FORUMS > Flexibility Training Forum Rules

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!

I do it because it helps ease the tightness that I develop doing all of my other sports. All of the elite athletes I have met in recent years (in the endurance or climbing community at least) seem to recommend it in order to optimize your training and performance and recovery. It is also one of the few things I can do that mellow me out instead of cranking my energy up. As a coach once said, "you have lots of DOING energy - you need to find some yoga where you can learn how to BE so you can relax, slow your mind, and stretch out your body."

I love my yoga classes now. It took a while and some searching to find the right studio and instructors though. Try a lot of them before settling. There is huge variety in fit and quality and teaching capability and technical knowledge out there.

looknrnd saidI 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!

I´d put my mat next to yours, and I wear compression shorts for yoga

I think you´d like my down dog

looknrnd said[...] AND, I stay in the back of the class to check out all the guys' asses!

...True that!!..... How could I forget about it?!.. Oh yeah!... I remember how: I'm usualy the only guy in my classes...

yoga is mind refreshing exercise which will make you healthy and feel much better on your body, you get the spirit to get away all your laziness, sleepy mood and become active in your life

All the above-mentioned reasons, and to improve my swimming. That was the primary motivator.

Yoga makes me limber which prevents injuries. I also have a horrible sciatica issue (and I hope you never get this) that the pain puts me on my back for 6 weeks and yoga helps with this.

Stretching after a workout has been proven to increase hypertrophy. It also increases flexibility, and flexibility is also one of the 10 components of all around functional fitness.

I am addicted to the huge physical and emotional benefits I get from yoga, even though I am only a beginner, and only practice a few times per week.

The shallow part of me can't help but notice the awesome, tight ass that guys who do yoga all seem to have. I have zero doubt I'll get there, the way my tush feels after practice.

www.yogajournal.com has tons of free information online, including daily email insights that are actually really helpful, if you register online.

I like Bryan Kest Power Yoga for a DVD...it's the same as my class. The advantage of going to class is that there are hot guys, u get adjusted and actually have to do all the challenging poses because everyone is watching. Oh, but you're not supposed to have an ego ;) Really, you can drop to child's pose if you need a break.

I started because I wanted to try something different - but I keep doing it because of all of the great benefits.
I have a stressful job, so it's great to clear your mind. It has also increased my flexibility to a point where that I never thought would have been possible. I prefer power yoga to the other forms, and it ends up being a good workout.

A few weeks ago I finally got up in the headstand.

I loved yoga for the mental benefits but then it wreaked havoc on my knees, and my shoulders, and my wrists. so i guess it is a double edge sword

chungo44 saidI loved yoga for the mental benefits but then it wreaked havoc on my knees, and my shoulders, and my wrists. so i guess it is a double edge sword

Wow... hate to say it, but you were doing it wrong. It should NEVER do this.

I've been taking classes in the Iynegar method for the past year and a bit. I've found it to be a really wonderful activity.

I don't enjoy group sports situations, and I find the yoga class gives me both the combined individual challenge of doing the difficult pose, and the experience of doing something with a (convivial) group. It also gets me completely out of my head: you don't have time to pay attention to the "monkey voice" chattering away in your brain about all of the crap you think you need to worry about. Its one pose, then the next, then refining it, and then moving on.

Mentally, I find Yoga to be this perfect balance between utter seriousness and lightheartedness. You have to have a sense of humor with the practice, since you're not going to get it right the first time, or even the hundred and first time. There is always room for improvement. It helps that my teacher is just an awesome instructor in general: she could teach you how to do anything and it would be interesting and fun.

I like the idea of a naked men's group (as someone here mentioned), and there is one in my town, but I suspect it would devolve a bit more than I would like.

I am making the switch from bikram to power yoga tonight. I love bikram but I am doing p90x and feel like power yoga is more akin to their prescribed program. Looking forward to the challenge.

I originally took up yoga intending to become flexible enough to suck my own cock. At this rate I might never get there. The relaxation, calmness, meditation are still worth it as improvements for stress, anxiety, insomnia, depression, mental clarity

I started Yoga because of back problems. Within a few weeks I felt great from it. Unfortunately I have slipped away from doing it. But I'll be starting again once I get moved somewhere that has classes.

flexibility and mental relaxation

flexibility because im a dancer but also for relaxation now.

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

I was turned onto yoga while in college as an oarsman. my coach's now wife is an instructor and I felt at peace with myself, my surroundings, and - perhaps most importantly - with my body after each session.

It's worth a try and will certainly take some time getting acclimated.

Yoga is a complete system.
The physical part is but one portion of it.
I am often amazed at the sheer knowledge of the body that yoga practitioners have.

Recently, I've discovered pranayama based yoga practices. Practices of breathing and working with the energy body in ways that bring the mind and the breath nearly to a standstill.

the breath calms down like wind dying down to a soft breeze at sunset. The mind becomes inward, dissolves into itself, completely naturally, without forcing. then this almost orgasmic bliss seems to come from the space between the outbreath and the inbreath, the space between the thoughts.

I actually do Yoga, Tae Chi, and Pilates. I take a class at Gold's gym called "BodyFlow" simply amazing! I started doing yoga to help out my lower back after a car accident and realized that it was a great way to help me relieve lots of strength. And now even more so with BodyFlow. while doing sun salutation and the movements and even in down-dog I feel like this break of mass between my shoulder blades... its like all the feeling and emotion that I have built up inside me from stress and what not is taken from me and I feel nothing. If I have done a good workout.. I will usually shed a tear or two from just finally having that release. In meditation as well. I have issues with anxiety, depression, and yeah... its been the greatest thing for me. I feel so much better and in-tuned with the world after a good session and its seems like all is well too.

I do yoga to improve my body posture and flexibity, plus at the same time strengthen it too. Every time I go in there after work am usually quite tired, but once am through the class, feel all relaxed and rejuvenated. It jis just amazing.
Never done yoga using a video, coz some of the stuff can be quite tricky and can cause a lot of damage if not done correctly. So its always better to start with an instructor who can help you with various poses. Something like a shoulder stand or head stand is better to be done with an instructor esp if you are just starting.

Whats the difference between yoga and pilates? Im going to free Pilates class today!

I started yoga to help my running as I kept reading the benefits of yoga in runners. My marathon time improved 15 minutes without changing anything else about my training. I have continued to practice for 4 years now and look forward to going each week. Not only am I more flexible, but I feel stronger and have an improved posture. I also feel less stressed. When I miss a week I really notice a difference in my body. I too prefer a class to a video as the instructor can adjust your poses so you get more out of the class. Although it was challenging at first, once I started to do poses I never thought I would be able to do, my confidence lifted immensely. Yoga has helped me with my coming out process and has given me a new attitude towards life.

gryff88 saidWhats the difference between yoga and pilates? Im going to free Pilates class today!

They are complimentary. Pilates works your core, and works on elongating your body and tightens the mid section.

Yoga is more vast, works out more of the body. Most form in Gyms are some form of Vinyasa, or flow yoga. this will also do similar work of alignment and elongating, but also good cardio. It also massages your organs and glands which produce unexpected benefits. Some warts I had under my arms since I was a child simply vanished after a month of intensive yoga.

Yoga is also beyond what you do at the gym, it's aim is to help re-unite with eternity, timelessness, to discover your deepest nature. However, you're not likely to encounter that kind of yoga in a gym, but as one get's more and more tuned in to the body, the breath, and sensation, one cannot help but start tuning into a deeper reality. because we are alive.

It's amazing! It really works the core. It's great for stretching, breathing, and your posture.

I got into it in college as it was a class I had to take. I really noticed a difference in my back strength. It's a great way to start the day.

The teacher I had, worked at SF state and SJ state. He has published book's not sure if he had a video though. I can't remember his name at the moment.

Improved posture, joint health & mind-body connection - I need to get back to class - a good class stays with you for a couple of days. Regular classes can change your whole approach.

It keeps me strong, flexible, focused, mentally alert and emotionally balanced.
I also like the chanting and philosophy

I found Sivananda's 12 basic postures in Hatha yoga to be a great intro for me.

But there is much more to yoga than asana practice.

I am a huge fan of Yogilates. This combines the best of yoga and pilates into a pretty comprehensive workout. (http://www.yogilates.com/)

Jonathan Urla is really easy to follow and you certainly start to feel the impacts quickly. I actually follow his New York Style Pilates video
* http://www.yogilates.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16152&cat=0&page=1&featured

I bought the first video on Amazon and when I was ready to advance, I did the research and it was MUCH cheaper going directly to yogilates and buying them. I am pretty sure that you can find sample videos for these on yogilates.com or youtube.

Hope this is helpful

religious reasons...the health benefits...which are unquestionable...come second.

StudlyScrewRite said

"Ancient Secrets of the Fountain Of Youth"

I saw a bumper sticker the other day...so awesome...it said;
"We have enough youth...what we need is a fountain of smart"

I do yoga because it is a challenge physically, nothing more nothing less. Mental, spiritual, maybe that works for other people. Just not me. It is a physical challenge, like weight lifting, cycling, swimming, ect. I love it. But I have not become more spiritual because of it. Just an honest answer. For me. Not everyone. It is a great physical challenge, though.