I've been following along with a tv program on FitTv called "Namaste," which is a yoga class taught by a redhead named Kate Potter. I am addicted! I've just been taping the segments but would like to buy the dvds at some point.

Is anyone else currently being inspired by any yoga classes?

I like Seane Corn. Her DVDs are produced by Gaiam and they're pretty easy to find.

I need to get back to the discipline of getting to a class, but it's difficult. You can't swing a proverbial dead cat without finding a yoga studio here, but very few have childcare. The one closest to me has it, with very limited times that conflict with my work schedule.

I've taken Raja Yoga classes off and on for the past 10 years-ish, and have really benefitted mentally and spiritually from them. I'd love to take a Hatha Yoga class (darn, I wish I lived near you, Red, we could go together). Namaste is a great show, I really like the way they concentrate on a particular theme each time.

I've been an enthusiast for over 30 years.
Dewey, you are TOO funny, girl.
Dead cat, indeed .....!

Marykins-
On that fateful day when we FINALLY meet up, we can have our own Hatha class- I've been told I'm a good teacher.
More importantly- I don't neglect any part of the body or soul in practice- and tailor it to any specific needs....

Do say yes !
[Wouldn't it be GRRRREAT if we all could do it together ?!]

I wish we lived closer, too. I'd love to go to Yoga class with you!

Love it!
Have been doing it for years.
I also purchased several very instructive books and work from that.
It really helped with stretching/healing after my surgery....wonderful!

I would like to give yoga a go. My hubby is into that Tony Horton programme P90X or some such and its a tad hard core for me and my bad knee, so am using some online tutorial instead. Wish me luck.



http://www.hathayogalesson.com/index.htm

I've enjoyed a simple yoga class for a couple of years but have had to give it up until this broken fibula heals, I miss it and am looking forward to when I can go back.

Nope. It's never appealed to me.

For all of you who are into it, what do you find appealing about it? And, also, are you a relaxed person normally without Yoga?

I've taken classes here and there and I really like. It's very refreshing and relaxing but still very stimulating.

If you like working out at home, why not preview some clips at Collage Video ? They have reviews for each, to give you a sense of what the workout is like. Then look for them a lot cheaper at Deep Discount's website. I just counted my DVDs last night and I'm up to fifty. That's nothing compared to some people at my fitness message board.

I personally don't like yoga, but that is because I have problems with wrists, knees and lower back plus I find it a bit boring. At some point, I'd like to get a few private lessons to show me how to modify certain poses because I need to add that flexibility element to my workouts to add balance. I much prefer cardio, weights and pilates at the moment.

I did an Iyengar class for a year or two, then more recently Bikram, the one you do at some beastly hot temperature. It's done slowly but in that heat it becomes quite an intense experience, as you breathe very deeply and achieve more flexibility as the heat relaxes your muscles. I like it quite a lot - especially during a Minnesota winter! All the sweating keeps dry skin at bay, too.

I've not studied yoga at a studio, only attended a handful of classes (for now anyway) but I've been doing yoga videos and using books on yoga since 1994.

I've only really tried hatha yoga and whatever form it was Raquel Welch used in her book and video. I have a handful of videos and DVDs but my favourite remain's Ali McGraw's Yoga Mind & Body. It's not a 'hard' workout but it is soothing, beautiful and I feel like I could live until I'm 100 when I am finished.

Dawnkana What do I find appealing? I find the movements soothing. The asanas increase my flexibility and help my arthritic joints by increasing range of motion and limiting pain. My balance and posture improves. I am NOT naturally relaxed and suffer from chronic pain so the yoga helps my stress and pain level.

I used to run half marathons and be a regular at the gym and I literally destroyed the joints in my feet. I'm careful with my yoga practice - it feels less traumatic on my body.

I also love that I can workout at home and do the poses wearing my pyjamas! My kids doing yoga with me too.

I've read a bit about the philosophical aspects of yoga and find it, although overwhelming in depth, incredibly interesting.

I like things that are quiet, peaceful and graceful. I can't stand a lot of racket and I like to be left alone, so I have always like things I can do by myself -- swimming, biking, skating, yoga. Yoga's the most accessible to me, so that's what I'm doing. It feels good -- it's about the only exercise that actually feels good to me -- and it is so good for my back! I have an increased awareness of my muscles but I'm not sore, so I don't get discouraged -- and it is no impact, so it doesn't bother my joints. It also feels good to focus intently. There's so much crap going on at all times during work...I'm easily overstimulated and by the end of the day, my shoulders are usually up around my ears.

I went to a pilates/yoga class on the east coast of FL before I moved. I liked it.

I love yoga. I see two instructors with two very different approaches. I get great benefits from both classes. I credit yoga with helping me to manage my anxiety.

-Noelle

I've tried it and it is not for me. I think it the music and how the instructor talks in a soothing, calming voice. I fall asleep. I am a little bit of hard core - aerobics, weight training/toning, lots of stretching. Sorry for the pooh-poohing on yoga.

Scentual, you and I were separated at birth!

Thank you Elizabeth for your reply. Very helpful.

Actually, yoga can give you quite a strenuous workout -- it's not all relaxation and stretching and falling asleep to music, not by a long shot. (And I prefer a silent yoga class to one with music, but I think I'm just going to give up on that one).

You get resistance using your own weight, you have to move slowly and think about what you're doing, you have to sustain positions for a good period of time, and -- what I love the most -- is that there are a lot of inversions, i.e., positions where your head is lower than the rest of your body. This is great for uncrimping, or lengthening, your neck and shoulders, releasing tension, and building arm strength.

And it's not like it was invented yesterday, either -- yoga has been around long before aerobics, spinning, or treadmilling.

I read a very funny thread elsewhere about all the farting that goes on in yoga classes. Evidently, some of the poses are conducive to this type of "release." No thanks! I'll keep working out at home!

I did try yoga only because each time I stood up from sitting, I get a pain in my ball and socket area in my hip. I've tried yoga to ease the pain and it did. I wanted to continue but I just can't get pass the calming voice. The yoga I did was on FitTv - I do not have that channel anymore and 30 minutes is not enough for me. I am not really dedicated. I've been hard core for over 20 years and I feel comfortable in that area. If anyone watch Work Out on Bravo, Jackie Warner, the personal trainer, tried to do yoga but she couldn't get into. I am exactly like her.

I guess the stretching that I do is somewhat yoga but I do it on my own terms and in my own way.




I've had that strange feeling too.

I start Bikram Yoga next week. I'm afraid it's going to be like one big hot flash!!

Oh, Laemco-
I understand THAT sentiment very well !
Just love that 'thermally challenged' feeling, NOT.

I'm not into yoga, though I sometimes wish I were.
My mother had me in (hatha) yoga classes between the ages of 11 and 13, which goes a long way in explaining my antipathy. It does seem appealing to me in the way FTR and Cathleen describe it, but it is just like with aquarelle paintings; the atmosphere, the mindset, the philosophy and the aesthetics, the 'types' (if any such thing exists), none of it suits my temperament. I'm afraid I'm quintessentially a 'hard-core' and 'tech' person too.

I am quite envious for those who enjoy yoga, I wish I could. My body is pretty conditioned to do the hard core work out. I need the fast beat of the music to get my heart pumping and before I know it, I will be doing my cardio in between sets.

Like Noelle, I started Raja yoga when I was seeking non-pharmaceutical help for my panic attacks. (Raja refers to the type of yoga that helps free the mind of stress and tension using meditation and mental modification). It has really helped me a lot.

I'd like to get into Hatha as well (the type that most of you are talking about). I'd like to get more limber.

Jillian Michaels is against Bikram yoga because she says it's too easy to injure yourself. The heat makes you think you are more limber than you really are.

I don't think I could stand the smell of the abovementioned farting as well as BO!

There is one form of yoga that seems really challenging, I don't remember which one it is the one that Madonna practice. It seems really challenging and you are using your own body weight to create and define your muscles.

I have done it before and enjoyed it a lot, I stopped about a year ago due to some personal things that were going on in my life, but I've been thinking about starting again. It is sometimes boring, but it does help calm me down and reduce anxiety.