Benefits of yoga

[Sunnydaysarethebestdays]

I’m starting a yoga class next week for the first time. I’m not very flexible and have hip dysplasia.
Can anyone tell me the benefits they have found from doing yoga?
I am a little bit nervous about it!

Sorry this should be on an exercise thread not AIBU, oops!

We do yoga to improve our flexibility please don't think you need to get your foot behind your head to do yoga - this is so so so so not true!

Benefits

• the focus on breathe can translate into your daily life, help you cope with stressful situations
• stronger muscles
• better balance (very important as we age)
• greater joint mobility
• better concentration
• relaxation
• better posture
• always feel more aware and intune with body

A lot of yoga poses work into the hips so please let your yoga teacher know - I would be very careful about poses that put your hip joints under strain. If in doubt, miss it out. You should never ever do anything that doesn't feel right - don't be embarrassed about asking for an alternative or doing a child's pose. Yoga is about listening to and responding to your own body. Ignore everyone else.

It's relaxing...being flexible is a result of doing yoga..its not a prerequisite. ...its non competitive. .or should be! so where ever you start is fine. enjoy and if you don't you have the wrong teacher

I go to three classes a week & the first question each teacher always asks is about injuries or conditions. If there are any then she’ll talk to the person about adjustments & regularly check they’re ok.

I’ve been doing it for a year & a half now & noticed huge differences in my flexibility. One of the best things about yoga IME is that it’s not competitive at all - everyone does it to their level.

I will warn you though, I ached all over after each class for maybe the first three weeks.

I have tried to get on board with yoga many times. I am also not very flexible. I'm afraid I have always find it really boring and don't see the hype. I do my own stretches at home to try and improve my flexibility but don't really see the need to pretend to be a sun and breathe.

I'm so shit at it I give up very quickly. I'd love a YouTube tutorial that didn't feel like a waste of time because it's so far from what I'm capable of.

@doadeer

We do yoga to improve our flexibility please don't think you need to get your foot behind your head to do yoga - this is so so so so not true!

Benefits

• the focus on breathe can translate into your daily life, help you cope with stressful situations
• stronger muscles
• better balance (very important as we age)
• greater joint mobility
• better concentration
• relaxation
• better posture
• always feel more aware and intune with body

A lot of yoga poses work into the hips so please let your yoga teacher know - I would be very careful about poses that put your hip joints under strain. If in doubt, miss it out. You should never ever do anything that doesn't feel right - don't be embarrassed about asking for an alternative or doing a child's pose. Yoga is about listening to and responding to your own body. Ignore everyone else.

I'd also say there are so many styles and teachers - if you don't fall in love with it that's OK, but be opened minded that another teacher or class might be better.

Please make sure that you choose an experienced teacher who is aware of your hip condition. You will need a slower class designed for beginners. I would not recommend you doing any class with "power" in the name or that it describes itself as a fast "flow".

Having said all that, if you find the right teacher then yoga could be great for helping you strengthen the muscles that keep your hips strong as well as working on overall strength and flexibility.

@garlictwist

I have tried to get on board with yoga many times. I am also not very flexible. I'm afraid I have always find it really boring and don't see the hype. I do my own stretches at home to try and improve my flexibility but don't really see the need to pretend to be a sun and breathe.

I pretended to be a pyramid, a triangle, a dog (both facing upward & downward), a chair & a warrior this morning. The other night we were goddesses, eagles, camels & trees.

What I like about Ashtanga especially is that yes, it's the same thing every time, but that means you can just focus on the breathing and it's like a meditation. Plus every so often I'll realise I'm doing something I couldn't do last week.

I would avoid "yin" yoga with hip dysplasia as long passive holds deep into the hips is really not what you need. You need to work on strengthening and stabialising through the pelvis and joints.

The main benefit I get from yoga is for my mental health. Yes, strength, flexibility, more aware of my body etc, but just the time spent being actively mindful is incredibly calming and is the biggest benefit for me.

I agree with Empress. It is extraordinary to me to see how far I have come. I can now do with ease some things that used to make me laugh because they seemed so unlikely. I’m also an Ashtanga fan. The repetitive nature of the sequence means that you can easily see your progress. It is quite a demanding style though. I have found the mental benefits to be surprising too. I’m perimenopausal and it has helped me to feel settled and steady when I was feeling anything but!

Can any pps send a link? Especially if you know you have made progress.

Thanks everyone. I’ve spoken to the instructor and she is aware of my hip, she said her style is more nurturing, healing and soothing and will be mindful of anything involving hips and give me alternative moves when necessary. She said o have to listen to my body and only go as far as is comfortable for me.
It does sound like it will be good for my mental health as well as all the other benefits.

Hi, I have hip dysplasia too and found yoga hard with having to keep the poses for lengthy times, I prefer Pilates as it is kinder to my joints but everyone is different.

Strength, calmness, positivity, balance, mindfulness and the ability to forgive myself if I cannot get into an asana (pose) as deeply as I might want. It frees me from my naturally competitive mind, yoga should never be a competition against yourself or others. It allows me to switch off.

There are many different types of yoga but I always recommend people start with Hatha and then go from there.

And don't worry about not being flexible, that's what yoga is for, to make the inflexible, flexible!

DH has arthritis in his hip and back.
He does DDP Yoga and even one session of bed flex (the first and easiest set) vastly improves his flexibility and stiffness

I've had joint problems and chronic pain all my life. Physio after physio has q told me I'm the least flexible person they'd ever seen. Until I started doing yoga 5 years ago.

I did a 30 day at home challenge and could see a difference by the end so I kept it up. Within a few months if gone from huge amounts of pain every day to almost pain free. Now, I am pain free. I've also become one of the most flexible people I know!

Thank you for all of your positive comments. I’m looking forward to meeting the new more flexible me in a few months time (ha ha)

OP I would distinguish between muscles flexibility and joint flexibility. It might be that you have stiff hamstrings but a large range of movement through your hip joint given your condition. Flexibility is great but as someone who had a lot of injuries by pushing my joints I'm now a huge believer in strength and stability work. Get a good balance 🙏

Physical strength and calm / stress relief

I’m so much more flexible and feel incredibly strong now, very in tune with my body, I find it both relaxing and uplifting. Like someone upthread said it’s non competitive good teachers will provide modifications to suit all levels and any restrictions you might have (so long as you tell him or her).

For me the main focus is on the spiritual side of things so yoga (focusing on the connection to the earth, using my breath and drawing up the energy is my favourite thing) but I think the amount of focus this will have will depend on the teacher.

Oh and as you’ve probably noticed on this thread you tend to be surrounded by a lot of positivity and support -hope you enjoy your class

ChaosMoon
Was it the Adrienne challenge?

What type of yoga does Adrienne do? Pp have mentioned Hatha, ashtanga etc. I do yoga with Adrienne. Once I gave myself permission to be rubbish, and only do a fraction of what she does in bendiness I started to love it.