Yoga

[lorihart]

Last night ,after dinner, I went for my usual run and on the way home I was thinking about what I could do next cause my husband went over to his sisters so I didn't know if I should work a body part.
Anyway, I thought why don't I try that yoga tape I have had for about 2 years now.So that is what I did.It was my first time doing yoga and I really enjoyed it.I felt like I had had a really good strech after that long run.It was so relaxing.(not all of the moves but most)
Now someone here must do yoga on a regular basis.How many times per week would you recommend doing it? Would 3 be enough? And what are some good yoga vid's.I know that I can get the Kathy Smith D.V.D here.The beginner,intermediate and advanced.Does anyone know if this is a good one?
Sorry for all the questions.Just nice to have change from bouncing around.
Thank,
Lori

 

[lorax]

Hi Lori!

I enjoy yoga too. I've only done power yoga though which is not necessarily relaxing. I have Bryan Kest's 3 video series and also Baron Baptiste's hot yoga series. Both are good but I prefer Bryan's style a little bit more. Both of these series are available on their individual web sites as well as Collage. I occasionally will do yoga only rotations but usually just try to incorporate it into my Cathe rotations. I find yoga great for mental focus and flexability. I just need more days in the week to fit in all these various workouts!

Lorrie

 

[Debra]

I'm hardly a yogina but have 2 recommendations: Suzanne Deason's Yoga for Weight Loss (misnamed) & Rodney Yee's Yoga for Athletes. Both focus on flexibility & are good for beginners. They're also both Living Arts tapes, available on DVD. The Borders around here have a great selection of mind-body fitness tapes. If your local mall has a Discovery store, they're a good source too & you can usually preview there.

It's not yoga but I regularly use Tamilee Webb's stretching tapes after outdoor cardio. She has a 30 min tape & another w/ 3 10 minute segments. I took 2 tapes with me on vacation: Tamilee's Beginning Stretch & Precision Toning (Pilates). Perfect after hiking & running.

Debra

 

[Francine]

Hi Lori!I found that Jennifer Kries(THE METHOD) Precision Toning and Precision yoga has all the basics down pat!Then you move on to more advanced moves in the next section!It all depends on how much time you have! It's the perfect mix to add to your running to keep your joints flexible and also after weight training to keep the muscles from tightening up!3 days a week would be real good, you can do it on your rest day to get your day started too! If you have a target store near you, The Method tapes are $6.99--beware that the packaging changed--it might say Precision Pilates (on the cover she is sitting in a V position)and Precision pilates toning---(she is sitting with her legs crossed with arms in the air) The new ones are her standing against a wall 3D---just a heads up if your interested--If your ever looking for a good stretching tape-I also like Kari Anderson's Angle Lines and Curves--Definietly gets all the kinks out--there are soo many tapes out that repeat the same moves--if your looking for something particular in yoga--I'm sure the educated croud will chime in and satisfy your need!Take care Your friend in fitness~~Francine

 

[lorihart]

I think the one Ihave is percision yoga....I got it at wal-mart.we don't have target here anymore.I found that the tape was good,considering that I don't know a whole lot about yoga.I was just wondering for when I get into the advanced stuff, what tape I should get.I think I will purchase the Kathy Smnith DVD.
Thanks for all your help..
Lori

 

[KathyH]

Hi Lori! I've been practising yoga for quite a while now and I would recommend Karen Voight's Yogasculpt. Its beautifully put together. Keep doing 1 particular tape over and over again until you've mastered all the moves. You will as time goes on increase your flexibility. Your stretches will become much deeper. I found that bouncing from one different tape to another did nothing for me. Be consistent at it. I only practice it 1x a week because there's just so many things that I love to do. Karen has designed this one strictly for us athletes. This tape is 40 min. If you have more time, move on to Ali McGraw's Mind & Body tape. This one is 60 min. but also so beautifully produced. I've tried Baron & Bryan and didn't like either one of them. Felt Bryan's tapes really don't have the flow and fluidity that I'm looking for. In other words, each position doesn't flow right but this is just my opinion. Also don't like Rodney Yee. He flows too quickly from one position to another. Check out the 2 tapes that I mentioned above and see what you think. So many choices!! Happy shopping! Kathy

 

[Bobbi]

I do a Yoga workout once or twice a week to round out my cardio and strength training. I love the Aerobic Yoga tape by Tracy Rich and Ganga White. The Flow Series is great too. I got my first Tracy Rich tape at Target for $6.99! I donated all my Living Arts tapes to the Girl Scout garage sale because, while they are certainly high quality tapes and the instructors know their stuff, the Flow yoga tapes are very straight forward and get right down to the practice. There is a breathing lesson at the beginning though. The Aerobic Yoga is very intense and I always have sore shoulders and triceps after using it. You can check them out at http://www.whitelotus.org

Bobbi http://www.plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Chick's Rule!

 

[Chl0e]

Lori,
Bryan Kest's videos are great for a more athletic/power approach. Definately start with Volume 1, Energize. I love it because it is challenging, yet soothing. He offers many modifications so you can grow with it. I find it very strengthening, especially with the pushups he adds between upward and downward dog. He's not too difficult to look at either ;-)
For a slower paced, yet still challenging workout, Living Arts has great videos. Total Yoga is a great one to start with. Anything done by Tracy Rich and Ganga White would be good.
I struggle to fit in my yoga workouts, as I don't like to do them the day after lifting weights and don't always have time on the other days when I am doing cardio. I strive for at least once a week (my "rest" day) but try to do it twice. My husband has been doing yoga about 4 days a week for a year and a half, and has lost 25lbs without really trying, and has so much balance, strength and flexibility. I think it is a great addition to all the "bouncing around" (Pilates is fantastic too!) Enjoy,
Chloe

 

[SnowyOwl]

Hi Lori,

another way I like to fit yoga into a rotation is to use short videos or segments of videos as a tack-on after a cardio or weight session. For instance, after going for a run I'll do the last half of Yoga Zone Power Yoga, which has a lot of hip openers and hamstring lengtheners. Or, after a weight session I'll tack on Baron Baptiste's Unlocking Athletic Power, which also has a lot of hip openers plus the sun salutations for some extra upper body work and stretches.

There's a lot of full-length videos that can be broken up for use like this. The ones I've found most useful are:

Rodney Yee's Yoga for Athletes (especially the first part, lots of hips and hams)

Yoga Zone Conditioning and Stress Relief (the first 10-15 minutes, especially after weight work, I got this idea from DJ at the Firm Forum)

Rodney's Yoga for Energy, but only after you've gotten familiar with some poses as there is no instruction, just cueing.

Also, you can tack on short sections of videos as warm-ups for weight work, especially if there are a lot of sun salutations.

To be honest, at the moment I'm mostly doing yoga, but when I am crosstraining with weights and cardio, I try to fit in one full-length yoga session a week (usually power yoga), with two or three short tack-on sessions throughout the week.

Have fun!