I'm a Yoga Newbie
Moderators: Orlion, balon!, aliantha
- MellowCat
- Servant of the Land
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I'm a Yoga Newbie
I haven't been physically active since I was a wee little freshman in high school (which was NINE years ago! Ehajhdakhfkbsljbrtbs!!!!) So, for Christmas, I broke my usual silence and requested yoga stuffs. I received a yoga mat, two instructional DVDs, and two instructional books. I have been working out for 20 minutes a day pretty regularly now. Although I'm aware that having a live instructor will garner more results, I would prefer to begin at home. If I become even more serious about yoga, then I may take classes.
Are there any others here that are experienced with yoga? Do you have any tips for beginners like me? I am mostly interested in gaining more flexibility and a compatible diet, but any advice would be greatly appreciated... becauseIreallydunnowhatI'mdoingyet
Are there any others here that are experienced with yoga? Do you have any tips for beginners like me? I am mostly interested in gaining more flexibility and a compatible diet, but any advice would be greatly appreciated... becauseIreallydunnowhatI'mdoingyet
“So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
- Savor Dam
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<------Recently saw a bear out here in a bow tie and a porkpie hat....never mind, that was Yogi, not yoga.
Seriously though, MC, I know there are Watchers who are pretty knowledgable in yoga matters. Hopefully, one of these will respond to your question soon.
Seriously though, MC, I know there are Watchers who are pretty knowledgable in yoga matters. Hopefully, one of these will respond to your question soon.
Love prevails.
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
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You will need a teacher at some point, for full benefits. You simply can't learn it from books/video because [just like martial arts, ballet, lots of things] there are subtleties you literally won't be able to see/feel...though six months or a year on your own will likely have benefits if done consistently, and somewhat prep you for classes.
But, in a general way, perhaps already in your materials:
breath always [unless the pose specifically says otherwise] low slow and released.
In general it is more important to be most correct in the center and maintain a pose longer than to work harder for a shorter time. What I mean is, say you're doing lotus [every system I know of uses lotus]. It is FAR more important to have your butt seated correctly and your spine aligned with your legs not fully/correctly positioned and just stay there breathing easy for a long time than it is to strain/force your legs into the right position and not be able to hold for long. [not to mention if you do that it will actually slow your progress EVEN IF it speeds up your hip flexibility, for instance]
Most [though I've spotted a couple exceptions] books/vids I've seen do too many poses for too short a time, and begin with poses that are too damn hard for beginners, so hard they'll never really get it right.
OTOH: there are even more bad teachers than bad books/vids, and books/vids are cheaper.
But, in a general way, perhaps already in your materials:
breath always [unless the pose specifically says otherwise] low slow and released.
In general it is more important to be most correct in the center and maintain a pose longer than to work harder for a shorter time. What I mean is, say you're doing lotus [every system I know of uses lotus]. It is FAR more important to have your butt seated correctly and your spine aligned with your legs not fully/correctly positioned and just stay there breathing easy for a long time than it is to strain/force your legs into the right position and not be able to hold for long. [not to mention if you do that it will actually slow your progress EVEN IF it speeds up your hip flexibility, for instance]
Most [though I've spotted a couple exceptions] books/vids I've seen do too many poses for too short a time, and begin with poses that are too damn hard for beginners, so hard they'll never really get it right.
OTOH: there are even more bad teachers than bad books/vids, and books/vids are cheaper.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- MellowCat
- Servant of the Land
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@sgt.null
Hmm... elaborate? :3
@Vraith
Thanks! You've given me a great deal of useful information!
I am glad to know your opinions on this matter... I certainly will take classes when available to me. Like you said, I would like to prepare myself for a 6 months to a year before I take classes. But it's also something that isn't really offered where I live. I am sure when I eventually move to California, I'll easily find a place to learn.
Thanks for your thoughts about easy breathing+being centered VS straining for the right position. I have been trying to slowly progress rather than force myself to. I guess I intuitively knew as much?
Are there any books or videos you would recommend? I am currently using Rodney Yee's DVD workouts, and have enjoyed them immensely, but if you have any recommendations, I would be very glad to hear them!
You are a fountain of information!
Hmm... elaborate? :3
@Vraith
Thanks! You've given me a great deal of useful information!
I am glad to know your opinions on this matter... I certainly will take classes when available to me. Like you said, I would like to prepare myself for a 6 months to a year before I take classes. But it's also something that isn't really offered where I live. I am sure when I eventually move to California, I'll easily find a place to learn.
Thanks for your thoughts about easy breathing+being centered VS straining for the right position. I have been trying to slowly progress rather than force myself to. I guess I intuitively knew as much?
Are there any books or videos you would recommend? I am currently using Rodney Yee's DVD workouts, and have enjoyed them immensely, but if you have any recommendations, I would be very glad to hear them!
You are a fountain of information!
“So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
- aliantha
- blueberries on steroids
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Rodney Yee is adorable.
Vraith, I agree with you about the length of poses on the DVDs. Sometimes I'm just about relaxed into the pose and they're off to the next thing. Arrgh. Haven't had that problem with any of the classes I've taken.
MellowCat, I'm way out of practice (like I am with most things, sigh), which is why I haven't chimed in sooner. You might be able to find an inexpensive class at your local recreation center. Altho as Vraith says, the quality of instructors varies. And be careful of classes at gyms -- they tend to concentrate less on form and more on how many calories you're burning, which is not what most forms of yoga are about.
Vraith, I agree with you about the length of poses on the DVDs. Sometimes I'm just about relaxed into the pose and they're off to the next thing. Arrgh. Haven't had that problem with any of the classes I've taken.
MellowCat, I'm way out of practice (like I am with most things, sigh), which is why I haven't chimed in sooner. You might be able to find an inexpensive class at your local recreation center. Altho as Vraith says, the quality of instructors varies. And be careful of classes at gyms -- they tend to concentrate less on form and more on how many calories you're burning, which is not what most forms of yoga are about.
EZ Board Survivor
"Dreaming isn't good for you unless you do the things it tells you to." -- Three Dog Night (via the GI)
https://www.hearth-myth.com/
- Linna Heartbooger
- Are you not a sine qua non for a redemption?
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Greetings, MellowCat. Welcome to the Watch! and thanks for starting a thread that I feel like talking on... even if I don't necessarily have something useful to answer your question with!
(I do have a story from yoga class that might amuse though.)
vraith- about the breathing... reminds me of something funny.
My husband was like, "So did they teach you how to breathe?"
Me: "Umm, I added the class late, [every time I took it!] so I missed that part."
My husband: *facepalm* That's the most important part!
(My friends joked that I always took yoga cause it didn't require shoes; I went barefoot for most of those 4 years.
In reality, it was because it was the easiest P.E. I could late-add to replace a class I was failing.)
(I do have a story from yoga class that might amuse though.)
vraith- about the breathing... reminds me of something funny.
My husband was like, "So did they teach you how to breathe?"
Me: "Umm, I added the class late, [every time I took it!] so I missed that part."
My husband: *facepalm* That's the most important part!
(My friends joked that I always took yoga cause it didn't require shoes; I went barefoot for most of those 4 years.
In reality, it was because it was the easiest P.E. I could late-add to replace a class I was failing.)
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 10621
- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:03 pm
- Location: everywhere, all the time
heh...on the first, unless you are deceiving us, you're female, and [is it sexist if you're saying something obvious and positive?] women in general don't strain/push in the same way men do [they have their own special ways ] so ya easily could have intuited it.MellowCat wrote: I have been trying to slowly progress rather than force myself to. I guess I intuitively knew as much?
Are there any books or videos you would recommend? I am currently using Rodney Yee's DVD workouts,
On Yee...I agree with Ali, he's adorable, but probably for different reasons than Ali's. I've only seen one of his vids...he did rush in that one, too many poses, not enough settling in. BUT that's ok...learn the poses, the routine, then just do it yourself without the vid [check back for corrections/reminders once in a while, every week or so]. The thing is, he is rooted in Iyengar [weird that happens to be the one, it's the one I prefer...the one manual I own on yoga Iyengar] but also in dance...in fact, like Jet Li is really a dancer/acrobat, not a martial artist, but still way better than Jean Claude Van Damme.
Linna: hysterical really. and yet true. I could rant on this for pages...half the world's problems vanish if everyone knew 3 things they think they already know: how to breath, how to walk, how to speak.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- Linna Heartbooger
- Are you not a sine qua non for a redemption?
- Posts: 3894
- Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:17 pm
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LOL, I'm getting that most people don't know how to do those things. But I'm not seeing how if they did those things well it would solve a massive set of the world's problems. (except speaking would get a good start on some things!)Vraith wrote:Linna: hysterical really. and yet true. I could rant on this for pages...half the world's problems vanish if everyone knew 3 things they think they already know: how to breath, how to walk, how to speak.
I enjoy at least 2 out of 3 vraith-rants I've seen. Go make a thread!!
The tough decision would be if the thread should be about this subject, or just a general vraith-rants thread.
It's a great idea, really!
"People without hope not only don't write novels, but what is more to the point, they don't read them.
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
They don't take long looks at anything, because they lack the courage.
The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience, and the novel, of course, is a way to have experience."
-Flannery O'Connor
"In spite of much that militates against quietness there are people who still read books. They are the people who keep me going."
-Elisabeth Elliot, Preface, "A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael"
- Worm of Despite
- Lord
- Posts: 9546
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:46 pm
- Location: Rome, GA
- Contact:
Yogurt_Cat,
Congratulations on your first topic! Now you are set to create a vast cosmetology of information breeding cute little informations.
Pet them. Tend them. But remember it is a powerful weapon. A benevolent disease that your fellow Watchers help make bigger. The symptoms of the disease are growing together and becoming one.
Forever.
I for one do not yoga. I believe in eating vast quantities of protein, bench-pressing well over my weight and killing bison. But only bison that are very old or don't want to live.
Congratulations on your first topic! Now you are set to create a vast cosmetology of information breeding cute little informations.
Pet them. Tend them. But remember it is a powerful weapon. A benevolent disease that your fellow Watchers help make bigger. The symptoms of the disease are growing together and becoming one.
Forever.
I for one do not yoga. I believe in eating vast quantities of protein, bench-pressing well over my weight and killing bison. But only bison that are very old or don't want to live.
- MellowCat
- Servant of the Land
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- Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:25 pm
- Location: the laundry basket
BAHAHA... that's why I'd have to relocate to partake in classes. In any of the local recreational centers near where I live, there is nothing for yoga. I just live in a very small and rural county in the country. Rednecks aren't typically interested in yoga. :3 Mind you, I'm not laughing at you in the slightest! Just the absurdity of yoga where I live. There's no market for it, sadly.aliantha wrote:MellowCat, I'm way out of practice (like I am with most things, sigh), which is why I haven't chimed in sooner. You might be able to find an inexpensive class at your local recreation center.
Linna Thank you for the warm welcome! And I thought your story was cute
No, it isn't sexist, Vraith. It just wasn't obvious to me that it would be easier for women in certain ways? Um. And I'm going to research "yoga Iyengar" so that I have a better understanding. Thank you very much!Vraith wrote:heh...on the first, unless you are deceiving us, you're female, and [is it sexist if you're saying something obvious and positive?] women in general don't strain/push in the same way men do [they have their own special ways Laughing ] so ya easily could have intuited it.
“So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
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- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:03 pm
- Location: everywhere, all the time
Now why the hell would someone want to create a vast array of make-up and acne medications out of KW threads and posts? and would they cure your skin conditions and make you more attractive for clubbing? I think you need some double-blind experiments before I'll believe that.Lord Foul wrote:! Now you are set to create a vast cosmetology of information breeding cute little informations.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- Worm of Despite
- Lord
- Posts: 9546
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:46 pm
- Location: Rome, GA
- Contact:
We've known each other for how many decades, Vraith? One? And the one time I use a word wrongly you highlight it?!Vraith wrote:Now why the hell would someone want to create a vast array of make-up and acne medications out of KW threads and posts? and would they cure your skin conditions and make you more attractive for clubbing? I think you need some double-blind experiments before I'll believe that.Lord Foul wrote:! Now you are set to create a vast cosmetology of information breeding cute little informations.
DAMN YOU! DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!11
Sorry. Let's get this thread back on track.
Hugs everyone!
- Vraith
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 10621
- Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:03 pm
- Location: everywhere, all the time
Heh! After all my posts you've read, you really think I could pass up making a joke on that no matter WHO posted it?Lord Foul wrote:We've known each other for how many decades, Vraith? One? And the one time I use a word wrongly you highlight it?!Vraith wrote:Now why the hell would someone want to create a vast array of make-up and acne medications out of KW threads and posts? and would they cure your skin conditions and make you more attractive for clubbing? I think you need some double-blind experiments before I'll believe that.Lord Foul wrote:! Now you are set to create a vast cosmetology of information breeding cute little informations.
DAMN YOU! DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!11
Sorry. Let's get this thread back on track.
Hugs everyone!
Ok, now everyone downward dog, and breath.
[spoiler]Sig-man, Libtard, Stupid piece of shit. change your text color to brown. Mr. Reliable, bullshit-slinging liarFucker-user.[/spoiler]
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
the difference between evidence and sources: whether they come from the horse's mouth or a horse's ass.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
the hyperbole is a beauty...for we are then allowed to say a little more than the truth...and language is more efficient when it goes beyond reality than when it stops short of it.
- Worm of Despite
- Lord
- Posts: 9546
- Joined: Sat Oct 26, 2002 7:46 pm
- Location: Rome, GA
- Contact:
I think you mean "breathe"? Zing.Vraith wrote:Heh! After all my posts you've read, you really think I could pass up making a joke on that no matter WHO posted it?Lord Foul wrote:We've known each other for how many decades, Vraith? One? And the one time I use a word wrongly you highlight it?!Vraith wrote: Now why the hell would someone want to create a vast array of make-up and acne medications out of KW threads and posts? and would they cure your skin conditions and make you more attractive for clubbing? I think you need some double-blind experiments before I'll believe that.
DAMN YOU! DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!11
Sorry. Let's get this thread back on track.
Hugs everyone!
Ok, now everyone downward dog, and breath.
Also: I stretch sometimes so hard it qualifies as yoga in 7 states.
- Savor Dam
- Will Be Herd!
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As long as a certain gourd-avatared Watcher does not happen by this thread, you can claim to be making jokes.Vraith wrote:Heh! After all my posts you've read, you really think I could pass up making a joke on that no matter WHO posted it?
Of course, I am surely not one to talk, being a bit obsessive about pointing out malapropisms and other unintended wordplay...usually not to the delight of the original speaker/writer.
Love prevails.
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw
~ Tracie Mckinney-Hammon
Change is not a process for the impatient.
~ Barbara Reinhold
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul.
~ George Bernard Shaw