stretch and breeeeeaaaathhhhhhhhhh h outtttt (Yoga in general)

Member Name: annette_tr9

Product:	Yoga in general
Date:	10/12/01 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good exercise and not too boring if you move at your own pace

Disadvantages: classes can be slow

Being honest, the only reason I started to do yoga is because everyone kept going on about how good it was. So I signed up for a yoga class and two weeks later......I was bored.

It may be the area I live in but everyone in the class (apart from me and my friend) was 'age challenged', either retired with nothing better to do or at that stage in their life where something was missing and they wanted to feel young again. This didn't put me off at first but after two weeks of doing the same things over and over again it gets a bit tedious. Especially as we could do the things we were being shown straight away and we had to wait ages until the older people had actually managed to get up off the mat.

Anyway, ignoring all of this. What do you need to do yoga? Well, patience I guess (which is obviously not what I have got!). You can't expect to suddenly become all bendy and be able to twist your legs around your head straight away. You also need a big mat so that when you stand on your head you don't wear your hair away so quickly! Yoga with a mat is much more comfortable that on the floor.

Beginners should start with Hatha yoga, which is what I started with (see above boring class). I did realise quite quickly that I perhaps I wasn't quite such a beginner because I was quite bendy to start with.

My friend gave up the class after two weeks. I lasted another two so managed four. Now I have bought a book and am leaning at home so that I can move a bit faster, I am also doing power yoga which is a little more bendy, if it doesn't hurt it's not doing anything!! That's what I think anyway!

I have now been doing power yoga for about five months, every day. I wouldn't exactly call it relaxing but I can definately tell the difference now and I can even manage the twisty legs around my neck now!

If you are practicing yoga properly I understand that it's supposed to be controlled
movements all to do with your breathing as well so it should be relaxing. I personnally don't feel that does anything for me, if I want to relax I'll go to sleep.

If you are a beginner signed up to a class is a good idea but don't expect mirricles like I did. In a class you can only move as fast as the rest of them! At least if you do it at home you can watch the tele at the same time!

Summary: