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Why do you do yoga... and can you recommend a good beginner's video?

Yoga is amazing, your body becomes more flexible, makes you feel better, makes you healthier in body, mind and spirit.

Yoga lets you tune in, chill out, shape up, all at the same time.

what yoga can do for u:

Improves muscle tone, flexibility, strength and stamina
Reduces stress and tension
Boosts self esteem
Improves concentration and creativity
Lowers fat
Improves circulation
Stimulates the immune system
Creates sense of well being and calm.

and in sex, everyting becomes better, because u can put yourself in positions that you cant even imagine.

link to some beginner yoga positions:
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/85_yoga-beginners.htm

I don't think that I could have said it any better A.

The great thing about yoga is it doesn't matter what level you are on, beginner or expert. You participate at your own individual level and only practice as deep as is comfortable for you.

The great thing I've discovered while getting my feet wet with the initial classes was that doing yoga is sort of like having acupuncture. Just like acupuncture is designed to help stimulate the meridians within the body for balance I find that yoga is similar. Actually I find it better as I am taking a more active role in creating a balance in contrast to what acupuncture can do as you passively receive treatment.
I used to go to a school for acupuncture on a regular basis that is only a couple blocks from my house. I know they are students but I found that if you don't hit the right spot exactly you can impede the flow or aggravate any existing problems. Oh well, you get what you pay for. And in this case it was free since they were students looking for "victims".

Luckily my gym offers several classes a week on yoga.

For recommendations you might want to try Yoga Zone. Try shopping for their DVDs on amazon.com. If you find them on there be sure to read the reviews. I always read a ton of reviews before I buy something on there. I find it helps me make the best decision. Perhaps they can recommend something better. I have been satisfied with the Yoga Zone DVDs. I got mine in a set. It wasn't very pricey at all. If you look for other vendors that sell these DVDs through amazon.com you can usually get them used at a steal. I buy blockbuster hits on there for $3-10 used and they're great.
Good luck.

I actually never recommend videos.
Beginning yoga should involve 2 steps:

1. Take a class at a studio with certified yoga instructors.

2. Get some good reading materials and take the time to read them so as to understand the ideas and intentions behind yoga.

Yoga is much more than a bunch of funky poses and stretching. And while you don't necessarily have to ascribe to the spiritual philosophies central to the practice - yes, you can embrace yoga as a purely physical practice - it's important to at least learn and develop a basic understanding of its origins, purposes, etc. I always recommend this book:


It's one of the best I've read and I treat it like my yoga bible when I need to refresh on breathing techniques and asanas. (Although I've practiced yoga for 12+ years. In my first 1-3 years I asked my instructor/yogi most of my questions. My first yogi was the person who told me about this book originally and she was in her 70s, having practiced yoga since the 50s!)

Videos for yoga - esp. anything by Rodney Yee - are ok, but really miss out on the instructor/student hands on experience and do not provide the full scope of resources you can get from an instructor and a good supplemental text like the book above.

Oh, and I do yoga because I love it.

I started my practice after discovering I hated weight lifting and needed something to complement my running regimen. I talked to my dr first, took a class, read a lot of books, and loved it. The mind body connection you establish - if you engage your practice properly - will benefit your life in far more ways than the obvious transformation yoga enacts upon your body.

When I started doing yoga, it was in an attempt to break away from my chiropractor. I've been getting adjusted regularly for the last 10 years. Doing yoga every other day or so has kept me having to go see him for the last two months.
I bought Rodney Yee's AM/PM yoga for Beginners. Mostly I just do the AM, but Patricia Walden does a good PM Yoga, which I do when I'm feeling extremely stressed.

Books are great like the one Runinthecity recommends but sometimes attending a class isn't all that practical for most people.
I would agree that going to a class would be most beneficial. This is especially true for beginners. This way, you can get feedback from the instructor on your form and whatnot. But for a beginner/intermediate level person I don't see anything wrong with videos. I think it's a nice way to have motivation and direction while in the comfort of your own home.
Eventually, when one becomes more advanced a video really isn't necessary.

The only reason I'm not a fan of videos is the element of concentration and focus. With beginners classes, you watch a demonstrated asana or vinyasa, then you preform, with feedback, and sometimes, hands on instruction from the teacher.

If you're having to watch the video...you're not focusing inward, concentrating on breathing, etc. You're watching the video. If you just want the audio to follow along with, that's fine. But you shouldn't be doing moon salutes while craning your neck to watch your tv screen.

Yoga has been up there on the list of things to do for a long long time. For some reason I am super intimidated by it and afraid to join a class. I think my gym offers classes, but again I get nervous...

I think I will check that book out. I have done pilates before and really liked it, as it was closer to the repetitive lifting I have done in the past. I am not sure I am the meditative type, but Yoga might be a good thing for me. If I can past my fear of joining group exercise...

Stay tuned... Next week I try spin. (fear)

i do yoga because, well because last year on my birthday i got a massage. i paid for an hour, the chick wound up working on me for an hour and a half. she spent alot of time trying to work all the knots and webs out of my back and legs. 8 years of kickboxing and lifting had turned me into a mess, but i didn't care because i was always hurting from kickboxing anyway. anyhow after 90 minutes the masseuse was all "that's it. i'm done. don't come back here until you start doing some yoga." seriously!

so a few days later i'm in my local cafe and the owner introduces me to another local who, it turns out, taught yoga. he invited me to his class the next day and i went. it was challenging and frustrating and awesome. he taught a really fast ashtanga class so it was like a full body workout plus a full body stretch. i loved it.

now i do yoga a few times a week. it's a great complement to lifting and running and whatever else i do. i do it because it makes my body feel balanced and comfortable. plus i swear i've been healthier since i started doing it even though i haven't changed anything else.

My understanding is that yoga is really a spiritual path that developed in India. We (in America) instead use it as a health-fitness program. So the reasons to do yoga would depend on which point of view one takes.

I personally think Tai Chi Chuan is way better but that's me!

I do yoga because it makes the screaming voices in my head stop...just kidding, but it is a great way to force yourself to stretch and it does tend to be very relaxing. There are many styles, but I've found the gimmicky Bikram to be my favorite. True yogis will scoff at that, but the hot room makes makes me more bendy.

Great for core strength... plus my yoga instructor is reeeeally cute

i do it for spiritual/metaphysical/mystical/magickal reasons. sure its good for one's physical health- increasing flexibility of ligaments and joints, increasing core strength, boosting the immune system, developing balance and grace- but once one understands why they are doing what they're doing, they realize that it runs infinitely deeper than that. doing yoga merely for fitness is like going to mass every weekend merely because you like singing in latin- though that analogy pales in comparison to the reality. i suggest everyone here read 'hatha yoga pradipika' and 'dynamics of yoga' before watching the instructional videos. there are other great books too, like 'tantra, the path of ecstasy' and classics like 'the yoga sutra of patanjali' but really i think everyone should at the least have a minimally basic understanding of what they're getting into with yoga before just doing the poses.

the goal is this: in mastering the body, one masters the mind. its a tool for calming and centering the mind and quelling thoughts for meditational stillness.

I practise yoga because I feel more alive in Savasana than in any other moment of my day; when I lie on the floor I can sense the blood flowing through every vein and artery of my body. It brings about a connection with my outer and inner body. I stretch my physical boundaries and learn to focus within my self just by breathing.

I do it because it is the closest I can sometimes get to a spiritual community that is also embodied. I do it in classes or on meditation retreats and not with videos. In person, in the studio, is the best experience for me. For me, it brings me back into my body and my breath.

I practice Yoga - I try to go once a week - in a class of 8 - 12 guys - naked. It is a good workout - and a great way to stretch, and calm yourself. Yoga helps me appreciate everything - and it goes with all the other things I do on various days - including weights, swimming laps, cardio. I feel relaxed and just really good when I come away from the Yoga class. (Being with a dozen other hot naked guys in a darkened, quiet room in cozy closeness is amazing too!)

I like to hang out with hot soccer moms, cougars and hotties in yoga class. its a great way to make new friends and let attractive people touch you.

Because one day I want to be able to blow myself. I figure if anyone can do it right, I can.

Tapper saidBecause one day I want to be able to blow myself. I figure if anyone can do it right, I can.

Oh yeah,...that's another reason why I do it.

... It's challenging, yet relaxing... Soothing, nonetheless intense ... A great workout, focusing on flexibility, but also strength - holding some of these poses has surely tested mine!!.... I like it... .. Also, I just cannot do the regular machine-based weight lifting/cardio-training offered at the gym for, even though I am fully aware of its efficacy, it bores me to no ends!!... So biking, swimming & yoga will have to do...

I like the idea of natural resistance. I can feel the pain and don't give up because I know what it's doing and I enjoy it - weightlifting is not enjoyable to me. AND, I stay in the back of the class to check out all the guys' asses!