Yoga...I just don't get it

[MyGhastIsFlabbered]

I've been trying to do RED January and have tried a couple of yoga videos. But I just find it deadly dull. I can see the benefit of it, but god it's boring.

Is it me? Is there a way to liven it up?

Brilliant - thanks BrowncoatWaffles

@BrowncoatWaffles ooh that looks interesting.
I did a class but instructor moved away but it did get me started. I do yoga with Adrienne now but I do ignore/skip/fast forward through some of the chitter chatter/feel good stuff. I am too impatient for that.

Going to have a look at your suggestion now!

Have you tried pilates instead OP? It can be a bit more mentally stimulating I find. Or body balance if you can find videos of that - it's a mix of tai chi and yoga. I find all three really good work outs :)

I love yoga, DM loves yoga and we've even got DS (nearly 4) loving yoga - does it at nursery or with me and DM at home.

OTOH I hate jogging, I'd much rather go for a nice long walk and chat/look at the nice view as I do it.

I did one class, hated it think I'm fundamentally unsuited.
I do Pilates classes but only on a reformer as I found mat classes too boring too

Yoga is boring but I started having back pain and a friend suggested I take it up. It’s been more effective than physio. So I do it at least twice a week, watch the clock during each class and grimace, but I feel much better. Definitely think from 30 and older it’s very good for your strength and joints.

Reformer Pilates is amazing. I’m never bored and has completely helped me stay injury free when running.

Last time I knackered my back in was in a yoga class...

classes & finding the right class for you - i'd tried it before & found it frustrating & difficult so decided I hated it

Had another try a few years later & absolutely love it, all about finding a class you feel comfortable in. Now go every week without fail & we have a good laugh in our class, it's not boring at all

How's your balance? Some of the yoga poses really challenged me.

Balancing is really good for the brain! Improving your ability to balance is a brain workout as well as a physical workout.

I love body balance and find that fast paced enough to be interesting and challenging.

I've been to pilates and yoga classes and find them very dull. But I'm not good at relaxing at all!

My only solution to this was to memorise the routine so that I could do it in front of the TV instead of having to have the video on!

I agree, can't get on with it

I with you OP - I just can't like it .... no matter how much I try...I can tolerate some Pilates but also hate HIT training. I enjoy running and very fast walking, low impact stuff and free weights. You have to find what you enjoy and can stick to. I've been into exercise since my early teens so 30 odd years. Used to enjoy higher impact stuff but now my back feels it if I do too much.

I have been to so many different classes over the years and quit because they all make me feel the same: stiff and inadequate. Some positions are nice and I feel a good stretch - other positions just defeat me. I find my fat (and I’ve tried at 9.5 stone and 14 stone) and my internal organs just get in the way. You simply CANNOT fold yourself in half and achieve the same kind of spinal stretch when you have the equivalent of a sofa cushion attached to your front! And likewise with kneeling on the floor - fat thighs mean your bum cheeks and chunky thighs will prevent you being able to sit on your heels (IYSWIM?) And ever since my pregnancies I have the weakest wrists and can’t hold any positions that bear weight on my hands. I keep meeting people who say ‘you just haven’t found the right class’ but I just think yoga is best suited for people with figures like Kate Middleton ( where DOES she keep her intestines and other vital organs?!!) I know chunkier people who have done it and enjoy it but they must have been blessed with slacker ligaments than me

I’ve got to do something though so will try Pilates again. I would love to be able to afford the machine classes but they’re hugely expensive and full of ridiculously lithe and supple dancers round my way.

I'd try HIIT - much faster-paced than yoga and an efficient workout. Joe Wicks videos are popular

I have been doing Yoga with Adriene's 30 day journey on youtube and I'm enjoying it but, yes, sometimes I find it a bit dull.

The most important thing about findind a new routine is finding something that you enjoy. So if you dont enjoy yoga at all, its time to move on and maybe try something a bit more active!

@SixYears I recommend you check out #curvyyogagirls on instagram. You don't have to be skinny to be flexible. And being slim doesn't mean you are! Im a size 10-12 and I am so inflexible, i only recently have been able to touch my toes after months of yoga nearly every day

I love yoga but agree it's incredibly boring. Classes are the way to go, but then you have to share them with all the yoga twats (at my gym anyway).

I like yoga with Adrienne, but I stick to the harder ones which are less dull.

I like Yoga with Adriene, but it's a bit slow from me - I'm supposed to be doing the 30 days in January, but TBH, if I've got half an hour spare, I'd rather run or do weights than an Adriene video. However, I do go to a yoga class at least once a week, and that's a proper work out and tough (and sometimes I do Power Yoga - ouch!).

I've tried other yoga in the past and found it lacking, I think the right kind of class, and the right teacher makes all the difference.

I agree that yoga can make you feel inadequate and it can be quite inaccessible to many. I have a stiff hip (anatomical rather than muscular) no about of stretching changes it. I can’t even sit cross legged so just feel embarrassed and angry if I ever try yoga.

I don’t feel that way in Pilates though as it’s not about flexibility. There’s a level of each exercise for all.

People lump yoga and Pilates together bit they are very different. You need the right Pilates class though.

I love power yoga but I attended classes initially. People seem to love Adrienne but I find her very slow and irritating, doesn’t do it for me at all.

I find it difficult to get on with too OP
I pretty much do everything at 100 miles per hour so I can't quite relax myself enough to enjoy it.
I much prefer HIIT or kettlebells but I have diastasis recti which is again in need of some gentleness (the buggar doesn't stay closed permanently, sadly) so I'm going to try yoga again soon. I know it will be beneficial, I just need to find me a new mindset towards it.

Yoga is self exploration, it's a chance to have a peek of what's going on with your body and mind. Not everyone. I wouldn't waste my time doing exercise I find boring. Life's to short

I've been doing yoga with Adriene first thing most mornings since the autumn and feel good for it. I'll my hands and toes will never get chance to become best friends, but a gentle, dynamic stretch does get the clunking and creaking out of the way and eases the stiffness I feel through the morning.

I like Adriene because her videos are varied in style and length. It can be 5-6 minutes. It can be a full length session.

Some people prefer a more dynamic vinyassa/ ashtanga type style, others a slower, more meditative approach. The right instructor/ style does make a big difference to individuals.

There are gazillions of exercise videos of all kinds on YouTube. If you find yoga boring, do something else! I love yoga - exercise doesn't have to be bouncy and shouty to be enjoyable.

@SixYears I'm sorry you feel like yoga is only for certain size people. My mum runs a big studio with 22 classes a week and I'd say 2/3s of the people who attend are over a size 14, it's certainly not only size 6 people doing yoga.

There are many styles of yoga it's hard to say they are all boring. Broadly speaking classes are yang or yin.

Ashtanga or a dynamic vinyasa class are very energising, fast paced and physical. You need a lot of strength to do 20+ chaturangas (like a full pressup) and planks and all the other poses. Plus balances and inversions.

Yin and restorative are more still yoga which has fewer poses, mainly mat based focused on the fascia connective tissue which releases with slow and steady pressure.

I know you said it's hard to go to classes but I've always struggled with a home practice but had a religious daily practice at classes.

Interestingly I find pilates great for strength building but very boring in terms of content... No sequencing or flowing, lots of repetition of small movements.

We are all different