| BabyGrlRae
|
|
|
I did my first session of Bikram Yoga today. It kicked my butt, which is great. I've done yoga for a few years and this had the perfect blend of challenging poses and relaxation.
I liked that it was not as fast-paced as the vinyasa style so I actually had time to feel the benefits of the poses. I highly recommend it! |
|
Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:14 pm |
|
| RedRox
|
|
|
| I enjoy it as a change of pace from my vinyasa classes as well. I agree that it's a much different experience. |
|
Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:53 pm |
|
| three
|
|
|
I am a die hard yogini. Have been practicing for a little over 2 years now and am hooked. Yoga has done so much for my life and my body aches without doing it on a regular basis. I find it to be kind of like a massage!
Do yoga- it will do your body good!
I have found Erich Schiffmann's Backyard Beginners series to be great if you are just starting out. |
|
Sun Jun 04, 2006 2:33 am |
|
| Semi-experienced Beacher
|
|
|
| For a beginner looking for a short flexibility type I would suggest Gaiam Rodney Yee Power Yoga Flexibility. It is about 30 minutes and is for beginner level. It feels really good and isn't too fast or anything. I purchased mine through Amazon for about $6.00. You might give it a try. |
|
Mon Jun 05, 2006 3:21 pm |
|
| golfmom54
|
|
|
| can anybody out there tell me which style of yoga is best for someone who is just starting out? I don't want to be sore and stiff all the time. Hope to hear back from someone soon :D |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:24 pm |
|
| babice
|
|
|
redroxco wrote: As to whether yoga provides adequate cardiovascular fitness, recent studies (from more tradtional exercise oriented organizations) tend to think this is not the case.
Hi Red - I think you know this already but my opinion is that the Bikram I do does have an extreme cardio benefit. I would agree, however, that the others don't have as much -- although, ashtanga sure gets my heart racing and if I'm in an advanced ashtanga class -- PHEW! Watch out! I think some of those "studies" tend to generalize too much...there's way too many diff types of yoga out there to generally say, imho, that yoga in general doesn't have as much of a cardio benefit.
But, I do still agree it's good to mix things up because I believe that you use different muscles in different ways for all of these things. Plus, the cardio portion of the Bikram is concentrated and it's sometimes good to go take a long walk (or do a long elliptical session or whatever).
To me there's a lot more benefit from yoga than just the stretching, balance, strengthening and any potential cardio impact though. For me, it makes me love myself more -- I eat better, I'm more aware of myself, I'm more....complete... |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:29 pm |
|
| babice
|
|
|
golfmom54 wrote: can anybody out there tell me which style of yoga is best for someone who is just starting out? I don't want to be sore and stiff all the time. Hope to hear back from someone soon :D
I have to agree with "semi experienced beacher" that Rodney Yee's beginning yoga series are good. I like the AM/PM series for beginners. |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:30 pm |
|
| golfmom54
|
|
|
Thanks for the information. I will go and try and find the dvds in the next couple of days. Been walking for exercise but getting board of that.
thanks again :D |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 4:33 pm |
|
| RedRox
|
|
|
babice wrote: redroxco wrote: As to whether yoga provides adequate cardiovascular fitness, recent studies (from more tradtional exercise oriented organizations) tend to think this is not the case.
Hi Red - I think you know this already but my opinion is that the Bikram I do does have an extreme cardio benefit. I would agree, however, that the others don't have as much -- although, ashtanga sure gets my heart racing and if I'm in an advanced ashtanga class -- PHEW! Watch out! I think some of those "studies" tend to generalize too much...there's way too many diff types of yoga out there to generally say, imho, that yoga in general doesn't have as much of a cardio benefit.
But, I do still agree it's good to mix things up because I believe that you use different muscles in different ways for all of these things. Plus, the cardio portion of the Bikram is concentrated and it's sometimes good to go take a long walk (or do a long elliptical session or whatever).
To me there's a lot more benefit from yoga than just the stretching, balance, strengthening and any potential cardio impact though. For me, it makes me love myself more -- I eat better, I'm more aware of myself, I'm more....complete...
Well I didn't say I agreed with the ACE study! ;) It just had been in the news recently and seems to be being touted as this sort of seminal study on the actual benefits of yoga. They did find a lot of benefits, but in their study they did not find an increase of VO2 Max to be one of them. As you say, their study group wasn't doing the more vigorous types of practices like Bikram or Ashtanga and I read somewhere else where significant VO2 Max changes take longer than the study ran for. And even without a vigorous yoga practice, working with pranayama exercises likely allows a person to breathe better/more deeply and increase oxygen usage. There are other studies out there that do show a VO2 Max increase from yoga. Perhaps not as much as a full "cardio" oriented program, but an increase nonetheless. So to say there is virtually no aerobic benefit from ALL yoga is a bit misleading in my opinion. But ACE being who they are, this study will be used a lot by personal trainers and exercise professionals with their clients to "prove" that yoga doesn't do anything at all aerobically. And I also couldn't agree more with you about the other "intangibles" it provides. Completeness, fulfillment and awareness are not under ACE's balliwick though! ;)
For golfmom, if you are looking to take a class, look for a "hatha" style to start with. And let the instructor know you are just starting and have them offer "modifications" to the postures as you go along. I like the soreness to a certain extent because it means I'm working more towards my edge, but I grew up as an athlete being pushed to my max regularly so it is more how I think about what exercise means to me. |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:28 pm |
|
| babice
|
|
|
Yep - I agree with Redroxco on every single thing he said. Especially looking for a hatha class if you're a beginner. I do recommend going to classes when first starting, if you can. Otherwise, look for hatha videos. That's what Rodney teaches in his AM/PM series.
BTW - I wonder if the VO2 benefit of Bikram explains why it helps me with singing (and the breathing)? I'm not the only one. My teacher's husband is an opera singer and he says the pranayama really helps his breathing too.
I do think it's sad that the likely fall out will be misinformed PT's, etc., who will tell their patients yoga's only helpful to them for stretching and/or relaxation. I think their clients, as well as themselves, will miss out on good bennies. Oh well. |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:04 pm |
|
| nitrot150
|
|
|
I just ordered teh AM/PM video, and recommended it to my mom, she's doing it, and mine is on my way, so going to try it on saturday! let ya know how it goes! :D
Karen |
|
Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:15 pm |
|
| LAURELWOOD
|
|
|
Oh, yes!! I could go on and on about the bennies of yoga. I've been so excited about the benefits of yoga lately!!
I just restarted it about 3 weeks ago; have done maybe 10 sessions at home. I had done hatha yoga years ago, but as wonderful as it had been, I was having trouble getting motivated. I was thinking of it as just stretching, and that stretching was a luxury that I didn't have time to fit in right now.
I'm doing probably the simplest of dvd's, Yoga For The Rest Of Us, by Peggy Cappy. I saw her on a PBS tv auction & went to the website to order. It's for older people (like 100yo!), etc. I haven't wanted to start a class.
As simple as this dvd is, those intangible feelings of well-being started after the first session! I'd been doing light weights & 30 min cardio regularly for about a year. After a few yoga sessions, I wanted to add more weight to my weights & I hadn't felt like that in the last year. My muscles had gotten stronger & it seemed too easy to do my prior ankle weights. I'd never done cardio after a yoga session, but the other day I did. It was like yoga had set off little engines all over my body. (Maybe it's the life force.) I could do my cardio longer, with more intensity, without much effort! In the last year, it's never been so effortless to do my cardio!
These are just a couple of examples of the benefits I've gotten from starting yoga. I could rave on about more, but I'm making my post so long.
Honestly, I don't get paid by the yoga people. I've just been amazed, and excited to share some of these experiences with yoga. |
|
Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:37 pm |
|
| kellybeth79
|
|
|
I agree with those of you suggesting Rodney Yee. I've tried a few different DVDs (as well as taking classes at a couple different gyms in the past) and Rodney is definitely one of my favorites!
I LOVE his yoga for energy (but I don't have it anymore),
but the power yoga ones are really good too. I have a dvd that has 3 different ones (strength, stamina, flexibility) and they're all around 20 minutes. Makes it easy to squeeze it in in the mornings...
I do feel like I need to start putting a little more effort into it, though (and can't get to any classes right now)... |
|
Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:22 am |
|
| RedRox
|
|
|
Did some yoga "al fresco" yesterday. There is a new park they opened up in town called "Majestic View" that overlooks part of USF&W National Wildlife Refuge and then west to the foothills and the snow capped Rockies beyond those. It really is well named!
Had been thinking about it for awhile and just gave it a bit of trial run. Ran through some basic Sun A's and vinyasa flows with some standing balancing asanas and finished up with headstand and continued practice on my handstand. (For some reason, practicing a handstand seems to be easier out doors rather than in a studio. I just seem to be able to get closer to finding that balance point.) Probably no more than 20 minutes total but it was really cool to do a Sun salutation and throw in a back bend at the top and look up at the sky or to come into crescent lunge and have my drishti be snow covered peaks in the distance! I'll definately be doing more of this through the summer and fall! :) |
|
Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:37 pm |
|
| LAURELWOOD
|
|
|
Sounds so beautiful and close to Nirvana, Red.
(Hope you're using some care if you're doing handstands near the edge of a mountain) Ha Ha |
|
Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:42 pm |
|