Yoga - worth persevering?

[CaramelEmporium]

My 46 probably about three stone overweight and woefully inflexible. Grasping the bull by the horns I am trying to make some changes...one being that I started yoga a few days ago following the Adriene 30 day beginner thing...bugger me I’m useless. She is transitioning beautifully from pose to pose I’m pulling my legs into position and realising that my stomach is an impediment to me getting my forehead that close to the floor. My AIBU to ask, has anyone gone from embarrassingly bad to could hold their own in a class? How long can I expect this to take?

I am 10 years older than you but otherwise sound very similar. Keep going!

I started in March, not Adrienne but Sarah Beth Beginner Yoga classes on YouTube and really notice the difference now - I bend down to pick things off the floor without thinking and no longer make a "ugh" noise as I'm doing it.

I did find standing on one leg hard so I practised while waiting for the kettle to boil.

I do a 20 minute session most mornings and really enjoy them.

Pilates might work for you - the workouts are a similar pace to yoga but often built on repeated movements rather than flows and transitions. As per yoga, loads of free sessions online to follow.

If you find it really motivating to do a challenge for a fixed time period then you could set your own 30 day challenge with your own rules - eg try a new 15 min beginners yoga session every day. This way you can check out loads of different teachers and find one that you gel with. You might find a different teaching style a better fit for you.

Yes, it's worth it. When I started I wasn't overweight but was very stiff and not very strong. I started with astanga yoga, which involves a lot of press-up type moves, and it took me years, I'm not exaggerating, to be able to hold, lift and lower my own weight throughout the class and to stay in a downward dog for the number of times a classical astanga routine requires. It also took me years to build strength/flexibility/technique for things like (for example) lifting up into a backbend and staying for any length of time.
I've been doing it 15 years and there are still things I find hard/can do one day but not another/will never be able to do. It's fine. It's a practice; it's long-term and it changes.

I don't know the Adrienne stuff but people here are saying they're hard for a beginner; maybe look for some specific beginner routines as well or instead?

You might want to consider yoga for bigger bodies too - I've been doing this for two years and its amazing how much I have progressed. Although had my first class back today after 3 weeks of inaction and felt like lead!

My instructor (google fat positive light space yoga) is amazing. The classes are really focused on the needs of larger bodies. I do the 'regular' classes now as they are really inclusive as well.

are you doing Adrienne's 30 day Yoga thing or her 20 minute Yoga for beginners?
The first one is really not for beginners, the 2nd one is. It is a bit depressing though, my boobs seem to get in the way of everything while she's all elegant arms, legs and a stunning smile

I've dipped in and out of yoga, by no means a pro but have some experience and I've found Breath challenging in the middle, there are gentler routines you can do. I LOVE her bedtime routines, really help me sleep and feel stretched, not as challenging as her other ones as the point of them are to get you relaxed, but a good start for getting to grips with some of the basic poses, it's mostly floor work rather than transitioning quickly into a variety of poses. Maybe give that a go?

I'm older than you and also naturally inflexible. I've been doing Adrienne's classes most days for the past two months, concentrating on her stretch/ flexibility sessions. I've just started her latest 30 day challenge and can just about keep up or adapt where necessary - would have found it too difficult when I started though, so maybe think about putting together some of her individual sessions? Perhaps start with ' Yoga for complete beginners' just to learn some of the basic moves, then try the shorter stretch/ flexibility sessions. Repeating sessions can be helpful as you can learn the moves/know what to expect. Good luck!

The thing about the Yoga with Adrienne stuff is they are targetted at different levels, so she will frequently say "if you need to come onto your knees" or "for those that need a deeper stretch etc etc", so there is no pressure to do exactly what she is doing on screen. I find my flexibility varies a suprising amount day to day so just go with what I can do. Body type also plays a part. If you have bigger boobs (or a tummy like me) it will always be hard to hoik your leg gracefully from downward dog into a lunge. But you dont have to. You can adjust as you go along and what I like about her videos is she leaves time/reminders to position yourself before moving onto the next bit. So while she is smiling serenely I can be hoiking my leg into place.

Please stick at it, and see your improvements after a month.

I couldn’t hold a down dog in the beginning.....but the strength gained through regular practice has been a revelation (got me out of a dangerous situation on a cliff, where my new found upper body strength was the only thing that saved me)

Like you, my (ahem) “abdomen” sometimes gets in the way, and short arms similarly makes stepping put of down dog a challenge, but no one is judging, just do what is right for you, adapt where you need to.

Also fair play to the positive mental effects, I got up from my desktop a couple of weeks back, stressed on the verge of tears, just stopped what I was doing, moved to another room and started online yoga - 40 minutes later and I was mentally transformed. Never experienced such a prompt positive result like that and will keep that up my sleeve in future.

Also, can only manage one leg balancing when wearing Crocs - (I can live with that)

Adrienne is great if you get the right video for your needs.
For yoga I prefer Jessamyn Stanley (also on YouTube) she is quite big herself, and it’s much easier to see how she is managing the transitions between moves, etc for those of us who are not so flexible, and may have larger tummies, etc to manoeuvre around!

Yes, but perhaps try and find a teacher with live classes so you can get some support as you go.
I do online yoga with a teacher called Donna Noble who has a lot of experience in accessible yoga for size 18+ and it makes a huge difference thenobleartofyoga.co.uk
I didn't take up yoga to lose weight but like others on this thread I have come stronger and more flexible as a result.

When I started doing yoga with Adriene I couldn't move into low lunge from downward dog, and no amount of videos explaining how to do it could help. I just became able to do it through doing a lot of yoga, if you see what I mean.

I love yoga, and I would persevere, but remember that our bodies are all different. For example, I have very long limbs, so binding postures that look incredibly accomplished are very easy for me, not because I'm good at yoga but just because my arms are long. Conversely, I still can't do many arm balances or headstands. That's to say that if you walked in at certain parts of my practice you'd think I was an expert, while if you arrived during others you'd think I was an absolute beginner.

Take from yoga what feels beneficial to you, and ignore anything that hurts or feels uncomfortable. The benefit of yoga should be feeling more at home in your body, not ticking off a list of poses.

Once you start you see an improvement every single time. It's incredible. I'm not sure doing it every day is good though, your body needs rest days. I did it on hols every day and though I did get better it wasn't till I got home snd was only doing 3 days a week I really got better,

I fucking hate yoga.

My problem is is that my sporting background is competitive, plus I am terminally unbendy, so I inevitably end up hurting myself trying to outbend the woman on the mat next to me who moonlights for a circus act.

I'm also completely unwoo and find all the breathy centring shit annoying. At the same time, I'm not getting any younger and I really need to find a way to make sure I can still pick shit up off the floor in 10 years.

Are there any non-woo, unarsey types out there?

Lady hate I head you. I fucking hate yoga classes and smug yoga types. However it is actually incredible exercise snd I mean amazing.

I used to go to fierce grace hot yoga which I thought would be awful but if you hang out down the bank it's pretty good. Lots of guys go too. Also very good got getting more bendy cause heat. The one I liked had a whip thin french teacher and there was no woo at all. Thank fuck.

Lots of iPhone typos there but hopefully you get the gist.

I hate yoga too, I just haven't the patience for it, I can do the movements but I get bored and the deep breathing/'centering'/woo elements stress me out more than relax me. I do Crossfit 6 days a week and love olympic lifting and intense conditioning - I like dynamic, sweaty, heavy workouts. That said I completely recognise the benefits of having a good level of mobility so I do both Romwod and Tom Morrison's Simplistic Mobility Method, they both lean towards improving flexibility and mobility for improving weightlifting/Crossfit performance, but even if you don't do that you'd still see major benefits and there's absolutely no woo/spiritual stuff etc. They're both very much about functional movement, strength and correcting imbalances which is much more my angle, and it really does work. I subscribe to Romwod and bought the SMM programme (it also has a really supportive and helpful FB group where you can ask questions, get tips etc.) and I mix them up on a weekly basis. I've seen huge improvements since committing to at least 4 sessions per week.

romwod.com/

tommorrison.uk/products/the-Simplistic-Mobility-Method

Sorry, meant to say that my reply was mostly aimed at @LadyJaye

I agree with the poster who suggested Pilates. I'm really inflexible and find yoga too difficult. 'The Girl with the Pilates Mat' on you tube is worth a look if you are a beginner.

@Left

Pilates might work for you - the workouts are a similar pace to yoga but often built on repeated movements rather than flows and transitions. As per yoga, loads of free sessions online to follow.

If you find it really motivating to do a challenge for a fixed time period then you could set your own 30 day challenge with your own rules - eg try a new 15 min beginners yoga session every day. This way you can check out loads of different teachers and find one that you gel with. You might find a different teaching style a better fit for you.

Was just coming in to say it might be easier to start with Pilates as it is less complex and doesn’t involve poses. Once you’ve got a bit of strength and flexibility from that you could go back to yoga. I think there are some NHS Pilates videos.

Sorry didn’t see your post ThankyouPeter. I’m another one agreeing!

Is there a type of yoga where you don't spend all the time upside down folded in half? I have a reflux and I just cannot do this without throwing up.

I find that hard too which is why generally I find pilates better.

It isn't "woo" though, learning to manage your breath improves your ability because when you do it properly with the poses you will be able to stretch that bit further or hold a pose longer which increases your flexibility. It's about getting your mind in a place to enable to your body to go further.

My heart rate and sleep statistics are dramatically improved when I do yoga regularly. It isn't "woo" to learn that taking time out for mindfulness has a huge impact in on wellbeing. It's scientific fact, longer fewer breaths reduces heart rate, a great way of managing modern day stresses, which makes us healthier.

@TammyTwoSwanson you could try going to plank or half plank instead of downward dog and see how you manage the rest?