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Yoga...


Al_Fel

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I bought a wii a couple of weeks ago and I've been doing a bit of Yoga. I suffer from a bad back every now and then and I've found doing yoga has been helping with it. I was wondering if anyone else has done any yoga and what they think of it? I've only been doing it a couple of weeks and I already feel more flexible and springy when I'm riding. I'm not sure if its just a mental thing or if it is actually helping me. Anyway I'd like to hear peoples thoughts on it.

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I bought a wii a couple of weeks ago and I've been doing a bit of Yoga. I suffer from a bad back every now and then and I've found doing yoga has been helping with it. I was wondering if anyone else has done any yoga and what they think of it? I've only been doing it a couple of weeks and I already feel more flexible and springy when I'm riding. I'm not sure if its just a mental thing or if it is actually helping me. Anyway I'd like to hear peoples thoughts on it.

Yoga iz 4 pooftaz innit? Iz u a poofta?

Edited by JD™
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I've been doing yoga for about three years now. Not, I might add, the yoga you see women doing down the gym but rather hatha yoga for spiritual development (yoga means "union", more specifically union with th divine. Yoga postures are only part of the systematic approach of hatha yoga and they are called asanas. Yoga asanas have been a great help with my lower back pain and any other aches or areas of tension that arise through bad habits/posture. It's also been a great help for trials. As I understand it, the greater the range of muscular movement, the more power you can create for obvious reasons. Asanas are also for developing muscular strength. I'm currently practicing handstands, headstands, lifting myself up from a sitting position, etc. There are also lots of dynamic moves such as jumping into a balance on your forearms, knees resting on them and then into a handstand. Like calisthenics, gymnastics or even street running type stuff.

Another practice of yoga is pranayama (vital force expansion or breath control) which is awesome for endurance sports, again muscular tension and mental health.

Basically, if you love you sport, yoga should enable you to do it for longer in the sense of reducing injury. Flexibility allows for give rather than break regarding accidents.

When you go into yoga you are also open to trippy experiences that will inform your philosophy.

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I thought I remembered you mentioning yoga once before.

My only experience of it so far is what you get on Wii fit + There's only about 18 poses on it. I've found its made me concentrate on my breathing a lot more and found working out in the gym to be easier. I've just bought another yoga game for the Wii which should have a lot more to it. Its great using the Wii because it shows you your centre of gravity and gives you feedback.

I'm not too fussed about the spiritual side of things to be honest but I'm very interested in learning more of the poses etc.

http://sarahauerswald.com/wp-content/uploads/WiiFitPlus_PRScreens_09.bmp

Just had a quick look on Google and that's all the yoga poses they show you on the Wii.

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I thought I remembered you mentioning yoga once before.

My only experience of it so far is what you get on Wii fit + There's only about 18 poses on it. I've found its made me concentrate on my breathing a lot more and found working out in the gym to be easier. I've just bought another yoga game for the Wii which should have a lot more to it. Its great using the Wii because it shows you your centre of gravity and gives you feedback.

I'm not too fussed about the spiritual side of things to be honest but I'm very interested in learning more of the poses etc.

http://sarahauerswald.com/wp-content/uploads/WiiFitPlus_PRScreens_09.bmp

Just had a quick look on Google and that's all the yoga poses they show you on the Wii.

If I exchanged the word "spiritual" with "psychological insight" would you find what I meant more appealing? Because that's essentially what I mean. It means nothing of the Christian form of spirituality I think you'd probably associate it with. When we practice relaxation or meditation after asanas we become very absorbed on the mind which allows us to understand the nature of the mind better, regarding structure, motivations, previously unconscious emotions/memories, etc. My judgement of you as somebody who is inquisitive, I think you would find it quite interesting and rewarding. But furry muff if there's no interest. The relaxation is well worth it regardless however because it furthers muscular relaxation/lengthening and will further form a habit of the desired condition.

Here is a link to an asana reference book I use. It also teaches pranayama exercises and some purifying practices (which I stay away from) but pranayama is well worth it in terms of imporving flexibility. Developing the breath with asanas greatly helps you lenghten your muscles.

This book I bought for my (ex)gf who's a yoga/sports yoga teacher and physio. She thinks it's a decent book, especially (obviously) if you want to utilize yoga for sports performance.

Above books however, I'd recommend attending a class with a teacher who you like. There are many approaches to yoga so it's easy to find one you don't get on with. It's worth having a teacher though because as you become more advanced, the asanas come with a greater risk of injury if you're unaware of the way in which the musculo-skeletal system works. The first book I mentioned does give some mention (contra-indications) of potential problems with certain asanas. One piece of advice I will give though is to make sure you never force a stretch. Develop flexibility over time. I originally tried to force things because I wanted to become adept at yoga very quickly and it caused me quite a few problems.

One last thing. I'd look up the sun salutation (surya namaskara) set of connected asanas. Surya Namaskara tends to be integral to most approaches to yoga and for good reason.

Edited by Ben Rowlands
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Thanks man I'll check those links out. Like I said I'm only a beginner. I don't think I'd have to time to go to lessons and have a teacher I don't really live a structured life, I can be doing anything at any time really.

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