I took my first Yoga class yesterday. Being a clydesdale I received a few double takes from people looking into the yoga room. I was amazed at how tough some the poses/stretches were. In the past year or so I’ve stretched quite a bit and thought I was pretty flexible until yesterday. My arms and legs were shaking quite a bit during some of the movemets. The class incorporated some core strengthening movements which was great as I hope to make that a staple during the winter. Over time, If I can hit the Yoga room twice a week will that improve my core and flexibility or should I attempt to make it there more than twice a week? It’s funny how out of place I look in there but there has to be some type of benefit. Right?
Twice is nice, i say that because you still gotta swim, bike, run, stretch, and core…i have done a little yoga, and i think for me it was great for the MIND as well, at least the DVD’s i was doing.
t~
Practice yoga as much as possible. The benefits are many. The increased flexibility will lead to injury prevention and better form in all three sports. The breathing exercises will strengthen your diaphragm and increase lung capacity. The increased circulation will shorten recovery time. I haven’t practiced in months, but seriously need to make time for it.
as I see it, the physical benefits of yoga are:
increased flexibility/ROM (which may or may not improve injury resistance)
greater kinesthetic awareness and balance
improved core stability
improved kinetic chain stability
possibly improved isometric strength
however, for me, all of these were outweighed by the simple change of attitude from ‘act/do/push/work’ to ‘simply be’. Allocating 90-180mins per week to a fitness activity where performance didn’t matter did wonders for my overall attitude to things.
In January of '05, I was in a bad way… 2 months into a bad colitis flare-up, I was starting to lose weight that I really didn’t have to lose. I had started doing some yoga as a way to stretch out a few months prior. Well, it got so that I couldn’t run or ride, as it was tearing me down (and with about a 3-hour digestive cycle, I wasn’t building myself back up). Yoga was the only kind of “workout” I could do, and I really believe it saved my sanity, if not my life. I would do about a 25 minute routine each morning.
Now, I do it less often, but there’s been a nice side benefit – since I started practicing yoga, I haven’t felt any need to go to the chiropractor.