So as part of our current campaign to make ourselves
healthier, my girlfriend and I have been looking into
getting into some Yoga and Pilates type material. (Both
of us suffer from some back and other joint unpleasantness).
I already have some of Scott Sonnon's material (I know
it's not Yoga, but I suspect someone will suggest it). But my girl is really into the idea of doing some Yoga in conjunction with it, and who am I to say no?
What materials have people here found useful? Useless? Tell me everything!
Jake
Videos are great. For $10-15, you can follow along at home to your hearts content.
Yoga Journal has a good website if you need specific information on poses.
www.yogajournal.com
I'd probably take at least 1 class a week when your starting out (funds allowing of course). Teachers can see huge problems that you might be missing. It also integrates you into a yoga community, so there are always lots of people to talk with if you have questions. Try out a few different teachers before you make a decisions. Classes in yoga have a huge amount of variance.
Buy your yoga mat on sale. You shouldn't be paying too much for them, especially if your starting out. More than $25 would be really expensive unless your getting a special mat.
I had lots of joint/back problems before I got into yoga. The benefits for me are too many to list. I'm taking a power yoga class and a kundalini class atm.
Any more specifics on what you want?
The links below should come in handy:
General info:
www.hathayogalesson.com/
www.yogajournal.com/poses/index.cfm
Here are some illustrated routines of specific yoga systems.
Complete Ashtanga Yoga Routine:
Fundamental Asanas www.ayri.org/fundamental.html
Primary Series www.ayri.org/primary.html
Finishing Sequence www.ayri.org/finishing.html
Complete Bikram Yoga Routine:
www.bikramyogalv.com/posture.html
Complete Iyengar Yoga Routine:
www.bksiyengar.com/modules/IYoga/asanas.htm
Various Kundalini Vinyasas:
www.3ho.org/clients/kiit/gt/Yoga.nsf/by+Name?OpenView
I'd also highly recommend the Five Tibetan Rites. It's a great series of flowing vinyasas with a minimum amount of time invested.
www.alchemilla.com/martial/5rites.html
Yeah, I realize that I wasn't terribly specific earlier. It's what I get for posting when I'm not quite
awake.
Basically, there are two different rationale's/issues at work here.
My primary martial arts training right now consists of
Muay Thai and Boxing. Muay Thai, in particular, is hard
on the joints, mostly the back and hips. In addition,
I work retail, which means I'm on my feet all day. While this has it's benefits, it also aggravates my back and shoulders more than they already are. I realized recently that, frankly, I'm not getting any younger, and if I don't start taking care of my body, it's going to give me a lot more trouble down the line.
My girlfriend, by contrast, doesn't do much in the way of martial arts training. She's gotten into doing some weightlifting recently, but wants something to supplement it. HER job requires sitting at a computer all day (and those are sometimes very long days). She's been having pretty serious back pain recently, and wants to do something about it. Looking into Yoga was her initial idea.
I'll look into the above stuff.
Any videos that are particularly good? Or bad? Given the state of our current finances and scheduling, a video is likely to be more valuable than a class, at least for the time being.
Nowaydo,
Could you elaborate a bit more on that? Why the shift?
Jake
ttt
What nowaydo said. . .
For myself, I mix Sonnon's material (Warrior
Wellness, Be Breathed, et cetera) with movements
I learned from Bill Wallace, Pavel, and Yoga.
Once you get a "handle" on Sonnon's material it
isn't that hard to tailor make something anyone can
use and enjoy (depending on their needs).
Explore and enjoy.
Chuck
Cool stuff...
For me it helped: my wrist, shoulder, traps, upper/lower back don't hurt chronically anymore.
Increase mood, huge flexibility increase. Much easier to perform my daily tasks.
It also give me something to do, meet new people, tons of girls take yoga.