it was more $$$ than I could spend once my 1/2 price trial was over, but I still love to do some videos to help stretch out from training runs.

 

[kayeandjim00]

Thanks so much for all of the responses! It's great to see how many people seem to enjoy it - I feel so stretched out and relaxed when I'm done! That's a great feeling. It seems to be a great workout but I can see how you would need to supplement with some sort of cardio to see the kind of results I want. I would highly suggest this video to anyone who is thinking of giving yoga a try. I picked mine up on Ebay - cheap! It's a great wait to try a new routine without a huge investment.

 

[gshoemate]

I go nuts without my yoga. I take 2 classes a week, one easy and one more of a power yoga. I can stretch in ways that I haven't done since being a cheerleader in high school. And my posture has improved so much. I don't really get the mind benefits of it (I have never handled stress well) but now that I think about it, I guess I am calmer after I take the class. It helps that my instructor is very dedicated to yoga and is a great instructor.