Anyone else struggle to enjoy yoga?

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Does anyone else really want to like yoga but really struggle to enjoy it? I’ve tried 3 different styles - ashtanga, yin and vinyasa and just come away feeling a bit meh!?!??

I used to hate it. Found it slow, boring and confusing.

Now I enjoy yoga but I do it my way! I like to take my time to get the correct 'form' and settle in to the pose, then really feel the stretch properly and stay there a while. The faster 'flow' styles just annoy me because I have barely enough time to get into a pose before they've moved on to the next one and I don't feel I get any benefit.

I also get so bloody bored of downward fucking facing dog doing the same poses over and over so I prefer to just listen to my body and what it needs and do my favourite poses that work those bits. Makes it much more enjoyable and beneficial for me.

Never enjoyed it. I do like pilates though

Yeah I used to do a class at lunch, it went on for an hour and I got pretty bored and once it moved to Zoom I used to switch my camera off and mumsnet through it until I finally cancelled.

Instead for flexibility I attend by zoom a half hour pilates class. No silly names for things and implicit spiritual benefits, just half an hour of stretching and postural work.

But some people I know love yoga, guess we're not those people .

Yeah it's boring but I do feel the benefit of it.

I find it boring but enjoy the effects. I had one teacher who just did poses rather than sequences which was much less to think about and frankly more effective.

I love Pilates but I’ve never got on with yoga. Too woo for me.

Me. Someone once suggested it as especially beneficial for adhd so I gave it a try. Boring as fuck and the relaxation shit had the opposite effect. I do a lot of exercise so I didn't even get anything from the physical aspect, although tbf I can understand why it's beneficial for others. I was delighted when the course came to an end.

I find I’m ok for half an hour and then the repetition of flows gets so tedious I clock watch. Also when I do the warrior pose or whatever it’s called (the one with the hand pointing up in the air) I get really dizzy and can’t wait for it to be over

Surely it's like anything else? Some people like it, others don't

It depends on the instructor for me. I quite like the movement, flexibility side of yoga and tend to end feeling quite relaxed and stretched out.

One class I tried seemed to be more about sitting or lying listening to affirmations, and was very heavily focused on being coached through each breath with motivational chat. I found that type annoying, but couldn't tell you what it was called.

All the downward stuff gives me a headache.

I thin it's shit. Then again, I also LOATHE the gym, and cannot fathom why people spend HOURS AND HOURS of their week in there. I would much rather go for a long walk, a bike ride, or a swim.

I *THINK it's shit. (yoga.) Fuck me mumsnet. PLEASE get an edi button!

*EDIT button.

I think you have to find a teacher you connect with.

I did some over two years at the local leisure centre, and tried different classes at different times, which meant different teachers (plus once or twice, someone was 'covered' by someone else when unwell or on holiday) and I've now tried a couple of on-line yoga teachers
Some I didn't enjoy, or feel I got anything out of, and some I did.

I used to feel the same until Bikram.

My good its like the cocaine of exercise! You literally come away buzzing.

Totally behind you OP. Yoga, don’t love it.

I struggle with the spiritual side of it. Being told to “accept the breath” just makes me want to giggle.

I wanted to like yoga. But I just couldn't stand the mind numbing boredom of the classes.

Me although yin was quite nice. I'd rather run as fast as I can the fuck away from myself and my problems for 30 minutes in nice scenery 😂

Tried a free lesson at an expensive specialist studio as a student - I floated out of the building after. I’ve never felt anything like it.

Sadly, couldn’t justify the course price at the time and I haven’t had a yoga class before or since that came close to delivering the same effects. The studio was in another country, so going back is out of the question, sadly.

I struggle with classes, I get bored too easily! And they either go too fast (if I’m enjoying a stretch I want to stay there for a bit; my body is saying this is what’s needed) or too slowly, hence the boredom. And with various injuries that need to be worked round there’s some stuff I can’t really do.

The classes gave me a good grasp of the basics though so now I prefer my yoga at home - candles, incense and twinkly music a go go . Post lockdown I want to have occasional private lessons instead, so I can use that work on a new routine that I then practice at home.

Absolutely hate yoga. Tried it so many times and it just winds me up. It feels like trying to open a stiff sash window, or reaching behind the TV to untangle a load of cables stuck in an awkward place. It’s just awkward annoying stretching. I’d rather go for a jog any day.

Yes- also the instructors bang on about what is “correct form” often with no scientific basis whatsoever. Which makes it more of a form of dance with fixed moves rather than some special esoteric movement that magically prevents injury and opens your third eye, because it doesn’t.