Question for Yoga people

[tripperfunster]

I am considering doing some yoga this year, but am ... horribly unflexible and out of shape. Will I shame myself if I just show up at a yoga class and flop around like a landed trout? Or should I use the internet to learn some poses and build up some strength first?

Are you expected to hold the poses for the required amount of time? Or do people 'tap out' and sit quietly/stretch while everyone else does the downward dog for an hour?

also? I've done some looking on the internet, and uh ... they all seem pretty ... spiritual? I don't want to do a sanscript prayer before I stretch. I just want to stretch.

Comments

[randomcreeper.livejournal.com]

Just ask the people if they do a prayer, explain you don't want 'spiritual' and they'll understand. I went to World Gym and did yoga and never had any religious anything.

And people of all ages and body shapes can do yoga, you have to start somewhere. If my fat ass can do it, anyone can do it!

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Oh, I can live through a prayer or two, I just don't want 80% chakra (sp?) and 20% yoga.

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

Most yoga studios, at least the ones I've gone to, don't do any praying beforehand and just let the instructor know what your fitness level is like and they usually do their best to tailor the routine to your level.

Beginner yoga classes are very easy on the body and you'll probably find you get used to it very quickly. Out of all the organized exercises it really is one of the most easy to get into for the beginner.

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

Oh and since I missed the first part of your question, I would really avoid trying yoga for the first time using the internet to show poses and instead take a beginners class so a teacher can show you the right poses for your personal fitness level.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I had googled 'yoga for beginners', so there were no headstands or anything, but yeah, having someone point out that you're hurting your back or something would be helpful. thanks!

[schemingreader.livejournal.com]

I took yoga for a few years with a teacher I really liked. She adjusted the poses to the people in the class. It was Iyengar yoga. There are schools of thought about how to teach yoga, and B.K.S. Iyengar's is one of them--other kinds of yoga are named after other gurus or their ideas. (Why a North American man whose name is John Friend would call his yoga style Anusara is a mystery to me! His name is Friend and the Sanskrit word Anusara sounds like butt hole! Whatever.) Iyengar was one of the first yogis to promote yoga as a physical exercise for health rather than as a spiritual practice.

My mom takes yoga at a Baron Baptiste power yoga studio. In general, my teacher is negative about Baron Baptiste, because she thinks he goes through poses too fast and doesn't pay enough attention to safety. Yet my mom, who is in her early 70s, found a teacher who is really careful with her body. I went to one of her classes and they move from pose to pose really fast, because they do vinyasas, or flowing sequences.

I guess the best thing to do is look for a teacher who is smart about bodies. She or he should start the class with a question about your body or your health or how you're feeling. My teacher does not play music during class, because she wants to listen to the students. The teacher should go around the room helping people adjust their bodies to the poses. You will be able to tell whether you have found an intelligent teacher right away.

I really like doing yoga. I still do it at home. I do not agree that it's easy to get into it--some poses can hurt if you aren't flexible, and you may find yourself comparing yourself to other students. What I like about it is concentrating and practicing something you can improve forever, which you do all the time with your artwork. It's totally worth a try for you for that reason.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I gotta say, the thought of having a type of excersize that I might work on forever is both exciting and terrifying, but I have lost a shit-ton of flexibility in the past few years, and I'd really like to get it back before I some hunched over old lady.

[schemingreader.livejournal.com]

Well, if it's not fun for you, don't do it. I think it's fun, and I suspect you'll like it. It's worth trying more than one teacher.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

1. Yoga is about doing what you can do and not measuring yourself to others, ever. It's nice that way! You challenge your own limits because that's part of building strength and pushing your courage, but it's not supposed to be competitive with others.

2. Learning a few poses on the net is useful just so that you have a little familiarity when the instructor says, "Now let's move to Warrior One..." Of course when you're starting out you do a lot of looking around the room to see what everyone else is doing and how to do the pose, but it's nice to get a little familiarity with the most common poses before you go. Gives you a little headstart.

3. Whenever there's a pose you don't want to hold, or a point in the routine where you want a routine, it's completely expected that you go to a resting pose you like. (Child's Pose is very popular for this.) You can skip poses you don't like, too--for example, I don't do anything that constitutes a backbend position (and there are quite a few of those) because it's hell on my sacroiliacs. No one cares if I go right from plank position to downward dog and just skip upward dog.

4. You don't have to embrace the spirituality. It's expected that you would be respectful of any pre- or post-routine spiritual moments that occur, just like you would if you went into someone's house for dinner and they said grace before the meal--you wouldn't glare and huff, you'd sit there quietly and politely while grace was said, and then you'd eat. Yoga's like that. Think of the final resting pose as being like the "cool-down," and the "Namaste" at the end is like the "Thanks for coming, everyone!" If you find that the yoga class you attend has an instructor whose routine is honestly bothersome to you--for example, if they talk about energy and chakras and such to such a constant degree that it bothers you--then you can look for a different class. It would be rude to get in an instructor's face and say, "Can I get a non-spiritual class? I just want the exercise," (not that I think you would do that! ^_^ ) because Yoga has its roots in spirituality. But I'm one of those people who, like, you, want the exercise rather than embracing the spiritual side of it, and yet I find the ritual of it endearing.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Good to know. And yeah, I don't mind a little bit of spirituality, but it seemed that every time I googled 'yoga for beginners' they were looking to convert me instead of teach me. ;)

And yeah, i think I'll do a bit at home before going out in public. ;)

[bugeyedmonster.livejournal.com]

I don't think all yoga studios do the spiritual thing. (I haven't taken any yoga classes, but only going by what I've heard from others.)

I've only heard of a couple yoga-ers who went to a place that did Eastern spiritual stuff, several yoga-ers who went to places that didn't do anything spiritual, and one yoga-er who went to a place that played Christian music/Biblical stuff during yoga class.

I would say to go to different yoga places, ask questions of the teacher, and ask if you can sit in on one class to see if their method is right for you.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Well, as long as they don't play Christian music I'll be fine. ;)

thanks!

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

Pretty much my experiences are reflected by everyone's comments already. But in any case...

Yoga is non competitive. You're encouraged to hold poses as long as you can, but you should also be mindful of your body's limits and listen. My classes allow for different variations, and the teachers give you a choice on how far to take it. It is all about your personal practice, and not how to measure up to everyone else in class. I don't feel pressure to do poses I don't feel like I am ready for. For example, I am the only person in one of my classes who can't do a handstand yet. My teacher will come to help me up if I want the help, but otherwise, I get to choose how far I want to go.

I am also the most inflexible person, and I am slowly getting some flexibility. There are people in class who are way less flexible than I am. The teachers offer different variations for people to comfortably do poses but also challenges their body to work on flexibility. It's a pretty open ended practice.

Also, there are some spiritual aspects to my practice, but it is completely up to the individual students to decide if they want to participate. There is an optional chant before some of my classes, and we always chant om, but it is always presented in a very non secular way. Some teachers like to do more work in self realization and self improvement, but it depends on the teacher.

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I still think there will be people judging me. ;) But that's just my brain, I think.

I'm looking forward to going. You are one of the people on my flist who talk about your yoga experiences in a very positive light, and that's why I thought I might enjoy it.

[foxestacado.livejournal.com]

It's strange but yoga isn't a form of exercise for me (even though it is that), it is a daily retreat. I go there to achieve a measure of peace in an otherwise chaotic day, and it does wonders. And it's an intellectual exercise for your body. I had to think about how to move one muscle one way and another muscle another way, and it took conscious effort and thought, and doing that was very mentally clarifying. For once, I wasn't worrying about tomorrow, I was thinking about how to move these muscles.

I guess that's why I talk about yoga a lot. It's a very positive, beneficial, and wonderful experience every time I go. And it makes me immensely happy that the little bit I talked about yoga in my journal has actually inspired others to try it. I hope you enjoy your yoga experience as much as I have enjoyed mine! I can't wait to hear about what you think of it.

Nosy me

[dorothy-notgale.livejournal.com]

If you're still wondering, I've never felt a lot of pressure in the yoga classes I've taken (3 studios, 3 teachers). I was really, hideously stiff at first and I still have the balance of a unicycle without a rider, but they honestly did mean it when they said "just do what you can." No need to hurt yourself. There are also usually beginner-level classes.

I liked it; it helped me build strength and flexibility whithout aggravating my asthma.

As to the spirituality bit ... well, my instructors were all rather hippie-dippie, but part of it is that most routines have a structure. The full sun salutation is a flowing series of movements that's basically a workout set to a ritual, so it's easy to memorize and repeat every time. The end meditation, too, is basically just good as a cool-down portion so you don't go home with cramps.

/butting out

Re: Nosy me

[tripperfunster.livejournal.com]

Be as nosy as you like! I don't friends lock anything. :D

and yes, I haven't signed up for any classes yet, but I am looking forward to giving it a try.