More yoga questions

dss62467

dss62467

Cathlete
I bought a yoga DVD on Wednesday (Sara Ivanhoe - The Perfect Yoga Workout: Joy of Yoga and Fat Burning Yoga). I did it last night in lieu of doing a 30 minute walk/run that was on my rotation. (Just didn't feel in the mood for the cardio thing).

First off, I liked the work-out. The instructor was really cute and seemed like a sweet girl. I did the fat burning routine, which was 30 minutes long. She was saying that it burns a lot of calories, but you know what? I don't know if I'm buying that. Maybe it's just because I'm so used to the intensity of the cardio I normally do, and I can't imagine getting any sort of fat-burning benefits from doing something so calm.

Now, of course I see that the yoga masters are all very lean and fit (Rodney Yee is quite buff). But is it really possible that they get that way just from diet and yoga?

My second question/comment is...at the end of the session, Sara and her crew do a pose where they sit on the floor and open their legs out to each side as wide as possible, then come forward with the upper body. It's a stretch we do with Cathe all the time, except these people lay their whole upper body flat on the floor!!!!! Is it possible to do that without doing hours of yoga everyday? I'd love to be able to do it, because it looks like it feels wonderful. Right now I can't even make it halfway down.

And my third question. When deciding what level of yoga workout to purchase, would you get a beginner level or intermediate? I did take a beginner yoga class a couple years ago, so I'm familiar with many of the poses. My flexibility isn't bad either. I'd have to say I'm about as flexible as Cathe looks to be in Stretch Max (I don't have any difficulty with any of the stretches). So...I was thinking I should get intermediate levels because it seems a waste of money to get a beginner. I'd only use it for a little while and then have to get another DVD.

I just ordered a couple DVD's from Overstock.com. One is Rodney Yee's Power Yoga Flexibility and the other is Kali Ray Tri Yoga: Free The Hips. My hips are my worst area of flexibility. I'm really hoping this helps!
 
#1: IMHO yoga is not a calorie-burner, nor is it a "fat burner", whatever that means. And whoever is telling customers that is selling customers that. In order for an activity to be an energy burner it must be vigorous, rhythmic, sustained MOTION that recruits the large muscle groups, especially the lower body muscles. That little pitch you can pitch, DSS, and enjoy the workout for its flexibility benefits. And no, I do not believe one can maintain a lean, HEALTHY physique from diet and yoga alone.

#2: IMHO you can develop an extensive amount of flexibility in all groups without hours of yoga every day. I've read that a person's flexibility potential, just as with strength, endurance and cardiovascular potential, is to a certain extent driven by one's own body type, so it's possible Sara's demonstrators are hyperflexible or have done this for years - but not necessarily hours per day. Consistent practice each week, I'd bet, can really bring you close to where you want to be.

#3: If you're comfortable with intermediate-level, go with it. Many instructors (including yours truly) incorporate yoga poses into their general flexibility routines without considering them true yoga practices. It would indeed be a waste of money for you to get a yoga DVD that's underneath your capabilities.

A-jock
 
>She was saying that it
>burns a lot of calories, but you know what? I don't know if
>I'm buying that. Maybe it's just because I'm so used to the
>intensity of the cardio I normally do, and I can't imagine
>getting any sort of fat-burning benefits from doing something
>so calm.

IMO, the relaxation kind of yoga doesn't burn as much calories as cardio or power yoga. Now, between cardio and power yoga... just based on my heart rate and how I feel hours after, I think cardio still burns more calories.

>Now, of course I see that the yoga masters are all very lean
>and fit (Rodney Yee is quite buff). But is it really possible
>that they get that way just from diet and yoga?

I'm wondering that myself. Granted that many poses are quite hard and need a lot of strength, I don't see how I can build bulk through them. There are very tough kinds of yoga, like Iyengar and Vinyasa -- poses that I can only dream of doing. Maybe those are the muscle-builders? Karen Voight sells a lot of yoga and pilates workouts, but I believe she got her muscles from weights more than the workouts she sells.

I think it's possible to work on flexibility without doing hours of yoga everyday. If you take Cathe's stretch segments and do each stretch longer (pause the DVD if you have to), I think you'll eventually get to the point where you can bring your upper body to the floor. Flexibility, like strength, is something you get to claim if you work on it consistently. I've been working on some poses for a long time. My progress is very slow, but I'm happy with it.

These days I'm getting the intermediate kinds, the power kinds mostly. I started with Patricia Walden and Yoga Zone and got tired of those fast. You're right, it can be a waste of money.

Pinky
 
Donna, nearly all of my pilates & yoga instructors do Spin classes, run or are avid walkers/hikers. While my heart rate gets up during power yoga, it's more like a weight training session than a cardio workout.

I don't agree that all yoga masters are very lean, but I'd love to know what Suzanne Deason's routine involves beyond pilates & yoga.

Debra
 
Oh no, I didn't mean to imply that I thought all yoga instructors were lean. The woman who taught the class I took was not at all lean. And there's a rather round lady at our receptionist desk who apparently teaches it too. But then again...I've seen some rather squishy aerobics instructors too!
 
The thing with yoga is, that while you don't do cardio and you're not really strength training, you are burning calories. The key to yoga is breathing deep and long, bringing oxygen to your muscles thus, burning calories. I started yoga a year and a half ago, and I am telling you, it does work. It doesn't feel like it, but it works if you do it right. That is whast makes yoga so great.
 
If you do yoga the right way, it's cardiovascular, strength building and increases flexability. Flow yoga or Ashtanga is particularly good at this. You repeat Sun Salutations in a flowing manner and go from standing to touching the floor to plank, drop to the bottom end of a push up, rise to up and downdog to standing touching the floor and then full standing. It's repeated. The heart rate goes up and then variations are done, lunges to each side are added to that, the Primary Series. Poses like handstand, arm balances where the whole of the body is held up and standing poses like the warrior are strenth oriented and in addition to using the bodies own resistance, isometrics work abounds. Planks and poses done on the belly holding the torso and legs up work the core. It truly has everything, I have found. I love studio yoga. The classes are an hour and a half to 2. There's even a three hour practice. The heart rate goes up and the body shakes for want of glycogen just as with strength training. It's sweaty and fun too. The instructors are all lean and some have great, muscular bodies but they are all capable of amazing things regardless of body type. Many do hike, bike and run but some use yoga exclusively and they are fit, superbly so. There have been studies on the physiological affects and they show that yoga can indeed be equal to the types of exercise programs we do. Some might argue that a lot of high intensity and high impact cardio can be too much, particularly for people with biomechanical issues. That would be me. :) Imagine doing yoga with the same dedication you do your cardio and strength. Dedicated yogis can be as athletic, lean, strong and enduring as any of us. Even an intensity junkie like myself can get enough endorphins and work up enough sweat to be wowed by it. It has, at times, replaced all other workouts for me and when getting back to cardio and strength, I could not believe how easy it was to jump back in. I now think of strength training as enhancing my yoga; my yoga is my strength, but it's six on one a half dozen on the other. I was gaining muscle in the shoulders and triceps with yoga which I had a hard time doing with weights because I had elbow and shoulder issues on my left side. Making them stronger in the yoga studio made weight training better for me. I wouldn't want to give up cardio and weights but but I could if I had to and I think I would remain as fit as I ever have been by doing yoga alone. I do love weight work for legs to enhance the work they get in yoga. I have a more muscular and defined look when doing strength work for the legs. And I love cardio but I can get away with less and less intense cardio doing yoga and it so nice not to injury myself periodically as I have in the past. Not that yoga can't cause injury. Safety first there too!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? - Mary Oliver
 
You must try Power Yoga 4 Happiness and Bryan Kests Power Yoga ( the old ones 3 in one DVD )... they are really good! I don't know about the fat burning...only that it must be good for you if it could make you feel so nice afterwards!
 
Everything Bobbi said, plus....

In the past six months or so that I have been doing mostly yoga with Cathe and some other traditional fitness sprinkled in, the benefits of increased flexibility and upper body strength have been noticeable in every day life. And as with Bobbi, my lifting has been enhanced by yoga, esp triceps and shoulders. Range of motion has improved. And oddly enough, I've dropped a few inches here and there, a completely unexpected change.

That stretch you mention will improve for you, but you have to be patient, just as you have to be patient about upping your weights, or finishing every interval in turbo mode. Learning to breathe as is done in yoga will really teach you about flexibility.

You have good instincts about wanting to work on your hips. If you take care of them they will take care of your spine, and your overall musculoskeletal health will reflect that and keep you pumping out the power fifteens a lot longer.

I don't have access to live classes, but I have had pretty good luck finding media that keep me feeling thoroughly worked out. I would add David Swenson's Short Forms to the suggestions you've already gotten. Good luck.

--Ann
 
Yoga has helped me with weight loss, but I don't think it necessarily comes from any aerobic benefit. I think it's more the deep breathing, the stress release, and the poses which really do seem to enable the body to let go of excess fat. I really didn't see the need for yoga in my rotation, but after trying it and seeing the benefits, I'm a believer. It's a perfect counterbalance to my cardio and weight training workouts. Now I don't feel "complete" unless I've done some type of yoga--it feels soooooooo good.

I second the recommendation for Bryan Kest and especially Eoin Finn's Power Yoga for Happiness. I got this one because Soosan said the hip openers were exceptional, and that's really what I needed.

When I started Yoga, I got workouts from the library until I was ready to purchase. It saves wasting money on beginner workouts, and it gives you a good idea of what you like. I don't know about your library system, but I can access my entire library system and have items at other libraries sent out to my library for checkout. And yoga workouts are usually easy to renew since they are rarely on hold. That way you can keep them for more than 1 week.
 
Eoinn Finn has another power yoga workout simply entitled Power Yoga. Swensen's Short Forms is awesome. He's is beautiful although Eoinn is too. Swensen's First Series is pure Ashtanga. Swensen has bow legs and I was glad to see that since he's such an amazing yogin. I have knock knees myself. :) Toes go out, knees in. I was glad to see it didn't have to make a difference in my ability if I worked form. I love how much more body conscious I am in everything I do. When I do the things my body wants to do which it should not, I catch myself and fix my alignment whether I am turning my feet out or slumping. That is so cool to me.

I think you'll want more than beginner yoga. I moved into intermediate/advanced pretty quickly because I was strong and had a good grasp of form from strength training. My hips are open. I struggle with the stuff that begs inner thigh flexibilty. And the standing balances are hard because I pronate severely. My flexibility has improved drastically, particularly in forward folds. I have been studying yoga philosophy and Hinduism as well. I'm picking up Sanskrit. What's not to love about yoga? :)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? - Mary Oliver
 
I think it's great you're trying to fit in more yoga. Once you do it for a while, you'll be hooked! Nothing else I've tried gives me that overall tingly feeling of well-being and, IMO, nothing beats yoga for increasing flexibility.

You've gotten a lot of good advice here. Beginning yoga DVD's for fit Cathe-ites are a waste, particularly if you're already fairly flexible. (Even as a beginner, the Sara Ivanhoe workout you mentioned wasn't challenging enough for me.) If you're particularly interested in hip openers, Power Yoga for Happiness is a must! I thinks it's great for fit people who are new to yoga, because the background exercisers show modifications but the workout is still challenging. Plus there are premixes with different focuses and it's well-chaptered.

I think Cathe workouts are way more efficient than power yoga for increasing cardio capacity and burning calories. I also think weight-training (at least for my body type and fitness level) is more efficient for increasing strength. I could never do only yoga and be as fit as I am, but it has helped build my upper body and core strength. Without yoga, I'd never be as flexible as I am. Because of yoga, I can do a split and lay my chest on the floor in seated wide angle forward bend. It also helps tremendously with balance. I would never leave yoga out of my workout regimen.
 
i have used Suzanne Deasons fat burning video and got good results from it. but i would not give up lifting and aerobics. i think the best bodies come from diverse exercising routines.

have a healthy day!:D
 
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