Yoga ??

[SARGE]

Was wondering if anyone has tried Yoga. I know little about it and realize there are sources on the Net but feel more comfortable exploring it within my own community. On the surface it seems a mystical venture along with getting in touch with your inner "whatever". There's a joint closeby and I could ask them the details but they would only want my money.

[tigstah]

you can go to a walmart or target and pickup a dvd on pilates or yoga. or a local ymca or something similar would have classes on it. i get the whole mind body as one, i'd rather stretch before doing tae-bo and some miles on a treadmill....
growing up in the hood in d.c., and i hear about the whole mind body...i have visions of hippies....so it kinda kills for me. not that i am trying to offend anyone.
then again, if it doesnt kill you, it makes you stronger....

[als814]

Tons of people love it, I hate it. My gym teacher made us do it like twice last year and kept talking about how it is really good for your back and stuff. I swear to god, each time we did it, it took me a month to get over the chronic back pain it caused me.

[rjfvillarosa]

I bought a book of Yoga exercises years ago and one of them was a warm up exercise to get the body moving before you actually stood up from your bed in the morning, it was brilliant and I never felt better in the mornings. Unfortunately I have lost the book on my travels to the Caribbean but I do remember the exercise, most of it involves sitting on the edge of the bed before you put your feet on the floor and then moving your neck in certain ways to stimulate blood flow and muscle toning.
Go with it Sarge you won't regret it.

[Kareeser]

Tons of people love it, I hate it. My gym teacher made us do it like twice last year and kept talking about how it is really good for your back and stuff. I swear to god, each time we did it, it took me a month to get over the chronic back pain it caused me.

It's a sign! No Pain, No Gain!

Old words do ring true from time to time :)

[Markoman01027]

Hey Sarge,

I have been doing Yoga for about a year now. I have become more flexible, more aware of my senses and about myself, toned up, and most importantly, relaxation. Because of these benefits of Yoga, I am able to fight stress and not let it defeat me.

Yoga has helped me defeat my lower back pain.

I recommend Yoga to anybody.

This is the DVD I started off with. Excellent for beginners:
http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_videos2.php?form_movieid=1082351&br=1&

This is what I do now:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000A2ZQE/ref=pd_bxgy_img_b/102-7282436-8796911?ie=UTF8

Good luck!

[David M]

Sarge,
Yoga looks fine for stretching and as we get older our muscles, tendons and joints become stiffer. Being limber helps prevent injury. Yoga seems fine for becoming more limber. You still need the cardiovascular and the strength training that comes wth weights/bows or bands that Yoga does not provide. I still think there are more time effective ways of stretchnig out for your exercise routine other than spending all the time it takes to do Yoga.

[Panama Red]

Yoga? Wasn't he a catcher for the Yankees? And a coach? Maybe it was that bear that lived in Jellystone! Ah, ta heck with it. My wife has Yoga tapes and does that stuff from time to time. She even finds classes periodically and goes to them too. I tried it - does nothing for me. If I wanna loosen up, I ride my bicycle or go swimming. Burns more calories and gets all the joints workin.

[XenaWP]

I took a beginner's class at work during lunchtime on Wednesdays. Beginner's level was good since 'though I am lean, I'm not so limber. The class lasted about 12 weeks.

I'll tell ya what, Wednesday afternoons, I was MUCH more relaxed than at any point during the week. It's a dam good stressbuster, good for toning up the muscles, good for balance.

I'd definitely recommend it, but try to start at beginning level to avoid the chance of injury or just being totally lost. Positions are everything in yoga, and to do them right you have to begin at the beginning.

[Markoman01027]

You are supposed to stretch out atleast for 10-15 minutes, and you can do Yoga in 10-15 minutes, anyways. IMHO, its the most effective stretching out there. I do it before I jog, and it works great! I feel so relaxed afterwords, too.

Yoga stimulates not only your muscles, but also all the organs of your body, and unites the mind and the body.

For example, there is a pose that I cannot do because my upper body is not strong enough to exert the force needed to complete the pose. So as you can tell, Yoga does need strength and it also does build strength as some(not all) poses are calestetic(your body weight is the resistence) like.

Yoga does not create bulk muscle mass like a gym can. Yoga creates flexibility, tone, peace of mind, and an overall lean muscle body throughout.

[catacon]

This is what Yoga does for you:

http://www.gocomics.com/inthebleachers/2006/08/07/

[RazorDX]

Buy a drumset... great cardiovascular excercise. The female side of my family does that kinda stuff... but I actually haven't had the time or resources to try it out.