Secondly, can we have a big FITE between practitioners of different yoga styles? I maintain that people who do Astanga are TREND.
― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 19 September 2002 11:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Graham (graham), Thursday, 19 September 2002 11:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 19 September 2002 11:32 (twenty-one years ago) link
Also, I want to try out pilates, which has been described to me as yoga inverted, all backwords with the breathing.
― marianna, Thursday, 19 September 2002 12:15 (twenty-one years ago) link
― petra jane (petra jane), Thursday, 19 September 2002 12:46 (twenty-one years ago) link
Some of it may have some health benefits, but I think it should be remembered that it wasn't primarily developed for health reasons (let alone keeping slim--check out the guts on some famous yogis).
There was a very good article about competing yoga schools in New York Magazine (2/2/98).
Comments I have made elsewhere re: Yoga.
I am not anti-yoga, but I don't think everyone's body is compatible with all asanas (sp?).
― DeRayMi, Thursday, 19 September 2002 12:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
― mark s (mark s), Thursday, 19 September 2002 13:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
― tigerclawskank, Thursday, 19 September 2002 13:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
― DeRayMi, Thursday, 19 September 2002 13:41 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Emma, Thursday, 19 September 2002 13:44 (twenty-one years ago) link
I do not stand on my head, nor do I do handstands. These things are okay when you are 30kg and bouncy (i.e. a child) but if poorly executed when 70kg and flab+flaccid+brittle (i.e. an adult) they are plain dodgy. Being inverted with minor risk rocks though! Like hanging or walking up walls with hands on the floor.
― toraneko (toraneko), Thursday, 19 September 2002 14:15 (twenty-one years ago) link
People who do Bikram yoga (in a 100F room!) are crazy. The head supposedly makes it easier to stretch, but i would die from dehydration and heat exhaustion if I ever tried it.
― lyra (lyra), Thursday, 19 September 2002 14:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
― lyra (lyra), Thursday, 19 September 2002 14:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
― DeRayMi, Thursday, 19 September 2002 14:27 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Emma, Thursday, 19 September 2002 14:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 19 September 2002 15:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Paul (scifisoul), Thursday, 19 September 2002 17:07 (twenty-one years ago) link
― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 19 September 2002 19:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
That is all.
― yogamaster, Thursday, 19 September 2002 23:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
― angela (angela), Friday, 20 September 2002 11:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 31 March 2004 23:32 (twenty years ago) link
― jewelly (jewelly), Wednesday, 31 March 2004 23:53 (twenty years ago) link
― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 31 March 2004 23:54 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Wednesday, 31 March 2004 23:59 (twenty years ago) link
I don't know, but they were weird.
― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Thursday, 1 April 2004 00:00 (twenty years ago) link
― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 1 April 2004 01:08 (twenty years ago) link
I did my first Astanga class on Friday night - previously I'd done a couple of "power yoga" classes (hurt for 3xdays afterwards), 1x hatha class (snoozeville), 1xpilates class (ridiculous). I liked it! And the teacher is a foxxx. It is VERY popular! Bring on the trend!
The breathing, is a bit, wack.
I would like to talk to T about yoga!
― Bhumibol Adulyadej is Trend (Lucretia My Reflection), Saturday, 20 January 2007 20:16 (seventeen years ago) link
I COULD BE IN THE PUB YOU KNOW I JUST CHOSE NOT TO
― Bhumibol Adulyadej (Lucretia My Reflection), Saturday, 20 January 2007 20:17 (seventeen years ago) link
(today i walked for more than two hrs becuz i wanted to check out yarn shop. i'm completely bonkers.)
― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Saturday, 20 January 2007 22:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― Bhumibol Adulyadej (Lucretia My Reflection), Saturday, 20 January 2007 22:08 (seventeen years ago) link
I moved on to a Hatha Flow class that was also pretty intense, but mostly manageable for me. I liked it a lot and got into fairly good shape.
But that was a long time ago. Now I just sit on my ass and eat fried food dipped in Ranch dressing.
― Matt Olken (Moodles), Sunday, 21 January 2007 08:50 (seventeen years ago) link
The odd thing is that when I actually tried Ashtanga I liked it way more than Iyengar. So now it is practitioners of Bikram Yoga (TM) that I scoff at as trend.
― The Real Dirty Vicar (dirtyvicar), Sunday, 21 January 2007 10:11 (seventeen years ago) link
I think kundalini sounds pretty intense! The breath control appeals to me for singing reasons. There's a studio 2 minutes from my house that has a donation-based class, but despite those two compelling reasons I've not gone because fuck if I'm going to chant IN ENGLISH with a roomfulla flakes! (in this class they make you chant in Sanskrit and English). See, my heart is too calcified for such a discipline!
― emilys., Thursday, 14 June 2007 02:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Pilates to thread!
-- Graham (graham), Thursday, 19 September 2002 11:24 (5 years ago)
oh ffs.
HELP!
― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 16:57 (sixteen years ago) link
ARRRRRRRRRR
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 16:59 (sixteen years ago) link
oh sorry
Pirates?
Sheesh.
― CharlieNo4, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:08 (sixteen years ago) link
hehe
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:09 (sixteen years ago) link
yoga is classic but there is a lot of super dud yoga out there that i wldn't even call yoga
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:10 (sixteen years ago) link
it puzzles me when people are like, "i want to try yoga but i don't want to do funny breathing or chanting, or do any meditation. " in that case, you probably just want a sculpt & tone class.
― lauren, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:16 (sixteen years ago) link
otm omg
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:18 (sixteen years ago) link
Meditation is a tool of Satan, BEWARE, BEWARE!!
― Laurel, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:33 (sixteen years ago) link
is BEWARE BEWARE your mantra?
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:34 (sixteen years ago) link
Just kidding. But I remember some lovely alarmist rabidly Christian fiction series that posited that Satan and his minions would try to get meditation and "spirit guide" programs into schools as a front for possessing our children if we didn't surround them with the protection of Jesus' blood.
― Laurel, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Which is just to say that there's a lot of misconception and um...probably unnecessary concerns about some elements of yoga.
― Laurel, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:36 (sixteen years ago) link
i want to take ballet
do they have beginning ballet classes for adults??
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:37 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm sure someone does.
― Laurel, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:39 (sixteen years ago) link
i thought if i entered a question in this box, the internet would tell me
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:40 (sixteen years ago) link
We are all the internet.
― Laurel, Tuesday, 12 February 2008 17:41 (sixteen years ago) link
I don't know the answer to the thread's question, but let me say that I love that Namaste Yoga they show over-and-over on the Fit TV channel. It's like the old 20-Minute Workout on HBO in cable's early days. Hott.
― Daniel, Esq., Wednesday, 13 February 2008 04:22 (sixteen years ago) link
Satan and his minions would try to get meditation and "spirit guide" programs into schools as a front for possessing our children if we didn't surround them with the protection of Jesus' blood.
This is actually true.
My girlfriend is doing some yoga right now to an instructional tape, and she doesn't think any of my jokes are funny, especially the ones about "The circle of life" and how good it is, and the fart noises.
― Z S, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 04:21 (sixteen years ago) link
Yoginis are notoriously humor-imparied. Yogis, however...
http://www.johnrozum.com/images/yogibear.jpg
― Aimless, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 21:04 (sixteen years ago) link
-- Tracer Hand, Tuesday, February 12, 2008 11:37 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Link
i was wondering the same thing actually!
― gbx, Tuesday, 19 February 2008 21:08 (sixteen years ago) link
touch my forehead to my shin, you've got to be kidding me.
i have never even been able to touch my toes!
― bell_labs, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 14:47 (fifteen years ago) link
my back just doesn't do forward bends. or maybe it is my hamstrings. it makes me feel like a goon.
― bell_labs, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 14:50 (fifteen years ago) link
years of yoga and I still could not touch my toes.
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 15:23 (fifteen years ago) link
yoga is shite.
ppl can't touch their toes?
― gabbneb, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 15:39 (fifteen years ago) link
*pbl can't touch their toes
(*pobbles)
― Tom D., Tuesday, 20 May 2008 15:40 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah i can't touch my toes. i have never been able to. i have long legs, maybe that is why.
― bell_labs, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 15:41 (fifteen years ago) link
I started doing yoga a couple months ago. Very relaxing.
― Bill Magill, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 15:43 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah, i think it might have more to do w/ legs vs. torso+arms than flexibility
― gabbneb, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 15:44 (fifteen years ago) link
They played LCD Soundsystem and MGMT in my yoga class the other day. Surprisingly ok.
― felicity, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 16:46 (fifteen years ago) link
Felicity where do you go?
― admrl, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 17:37 (fifteen years ago) link
This is to be my Big Summer Of Yoga
Crunch LA.
― felicity, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 17:58 (fifteen years ago) link
i am going to be doing 1hr in mornings 3 consecutive times a week throughout all of june!
bell_labs you will be able to touch your toes soon enough, i'm sure of it. even if you've got back pain. it does take time though - you kind of have to have patience with yoga. or it teaches you patience with self. i don't know, i do the kind of yoga that doesn't feed my competitive drive, and therefore lets me chill out - b/c i mean, there are plenty of other arenas in life where that drive is engaged. anyway, i have pretty tight hamstrings etc and at first found it super painful to try to touch my toes, but after about two years of regular practice i can put both hands flat on the ground w/o pain, once warmed up.
i feel like finding a good teacher and a good set of people in the class is kind of the first challenge! but i am v picky that way
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 18:06 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah i'm not taking a class, just doing dvds. at least for now! maybe once i get a little more flexible i will be less intimidated by classes.
― bell_labs, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 18:26 (fifteen years ago) link
i started doing 10-15 mins of yoga before i run or play basketball last fall - at first id have to get warm to barely touch my toes now i can put my palm flat to the floor!
― jhøshea, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:14 (fifteen years ago) link
doing this workout 2x week, makes me rly tired afterward, following day i feel 5 years younger. other days i stretch, cardio/circuit, drink beer. in that order.
― The Macallan 18 Year, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:19 (fifteen years ago) link
jesus 90 minutes?
― bell_labs, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:22 (fifteen years ago) link
that's how long my class was.
― lauren, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:23 (fifteen years ago) link
I sleep a lot better on days I do yoga. 90 minutes seems like a long time.
― Bill Magill, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:23 (fifteen years ago) link
My clases are 60 or 90 minutes.
90 minutes is great in the evenings ending with a long Shivasina under a blanket or towel. Ahhh.
― felicity, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:26 (fifteen years ago) link
lauren, are you doing yoga anywhere I know? ;)
― felicity, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:27 (fifteen years ago) link
i'm bad about trying new classes, f. i'm SO self-conscious. so for classes, i've stuck to my old standby (kusala).
― lauren, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:30 (fifteen years ago) link
and yes, long class followed by a rest under the blanket is awesome.
haha btwn this and the talk on beauty/etc thread abt being wrapped up in blankets at a spa, i've realized how much i hate being wrapped up in blankets or being under a blanket in a public(ish) space! so not relaxing to me. weird realizations file.
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:38 (fifteen years ago) link
(roughly) 45 minutes of moving asanas followed by 20 minutes of balance poses, 20 minutes of yoga for your abs, then 10 or so minutes of chillaxin in child's pose variants.
the length was intimidating but the 1st half is definitely the most challenging part for me. once that parts over i really enjoy the focus on breath control and slowly increasing my range of movement.
now i just gotta do this twice a week until i'm 80. easy part.
― The Macallan 18 Year, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, it makes me feel like I'm stuck in an envelope! Always hated kindergarten enforced naptime.
xp
― Abbott, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:40 (fifteen years ago) link
where can you buy the video for that?
― bell_labs, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 19:40 (fifteen years ago) link
felicity, you should try Brock's class at Yogaworks in westwood. It's full of flyers, which can be, um, a challenge to yr ego if yr not one, but also the best vinyasa class east of Venice (where Vinnie Marino still reigns supreme). Towel or mysore rug required.
― rogermexico., Tuesday, 20 May 2008 20:24 (fifteen years ago) link
....flyers?
― admrl, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 20:26 (fifteen years ago) link
i don't want to think about what a yoga class in westwood is like. the scene at my bf's nephew's kiddie karate class was scarring enough.
― lauren, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 20:28 (fifteen years ago) link
i'm finding rmexico's post completely o_O/LA
― rrrobyn, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 20:32 (fifteen years ago) link
i also don't know what a flyer is!
Anywhere further east of Venice?
― admrl, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 20:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Am I a flyer?
― admrl, Tuesday, 20 May 2008 20:35 (fifteen years ago) link
dunno - do you effortlessly lift into handstands mid-vinyasa? do you look forward to jump-throughs? would you describe a bakasana>handstand>eka pada kundinyasana sequence as "really centering"? then You Might Be a flyer...
There are any number of good flow (and non-flow) classes and teachers in the hoillywoo/silverlake/downtown area. I'm just a sucker for vinyasa in a hot room. It's the difference between a bowl and a brownie.
― rogermexico., Tuesday, 20 May 2008 23:47 (fifteen years ago) link
Cool, thanks. I do want to try the free Sunrise/Sunset Runyon Canyon yoga, too.
― felicity, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 00:55 (fifteen years ago) link
Totally OTM, by the way, but LA's like that. Ground Zero for yoga in the US and home base for 80% of the Yoga Industry's superstars (for better and for worse).
― rogermexico., Wednesday, 21 May 2008 01:19 (fifteen years ago) link
The idea of any form of exercise having superstars is mindblowing to me.
― Abbott, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 01:36 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh wait. I forgot about the Olympics.
haha yeah, but i love california for it anyway, even if i find a lot of it kinda o_O xpost lol supastar yoga exactly... but it's been going on since the 70s on the west coast! i've done a bunch of anusara yoga, which is US-based, tho maybe not california (maybe arizona or even texas), and there's something about it that doesn't quite gel with me. and something that does. anyway... i actually don't even know if there's a 'formal' name for the kind of yoga i've been doing with my current teacher. i mean, i keep forgetting it and forgetting to ask. it's nice though.
― rrrobyn, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 01:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Anusara = John Friend = Texas, north of Houston in one of those creepy newfangled New Urban-type places: http://www.thewoodlands.com/
I find the language a little fruity, but the practice itself really good - the focus and attention to detail of Iyengar without the severity, and notwithstanding the absurdities the actual Anusara teachers I've known have almost without exception been really excellent.
It's also a perfect complement to the flow stuff, where Warrior IIs have a tendency to get pretty sloppy as folks struggle to keep up. Without a foundational alignment-based practice it's just calisthenics, people.
/yoga nazi
(note: many astanga types will openly smirk at Anusara types; many serious Anusara types turn out to be ex-astangis... it's a funny little world. in my limited experience it takes about six months with any practice before you "get" what it's about, and much like sports clichés and 12-step mantras there are things that seem silly at first but reveal hidden depths in practice)
― rogermexico., Wednesday, 21 May 2008 06:42 (fifteen years ago) link
PS felicity if yr going to Crunch check out Donovan's class if you can. I've never had him as a teacher but he's a genuinely great guy and sure SEEMS like he'd be an equally great teacher. If you make it tell him Jake said hello and he will shower you with good vibes :-)
― rogermexico., Wednesday, 21 May 2008 07:10 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah i did anusara practice regularly for over a year and then some few-month courses spread out over the next year - i love the attention to detail but there's something about the rhetoric that i have to resist/ignore or i end up feeling keyed up and self-conscious. again, depends on the teacher too - even the subtle difference btwn using "we" vs "you" - i like "we"/"let's", which anusara doesn't use. haha i just don't like being told what to do.
i can't deal with most astanga classes - just the wrong kind of tension for me, but sometimes really good for getting mind off other things b/c it can be so intense. i just know a lot of, uh, 'type As' who do it and none of them seem all that yogic (philosophically) to me. but whatever, i guess we all have dif reasons for doing yoga. it kinda freaks me out when people get on the defensive/offensive abt their particular practice - i'm like, wahtever works for you, isn't that point?
― rrrobyn, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 13:33 (fifteen years ago) link
i haven't been a yoga man for a v v long time :-/
― gbx, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 13:54 (fifteen years ago) link
the weirdest things hurt after doing yoga, such as the tops of my feet. ow tops of my feeeet.
― bell_labs, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 13:57 (fifteen years ago) link
that's how you konw it's working!
― gbx, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 13:59 (fifteen years ago) link
roger, I have taken Jake's class. 'e is so copa. I will look for Donovan too.
I kept thinking about "flyers" in class today during all the twists and binds.
― felicity, Wednesday, 21 May 2008 23:27 (fifteen years ago) link
o no multiple Jake confusion! (suffice to say Donovan (tuesday nights) has never heard of "rogermexico" - we were neighbors before I moved north)
― rogermexico., Thursday, 22 May 2008 00:14 (fifteen years ago) link
Roger that. What's your Vector, victor?
― felicity, Thursday, 22 May 2008 08:47 (fifteen years ago) link
ok this is great. i have been doing it for a little over a week and already have definition in my stomach. the tape i am doing is specifically for back care and mostly focuses on lower back, stomach and sides. i should mention that i also have been laying off the beer all week, but yeah it's encouraging to see results so quickly.
― bell_labs, Friday, 23 May 2008 18:53 (fifteen years ago) link
:)
― rrrobyn, Friday, 23 May 2008 19:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Search: tree pose, crow, twists, binds, chattaranga, headstand, shoulder stand, eagle anything
Destroy: Chair pose, side angle pose, tortoise, wheel, handstand
― felicity, Thursday, 31 July 2008 22:47 (fifteen years ago) link
I love yoga but I wish it was cheaper. At a studio a class is around $20 now, which makes it hard to go multiple times a week. I could do it at home but I do better with a teacher leading me. I can finally do a couple of chattarangas before collapsing.
My favorites: cat/cow, downward dog, cobra, sphinx, upward dog, fish. Any back bends/heart openers.
Least faves: triangles, warriors, chair, that thing you go into before crow that is like a squat, pigeon.
Love: shivasana. I've had a few teachers end the class without corpse pose, instead just doing a couple of restful poses such as legs up the wall. Not right.
― Virginia Plain, Friday, 1 August 2008 02:37 (fifteen years ago) link
so not right! <3 shivasana
yoga should srsly not cost so much. i have found several good teachers who understand this here, phew, and even a few who do free community classes for people who would probably otherwise go to a yoga class, whether because of cost or 'culture.'
the only pose i always feel a slight dread/dislike for is bridge/wheel, and i'm not sure why, even though i've gotten better at it. a lot of poses i used to not like, i figured out and like now, which is encouraging to me right now as i'm tackling handstand from the ground up. like totally still faltering at L-pose - where you put yr feet on the wall and hands on the floor and make an L.. it is kinda scary. but that's ok.
i am doing another 1-week everyday 7:30am course starting monday ooh
― rrrobyn, Friday, 1 August 2008 15:27 (fifteen years ago) link
aww guise I <3 wheel
pincha mayurasana > handstand, but mostly because I suck at handstand
eka pada kundinyasana > crow for same reason, but also because it feels more like flying
― rogermexico., Friday, 1 August 2008 17:38 (fifteen years ago) link
CLASSIC
― cozwn, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 23:23 (fifteen years ago) link
my yoga class is 60mins
the bit at the end (shivasina??!) is SOOOOOO good, guys
― cozwn, Wednesday, 10 September 2008 23:27 (fifteen years ago) link
any chance of being able to teach myself yoga? eg using a book or the internetz? do you like yoga?
will I be able to do stuff dhalsim does?
― Local Garda, Wednesday, 4 March 2009 19:53 (fifteen years ago) link
RIP Sri. K Patthabi Jois
गते गते पारगते पारसंगते बोधि स्वाहा
― butt-rock miyagi (rogermexico.), Monday, 18 May 2009 17:54 (fourteen years ago) link
o lawd the NYTimes Style section found Vinnie Marino. as always their take on LA is pretty LOL celebs and douchebags but fuck the scene his class is amazing. once you survive your first time, anyway...
http://bit.ly/Y0Xhu
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Friday, 22 May 2009 22:10 (fourteen years ago) link
I really enjoy yoga, but all the places around me are either WAY expensive or way inconvenient to my schedule.. Any good yoga podcasts/webvideos that I can follow along to at home?
― juicebox, Wednesday, 9 February 2011 21:42 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.yogisanonymous.com/live.php#YogaVideoLibrary
I can personally vouch for Ally, Brock and Kate. They rock.
http://www.yogaglo.com/
I can personally vouch for Marc, Tara, and Noah. Heard very good things about Jason and Kathryn.
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Thursday, 10 February 2011 01:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Awesome, thanks!
― juicebox, Thursday, 10 February 2011 19:11 (thirteen years ago) link
Update: I have it on good authority that Elena Brower (YogaGlo) is also awesome. Might have to sign up and check this stuff out myself!
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Saturday, 19 February 2011 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHIs7_iMl8
― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Saturday, 19 February 2011 19:09 (thirteen years ago) link
Am slowly getting into this, but Im pretty guarded and very derisive when the new age hippie bullshit starts creeping in. Ive been to two classes, one at a very nearby studio run by a lady of that kind of hippie/yuppie amalgation endemic to Portland, one who used the word "toxins" unironically. The other was at the big chain gym place I belong to.
The small studio is better for learning the stuff, but the chain gym doesn't have the hippie shit leaking in.
At any rate, am very stressed and anxious right now thanks to work, and the gym doesn't have any classes left today, so I'm heading back to the studio place in a while.
― Put another nickel in, in the Juggalodeon (kingfish), Thursday, 3 November 2011 23:55 (twelve years ago) link
I really like vinyasa style..but all the places close to me either are WAY expensive or totally inconvenient times.
Anyone know any good online videos/podcasts (preferably of the freeee variety!) that are good for using at home?
― juicebox, Friday, 4 November 2011 14:54 (twelve years ago) link
Why is "toxins" a loaded term?
― Trip Maker, Friday, 4 November 2011 15:02 (twelve years ago) link
yoga teacher who used toxins ironically would be p hilar
― ice cr?m, Friday, 4 November 2011 15:07 (twelve years ago) link
So I've started doing this after many many people told they thought I'd love it. Guess what? I love it!
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:48 (eleven years ago) link
We have a lunch time thing at work which is weird mostly because I never thought I'd be walking around my office in yoga pants. The instructor is awesome. Just bought pass to studio by my house. Stoked.
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 1 June 2012 17:49 (eleven years ago) link
yaay :)
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Friday, 1 June 2012 20:03 (eleven years ago) link
i haven't been doing classes lately, but i do asanas at home and practice yoga breathing, which is A+ for all things incl when you're feeling stressed/anxious
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Friday, 1 June 2012 20:05 (eleven years ago) link
:D
― wolf kabob (ENBB), Friday, 1 June 2012 20:33 (eleven years ago) link
was wondering if anyone knew of a good yoga dvd or set of dvds that would be good for a beginner with pretty poor flexibility?
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 15:48 (eleven years ago) link
yogi bear season 2
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 15:56 (eleven years ago) link
sorry
maybe i can watch those when i'm crippled and bed-bound :/
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 15:59 (eleven years ago) link
H uses the "Bryan Kest Power Yoga" video sometimes. I watch for the lulz.
http://www.demeterclarc.com/wp-content/uploads/images/2012/02/BRYAN-KEST-AND-SEANE-CORN-297x300.png
― pair of fungals prove kiddie pools aren't just for algae anymore (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:01 (eleven years ago) link
he says stuff like "but imagine if the masseusse was pushing TOO hard -- you wouldn't call him up to rub you down again"
"power yoga" kinda scares me off, like i said i have poor flexibility, was hoping there was a set that maybe had a really easy ramp-up
weirdly the only thing i've gotten recommended is former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page's DVDs, which are supposedly great, but they have a lot of "dude stuff" like where they give moves new "cool" names like i dunno cat pose is like "radical ninja doggie style" or some shit
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:04 (eleven years ago) link
yeah it's not for true beginners. I tried it once and wound up with a strained neck. it's kind of self-contradictory in that he constantly tells you how you shouldn't be pushing yourself and just "be comforatable where you're at" or whatever, but the screen is full of beautiful people doing flawless yoga
― pair of fungals prove kiddie pools aren't just for algae anymore (Hurting 2), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:06 (eleven years ago) link
beginning on your own without an instructor is unfortunately very difficult because its hard to know how a pose is supposed to "feel" just by seeing a picture or video of it. particularly when you're not flexible and thus need to be that much more conscious about doing it correctly and not allowing your body to "cheat" and thus cause injury or waste your time. a mirror helps a lot though.
― ryan, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:12 (eleven years ago) link
the yoga journal series are not bad--there is a Rodney Yee one on back care yoga (which covers lots of stuff, not just back) that I think would be a good intro.
― quincie, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:38 (eleven years ago) link
thx :)
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 16:56 (eleven years ago) link
rodney yee is good! be careful and don't push yourself. better to go slower than necessary than too fast.
― ryan, Tuesday, 2 April 2013 18:17 (eleven years ago) link
ok i'll check out some rodney yee stuff, thanks y'all
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 18:59 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.yogaglo.com/beginner-center.php
internet-based, no DVD required. within this set of offerings, you'll probably want to start with "Basics" before jumping to "Ashtanga" or "Vinyasa." I can personally vouch for Steven and Tara. i'm sure the other teachers are great too.
that said, i'd echo ryan's note wrt live instruction. as with many physical arts (ballet, jiu-jitsu, guitar) you can teach yourself a lot from videos but there's no substitute for the presence of a teacher, especially in the early stages. no need to worry about your current state of flexibility. that would be sort of like not lifting because you're not already strong. really flexibility is just a by-product of yoga practice. it's something you'll acquire along the way and makes certain things easier but it's not really required at all...
― inste grammophon (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 19:36 (eleven years ago) link
thanks, i know that classes would be the best but i can't see myself dragging myself to class....
will check out that site thanks rogers
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 2 April 2013 20:01 (eleven years ago) link
Been going to a terrific iyengar yoga class in East London. Which is giving me a terrific foundation - and the teacher is very nice.
I'd say never touch a DVD because you need to work out the line between what is painful and actually a good stretch and how you far you should push yourself in the tougher exercises. Only a good instructor can give you that. I can't get near my toes at the moment and was told not to attempt, as it will come with time, continuous practice and patience.
Other things: - I feel slight aches have 'cleared' completely (and I've only done two classes, so probably nothing major in the first place).
Certain habits are beginning to change:
- Posture in my back is a lot more straight when I walk or sit.
- Both right and left are a lot more balanced, certainly plant both feet a lot more equally in my day-to-day standing and walking.
- I am not sleeping with my pillow anymore. Not sure that's right, but I want to feel both shoulders really touching the mattress.
A final word on breath, its very strange reading lots of lit and poetry (as I do), which can really change your breath, and learning a discipline that also modifies your breath in these exercises.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 20 May 2014 11:05 (nine years ago) link
I'll be going to my first Yoga session soon.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a male?
Choosing what to wear and the mat already seemed quite complex.
― ∞, Tuesday, 24 June 2014 18:57 (nine years ago) link
Loose fitting soft clothes, preferably with no metal zippers, buttons or clasps.
― o. nate, Tuesday, 24 June 2014 19:33 (nine years ago) link
If you're doing mountains/downward dogs, you might want to avoid wearing an overly baggy top, which would otherwise cover your face and mess with your breathing.
Don't push yourself, take breaks if you're tired, ask the teacher questions.
― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Tuesday, 24 June 2014 19:33 (nine years ago) link
yeah, I'd go for the opposite of loose-fitting in a shirt. something that lets your shoulders move but hugs the torso is ideal
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 24 June 2014 19:59 (nine years ago) link
Thank you for the information, everyone.
I'm looking into getting these prAna pants: http://www.rei.com/product/810244/prana-sutra-pants-mens-32-inseam
As for the top, I have a Nike top that is kind of like this: http://www.rei.com/product/795701/nike-legend-dri-fit-crew-t-shirt-mens
It feels cotton-y, not like a running tshirt, not as breathable. Well-fitted. I'm thinking this should suffice.
Hoping the beginner class doesn't totally destroy my body, because I've never bent my body in those ways.
― ∞, Tuesday, 24 June 2014 21:19 (nine years ago) link
$70 pants?? Shorts/sweatpants/track pants are my bottoms of choice.
― Call the Doctorb, the B is for Brownstein (Leee), Tuesday, 24 June 2014 21:29 (nine years ago) link
I only have running shorts, and I heard that wearing that isn't very considerate because of how much of my legs would be exposed when doing some positions?
I don't have sweat pants or track pants but I like the idea of track pants. I think I might try that first.
― ∞, Tuesday, 24 June 2014 22:59 (nine years ago) link
Don't let anyone shame you. Those pants are fine tho not very stretchy.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 24 June 2014 23:47 (nine years ago) link
er, I just do it in shorts - imagine Iyengar (who died two weeks ago) forking out for those..
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 8 September 2014 11:16 (nine years ago) link
This is a very good piece on him: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/22/my-teacher-bks-iyengar-yoga
A pupil of Silvia teaches me now.
Oh and R4 (15 mins in): http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fcstv
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 8 September 2014 17:50 (nine years ago) link
yoga people:
i've been watching myself on video a lot recently for class and holy shit my posture is awful. i have the thing where my shoulders point inwards and are tense (pulled up) plus my head is tilted forward -- terrible. it causes tension too so i am trying to eliminate this habit.
what are the best yoga programs/postures for correcting bad posture? also, is core strength really the key here or is it other stuff? i can't afford a chiropractor so i am crowdsourcing folk wisdom on this
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 00:37 (nine years ago) link
What do you mean watching yourself on video? Do you have a teacher who corrects your posture? If not, find a new teacher.
― vigetable (La Lechera), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 00:42 (nine years ago) link
I think he's a schoolteacher and he saw himself on video.
I'm the king of bad posture despite taking yoga -- for me, it's only taught me what good posture is, and doesn't necessarily enforce it in everyday life.
However, something that's helped me lately is to think of the base of your skull as having a knob, and then pulling that knob straight back (without raising your chin) -- that'll help you avoid the hunched-over computer slouch.
Another suggestion is to imagine that you have a string attached to the top of your head: imagine yourself suspended in the air from this string to get tall/elongate your spine and to avoid arching your back.
― TAKING SIDES: HUMANS VS. GUACAMOLEEE (Leee), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 00:52 (nine years ago) link
lee's got it. the class is a grad school class, not a yoga class, so in the videos i am lecturing and stuff. sorry it was unclear.
yes, i assume that deliberate corrections during the day are going to be a big part of this. i think it has to be part of larger, body language awareness. i am kind of "pulled in" and that signals nervousness, i think, even though i don't feel that way.
i am too busy to go to any of the yoga classes at my university gym so i am going to look to the internet now. i am doing other fitness stuff, but i think yoga is probably essential for developing body awareness and also flexibility to prevent injury
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 01:03 (nine years ago) link
Oh ok. I didn't understand what you meant. I really like yoga for body awareness. Best of luck to you.
― vigetable (La Lechera), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 01:09 (nine years ago) link
good posture is a constant battle since practically everything else in our lives works against it.
― ryan, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 01:35 (nine years ago) link
it's true. technology deforms us all, mentally and physically
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 02:22 (nine years ago) link
even beginning to contemplate the kind of holistic transformation that would have to take place for my posture to improve always makes me think of the incessant jesus prayer, like in franny and zooey, that i would have to so absorb a conscious awareness of the ideal as to be practicing improvement at all times, simultaneous with all other thought. instead i know when i walk down the street i just periodically make ridiculous-looking momentary corrective adjustments, strides that lunge into a kind of pinned-back breathed-in verticalism & which then slouch back into seahorse pose within ten paces
anyway i was maybe going to start yoga too. lil worried i'm coming to it with too fervent a Businessman Chugging Wheatgrass expectation that it will immediately fix me. there is this six-inch-square grid of chiropractic real estate that i feel like hasn't moved or rotated in like fifteen years
― schlump, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 02:36 (nine years ago) link
honestly, if people followed through with their plans to only eat whole, organic foods (mostly organic vegetables) and to follow a consistent, well-planned exercise regimen, i think they would "fix" a lot.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 02:45 (nine years ago) link
i only eat vegetables & i keep a consistent exercise routine of not doing a lot of exercise but guess walking everywhere & this city is pretty damn big & i still think of the bit in that film where the guy kills himself with an electric drill quite often
― schlump, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 02:57 (nine years ago) link
yeah but if you ate doughnuts and drove everywhere imagine how much worse off you'd be
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 02:58 (nine years ago) link
but i am not allowed doughnuts & after work i'm tired & i always thought i'd do pretty well inside a car (tapes, don't mind waiting around in traffic &c)
― schlump, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 03:12 (nine years ago) link
honestly, if people followed through with their plans to only eat whole, organic foods (mostly organic vegetables) and to follow a consistent, well-planned exercise regimen, i think they would "fix" a lot
I sort of want to believe this, but I basically don't.
I am very pro-yoga, though, all the same.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 03:41 (nine years ago) link
well, the good news is yoga won't fix anything overnight. if you stick with it though, it will def help with posture, especially for the deskbound.
best "program" imo would be a vinyasa class that you enjoy. this is the slow, steady kind of change that lasts so just sticking with it is the big thing. a lot of what you're learning is body awareness/muscle memory type stuff so there's no substitute for getting reps in.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 03:54 (nine years ago) link
thanks for the tips!
you guys don't think that diet and exercise and reducing stress can radically improve most people's lives? (emphasis on most -- obviously some problems are intractable.) i feel that so much in our life works against health, actively addressing these things is very important. don't always practice this.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 04:11 (nine years ago) link
i think no one can agree on what a healthy diet and well-planned exercise regime actually are.
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 04:43 (nine years ago) link
people disagree on the specifics but a few things are uncontroversial. for instance, refined sugar and trans fats are bad. never eating plants in their whole state is bad. barely moving all day is also bad.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 04:48 (nine years ago) link
ok but you know how incredibly simplistic and impractical that is when trying to translate to things people do
― call all destroyer, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 04:52 (nine years ago) link
why impractical?
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 04:56 (nine years ago) link
i'm not saying it is easy to adjust one's habits to be healthier, i am just saying that the benefits are potentially enormous. and not just in the long term. i can tell that i feel better on days when i avoid high-glycemic garbage in favor of real food. also, i made enormous strides in health when i started sleeping 7-8 hours a night instead of 5. i think this stuff matters.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 04:59 (nine years ago) link
http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/11/590x/Elderly-couple-using-a-laptop-504720.jpg
― hunangarage, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:03 (nine years ago) link
how did you find that photo of me and call all destroyer?
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:05 (nine years ago) link
I think I saw same recent studies that cast doubt on the 'trans fat is always bad' theory, though I may be well off base.
― TAKING SIDES: HUMANS VS. GUACAMOLEEE (Leee), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:18 (nine years ago) link
trans fat is always artificially synthesized (i think) so i think it's safe to say your body doesn't need it, even if it might not be as bad as some projections would have it.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:33 (nine years ago) link
as always though, it's also possible i don't really know what i am talking about and my comments come from a desire to, in a faithless society, place my faith in the human body and its capacity for healing
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:37 (nine years ago) link
you guys don't think that diet and exercise and reducing stress can radically improve most people's lives?
I dunno, I just went from a near-zero exercise regime to twice a week intense workouts and while I really like it I wouldn't say it's radically changing my life at all. It's radically changing my ability to lift heavy things, but it doesn't change my life outside the gym very much. A few years ago I spent six weeks cutting essentially all sugar and grain out of my diet and that also didn't create any radical change: I felt the same, looked the same, weighed the same, etc.
Note: I feel like changes of diet and exercise can make you live longer and be healthier when you're old, so that kind of IS a radical change of your life-as-a-whole, but I had the sense you were talking about your life-in-the-now.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 06:31 (nine years ago) link
i also should say that i find it almost impossible to believe that your body is affected by organic food any differently than it is by non-organic food.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 06:32 (nine years ago) link
i do not relate to that at all. when i am not eating well or exercising i emotionally feel like shit.
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 11:07 (nine years ago) link
― Treeship, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
An advice would be doing the standing poses against the wall, That should get you into -- as you stretch in the class triangle pose, for example -- keep in absolute line.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 15:58 (nine years ago) link
Sorry its a bit garbled but hopefully you know what I mean.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 16:01 (nine years ago) link
I think technology is a big culprit, but it even goes farther than that imo. maybe this is kooky, but it just doesn't seem like our spines are well designed for being upright all the time. so "good posture" is less finding a holistic "natural" spine position so much as it is fighting against its poor design to distribute weight different, keep it moving, etc. so it's always a conscious, directed thing. so yeah yoga is a great way to become "mindful" about how your body is positioned throughout the day.
― ryan, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 18:15 (nine years ago) link
Hey yogis, to properly open up my hamstrings, I need to feel the pull in my sit bones, not just behind my thighs, right? Any suggested poses, or is it the usual array but with knees bent to accommodate the stretch?
― Baruch Olbermann (Leee), Thursday, 8 January 2015 01:25 (nine years ago) link
Depends on the asana - in Trikonasana you shouldn't let the bum stick out at all - by doing so you should feel an 'opening' in the hamstring.
You don't need to bend a knee, in the basic Tasasana you are opening the hamstring, maintaning tension by a lift of the kneecaps.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 9 January 2015 09:34 (nine years ago) link
i've been really into inverted poses in the last few monthsit really helps to change perspective, if you're in the need of that sort of thing
― vigetable (La Lechera), Friday, 9 January 2015 14:09 (nine years ago) link
Attending a 'Level 2' class since NY. Inverted triangle is fine on one side, on the other (left) I nearly fell over.
Teacher said I wasn't ready to go upside down yet so I did a part dog pose with my head touching the floor to prepare. Hard times at the moment but still learning a lot.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 13 February 2015 09:57 (nine years ago) link
Inverted triangle is fine on one side, on the other (left) I nearly fell over.
It happens!
Sounds like what I know as the dolphin pose. There is a secret trick that makes head stands really easy to get into but I hesitate to offer it.
― Hollinger Escape Plan (Leee), Friday, 13 February 2015 17:56 (nine years ago) link
do them against a wall first? why hesitate to say that? it's safety-minded.it made them easier for me. i use a support beam in my basement but same concept.
― groundless round (La Lechera), Friday, 13 February 2015 18:07 (nine years ago) link
Not wall-related (I personally don't like doing headstands against them). My hesitation is if people aren't necessarily ready for it, because THIS ONE TRICK will get them upside down easily.
― Hollinger Escape Plan (Leee), Friday, 13 February 2015 18:15 (nine years ago) link
ok well i don't know this trick then! i don't care about doing headstands against the beam because the benefit is the same and i feel safer. i usually do yoga alone and will do p much anything to avoid injury.
― groundless round (La Lechera), Friday, 13 February 2015 18:38 (nine years ago) link
(btw I almost always fall over in half-moon pose, so yeah its cool.)
Thanks Leee, its the Dolphin - although my head was closer to my hands.
Yes I tried doing it against the wall first. I did do it at first but actually didn't trust that I was doing it right so came down, asked for help (class of ~ 10 so teacher was helping someone else), called her over and she told me to not get into it right now..
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 13 February 2015 23:30 (nine years ago) link
is it bad to do yoga on carpet (w/or w/o a mat) when i goog search all i get are ads for expensive platforms
― qualx, Monday, 13 April 2015 06:53 (nine years ago) link
It's harder to balance certain poses like tree, but I just went to a studio that was carpeted, but I don't think it's actively bad. The cushion will make certain other poses more comfortable, in fact.
― A-Hanisi Coates (Leee), Monday, 13 April 2015 07:16 (nine years ago) link
Maybe contact a yoga studio if they are getting rid of some and you could get a cheap 2nd hand mat?
I would use a mat as I am getting precise about using that space to measure my stride for triangle and right angle poses. Also my feet are placed at the back edge of the mat for those, it all helps alignment.
Also prefer to place blankets on a mat.
Otherwise I wouldn't think it as actively bad.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 13 April 2015 09:54 (nine years ago) link
the mat isn't the problem, i just dk if it, like, compromises your yoga if you have a carpet underneath. my carpet isn't too thick anyway so i'll just deal with it. thx
― qualx, Tuesday, 14 April 2015 02:11 (nine years ago) link
I don't think carpet should be the factor that keeps you from doing yoga!
― A-Hanisi Coates (Leee), Tuesday, 14 April 2015 17:43 (nine years ago) link
Amazon search shows a zillion options for between 15 & 20. Don't do it on carpet my for slipped and I got hurt one time
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Sunday, 19 April 2015 18:28 (nine years ago) link
what are you searching for that i'm not? all i see is "lifeboard" which is way too much
― qualx, Monday, 20 April 2015 05:45 (nine years ago) link
just like a yoga mat right? like the foam ones that roll up? i just searched for yoga mat on amazon, unless you mean something different?
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 20 April 2015 18:50 (nine years ago) link
you can buy a yoga mat anywhere, like i think you can even get them at walgreensthey're probably even under $20
― groundless round (La Lechera), Monday, 20 April 2015 18:57 (nine years ago) link
the $20 mats kinda suck tho
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Monday, 20 April 2015 19:39 (nine years ago) link
Well fine but they're easy to find and acceptable for a beginner. It's probably disgusting but I've been using the same mat (on and off) since 2000.
― groundless round (La Lechera), Monday, 20 April 2015 20:00 (nine years ago) link
yeah i dunno i've never had a good one, seems fine, keeps you from slipping i guess
― kurt kobaïan (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 20 April 2015 20:19 (nine years ago) link
http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt258/aufrog/Smilies/Favorite%20Smilies/siren.gif there has been a misunderstanding http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt258/aufrog/Smilies/Favorite%20Smilies/siren.gif
i am talking about portable floor/something flat to put under the yoga mat so it is not just a yoga mat on carpet, i am buying a yoga mat
― qualx, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 00:11 (nine years ago) link
Then I'd say don't worry about it?!
― groundless round (La Lechera), Tuesday, 21 April 2015 00:26 (nine years ago) link
Plywood?
― A-Hanisi Coates (Leee), Tuesday, 21 April 2015 00:58 (nine years ago) link
i'm just going to not use anything if that option has officially been deemed non-life threatening
― qualx, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 01:57 (nine years ago) link
yah um i do yogers with mat on carpet all the time and im not dead, maybe a little TWISTED though!
― mattresslessness, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 03:50 (nine years ago) link
Yoga mattresslessness.
― Acting Crazy (Instrumental) (jed_), Tuesday, 21 April 2015 03:55 (nine years ago) link
j/k i like hard surfaces more but what are you gonna do? no patio, the park a block away is not convenient enough so my bedroom it is
― mattresslessness, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 03:57 (nine years ago) link
going on a yoga holiday in July (organised by my teacher) (obv I don't see it as hol as I don't really go on holiday - its necessary work)
she is then going on a sabbatical for six months so I will have to find someone new.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 5 May 2015 11:12 (nine years ago) link
I went to a kundalini chanting event/gong bath and it was very enjoyable. Wasn't quite sure what to expect outside of the promised wall of gongs but I'm glad I went.
― Florianne Fracke (La Lechera), Tuesday, 5 May 2015 13:57 (nine years ago) link
Just came back yesterday from mine (and then went back out for London catch-up over drinks so a bloody long day). It was an Iyengar yoga retreat so worked on lots of poses (and a Pranayama intro) for up to five hours each day. Got to talk and exchange ideas with a few yogis. Besides it being a holiday, of course!
Great and worked out what I can and can't do so a home practice that I am confident with is in sight.
Got to know my teacher (we both love similar sorts of films!), shame she is moving away from London for a while (and possibly for good). She can handle a class with all abilities and I'll miss her, though I will see her in a workshop in a couple of months.
So now the task is on finding another teacher. But at least I know what a good teacher does - Iyengar has several levels of qualification and teachers have had to do it for a few years - but you tend to get tricky customers. A lot of fun to come!
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 11 July 2015 10:42 (eight years ago) link
Got hurt at a studio while doing a shoulder stand -- thinking because I'd gotten used to placing a blanket under my shoulders, and doing it without was enough to throw off my alignment -- and in a fit of pique went on a hiatus for about a month.
Went back to the same studio, but a different teacher, and I'm enjoying it again. Looking forward to trying her Ashtanga primary series when I have the time.
And probably off-topic (because it's more ballet-related) but I now have something resembling a forward split!
― :wq (Leee), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 23:25 (eight years ago) link
ashtanga primary series damn dude
― marcos, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 23:52 (eight years ago) link
u intense
the year I practiced that series every day was amazing, I was in my early twenties and def th best shape of my life
― marcos, Tuesday, 21 July 2015 23:54 (eight years ago) link
I'm not that good at it tbh! I'm a weekend yogi at best, I have to cheat if I want to get into bakasana, my shoulders are too stiff for a forearm stand, my balance is terrible, etc., etc.
― :wq (Leee), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 00:09 (eight years ago) link
And my Ashtanga experience has been almost exclusively with an intro-level class, so who knows!
― :wq (Leee), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 00:11 (eight years ago) link
full primary is the bomb but def takes time and consistency
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 22 July 2015 05:49 (eight years ago) link
Did my first bakasana into chataranga today! Most challenging thing though was staying in crow because I kept slipping off my arms because of the sweat.
― :wq (Leee), Monday, 12 October 2015 00:27 (eight years ago) link
congrats!
I still haven't mastered the slippy arms problem. theoretically real ultimate core strength will overcome that but i am not there yet. more lolasana for me.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Monday, 12 October 2015 02:21 (eight years ago) link
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/23/yoga-classes-cultural-appropriation
As someone who has practised yoga for a good couple of years I am looking at this story of the cancelled yoga class and the link above from a slightly different angle. Have black or fat women been stopped from going to yoga classes, or are they strongly made to feel unwelcome?
Who is it that builds this perception that yoga is for fit blonde women? Obviosuly the way its reported by the media and sold has its problems - but from what I've heard of the class at that uni its open for everyone and free so that isn't part of the problem and not where I would go to use words like 'decolinised'. The Guardian is also part of it and people who have a couple of brain cells should try and separate it from the way its reported to the way it is - classes are made up of older people and many who have some form of disability. Anecdotal evidence of overheard conversation at a fkn festival and having a quick scan around the room isn't journalism.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 24 November 2015 10:10 (eight years ago) link
Doing Iyengar still but taken up a yoga where we do Ujjayi breaths. its very relaxed, the teacher isn't that bothered about straightening legs all the time (she tells me to 'unlock' them). Still learning but its interesting.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 8 February 2016 14:18 (eight years ago) link
thinking of trying a few classes
is there such a thing anymore as normcore yoga? like i dont want a hot room or rope or any high energy nonsense, just quiet calm etc
i'm not sure what to look for, there's so many types!
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 February 2016 17:31 (eight years ago) link
nb am not super flexible/athletic
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 February 2016 17:50 (eight years ago) link
Veg, Hatha's quietude sounds like it'd be your thing. Mostly holding relaxed poses for 1+ minutes.
And you don't have to be flexible when you start yoga! You develop your flexibility THROUGH yoga.
― Sofialo Ren (Leee), Monday, 8 February 2016 19:19 (eight years ago) link
thanks! looks like there's a studio not far from my house that offers asha :D
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 February 2016 19:53 (eight years ago) link
Second hatha yoga -- that's how I started
― La Lechuza (La Lechera), Monday, 8 February 2016 20:18 (eight years ago) link
Ropes etc can help get you into poses although there can be too much faffing around if the Iyengar class isn't well directed.
My current teacher doesn't use as many.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 8 February 2016 20:19 (eight years ago) link
excited to start trying this imo
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 February 2016 20:27 (eight years ago) link
isn't hatha yoga just, like, physical yoga eg any type of yoga in which you practice asanas?
eg iyengar, ashtanga, bikram, vinyasan flow whatever all these popular schools/systems/types of yoga are just various interpretations/instances of hatha yoga? idk i could be way off
ime iyengar is the most accessible to beginners and is the most "no frills" type - no music, no hot rooms, no new agey western yoga mysticism. there are definitely ropes, blocks, straps etc but those are all just tools to make the poses more accessible to practitioners
― marcos, Monday, 8 February 2016 20:31 (eight years ago) link
Maybe I'm conflating Hatha with Yin/restorative yoga; I sort of associate Iyengar with holding Warrior for minutes, whereas what I'm calling Hatha is like holding a forward bend for minutes.
Veg, by asha do you mean ashtanga (which is a more vigorous style with arm/head balances and fancy jumping).
― Sofialo Ren (Leee), Monday, 8 February 2016 20:38 (eight years ago) link
Hatha is general yoga. The two main styles that grew off Hatha are Iyengar and Ashtanga - and both of those were taught by Krishnamacharya: http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/yoga/youtube.asp?id=krishnamacharya
Svastha is another style but way less known.
Bikram is quite limiting - you are meant to do it in a hot room and its the same sequence of asanas over and over which doesn't sound v appealing. From doing a couple of styles I'd say they all do similar things - its the emphasis on various aspects that's different. Then again different teachers in one style will teach an asana in a slightly different way as well.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 8 February 2016 20:46 (eight years ago) link
well this place offers hatha among other things & it sounds exactly as chill & normcore as I'm looking for
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 February 2016 21:07 (eight years ago) link
Hope you enjoy it! Stretching and getting stronger are top notch physical sensations imo. I've been working on my headstand for like a year and I can finally do it without wall support. Nothing helps me shift perspective like a solid headstand!
― La Lechuza (La Lechera), Monday, 8 February 2016 22:08 (eight years ago) link
I see what you did there, Lech!
― Sofialo Ren (Leee), Monday, 8 February 2016 22:18 (eight years ago) link
Hathayoga as a general term describes any physically-oriented form of yoga (as opposed to e.g. seated meditation). That said, in the US a class described as "Hatha Yoga" would typically be expected to be less physically vigorous than e.g. Vinyasa or Power yoga and require less experience linking breath and movement. Good place to start imo :)
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Monday, 8 February 2016 23:23 (eight years ago) link
thx rog!
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 9 February 2016 00:17 (eight years ago) link
I was pondering on the drive home how successful yoga practices would be if there wasn't a semi-bastardized conceptual framework overlaid
"Hey, want to go to a meet-up in the park and do some stretching and strength exercises?"
yoga is good though, imo
― μpright mammal (mh), Tuesday, 9 February 2016 00:33 (eight years ago) link
i have all kinds of digestive weirdness and weird aches & i thought some stretching might help over time
plus i really need the breathing/meditation for relaxation
i'm a mess rn lol
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 9 February 2016 00:56 (eight years ago) link
i don't have a regular practice right now because my life is crazy but i did have one for a number of years, basically on/off since 2001, yoga is amazing. even now when i do like 20 minutes at the end of the day, i'm astonished by how much physical/mental/emotional tension is released after just a few asanas
― marcos, Tuesday, 9 February 2016 14:43 (eight years ago) link
Some poetry from Patanjali: http://www.asymptotejournal.com/special-feature/patanjali-vibhuti-pada-the-chapter-of-dubious-glories/
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 24 February 2016 21:32 (eight years ago) link
^^^ v yogic
― davey, Wednesday, 24 February 2016 22:01 (eight years ago) link
TS: Kino MacGregor vs. Briohny Smyth
― Sorry To Be The Bearer Of Bad Poos (Leee), Monday, 21 March 2016 21:47 (eight years ago) link
short answer: your mom
― map, Monday, 21 March 2016 21:48 (eight years ago) link
i just finished my 3 week intro to yoga workshop with a hatha instructor & i loooooved it. me & four other ppl, mainly seniors. super chill & GREAT
instructor is nice & normcore and not scary like the last instructor i tried. she has a deep well of yoga knowledge, v friendly & funny
doing thurs night classes starting this week, space is a buddhist temple (!) - v excited
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 21 March 2016 21:56 (eight years ago) link
beforei found the workshop i tried a hatha class & the instructor was like an snl parody, weirdly passive agressive & would stare into your eyes & say I LOVE WHAT I DO in a way that seemed like she did not at all
the class was cool but she just made me feel v stressed, glad that i went back to the drawing board & found someone more my speed
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 21 March 2016 21:59 (eight years ago) link
yr situation sounds v rad. especially temple access. i am trying to do a lil youtube yoga at home, i got derailed when it turned into Xtreme Cardio Crunch Workout. i was really looking to roll around more instead of do slo-mo cross-fit
― bloat laureate (schlump), Tuesday, 22 March 2016 02:12 (eight years ago) link
i learned ujaiyi breath :D
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 March 2016 03:18 (eight years ago) link
Yes that's what I'm doing in Svastha yoga, which I try to use in my Iyengar class sometimes. Just that deeper engagement with breath and movement earlier on - in Iyengar the breath usually comes later.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 07:35 (eight years ago) link
Real question is how do you do with mula bandha?
― Sorry To Be The Bearer Of Bad Poos (Leee), Tuesday, 22 March 2016 17:08 (eight years ago) link
i had to google it - they havent covered that
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 22 March 2016 17:45 (eight years ago) link
basically a kegel. at which I rule.
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Tuesday, 22 March 2016 23:44 (eight years ago) link
Tighten the muscle you'd tighten to stop peeing mid-stream. At least that's what I found when I googled it after my female yoga teacher was unable to give me a good answer.
(uh, i realize now that this is a super-late answer, but I'll leave it in case anyone else wonders. Or if someone knows this my answer to be wrong and can correct me)
― gradually louden lots (Øystein), Tuesday, 29 March 2016 14:01 (eight years ago) link
I started up yoga again a few months ago after a 10+ year break. I had been getting pretty badly out of shape, plus suffering from neck/shoulder pain from compressed discs. My main weekly class is called Fundamentals of Ashtanga, which goes through the primary sequence of Ashtanga, but is a bit more lenient in terms of variations. I really like my teacher, she is the right mix of nice and supportive, but also serious about what she does. The class itself is very grueling, just about at the max physical limit for what I can endure, and that's even with all the things that I either can't do, do easier variations on, or just plain skip. Still I manage to keep up and am growing a bit more limber.
Outside of this class, I do whatever fits my schedule, usually somewhat less impactful classes. I don't love the whole heated room thing. It's been especially bad the last few weeks because the AC unit at the yoga studio has been busted, which isn't a good thing in Texas during the summer. Everyone else seems ok with it, so I'm just rolling with it.
― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Wednesday, 6 July 2016 16:28 (seven years ago) link
what are my options for keeping my hair out of my face that isn't a man bun?
― bitcoin bajas (diamonddave85), Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:50 (seven years ago) link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_trim_our_hair_in_accordance_with_the_socialist_lifestyle
― ♫ Corbyn's on fire / PLP is terrified ♫ (jim in glasgow), Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:51 (seven years ago) link
buzz it! It's liberating
― Evan R, Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:52 (seven years ago) link
bbut i love my hair!
― bitcoin bajas (diamonddave85), Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:52 (seven years ago) link
It grows back. And people who have hair to care about look the best when they buzz it. Plus summer is the optimum time to buzz it.
― Evan R, Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:59 (seven years ago) link
depends how long yer hair is but i use this headband
http://www.kooshoo.com/collections/aurea-headbands-mensonly
you have to wrap it around twice
my only complaint is it sometimes gives me bad bedhair when the back of my head is on the floor and the band moves
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:59 (seven years ago) link
I used to see longhair guys with ponytails in my yoga class pretty frequently. I shave my head, though.
― Nicholas Nickelback (Leee), Wednesday, 13 July 2016 20:59 (seven years ago) link
I'm trying to work my way up to the full shave. Not sure I'm ready yet.
Buzzing is a weird thrill everybody should try at least once. You'll absolutely hate that you did it the first day, start to warm to it by day two or three, and then a few weeks later you'll start to get bummed that it's growing back
― Evan R, Wednesday, 13 July 2016 21:01 (seven years ago) link
also the feeling of stepping out of the shower and having a dry head within seconds is ++++++++++++
― Evan R, Wednesday, 13 July 2016 21:02 (seven years ago) link
u can have short hair without buzzing it, wtf guys
― mh, Thursday, 14 July 2016 00:45 (seven years ago) link
go entirely bald shave your entire body this is the only way
― qualx, Thursday, 14 July 2016 03:38 (seven years ago) link
Any suggestions for a good ashtanga video on YT that gives room for variations (read: physical shortcomings)? I might have to start practicing on my own in the near future and don't have the entire primary series committed to memory yet.
― Pleeesiosaur (Leee), Sunday, 7 August 2016 23:32 (seven years ago) link
my instructor helped me with a down dog variation on the wall that I really like & then the next class we did normal down dog like 5 times ;_;
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 August 2016 01:56 (seven years ago) link
time to bring your own wall
― mh, Monday, 8 August 2016 02:19 (seven years ago) link
also i think i have finally gotten the hang of ujjayi breath & feel v accomplished
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 8 August 2016 02:31 (seven years ago) link
I'm really not getting the hang of ujjayi breath. I've even taken a super beginners course and it still seems odd to me.
― michaellambert, Monday, 8 August 2016 18:22 (seven years ago) link
I've been doing a Fundamentals of Ashtanga class for the last several months. The class covers only the first half of the series and encourages modifications whenever needed. It still kicks my ass, but the repetition has allowed me to find lots of ways to modify various parts either because I can't do them the right way or because I need to avoid things that mess up my neck. I'd love to talk modifications if anyone would find that helpful.
This video is pretty representative of what my class covers, although I flop around and sweat and sniffle a lot more than the lady in the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Krp4W0TlAU
― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Sunday, 25 September 2016 04:16 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, after trying to go along with what I take to be a fairly authoritative video, I figured that if Sri Pattabhi Jois's breaths were too short for me, I'd be better off on my own.
My solo practice is a little intermittent, but I'm starting to develop my series with variations (I don't like doing the weird split leg, roll-around ones -- I do like adding a pigeon pose).
What kind of variations do you like, Moodles?
― rm -rf / (Leee), Sunday, 25 September 2016 21:54 (seven years ago) link
that video was O_Opretty sure i will never be that limber my hatha class is ridic chill & def more my speed. but when i see other yoga practice i feel like a toddler lol
― Flamenco Drop (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 25 September 2016 22:07 (seven years ago) link
Yoga is not a competitive sport - that's why I like it!
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Sunday, 25 September 2016 22:51 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, these videos definitely show an idealized version that I know I will never get close to, but they are at least helpful in laying out what to aim for.
One thing that I do in a bunch of positions that involve a bind is using a strap to make up the difference.For shoulder stands, I've been using a block to prop up my back, which helps take pressure off my neck. Also sometimes just do legs up the wall.I can't do headstands at all, so I do a version of plank with forearms on the ground.For hopping forward and backward, out of down dog or into plank, I've been trying to get less forceful and lighten a bit, instead of landing like a bag of bricks, which was jarring on my neck.
― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Sunday, 25 September 2016 23:12 (seven years ago) link
I can't do most of the what that video shows, either! I don't have the flow committed to memory yet (and I've been doing this for years) so needed it for reference.
I can't do headstands at all, so I do a version of plank with forearms on the ground.
Do you mean dolphin pose?
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/68/75/fe/6875fef132455b568dc227f0206fb28a.jpg
BTW, for jump-throughs, have you tried putting blocks under your hands? That way you have more room for your legs, which I bet would help with your control. And from recent personal experience, I realized how much work my lower core needs to be able to retract my legs enough to do a smooth jump-through.
― rm -rf / (Leee), Monday, 26 September 2016 00:26 (seven years ago) link
more like a plank version of that without my butt up in the air, but dolphin pose would work too
I haven't tried blocks, but I could see how that would make it easier. I think I have short arms or something.
― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Monday, 26 September 2016 01:41 (seven years ago) link
everyone thinks they have short arms... or long legs... and we all have our quirks but it's amazing how consistent practice (and, as leee says, a lot of core work) can lengthen up those arms or shorten those legs or whatever.
Maty Ezraty says it took her eight years to get solid on the jumpthrough. Until then, blocks definitely help.
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Monday, 26 September 2016 17:05 (seven years ago) link
turtles actually have short legs iirc
― dr. mercurio arboria (mh 😏), Monday, 26 September 2016 17:13 (seven years ago) link
lol true
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Monday, 26 September 2016 17:38 (seven years ago) link
One yoga teacher (she is just starting) said I had really long arms. Took a few classes, she was ok but as I've moved now I don't go there anymore.
Last 3 months I've been going to classes by a couple of excellent teachers at this place 5 mins from where I live, one of whom is a Senior Iyengar yoga teacher. The Capital S is earned, she is very good and strict at what she does (with a funny edge which means when she tells you off its ok), and I'm always learning. She started in her 40s "at a low ebb" and it offers hope to all of us tbh. The intermediate class is a bit of a jump for me but I feel like I am improving, and with my bits of home practice it means no bastard can grind me down no more.
The other teacher is very good too. Above all, well, she is just my type. Its just wrong really.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 21 November 2016 18:03 (seven years ago) link
Iyengar is not my personal jam but any Senior Iyengar teacher is legit af.Very serious training and not a designation you can earn just by showing up for x number of hours.
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Monday, 21 November 2016 18:42 (seven years ago) link
Indeed. None of this 200 hrs crap*. Iyengar teachers need to have practiced yoga for a few years then have a recommendation from an already qualified teacher to be accepted into training (or so I believe). Then its tough exams. And if you pass (and many fail) there are a few levels to get to Senior. Its quite an accmplishment for this woman. This partic teacher just pushes me to practice more (I always want to be doing yoga but fkn life man). I broke my big toe two months ago and recovered enough to go to a class after 3 weeks but not hers, just need to go back to a basic level just to keep it up.
Anyway, at my level you can definitely see the difference between a teacher that has only done it for a bit vs a Senior.
* ok not saying they are all like that - and 200 hrs is a lot of yoga.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 21 November 2016 19:06 (seven years ago) link
iyengar teachers are the real deal
― marcos, Monday, 21 November 2016 19:09 (seven years ago) link
I am forever grateful that my first yoga study was with very legit Iyengar including John Schumacher. Having Iyengar as a foundation makes dipping into other styles safer and more meaningful imo.
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Monday, 21 November 2016 21:44 (seven years ago) link
^^ very much agreed. there are a lot of folks who have only practiced "vinyasa flow" who kinda have no idea
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Monday, 21 November 2016 22:32 (seven years ago) link
and i love vinyasa flow!
so so true. I've done a few classes of flow yoga about 6 months ago and imo what Iyengar teaches you is precision in the asanas. Really important not to fall into bad habits that are injury forming.
The one other teacher at my current studio is a former Iyengar teacher (who is also in the buddhist order) who does two types of classes: one of which is more flow based and another which is yoga+meditation (went to a couple of them as I was on my way back from broken toe) and while that didn't work for me I felt that were I ever to move from Iyengar to other practices I'd have a good foundation. But I am only interested in shadow yoga and the guy who came up with it was one of Iyengar's former pupils. No classes nearby tho'.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 21 November 2016 23:19 (seven years ago) link
No longer interested in shadow yoga. Only Iyengar and Yin yoga (a very gentle practice, no inversions which is a shame, but you hold poses for minutes at a time - so deceptively light, however I've only been for a class or two)
This is a great piece on Iyengar teaching - and the critical teaching I get from the teacher I've been with for a year now (the one I mention above)
https://yogaspy.com/2017/09/25/a-critical-teacher/
Also started a practice course with the same teacher (one session a month for 5 months). So she has given a 15 min practice to do everyday (I was practicing for about 30 mins to an hour 2/3 times a week but scaled all that back for now) and we're looking at practicing paranayama safely in the next session.
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 7 October 2017 12:06 (six years ago) link
nothing gentle about yin lol. those long holds can be fkn brutal.
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Saturday, 7 October 2017 16:54 (six years ago) link
Yes indeed, didn't mean to downplay it...
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 7 October 2017 20:08 (six years ago) link
I've had to ramp down my practice recently due to repeated injuries. Need to find a way to keep up without killing myself, but it's been tough finding the right balance.
― Moodles, Saturday, 7 October 2017 20:13 (six years ago) link
Negotiating so I can practice intensely but with the heightened awareness to avoid injury.
Good to ramp it down, look at the asanas that are causing injury and maybe adapt so you can keep practising and looking at it.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 9 October 2017 11:27 (six years ago) link
Been practicing most days for about an hour this month, and started doing some pranayama too.
In my experience if there is an injury then - funnily enough - doing yoga is what aids the recovery. I did my back a little bit when I tried this tough twist but then I did a lighter practice the next day and that cleared it off.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 26 October 2017 20:52 (six years ago) link
yeah, i'm finding that as long as i finish an hour of running with an hour of yoga my legs are fine and if i skip even just twice, i end up with an injury.
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Thursday, 26 October 2017 21:11 (six years ago) link
i skipped it today but i have been going to a workplace free yoga class taught by my coworker and it is so wonderful. not only does it feel good, but stretch-bonding with my coworkers is a nice side effect.otherwise i normally do yoga in my basement by myself. going to the class 1x a week is really nice because i don't have to make any decisions and someone else (the teacher) is in the driver's seat. not being in the driver's seat periodically is essential for people who work in emotionally draining professions imo.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 26 October 2017 21:15 (six years ago) link
Plus a teacher shows you other ways to do things and streches (no pun intended) any notions of what might be possible.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 26 October 2017 21:26 (six years ago) link
ok shit I have a groin strain on my right leg aargh - got it by doing warrior pose against the wall.
I am still practicing every day - but not that.
Has anyone here had this? How long does it take to heal up?
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 19 November 2017 11:49 (six years ago) link
I had a minor car crash about 1 1/2 weeks ago and I crunched my wrist, not sure that it is a full on fracture, mire like a bine bruise, but it looks like I'm done with yoga until next year. 😣
― Moodles, Sunday, 19 November 2017 16:30 (six years ago) link
damn sorry to hear that - my body really missed yoga for about 2/3 weeks when I broke my toe last year.
(someone I know is a piano player and has had issues practicing yoga with her wrist issues but now has qualified recently to teach yoga..)
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 19 November 2017 20:12 (six years ago) link
I've had a series of injuries over the past year, mostly shoulders and neck, that have slowed me down, but this is the first one where I feel like I just need need to stop for a while.
― Moodles, Sunday, 19 November 2017 20:30 (six years ago) link
that's crazy, i ALSO got a groin strain on my right leg this past thursday when i was climbing. It really pulls you out of running/yoga/climbing for sure.
Depending on the severity, my understanding is between a week and a half to several months will heal it. I was bouldering ten feet up on a wall when i heard a pop in my upper thigh... not a good feeling.
I believe you want to avoid static stretching while the adductors heal... they're tiny little muscles but they can bounce back if you don't fuck with them too hard. The pain from it is waking me up in the mornings but it's starting to fade a bit... unfortunately it also feels like it's pulling against my right testicle all the time, which is a very funky and unpleasant sensation.
sorry about your wrist moodles, that sucks. maybe talk to your yoga teacher and ask if they have recommendations for work you can do at home to make sure the scar tissue doesn't cause problems later?
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Sunday, 19 November 2017 21:00 (six years ago) link
Actually a day or two after I posted that back in November the strain cleared enough so I could walk at my usual pace and then I kept practicing. It is now pretty much gone. I didn't feel any strain whatsoever in class this morning.
Course finished last month - we went through a variety of approaches so I am using that plus getting whatever bits and pieces I learn in class. I make notes (though not as much as I should) from class and try and incorporate with the practice the week after too.
In May it will be nearly four years since I've started - and given what has been going on personally I have to say it just makes things a bit better. Any bit of daily practice gives me 'space' and strengthens my nervous system for the challenges ahead. I will need it.
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 3 February 2018 13:02 (six years ago) link
I'm back at Hatha Flow now even though my hand hasn't healed up at all after 3 months. Using a block to prop up my right arm for stuff like down dog and plank. I'm really feeling the lack of exercise for 2 months, everything seems way harder than I remember.
― Moodles, Saturday, 3 February 2018 17:00 (six years ago) link
Alabama may lift a decades-old ban on yoga in public schools, but the greeting "namaste" would remain on the forbidden list. Under a bill in the state House local school systems could teach yoga, but moves and exercises would have to have English names. https://t.co/sttgfCylZv— The Associated Press (@AP) March 8, 2020
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 8 March 2020 19:08 (four years ago) link
do they allow French in ballet classes?
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Sunday, 8 March 2020 23:44 (four years ago) link
Funnily enough I tried this power yoga class run by an Indian teacher yesterday.
Looked him up and he has a decolonising yoga project and he seems really left-wing (judging by his twitter). He is very much into demystifying yoga for complete beginners.
I'll go now and then as we don't often get to practice arm balances in Iyengar yoga.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 9 March 2020 10:27 (four years ago) link
Anyone got recommendations for YouTube yogis? I can’t see myself going back to class for a while
― badg, Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:50 (four years ago) link
A couple of teachers I know are doing zoom classes. Not ideal but this is all that is available to me.
I have used this time to actually practice using the sequences at the back of Light on Yoga. First time I have really engaged with it, the photographs of Iyengar doing advanced postures always put me off.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:01 (four years ago) link
I started doing yoga for the first time ever to counteract the effects of working from a kitchen chair all day, just using that Down Dog channel. It's ok, I like it fine, nothing overly challenging and it's easy to follow. I have nothing to compare it to though.
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:39 (four years ago) link
― badg, Thursday, 2 April 2020 bookmarkflaglink
A lot of studios are doing online classes. Do you mean specific YouTube only ppl?
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 2 April 2020 14:13 (four years ago) link
I believe the place I had been going to, Black Swan Yoga, has a daily livestream on YouTube. Can't vouch for their quality. They also have an app you can subscribe to that has a bunch of content.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 2 April 2020 15:05 (four years ago) link
"Black Swan Yoga" is a bit on the nose, no?
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, 2 April 2020 15:08 (four years ago) link
I like EkhartYoga and Fightmaster Yoga on YouTube. I avoid classes with music (just no) and instructors I find irritating (obv).
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Thursday, 2 April 2020 15:10 (four years ago) link
There's a lot that's unfortunate about their branding, tbh. I'm hesitant to fully endorse them because their vibe is a little offputting in general, but I at least get solid workouts from their routines.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 2 April 2020 15:18 (four years ago) link
I avoid classes with music (just no) and instructors I find irritating (obv).
yeah i'm permanently scarred from having a beck song come up on some instructor's playlist.
― i am a horse girl (map), Thursday, 2 April 2020 16:38 (four years ago) link
The studio where my wife teaches is streaming live throughout the day On IG and archiving on FB. I highly recommend a Bikram class with Gary or Power with Claudia.
https://m.facebook.com/ashrambellevue/
― Yelploaf, Thursday, 2 April 2020 16:45 (four years ago) link
I use this for Ashtanga:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJzfZ6w0s4g
Though there's also this class from K Pattabhi Jois too, which I haven't checked out.
― Triceratops Vowell (Leee), Thursday, 2 April 2020 17:49 (four years ago) link
I like this one
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Thursday, 2 April 2020 19:53 (four years ago) link
yeah i'm permanently scarred from having a beck song come up on some instructor's playlist.Lol! This happened to me too w Beck but it was a free class my coworker was giving and I let it slide, she’s nice and I like her. The only music-containing yoga class I’ve enjoyed that wasn’t self-directed within the last 15 years was a metal yoga class. I love the immersive loudness and now I just do metal yoga at home.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 3 April 2020 00:09 (four years ago) link
Strongly recommend the track “Catharsis” by YOB bc it’s 23 min long (perfect for warmup) and has a spectacular ending.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Friday, 3 April 2020 00:11 (four years ago) link
Most of the non Ashtanga classes I've attended have had some kind of music, ranging from unobtrusive to painfully cringe inducing. The best ones lean heavily towards balearic bliss. I will credit one teacher, who mostly had terrible taste, for once having a playlist that featured "Tears in the Typing Pool" into "Parallelograms".
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 3 April 2020 01:11 (four years ago) link
I sort of expect & enjoy fairly cheesy songs at class but an instructor played Bill Callahan once which was a pleasant surprise.Thanks for the recommendations they were exactly what I was looking for.
― badg, Friday, 3 April 2020 02:41 (four years ago) link
We just tried a Yoga app that used Nick Cave’s soundtrack from The Road, which was a little on the nose.
I like Yoga with Adrienne. She can be cloying but I like the pacing and she’s good (speaking as an amateur) at explaining the moves. And she has a cute dog.
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 3 April 2020 09:12 (four years ago) link
― Triceratops Vowell (Leee), Thursday, 2 April 2020 bookmarkflaglink
It's a notorious demonstration in that community but it isn't for beginners.
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 3 April 2020 09:15 (four years ago) link
Adrienne uses the word “yummy” too much for me bit otherwise I think she is a good teacher.
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Friday, 3 April 2020 12:45 (four years ago) link
I've been using Yogiapproved.com for classes since before this started.
no annoying music so far, but they have a 30 day free trial and a lot of classes so its fairly mindless to open up the app and decide on something.
I mainly use the same 3/4 classes. but I have no issues with the range.
they also do something called 'outlaw yoga' which I have a strange fascination with, it seems to be yoga for aging bikers, but with a dude playing guitar in the background to take the edge off...
I've watched the trailer loads in weird fascination but can't bring myself to actually open one of the courses.
― my opinionation (Hamildan), Friday, 3 April 2020 13:27 (four years ago) link
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Saturday, 4 April 2020 14:41 (four years ago) link
DisgustingNo one should be describing anything as juicy or yummy during a YOGA class? No.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Saturday, 4 April 2020 14:45 (four years ago) link
Juicy gets used a lot, it's a problem
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Saturday, 4 April 2020 15:15 (four years ago) link
you mean like "a deep juicy stretch"? yuck.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Saturday, 4 April 2020 15:33 (four years ago) link
Ms. T. and I used to go to a studio that catered to "angry screenwriters and suspicious IT workers" years back and ran across the Yoga With Adriene videos at the beginning of the pandemic. Her teaching style works well with us, especially since it's just the two of us at home watching a YouTube video, and I'm somewhere between ambivalent and not-giving-a-shit about her adjective choices.
I knew my posture was bad, but I didn't know just how bad it was. Twenty months of daily practice (yes, daily) later, I'm totally shocked to discover that I gained almost a centimeter of height back.
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 4 January 2022 23:42 (two years ago) link
Amen to Yoga With Adriene, I'd let my regular yoga lapse since my old Y membership expired but a friend recommended her videos last year and I'm back to at least several times a week. I really like her range of classes, that you can pick one for just neck and shoulders if those are sore or whatever. And her patter's generally pretty likable. Anyway, yes to regular yoga!
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 5 January 2022 00:30 (two years ago) link
Just thought I'd draw your attention to the journal of yoga studies. All open access.
There has been plenty of scholarship on the roots of modern yoga but this is something else. Papers on yoga and its relationship to dance, Indian martial arts. Yoga in China and Tibet. I am making my way through it so will read some articles and say anything as and when.
https://journalofyogastudies.org/index.php/JoYS/issue/view/2023.V4
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 19 April 2023 10:40 (one year ago) link
Sickening.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/india-modi-yoga-whitewash-crimes-use-how
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 22 June 2023 20:45 (ten months ago) link