Yoga Contents Archive

Should I try hot yoga?

Hey y’all. I thought it might be wise to run this by some folks before making a decision. My friend and I are debating doing a hot yoga class tomorrow. The site says that the temp would be 37 degrees C, for an hour of flow. I have taken maybe 3 yoga classes in my life, but the website says it’s open to beginners - it’s a yogapod studio if that’s of any use. I am active at the gym and my friend runs long-ish distance. We have no health conditions. I’d love to try something new and challenge myself, particularly with a friend there for support, but my only concern is that I sort of… run very hot… all the time? I’m basically warm 24/7 no matter the weather and get sweaty and very warm easily. Am I likely to find hot yoga immediately and completely unbearable? How was your first experience with it? Any tips/advice would be appreciated- particularly if you think the idea is just straight up bad, ahah.

Form question, forward fold and half lift

Hey All. My question is about the use of the spine during the forward fold, half lift, forward fold, standing flow. I have been cued to stand up "one vertebra at a time" before, but in my experience I like the feeling of keeping the spine taught and hinging at the hips. I'm just making sure I'm not doing something wrong or harmful. I have a bad back and going one vertebrae at a time feels a bit sketchy at times. Thanks for your help

Combining yoga & TRX?

I'm currently doing yoga 4-5 days per week (intermediate full practice with Down Dog). I want to incorporate strength training into my weekly routine without losing too much focus on my yoga practice. My current plan is to swap out 2 days of full practice yoga for TRX training, and maybe cool down with some yin. But I'd love to have it all integrated together if possible. Does anyone know of any online classes/videos that meld yoga and TRX together? I don't need/want the meditative or breathwork aspects for these sessions. I just want to make sure that as I start strength training, I'm also still working on flexibility each day, and I'd rather just queue up one comprehensive video than two (since they'll both include their own warmups and cooldowns).

First yoga class: back pain!

Today was my first yoga class and overall I enjoyed it. I liked my instructor but I think I tried to do too much too soon because my back is already killing me! I already can't do as much reaching because I am pretty obese. I'm working on trying to lose some of the weight but I've had doctors suggest yoga. I'm just glad I took this class today and not tomorrow. Decided it was best to spend Sunday reeling from the class.

Do you perform asanas with open or closed eyes? What different sensations do you notice, where is your focus on when you meditate?

How to use Yoga Blocks

Whats this bitch doin?

How to prevent pain in arch of my feet during balancing poses?

I have really high arches in my feet which i assume is why i feel such pain in them during most balancing poses (including the occasional warrior 2). Some days are worse than others, and I’ve had one instructor recommend leaning more on the balls of my feet, but then the pain just moved forward from the center to to just below the balls of my feet. i have noticed less pressure on carpet, but it’s still a nuisance. Any tips? Am I doing anything wrong or do my fellow high-arch yogis share the same issue? Thanks in advance!

Sometimes I'm sad about

gaining so much weight and not being able to do yoga as easily as I used to when I was skinnier. I tried to do a dancer's pose and I can never catch my foot. Or even tree pose, I used to rest my foot above the knee but I can't do that anymore. Sometimes, I get really discouraged.

Becoming a yin yoga teacher.

I have liked yoga for 20 years. I have practiced very regularly for 5. I truly LOVE how yin yoga specifically feels, it adds SO much quality to my life, and I like the idea of being able to share it with others. I would love the opportunity to study in a continuous, condensed fashion as opposed to taking many years to finish. I had this idea 20 years ago and was heavily discouraged by my family from pursuing it. And at the time, I found it VERY confusing to decipher a reputable place to pursue it. So, my question is. HOW do I do this? Do I need a 200 for yoga generally, then need to take another to specify in yin? If you've accomplished this yourself, could you share how you went about it? I would even take out a loan to go to another country to pursue it if that's what's needed. Thank you for your help!!

Very little progress in touching toes

I am trying to touch my toes while standing and while I can do it, I am not able to do it for a longer period of time or go further. I have been doing this quite often and training to progress in this particular posture but there seems to be very little progress. I was told before that I have really tight legs, however I am not sure what else to do in order to get them in better condition. I massage them, I stretch them... Any suggestions?

Can a back injury similar to yoga butt (proximal hamstring tendinopathy) occur if I only stretch my back without strengthening it?

I've been doing hamstring strengthening exercises to prevent yoga butt, but I don't do any back strengthening, so I was wondering if there is a similar type of injury that can occur in the back.

Lotus Pose

Hi, when I do the lotus pose, my left foot won't face upwards, do both of my feet have to face up and how can I do so

People who are doing yoga - are you folks tracking your progress. if yes, how?

Transition from savasana to seated in the end of the flow

I really dislike to move to the side while getting from savasana to sited position in the end of the flow. It doesn't feel natural to me and kind of breaks the whole flow, so usually I just use my core to get myself up. I was wondering are there any wide accepted alternatives for this transition? Does my way of getting up using core has any disadvantages? Asked my teacher and he said to listen to your body and do whatever feels right, but I'm thinking there must be a reason on why the recommended way is to go to the side first.