yoga anyone?

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Permalink Reply by jason on July 15, 2008 at 10:46am

I just began yoga last year so I don't really know anything, but what I do know is I started doing Bikram yoga - the room is heated - and it is such a great workout for your body, mind, and soul. Very challenging and fulfilling both, its done wonders to making me look normal in my new body - I lost 75 pounds after going vegan ~18 months ago. I love it because you gauge your intensity and the heat / sweat makes your body very flexible... Great for beginners in my very limited generic opinion on yoga.
It seems to progress you very fast because of the intensity, which is only as intense as you choose, but nonetheless quite intense...
I love it and think I'll go tonite - Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Zoe Desmond Carlton on July 15, 2008 at 10:55am

I agree Bikram Yoga is the way to go. After spending years dabbling with just about every type of yoga there is, and never managing to keep it up, I was in 7th Heaven when I found Bikrams, it is the one for me! It really does work wonders. When you start they say that even if you can only go one inch into the pose then you reap the benefits from someone who is doing it perfectly. You can start out by only going a little way, and you'll still feel amazing, and imporve so much.
I love the way the 26 poses contract and stretch every muscle and organ in the body. The sequence is pure magic. I dabble with kundalini yoga too now and then, which is great but much less physically transformative. Bikrams is the way to reform yourself inside and out.
I have never been to a Bikrams Studio, there aren't any near where I live. I manage just fine in my bedroom, with 2 heaters, and his CD and book, and a full length mirror.
His CD is excellent, I highly recommend you get both the CD and the book.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Mueller on July 15, 2008 at 11:04am

woah you lost 75 pounds? that's amazing...just more proof to the healing powers of live foods. if your comfortable i'd love to see some before and afters.

onto yoga, i created a thread about this yesterday....i just got into yoga and need to purchase a mat for myself and some of those blocks maybe. if anyone has good recommendations of brands or websites to purchase from i'd be appreciative.

i'm looking for more a more natural yoga mat than synthetic if possible.

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Permalink Reply by sarabethxvx on July 15, 2008 at 11:09am

http://lotuspadyogamats.com/
This company makes biodegradable mats, and I have also heard of corn based foam mats but have yet to find any... :)

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Permalink Reply by Audge on July 16, 2008 at 3:09pm

I love Bikram yoga! I've been away from it for a week because we've been moving, and my body is ACHING to get back to class. I also recommend looking for a studio --- and you can be sure that Bikram teacher is excellent, because they all have ot be trained BY Bikram himself... Sometimes with other yoga studios, they could have been trained who knows where in who knows what, you know?

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Permalink Reply by sarabethxvx on July 15, 2008 at 11:05am

I am currently doing a kinda mixed practice that is taught at a studio right near my house. It is kind of a hatha/iyengar combo. I just started there, and have been out of yoga for over a year. I am rooted in bikram but there isn't a studio close enough to my house that I will go regularly. I also like vinyasa. Any regular practice you do will help. I was just thinking after class this morning that I felt like my body was kinda starting to re-learning its proper alignment :) that's a good feeling

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Permalink Reply by Angelina on July 15, 2008 at 11:59am

I just have to give my two cents....as someone that started a yoga practice 15 yrs ago and has taken many different styles- I would not start with Bikram first - to me and other "die hard" yoginis I've known (and by that I mean those who tried different styles and didn't come to yoga strictly as yet another "workout") To me, my 3 years of Bikram was "non yoga" as I liked to call it. It was the "athletic yoga, evidenced by the #'s of males in the class as compared to traditional yoga; it was all about how far can I go, how much can I get....If I had a penny (yes, a penny) for how many times I heard - "how many calories am I burning?" I took classes at 4 different studios and it was the same at each one -instructors following a script, people pushing themselves as hard as they could, beginners not being allowed to leave the room. True yoga is about spirtual transformation, accepting your body where it is at that moment. Its not about pushing or how much you can sweat. Its about being in that moment at that time - if you can't do camel, you can do it, your body isn't ready. For all the Bikrams enthusiasts - can you do every pose outside of the Bikram heat as well as you inside?? And its not that I'm bashing Bikram, I used to love it (until it destroyed my body!) - its that people who preach Bikram style tend to forget or ignore that the other styles are cleansing and detoxifying, they're spiritual, they can be challenging - there is so much more out there then 26 poses done over and over again!

and just as a FYI - Madonna ( you know the one time material girl with the "kick ass yoga body) - didn't get her body from doing Bikram; she's a big Ashtanga fan - I saw her in an interview saying she tried
bikram but didn't like it - no spiritual aspect to it...

K ~ my advice is to try out different studios - try out different classes; every yoga instructor is different and they're approach can make or break a class!

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Permalink Reply by LOVEBUG on July 15, 2008 at 8:20pm

thanks so much for all your information guys.

just curious. is there any kind of yoga that incorporates dance/music?
i was driving home from work, listening to a radiohead song, thinking...hmm i'd love to do yoga to music sometimes. i understand the importance of the mind and body connection during yoga and maybe music could be a bother to some....but i thought it'd be interesting to try!

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Permalink Reply by LOVEBUG on July 15, 2008 at 9:11pm

thank you!! :)

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Permalink Reply by jason on July 16, 2008 at 5:37am

Thanks for the info all. I agree that Bikrams is "athletic yoga" to a point - but if you understand what it is and are aware of your body I think its quite beneficial personally. I do however want to try different yoga styles.
So in your opinion(s) which should I try next? BB you state Ashtanga, JIvamukti and Iyengar. Can you give me a generic explanation of them? I know there are Ashtanga studios around me.

Thanks
J

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Permalink Reply by Angelina on July 16, 2008 at 9:38am

Hi Jason ~ I would try all 3! But i have a feeling you'll lean towards Ashtanga - its a very rigorous practice and I feel that i have to be at my mental best when I take a class. It is similiar to Bikram in that you can expect the same thing in each class - i.e. same poses. the primary series is what to take - but keep in mind its definitely not a beginners class. Jivamukti is a vinyasa style so it too can be pretty rigorous and intense. Iyengar is what I consider the basis of all yoga; its slower paced and focuses on alignment and correct breathing; it too can be intense but in a different way - i.e. try holding triangle pose in correct position for 3 mins!! They're all great and you each can give you so much.

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Permalink Reply by jason on July 16, 2008 at 5:30pm

thanks

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