Yoga (Your Experiences)

[Diomed]

Looking to get into some more types of flexibility exercise and have heard that Yoga is a good place to go to work on that. I was just curious if any of you have any experiences with it and maybe a little report. I'm a fairly big dude but damn my flexibility is horrible.

I recently bought an instructional dvd on it but have yet to really find the time to get to it outside of my workouts, strengh training, and well normal everyday life.

Ok I'm ranting but if anyone does it or Pilates let me know what you think. THanks.

[Blarg]

Used to do it to public t.v. programs when I was a kid. Actually fell asleep in some poses. Also did tons of stretching for martial arts when younger.

Best way to find the time is to do it while you are doing something else. For instance, while watching t.v., letting the coffeepot boil or your dinner cook, while reading. Even while eating -- bring the food to the coffee table in the living room.

That way you can take your time and really stretch. If you try to do it too quick, you probably won't get anywhere near as far as you can go.

[shemp]

Blarg, watching "Lilias, Yoga, and You" with a tube sock over your johnson is not "doing Yoga." (I kid.)

OP, I do it occasionally. I'm very inflexible and I'm not sure it has helped much with flexibility. I do like the focus on breathing and combining movement with breath.

I've found it matters very much to me the type and focus of the class and instructor. I prefer a focus on healing/restoration as opposed to trying to kick my butt with a fullbody workout.

[Jbrochu]

Yoga is great for increasing flexibility. I have extremely tight hamstrings for some reason which continually led to knee injuries when running/alpine climbing.

A climbing partner of mine suggested yoga when I told him the stretching exercises my physical therapist gave me were too boring. It's been a tremendous help in preventing injuries plus has the benefit of a great core body workout.

The style I'm talking about is called Ashtanga Yoga. (Sometimes called power yoga.) Other styles are less physical so you should read up on the different styles. Also, some places are really into the spiritual thang which might make some people uncomfortable.