Yoga
 

Bikram hot yoga is 90 minutes in a room about 109 degrees and 40% humidity. It consisits of doing 26 hatha yoga postures 2 times each.
I use 90 minutes of moderate to heavey calistenics on Fitdays exercise tracker as my calorie count but would like a more direct count. Any ideas out there? Moderator, will this be an option in the near future?

Yoga
 

Has anyone tried Yoga as an exercise to lose weight? Any thoughts about it?

Yoga is a great exercise for weight loss
 

There are several different styles, so you might want to look into them on the web before investing in DVDs or classes.

Most styles will give you a full body workout and improve balance and flexibility. I strongly recommend taking a couple of classes to get started if you can afford it and/or can get to one. A good teacher can really help you get into the poses properly without hurting yourself and modify poses that are just a little beyond your skill so that you can do a modified version working up to the full-on pose.

The other benefit of yoga is the mind/body connection. Yoga teaches us how to use the mind to appreciate and train the body and to use the body to calm the mind.

As you might have guessed - I highly recommend it to anyone. Any age or any fitness level.

I've tried it twice now at the gym in the past few weeks. I thought it was going to be more stretching but....

My arms and shoulders were killing me the next day! The "downward facing dog" position for me is a workout in itself trying not to fall over. I think yoga is great, and I'm going to be incorporating it into my schedule whenever possible.

I definitely couldn't do the advanced positions to save my life, so I will remain in the beginner posses till I gain more strength etc.

One weird goal of mine is to someday in the near future be able to do the "splits" like I used to in high school. Hopefully yoga will aid in this ridiculous goal of mine!

Go ahead and give it a try!!!

Definitely give it a try. There are people who find it boring or not very fun, so you'll want to see if it's an exercise you like. I have moods, some days I love it, some days I find it a great waste of my time.

What I do love is to use yoga as a warm up for my workouts in the morning. I wake up kind of stiff (sometimes a little sore) and yoga is a great way to warm up my muscles prior to cardio. My yoga 'session' is pretty short, usually do a routine of the upward facing dog, move to downward facing dog, then a couple of the warrior poses. The 'dog' poses warm the arms, shoulders, back, and chest and the warrior poses get my quads and legs warmed. (oh, by the way, don't be intimated by the pose names, you'll start to pick up on them as you get into it.)

I say give it a try, you might just love it. And even if you don't, I'd still recommend it since it does help with flexibility, control, balance, and strength.

I'm particularly fond of kundalini yoga because it's more free-form and less about holding poses. I'm not flexible or coordinated at all, but I have bad joints so the stretching is especially good for me. I've been doing yoga for years, but I still do the beginner level workouts. I have gotten a lot more flexible, but I"ll never have the balance for the advanced stuff.

Thanks everyone for the responces. I will be trying the yoga class today. I dont have muvh choice on style because I am in the Military and it is provided for free so I got what I can get. I just want to do something different for my body so that it isnt just doing the same thing all the time...like running.

Thank all

Everyone was right. Yoga was good. It helps to relax and to strech. I had the balance but I lack the strength and flexability needed to do some of the poses. I guess that will come with continued sesions.

Strength training/yoga question
 

I hate the repetitiveness of strength training, but I love yoga. I feel like there are a lot of arm/shoulder-intensive positions in yoga, like handstand, elbow-stand, push-up position, or even just downward dog. Can a yoga routine that focuses on arm strength be enough of a strength training workout to get the benefits of using weights without having to actually use them?

Depends on, as I am not familiar with the yoga routines. I do a lot of bodyweight exercises (push-up, pull-up etc.) so you can do a lot without weights...but the same benefits than weight trainining, I find that hard to believe.

I guess it depends on what your goals are, you will certainly build strength through yoga moves but if you are wanting to actually build up your muscles I think you really need to do weights.

Right now I am wanting to lose weight and tone up all round as well as maintain flexibility so I alternate both yoga and light weight circuits with cardio. Down the line I do intend to increase the weight workouts.

Also I don't know if you've ever tried the pilates reformer but for me and my body I got the best results using it. I have long limbs so for some reason these exercises work best for me, particularly for sculpting arms & Shoulders. It can be expensive but welll worth it IMO.

Finally winning the battle - bikram yoga
 

Hey guys,

For such a long time now I had been continuously loosing control over my weight. If any of you read my posts from a few months ago, I was having trouble with my mom and more recently dealing with the death of my dog (which was more devastating to me than almost any family member death to date). My weight went up to higher than its ever been. So, I decided to make just one change - go back to bikram yoga, aka hot yoga. I practiced in the past and remembered how wonderful it made me feel. I have been going at least 3 times a week for the last 3 weeks and I can already see changes while still allowing myself to have a treat a few times a week. The change I needed to make was not the weight but how to approach it - I put it last.

I decided I would not monitor my weight loss because it causes me to obsess over the quickness of the progress. This is why I'm posting this on the support group - I found that what pushed me to make the changes was to finally forget about my weight. If we stop punishing ourselves every time we have a tasty snack or make a bad food choice we can move on and continue with the positive changes we're making. Weight loss should be a happy consequence to changes in habit - not the soul reason for them in the first place.

I'm finally feeling free.

Vinyasa yoga
 

Can Fitday add more types of exercise that you would find in a gym to it's menu? Vinyasa yoga, Power vinyasa, pilates/yoga fusion, zumba, etc. Also eliptical trainer. I use what I think are good substitutes, but what on earth is a stair-treadmill ergometer???

yoga question
 

anyone that does yoga & can give me some help please? i've just started yoga & i'm having trouble with downward dog. my hands are on the ground i think my behind is up. my knees are bent is that okay? i can't get my heels onto the ground ~sigh~ i hope with increased flexibility that pose will get better. i guess my big question is it okay that my knees are bent & will it get better as i do it?

Hi Stacy,
It really depends on who's yoga philosophy you are following. In the Iyengar tradition, they would say, knees straight (not exactly locked, but "engaged") and if your heals are off the ground that is just fine.

The idea is that you have a straight line of energy from your hips to your heals and from your tailbone to the top of your finger tips.

The other thing to keep in mind, especially with your belly/bolly dancing training, is that you want to draw your abs in. This really takes the load off your back. You really should not feel any pressure in your back at all.

I hope that helps a little. Downward dog is one of those incredibly complex/simple poses. Learning how to do it well actually takes lots and lots of practics, so I have finally come to accept.

Namiste, Pam

RunbikeSki ~ yeah with the dancing i do keep my abs in thanks for the reminder. as far as downward dog i don't think i could keep my legs straight now even with my heels off the floor i just don't have the flexibility there yet.

jjeand ~ yeah your right i'm sure it will get better & easier with time & practice.

Thankfully, there is benefit even when the poses are not done perfectly. That's why they call it a yoga 'practice.' :-)
Your weight loss is very impressive. Congratulations!
~kd

I agree!!!
 

Yes, this is very frustrating that I do a 1.5 hour Bikram yoga routine that I'm sure burns way more calories than 1.5 hours of 'yoga, stretching!' PLEASE add more exercise options! How about rebounding or jumping on a trampoline, too?!? I did also notice that for aerobics the only option is teaching aerobics--not doing it! I am new and am maybe missing something here, but it does seem that more exercise options are needed. Thanks!

yes kd you are correct HOWEVER i need to continue with said practice. i do feel better when i've done it, but even fitting in 10 mins is HARD some days, but those are just excuses.

i found a great video on youtube it's for a partial downward dog. she uses the wall & only goes down part way. here is the vid YouTube - Improving Your Yoga Stretching : Yoga Down Dog & Half Dog Pose

it's great for those of us with really tight hamstrings to get some flexability before doing the full downward dog.

What an excellent modification - I'm glad you found it!

Yoga Videos
 

Does anyone know where I can find Yoga Videos to download onto my laptop? We don't have a dvd, and unfortunately my mini-laptop doesn't have a cdrom so dvd's are useless. My room is too small to do any exercise in, but I'd like to bring my laptop into my living room where I could watch videos and exercise in a larger space. No internet connection in the living room. Either way it'd be convenient to have them downloaded to my laptop so I can exercise where ever I please.

Do any of you know any sites I can go to for Yoga videos to download. I don't know if there are any free sites, but if there are that'd be a major plus. Thanks!

i have netflix the canadian one ANYWAYS if you are in the US the american netflix has a GREAT selection of yoga & palates videos that might work for you. worth checking out. i see all the yoga ones on there & wish i could access them :( hopefully in time i will be able to. good luck.

I wish I was still in the USA to do NetFlix =( I'm in Turkey though =S I did watch some yoga videos on Youtube, and wrote down the routine one of the ladies had given for beginners. So, I'm going to try that, and just see if that will work for me. =D Thank you though!!

i do ones on youtube too i find them good.

i find it stretches out my calves, but not so much my hamstrings. is that normal?

I really like Yoga Videos and Yoga Poses at Yogatic with Esther Ekhart . You have to mix and match videos, if you don't want to buy the DVD. But she's got a few sequences that work together (e.g., sun salutations A & B; 'yoga for weight loss').

edit: ah, sorry, just saw you have no internet in the living room. If you find Youtube videos you like, though, you can convert them into downloadable files. Have safely made audio files like this, using free online converters found through Google search, but can't vouch for any sites in particular. Can search 'convert youtube to video'.

I have had the same "growth". I have lived life at 5'2 1/4 " until about 1 year ago when I started measuring 5'3" at the Dr's office. I started a streatching, yoga routine about 2 years before that. I can also touch my toes with ease -- something I could never do. So I would say Yes we can get taller!!! mary

How amazing (and interesting)! Has the angle of curvature changed?

Wiki says physio can make a difference; seems plausible that yoga could do something similar.

I read that inverted exercise (hanging) will undo spinal compression, I don't know that that would make you taller but help you regain your height.

Sorry no time to chat, I gotta go do some yoga.

LOL I figure that extra inch gives me 5 more pounds in my healthy weight range but I miss being 5'2" Mary

Kundalini yoga anyone??
 

Hi there,

I have the DVD- Fat Free Yoga - Lose Weight & Feel Great FOR BEGINNERS & BEYOND w/ Ana Brett & Ravi Singh

I have just started adding it to my day along with other exercises.

Have any of you done this style of yoga and can talk more about the effects? What was your experience with toning and weight loss? It will be very helpful to know.

thanks in advance

I lerve kdindia's statement that "there is benefit even when the poses are not done perfectly. That's why they call it a yoga 'practice'." Last September, I started doing hatha yoga, which consists of deep breathing combined with simple stretches. Yoga has helped me alleviate a generalized anxiety disorder and like my body (in spite of weight issues).

top 10 yoga benefits
 

As you all know yoga has several health benefits if you do it on regular basis. Practising yoga is said to come with many benefits for both mental and physical health. You can achieve lots of health benefits with help of yoga asana
Yoga is not just about working out, it’s about a healthy lifestyle and it became very necessary for today generation. As we know all of you aware about yoga name because it used from the last couple of years. According to a report all of us suffering from any stress which may be related to your mental or physical health. So if want reduces your stress level then you have to start yoga exercise session on a daily basis. Yoga has lots of variation which are interrelated to each other. So here we are going to describe yoga positions which really help to release your stress level by calms down your mind.

Yes I agree with you that there are so many benefits of Yoga that we can only feel like Increasing Strength, Allows You to Maintain the Ideal Weight and Improves Posture etc. Yoga helps you detox, thereby eliminating toxins and free radicals.

can you loose weight by doing yoga

Breathing Problem
 

Breathing Problem solved by Yoga.

Advice on supplement program?
 

I am looking at a few different options, just wanted some input.
I just hit 51, still work out daily.
Looking for I guess a combo of a testosterone boost, with strength and endurance/recovery increase to maintain my regimen.
Has anyone tried bdg performance labs, the first thing that came up when I search this seems to fit just want some more input from the gurus before I buy lol.
Any other options you guys subscribe to? I want something effective as well as safe of course.

Asthma solved by Yoga, too! It's awesome