I practice Iyengar yoga one or two days a week. It's pretty relaxing and I generally count it as a 'rest' day. It really helps give me better range of motion and flexibility, which helps in almost any physical activity. I like how it makes me aware of my own balance; how I'm sitting, how I'm standing, all that.

The area I live in has many studios, but not one offers Iyengar which is a style I would like to try. Most of what I do is flow, but we have a good Forrest teacher in my town who teaches several times a week and I try to get there at least for two if not all four classes. It's quite challenging.

I try to get to a class about once a week, and learn something new every time. The instructor finally got me to do a successful Tree Pose yesterday! I usually have trouble getting my foot to stick to my upper leg without the use of double sided tape. I've never done anything but Iyengar so I don't have much to compare to. I know we use a lot of block and tackle to help get us into a pose without hurting ourselves.

When I practice at home, I stick to easy stuff, with a focus on just stretching and working on areas that feel like they need work.

One thing that's kind of nice about yoga is it's not so competitive. You do what you can do, and that's ok.

It is not a competitive thing to me and I find it funny that people go to contests. They are incredible to watch though. It's nice to use block and tackle...especially when it results in safer practice. There is a guy where I am from that has developed "Alignment Yoga" which borrows somewhat from the Iyengar tradition. It really helps to fix form. It makes it easier to get deeper into a pose later when the basics are solid.

and will be again after Christmas....getting my own machine for the house. I belong to a gym but really have slacked off lately...spending too much time on DU.

What is piloxing exactly? First I've heard of the term.

It's fast paced cardio/strength/stretch all rolled into one class and usually at the same time. It was created by a Swedish woman and is marketed pretty heavily I think (much like the other classes seem to be), but it is quite fun and really keeps us moving.

I go to a Pilates class, but there are about 25 people in there, so no Reformer. I've been curious what it is like. Pilates is what fixed a three year long battle I had with sciatica. 50% after one class and one particular exercise. I am now pain-free in my hips and legs because of pilates and yoga.

Enjoy your Christmas present!

it was wonderful as the instuctor was right there to guide you thru everything and as my ability grew, we worked upwards. I've tried a few studios here and haven't found the right mix. The classes are too large and don't feel like I'm being pushed enough.

My gym offers Pilates floor so I think I might try that again and look into Piloxing.

HOW exactly Yoga helps one achieve better health and weight management goals.

I know that Yoga is a centuries old discipline and there is much that we could learn from the customs in that part of the world, but I can't quite figure out just how Yoga is god for you.

Can anyone explain or point me in the direction of a website that explains this?

It really depends on what you do day to day or as a regular activity. For me it helps in a number of areas:

Martial arts - yoga gives me better range of motion to kick higher, strike a bit faster and gives me balance when practicing or sparring.

Strength training - flexible and loose muscles have fewer injuries than tight, stressed muscles.

Mental acumen - like meditation, Yoga helps focus my mind to the task at hand, and keeps me mindful of my body and how I'm moving. It's also kind of relaxing.

Everyday activity - everything from carrying groceries to sitting at a table seems to benefit from consistent Yoga practice. You learn how to sit straight, carry things so their weight is in alignment to the body, things like that.

Weight management - I've never believed that Yoga (by itself) helps with managing your weight. Best thing for that is diet and exercise; in particular, a good diet of nutritious food and an adequate amount of aerobic exercise. But Yoga helps you become aware of your own body, and that helps in any physical activity.

But one thing that really helps with weight loss is learning to control impulses and that means controlling overeating. I did not start yoga for weight loss, but have lost about 8-10 pounds over the last year, just in that I am more in tune with my body and stop eating when I am full. I still eat mostly what I want, but have always had a pretty healthy, plant-intensive diet.

For people with eating disorders, tendencies to overeat, etc. the common wisdom is that learning to handle the "problem" of difficulty in a pose, eventually means you gain more ability to notice when you are eating because of anxiety or that you are doing something harmful to your body (eating the whole pan of brownies) and then being ABLE to STOP.

It can take some time, like anything, but starting to feel better about your body's ability to do things and feeling more flexible and strong can go a long way towards feeling better about yourself. There is a union between the emotions, the spirit, and the body that is accessed while practicing yoga. Vedic theory talks about personal challenges are maintained in certain parts of the body. By accessing and mobilizing those areas, we can start to explore why we have those personal challenges. For example, I became more flexible in my hamstrings and a large part of my anxiety issues went away.

'good starting point

But I am getting more interested in trying to quiet my monkey mind with meditation so I always like discussion about that. I've tried the forums, but it just doesn't flow for me. I'm too used to DU

I also pull up a lot of the audio files as I am always looking for more music for practice.

All that bending, twisting and deep breathing seems to decrease my desire to eat and makes me crave lighter, healthier foods.

Yoga also is good strength training and helps keep joints healthy. There are tons of studies on how it reduces stress and helps with various medical problems.

For me, it really, really helps with insomnia. As I get older, I find I can't skip class anymore because if I do, I am guaranteed to miss out on several hours of needed sleep.

I have mostly been focusing on my meditation practice for the last year. Going back to my physical practice more this coming year.

Teacher moved away. Someone is trying to start up another class in my town. We also have a new studio opening in Madison that will have meditation instruction. I could certainly use some guidance on that

Peace!

by the current head teacher of KYI which you could acquire, as well as lots of videos on youtube. PM me if you want more info. It's my favorite type of yoga and meditation.

Our teacher was trained in anusara yoga. I find it both challenging and rewarding. I've also attended 2 restorative yoga classes which were wonderful!

Anusara is one other style I don't see in my area, but I have practiced some videos I've found on the net. It is challenging.

My husband cured a bulging disk with yoga. He went from barely being able to get through a work day before doing yoga to mountain biking after. Great recovery!

I love yoga, practice most days and have completed the 200-hour teacher training. My new favorite thing is a website called yogaglo.com. I pay a monthly subscription and have unlimited access to their yoga class catalog. They have a variety of excellent teachers, styles and class lengths. They have guided meditations as well. It has been a great resource for me.

stuff on Youtube is even pretty good. My husband I use a site called YogaYak.com that has about everything. Also like the shorts from Yogatic, Sadie Nardini, and Lucas Rockwood. Might check out those guided meditations though.

Congrats on the teacher training! Not sure I want to teach, but I'm impressed with all the people who are so committed to yoga and teaching others. I love all my teachers.

Last edited Fri Mar 23, 2012, 11:56 PM - Edit history (2)

Yoga is a work out which have many hidden benefits for human body. It maintain cholesterol and minimize weight and also fat levels.
It keeps healthy all the body organs.
Yoga also minimize tiredness and refresh brain after a busy day.
It also increase metabolism...

http://www.getfitsandiego.com/san-diego-weight-loss.html Weight Loss San Diego

Three kundalini and one ashtanga or two and two depending on who's leading the class and who's in class. They tone down the class to give beginners the time to find a pose or where we are going into the next pose. So you get a great workout holding warrior three while the instructor gets folks into the form.

I've been practicing for seven years. Keeps me sane. Well close enough for government work. lol

I am so much better equipped to handle what life throws at me when I practice regularly. I know what you mean about all the warriors. I find those and Utkatasana extremely challenging and when the instructor is correcting someone, I have to return to breath to get past the "please just let this be over" feeling. If I can find ease in the difficulty of humble warrior, I can find ease when my kids get defiant, or management pulls another fast one on the union at work, or (fill in the blank).

I've only been practicing for 18 months, but cannot imagine how I managed without it.

When this instructor started out teaching yoga, she tended to be more power - aerobic inclined which was her background. She teachs step and body combat. It's taken about six months for her to get grounded. I used to just push thru her class, now, we are on the same page and it's way better.

I have to thank the women in the class for that. The feed back they gave about the class helped all the instructors to become better instructors which made the yoga even better. I've learned to give myself permission to come out of a pose which has helped.

You just got to let it go sometimes.

I need to learn a bit of that too. Some days I love power, but others, I just want to flow and work with breathing and applying the asana and pranayama to my life. Glad you had a nice practice! Today I am headed to a meditation practice which I find particularly challenging.