bettmrr

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.

melyna1

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.

renee_miller

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???

staceyalberta

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?

RunbikeSki

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

staceyalberta

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.

kdindia

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

the5brainards

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!

staceyalberta

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.

staceyalberta

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.