Hey Cinza!

[lorax]

Since you are the only yoga enthusiast I "know", I need your opinion, please. I have been doing a Bryan Kest yoga rotation for the past 2 wks and am loving it. I'm trying to come up with good rotations with substantial increases in yoga. Here's my plan of attack:

3 wks Kest yoga rotation (only yoga videos I own right now) as follows:
Sun, Tues, Thurs: yoga
Mon, Wed, Fri: Cathe CK, RS, Imax or Circuit Max

then 3 wks of 5 days S&H & cardio and 1 day yoga

Back to 3 wks Kest as above

then 3 wks 5 days PS & cardio and 1 day of yoga

back to Kest

then CTX etc, etc...with all Cathe's weight tapes

My concern is that I read on Bryan's website that yoga and weights weren't a good "marriage" and am wondering if trying to have the best of both worlds will end up decreasing the benefits of both. I remember you posting that due to injury you do strictly yoga now with awesome results. But I like weight training too! I'd appreciate your opinion!

TIA
Lorrie

 

[cinza]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-07-01 AT 08:29PM (Est)[/font][p]I dont know!!



a weightlifter might do yoga for the stretch and agility..... which is fine and useful.

but a yogi might not have any interest in supplementing the workout with weightlifting.

.....i have heard other people say they dont mix too.

i would write to Bryan Kest website and ask why they say that in case there are some really interesting or good reasons...

there is a yoga teacher by the name of Bikram from india

somewhere on his site i bumped into a photo of him as a when he was 19 and a serious weightlifter.... huge legs ... i dont know if he was doing yoga at that very same time.

http://www.bikramyoga.com/bikram.htm

here is what he says on his website when asked ::

Can I still lift weights (running, biking, doing aerobics) once I start Bikram yoga practice?
. Bikram yoga indeed does promote
stretching and elasticity of muscles. It
does so much more, though. It also
promotes strength and balance, balanced
strength, and balanced flexibility.

If you find in your practice for example, that
your abdominals need strengthening or
your hips or shoulders need stabilizing, you
could do weight training that accomplishes
those goals. The more your hips and
shoulders are stabilized by balanced
strength around the joints, the more
in alignment your postures and your body
will be.

It is also possible to only do Bikram yoga
and accomplish these goals, as the
practice itself deepens your awareness
of your body's needs.

Bikram had started yoga when he was 4 and won 4 or more national competitions in India

When he was a weightlifter he had an accident that crushed his knee... he was told he would never walk again... he went back to his yoga teacher to be healed. In 6 months he was walking again..
Then he went around the world starting yoga schools... now he is famous in beverly hills driving rolls royces... He is 50 ...and a what gorgeous body....!


but...
if you really get into yoga I think you will start to consider:

1.. longer leaner muscles work best in yoga, mass gets in the way....

2.you might wonder if those micro tears from weights are really such a great thing for you other than making bigger muscles. .... ( i have been told by a former weight trainer that those tears are not good... she quit weights to teach yoga and still looks incredible)

3. you might find Yoga is very carefully designed to balance the functionality of the body organs, glands, cardio system and muscles and mind.
yoga is a comprehensive plan that you come to appreciate more and more like you appreciate good shoes that feel right.

weightlifting isnt as carefully designed for so many of your physical needs .

as i said: dont know ..
but i guess it might not be easy to be serious about both.. but not really a problem till you decide it is a problem.


many athletes use yoga... my parnter just read me a bit of an article about football players...
golfers use it ...
all sorts of people use it from all fields of activities.


i say:
do it!!
it cant hurt you...and
you will know what is best as you become experienced and know exactly what you want.

What do you think?

 

[cinza]

good yoga tapes you might like

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-07-01 AT 09:16PM (Est)[/font][p]

here are a couple websites when you want try more tapes that might be good if you like bryan kest


http://www.ashtanga1.com/
i advise astanga primary series untill you very flexible and strong .
lots of good videos at this site.

more of the same kind of stuff:
http://www.ionet.net/~tslade/yogavid.htm


http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com/
AUDIO tapes : (i like them better than videos)
Jivamukti teachers intergrate the physical practice with spiritual lessons ..... I am fine with that...... some one else might not like it..... but the yoga is excellent .... i would suggest sharon gannon's intermediate advanced tape


WATCH CLASSES ONLINE:
http://www.newyorkyoga.com/index2.html

at this site you can watch a yoga classes all day if you want!
(for a fee)
i got a one month unlimited pass .... its not fabulous watching it on the computer....but its an interesting option for taking a class at home. I got the pass so i could study different teachers and different styles. It was useful but i dont really need to follow a class online...
i have my club classes and work alone .

 

[lorax]

RE: Thanks Cinza!

Thanks so much for all the information - I knew I could count on you! I will definitely check out those websites. I'm still so new to yoga that I guess I will just keep practicing as well as doing weights and then let my body tell me what's best as I progress. What I really love about yoga is that it makes me feel so tingly and alive when I'm finished, worked-out but not fatigued. I got so excited yesterday when I was able to do the triangle pose (only tipped over once instead of my usually 50x ;-) ) and the back bend.

And I must admit your posts about what yoga has done for your physique appeal to my sense of vanity. I'm in good shape and have a bit of the v cut in my arms but I would love a more sculpted look.

Thanks again - I appreciate it (and I'm sure I'll be bugging you with more questions )

Lorrie

 

[Lianne]

RE: Thanks Cinza!

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-07-01 AT 11:18PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Lorrie,

I don't post here often, but I thought you might be interested to know there is a group of women who chat about yoga in one of the check-ins over at the VF forum(www.videofitness.com). Many of the women successfully combine weight training with yoga - although we often have discussions about whether it's better to do it or not - we have yet to come to a unanimous conclusion

There are also reviews of most of the yoga videos cinza mentioned over there.

Also, I remember a back issue of yoga journal had an article about combining yoga with weights? Do you have access to back issues at your library. I'll dig up the exact issue if your interested.

I think you won't regret adding yoga to your life

Lianne

 

[cinza]

lianne

Hi..
thanks for mentioning that....
its been awhile since i was over there... i gave up on vf cause its so slow..
but its a great place to talk.

i imagine if there is a lot of discussion then there is no clear reason why not to combine weights and yoga.

 

[lorax]

RE: Thanks Cinza!

Hi Lianne,

Thanks for the suggestion. Apparently I'm not the only one wondering about the weights & yoga issue! I would be interested in reading about this - if it's not too much hassle for you to find the issue. We have a great library here and I'm sure I'll be able to locate it.

Thanks!

Lorrie

 

[lorax]

RE: Ah -ha!

I was just at Bryan's website and this is what he says about yoga and weights:

"I don't think it's a marriage made in heaven, so to speak, but I don't see why they can't coexist together if practiced consciously. The thing is, it's really hard to practice asana fully and maybe even correctly if the muscles are too fatigued from a weight lifting work out. So, I recommend not stressing your muscles to the point of total fatigue and maybe using lighter weights."

I guess we all just need to do what works for us. I plan to continue with both for now.

Lorrie

 

[cinza]

RE: Ah -ha!

Good info!!
thanks.

 

[Lianne]

Reply for Lorrie

Lorrie,

Sorry it took me so long to respond - like I said, I don't post here too often and I almost forgot that I had

Anyway, if you can get you hands on the August 2000 issue of Yoga Journal it has an article called "Bodhi Building" that addresses the issue of yoga and weights. I found it very interesting.

Lianne