saph's slightly laid back january yoga 'challenge' (Page 2)

hey to all partakers so far. so cool that so many peeps have signed up i pre-empted the start of the challenge by doing my ten minutes of morning yoga today - 5 lots of 5 different sun salutes. really helped my mind get in gear after a bad nights sleep.

dvd wise i use: leah yoga  and sweaty yoga (aka kimberly yoga)

so what are others dvds like?  

I took an 8 week yoga class a few summers ago and love it for the flexibility and the relaxation. I've been wanting/needing to get back into it. One of my presents this week was a "Yoga for Cyclists" dvd. Maybe accepting this challenge will get me to actual do it on a regular basis.

If I state twice a week as a goal and actual get in 6 sessions I'll be pleased. 

I'm in.  I've never really done yoga before, but from everything I read and hear from people, it seems to just add to training.

I'm going to attempt Bikram Yoga (the heated room 105 degrees), I talked to a lady that does it and she said that quite of few people that have come in with injuries and other types of aliments seem to only have minimum problems after doing Bikram Yoga.  I've always struggled with injuries since I can remember so this is very appealing to me.  

The only downside that I have heard is the ability to stay hydrated because of the heat.  I have enough problems getting enough water, so this is a little concerning to me.

So my goal is to try Bikram Yoga or at least find a type of yoga that I am comfortable with. 

hey i wanttotri - have you tried electrolyte replacement drinks? that might help with the water situation.

A doctor recommended I look into Birkram yoga as stretching when warm is good and as we age flexibility is often an issue. Others I know strongly discouraged me from trying it as I don't like heat much. I have learned more and heard they do the same workout twice through and it is always the same. Personally I like doing different things in different ways to deal with how my body is feeling today. Be open minded and if it doesn't feel right or good to you there are many other types of yoga.

I started taking classes at my Y in November and they are show up type class so great flexibility.

I started with a gentle class and learned poses and got the hang of things then moved to a more moderate class and sometimes a power yoga class. I've been going to 3 classes a week.

I did met a new to me instructor who came to Yoga maybe 8 years ago as a triathlete to gain flexibility. He does much more challenging workouts and has offered to help gear workouts to what will benefit me. 

Hard thing for me is my currently is yoga is adding to my training load and making my body tired which obviously isn't the goal. I need to back off and go more stretching, flexibility type and less strength type yoga.  I already do strength training 2x a week and am training a lot as I'm building towards my first IM. The days I did both strength training and harder yoga my legs would feel like jello.

Interesting as in Friels/Gordo's book Going Long they talk about benefits of Yoga and bring up doing most things on the floor as it is more stretching, flexibility and active recovery work and I see that is so true for me.

The DVD's I really like are:

Spinnervals: Flexible Warrior Volume 1
It is broken down into 3 parts. My absolute favorite is the flexibility workout which is done mostly on the floor and has deep stretches for my legs and hips and makes me feel so much better after runs and bricks. Only thing I add is stretching my IT band longer and doing that by moving my leg across my body to just above the floor on the other side.

Other two parts are more difficult and don't blend well with my goals currently...good if you want to use the as strength training

Only draw back I see is she doesn't connect breath as much to movements as I like. Yes she talks about it some but my classes that is our focus to connect breath with all movements

I have Flexible Warrior Volume 2 but haven't watched it yet 

Yoga for Cyclists: 

I like the workout and she has modifications that help you if you are less flexible. Also a neat feature is you can review by poses to learn them and make sure you are doing them correctly. I did the recovery one and found it to be challenging and not really to me recovery like. 

YogaAway: 

There are three DVD's about 45 minutes long that are very similar to how my favorite yoga teacher teaches with emphasis on connecting breathing with movement. The titles are The workout (strength/flexibility), stress reduction, and finding focus. First one is probably best for triathletes but the other two are great for me and helping me relax and feel good.

www.yogaaway.com

I think we all benefit differently from Yoga and what are goals are to get out of it. 

Alright, I am in for the challenge (after saph hunted me down to let me know the challenge was on )

Put me down for four sessions... I would like to do more, but physical therapy accounts for 30-60 mins per day, already.

As for yoga style - my preference is Kundalini yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan (www.3ho.org), but I also enjoy hatha yoga, as well.

Are you talking about gatorade or other electrolyte replacement drinks?  I drink gatorade sometimes, but if you know of something else or have any recommendations I'd love to know so I can try something different.

i was just thinking that if you didn't want the calories you could try maybe nuun or something. kathyg is a good person to ask as i know she uses nuun. i'd recommend zymm but i think they are only uk based - sorry!  

one more day to go before new year. i am soooooo excited by this challenge. am thinking that each tuesday we report back how we are getting on, what works, what doesn't, and maybe broaden the discussion into why yoga, how we are benefitting from it etc.

any other ideas? 

Hey Saph

You need another Brit in here! (well sort of)

I'm in for 6 Hours. Got Rodney Yee's 'Total Power Yoga' for Christmas. Breathe Donkey, breathe.

hey teamies

welcome to the challenge, and january i started with ym ten minutes this morning...well it was 12.05pm by the time i woke up!

how is everybody else getting on? 

wow your shoulders must be uber strong! doing my first sweaty yoga tomorrow. wish me luck