Forums >Cross Training>Yoga is REALLY hard! Worth the effort?
I look my best blurry!
Oh roo roooo!
My husband and I try to do a short yoga tape each morning and have done so for many years. I do feel better during the times we are doing this than when we are not (we tend to be pretty good about it for several months at a time, then get lackadaisical and not do it for a month or 2, then get back to it). We practice mostly stretching, fairly gentle poses, not too much strength-oriented stuff. I would definitely agree with all the prior posters, though--the idea is NOT to push as hard as possible to achieve the pose. You want to go to where you feel the stretch, feel the effort, but NOT FARTHER. This, cleverly enough, is called "the edge" by some yoga-type folks--"the edge of effort and effortlessness, the edge of mind and no-mind"....and as mentioned before, props such as chairs, blocks, straps and so on can make your practice more comfortable and more fruitful.
Also, a part of yoga is also learning to respect your body in its individuality, and that includes its limitations as well as its strengths. Another quote from a yoga guy--"range is for the ego, form is for the soul."
If you have the time, maybe check out the library for a book or 2 on yoga and see if that gives some insight into the mind part of this "mind/body" exercise. Also, there is a range of styles of yoga and an even bigger spectrum of instructors, so again, check the library for tapes/DVDS or maybe see what Netflix has to offer to find what's good for you. Someone mentioned that it's a great idea to get some hands-on teaching when you are new, and I agree w/that also.
Hope you find something that works for you!
Here is a decent Yoga Podcast. They are typically 20 minute sessions. He can be a little chatty at times, but at least I don't have to hear a lot of new age hippie nonsense.
I find yoga to be really boring. I tried it for a couple of months once - twice a week (an hour+ at a time). I am certain it helped with flexibility, but I didn't like doing it all. I would not say it was easy. It wasn't.
I usually try to stretch once a day. I still use a couple of the yoga poses to stretch. Perhaps I could handle the 20 minute yoga sessions you just mentioned. I'll give it a shot.
Live the Adventure. Enjoy the Journey. Be Kind. Have Faith!
My ribs are sore today. It is probably the result of the deep controlled breathing and the backbends. It really stretched my thoracic spine that I injured in April of '08 in a hammock accident. Ugh. I probably have some scar tissue that is being stretched. Today I am skipping yoga and wearing my Garmin at the outlet mall while I'm Christmas shopping. Isn't that crosstraining? Talk about an activity that will kick my butt. I better eat my Wheaties this morning!
Working on deep controlled breathing, good. Backbends? Er... yeah, you should go easy on those, especially post-accident.
If you choose to try the yoga again, take it eaaaasy getting into it.
Given the total dominance of elite distance running by folks from India, it's hard to argue against the benefits of yoga for runners.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
I find yoga to be really boring. I tried it for a couple of months once - twice a week (an hour+ at a time). I am certain it helped with flexibility, but I didn't like doing it all. I would not say it was easy. It wasn't. I usually try to stretch once a day. I still use a couple of the yoga poses to stretch. Perhaps I could handle the 20 minute yoga sessions you just mentioned. I'll give it a shot.
I would find an hour plus to be boring also...I think 20 mins is a good amount of time to get a good stretch. What you said about using some of the poses to stretch? I see a LOT of yoga poses in various stretching routines and have my favorites also. Take what you need and leave the rest.....
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I used to be in charge of several Yoga/Pilates instructors at my gym and even took part in training. For an hour, I feel my time can be spent lifting weights or doing more aerobic cross training or running to burn more calories. If one has the time, I say Yoga/Pilates is a nice mix to fill in time and adds variety. Will Yoga make you a better runner? I highly doubt it. BUT, if it makes you feel better and breathe better and put you more in tune with yourself AND make you feel like you can be a better runner, AWESOME! For me, it is boring. I like to move vs. pose/lay around/breathe. To each there own. I have nothing against it, but not for me who likes to crank and burn on a tight schedule.
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A Saucy Wench
I think the boredom factor also varies a lot by what kind of yoga you do. My practice is certainly up there with a hard core weight/cardio circuit training class. When I am done I have sweat buckets (and I dont do that hot yoga stuff, its in a normal room) and every muscle is quivery. I so wish I could do it right now, but still on the DL.
And seriously 19 hours and no one has commented on the hammock accident? This place is slipping.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
To be fair, I have touched on the subject before.
Yoga can be hard, yoga can be easy, yoga can make you sweat, or not; there are about a gazillion different types of yoga, and yoga teachers.
As I say to my students, just be mindful of your capacity.
Of course, I don't practice what I preach. I have been benched a handful of times since I have been running...75% of them have been yoga related injuries because I have a very high pain thresh hold and have zero idea when I am doing harm. My suggestion...don't be like me.
My goal isn't to burn calories. I already know how to get that done. I need to relax(a bit high strung, ugh) work on flexibility and strength in my core and hips. However, I had one instructor in this week that definitely had us working up a good sweat. Holding some of difficult poses was quite a challenge. I have decided to take the classes at the end of my workout. That way I take advantage of the cool down, stretch and relaxation. It is a great way to finish up a long workout. I don't have time for it everyday but I wish I did. I like it, I REALLY do!
Knifey- You teach yoga?
Yeah, that freaking hammock will haunt me forever. Hammocks are pure evil. I was lying still as a stone on the damn thing and thud, the hook above my head came undone. I landed on a tall thin hard plastic tumbler that was sitting on cement. I laid there suspended on the tumbler. I couldn't move. Horrendous pain. I had a swollen ring mark on my back for months. I was at the Dreams resort in Cancun. All the Percocet, muscle relaxants and all inclusive cocktails couldn't get rid of that nightmare. I still can't laugh about it. I'm scarred for life emotionally. No kidding.
This is the hammock of doom and my DS before we cut off his adorable mop of hair.
Anyway, I took dreamless to a yoga class last night. I think he liked it. I KNOW it would benefit him if he keeps it up.
I am a certified yoga instructor. I have been practicing yoga for over 16 years...got certified almost 3 years ago to teach at a great studio. I had a freak accident myself that left me with 2 sprained ankles last year (not hammock, yoga or running related!), so my teaching came to a halt...as did my own practice. I was just about back to "normal" in August of this year...when I really over did it in my yoga practice...several ashtanga sessions in a row...combined with an existing weakness left me with SI Joint dysfunction...not uncommon among those that over-do yoga (though, yoga is also a great treatment for it, if you know what you are doing!). I am just now almost able to run again and back to somewhat of a normal yoga practice.
Yoga is great, if you don't overdo it. Everything in moderation, I suppose.
I took a yoga class a couple years ago, figuring that my running would improve if I were more flexible. Wrong.
"But distance runners do not benefit from being flexible, he found. The most efficient runners, those who exerted the least effort to maintain a pace, were the stiffest.
That study involved 100 people who were tested with 11 flexibility tests. Then they walked and ran while the researchers measured their efficiency. Those who were the most flexible expended 10 to 12 percent more energy to move at the same speed as compared with the least flexible."
I'm sure there are other ways yoga benefits runners, breathing etc., but I could not get motivated to keep putting energy into something that would actually hurt me as a runner unless I knew exactly what I was doing.
I took a yoga class a couple years ago, figuring that my running would improve if I were more flexible. Wrong. "But distance runners do not benefit from being flexible, he found. The most efficient runners, those who exerted the least effort to maintain a pace, were the stiffest. That study involved 100 people who were tested with 11 flexibility tests. Then they walked and ran while the researchers measured their efficiency. Those who were the most flexible expended 10 to 12 percent more energy to move at the same speed as compared with the least flexible." I'm sure there are other ways yoga benefits runners, breathing etc., but I could not get motivated to keep putting energy into something that would actually hurt me as a runner unless I knew exactly what I was doing.
Flexibility has man life benefits
Bu the part of Yoga that will help running - It will improve core strength
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
Core strength is important but best done on the feet (Yoga does provide standing poses) through motion doing things like squats, walking lunges, deadlifts as they are much more functional and more likely to have a positive effect on running because we run on our feet through motion. BUT, if one is extremely week, any core work will be of benefit and certainly is great for posture and hip/back health.