Has yoga changed your life and if so how?

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I’ve heard from a few people and read online that yoga has changed their life. Has this happened for you and if so how?

Also. This yoga teacher in Madrid is doing free Zoom classes at the moment. She’s great! I did a week long retreat with her a few years ago. She’s asking for donations but they are voluntary.

I also love Adrienne!

Tell you what though it makes me very aware of my fatness which doesnt make me feel amazing.

"Pull your knees to your chest"

Orrrrrr what about my fat belly in the way??

I still like it though I'm on day 11 with Adrienne. It makes me a bit sweaty which I love!

www.somaticsoul.org/

@Frangipanini
It should be shoes off, no talking, take it very seriously, lots of discipline,

That attitude is exactly why I'm too scared to go and give it another go. What if I get a teacher like you?

I’ve been doing yoga for about a year now and am striving to make it a daily ritual or at least every other day.

At first I couldn’t cope with the woo side of some yoga videos and just wanted to get on with it. I found Cat Meffan quite good for this.
Now I’ve realised that it really is mind body and soul and love a more woo instructor.

There are certain poses that I feel confident and strong in and others where I feel like giving up but I know it’s all part of the process and love it when I find improvement in poses I struggle with.

If you can, find a nice a space in your home where you feel calm, and leave your mat there so you can just get on it when you fancy.
Unfortunately my house is small and quite often messy with the kids stuff but when I roll out my mat I put my diffuser on and place a couple plants around me to get me in the zone!

I recommend Adriene too, but she does sometimes talk too much for me, as I like yoga mainly for the physical rather than mental benefits . If I want a practice without the chat I go to Yoga with Kassandra on YouTube- loads of beginner ones and she's currently doing 30 days of 10 minute morning practices during lockdown.

@Frangipanini - yoga means different things to different people. Luckily there are a range of classes around to cover different tastes.

My class, which I’ve attended for years, with an excellent well trained teacher, is fun. She makes me laugh and she has taught me movements which mean my muscles are strong and I’m very flexible.

Following as interested. Tried yoga a few times but never managed to stick to it. I was trying to practice daily and struggling to find time so reassuring to know it can make a difference even if you just do it twice a week. I think I'll have another go as I enjoyed the poses, never really experienced the mental benefits because I was too busy concentrating on the moves as a newbie lol.

I'm doing the home series in yoga with Adriene. It is a good starting point. I also quite like yoga by Candace.

I first took up yoga in my 30s and wouldn't say it changed my life. I approached it like a project- I wanted to become that person in the class, and I did!

Then nearly 2 years ago I re-found it, and I can safely say it did change my life. I was at an utterly low point, and started doing it to destress and escape my thoughts and it worked. It wasn't about getting more flexible, or being the bendiest, but as people say, it's the safe place, almost meditative. It kept me sane. It destressed me. It is calming and healing. A side effect is that I became stronger, firmer and bendier But that wasn't the point for me anymore.

I was injured last year and had to stop for a few months, but now I've restarted and I love it. Adrienne is lovely and calm. I have now rejoined my studio and do their zoom and live classes. I do love it.

oh and I forgot about Yoga with Kassandra - I almost prefer her to Adriene. Adriene is nurturing if you need that, Kassandra is more focused I think.

I wonder if I’m practising ‘wrong’, as I enjoy it but I don’t know if I feel any benefits. I go to a class with a great teacher, and she’s doing online during lockdown, lockdown is the first time I’ve been able to do it regularly because of fitting my work around it so maybe that’s a factor but I’m just not sure I feel any benefits yet.

Online is better than nothing but it doesn’t compare to being there physically. Apart from anything else, if the teacher’s in the same room it’s much easier for her to see exactly what you’re doing & make suggestions or (with your permission) adjustments.

@EmpressLangClegInChair does your online class mean the teacher can see you?

I'm using Zoom with my students and while it's not the same as being in the same room, I can see and adjust them verbally, just the same as in person.

Also (woo alert), traditional yoga aims to build up positive energy in the session (prana) which is what brings the real benefits and it has surprised me how well we've been able to maintain that with live Zoom classes.

While pre-recorded classes are better than nothing, the feedback from my own class attendees is that it's as close to the pre-lockdown ones as possible - in fact, in some ways better because they can stay relaxing in savasana at the end instead of having to get up and go home.

@Yoginut oh thank you! I'll definitely try this. I never had a problem with sciatica until after I had my ds and even then it was only tingling down my leg but this last bout, never again.

Yes, it solved a back problem and got my full mobility back after a car accident.

I went back to it a few years ago after a break for a while but couldn’t get on with classes either a the gym or online (I think Yoga with Adriene is good but trying to watch videos plus the chatting doesn’t work for me, although her videos come in helpful with something specific that I want to move on to, like shoulderstands).

I devise my own sequences at the moment but once all this is over I’m going to use a private yoga teacher.

I enjoy yoga with Adriene too... But just want to add a plea that for anyone using the free stuff on yoga, please consider clicking the "like" button on the video and consider subscribing to the channel of you enjoy a particular instructor.

This helps them monetise their content and given that the content is free to us on you tube, it's one way we can show our appreciation.

To clarify, I don't have a you tube channel or any skin in the game, just thought it worth a mention.

*free stuff on your tube

Yes. It's completely changed my life in so many ways. I've been practising now for about five years. Yoga isn't just about exercise, it's totally changed my mindset. I feel much calmer, more confident and balance emotionally. It's taught me to respect my body and the planet - I no longer enjoy drinking and I stopped eating meat two years ago.

Physically I feel stronger and more flexible, and I sleep so much than I used to.

It's also opened lots of doors for me and I've met lots of new people.

Yoginut I used to love quite gentle yoga but had to stop because the forward bends make me feel quite sick and faint now, I couldn’t do a sun salutation any more. Could you recommend anyone online who doesn’t do the forward bendy stuff please?

@freakydeaky I'm afraid I don't follow online teachers enough to recommend a pre- recorded class where there wouldn't be forward bends.

A good teacher who offers live classes will give alternatives when they know a student has a particular issues - a few of my students have knee problems for example, so I plan classes with a different posture they can do instead.

But I always ask people to check with a doctor first if they have something which could contraindicate any aspects of yoga and I'd suggest you try to do that (difficult at the moment, I know).

EmpressLangClegInChair does your online class mean the teacher can see you?

Yes, and she does advise & comment. But it’s just not quite the same as being in the same room.

There’s something both wonderfully familiar & very weird about her saying “Now vinyasa” in my flat.

I used the Down Dog app this morning for a quick session after it was recommended on here. I liked it - you can tailor it for as long as you need and I only had 15 minutes. It's free at the moment.

I always feel like I'm too fat for yoga. Half the poses I can't even get into and then I'm crap at being flexible 😫

Ohtoodles check out Jessamyn Stanley...size does not stop you doing yoga