Talk me into trying yoga

[MrsCr0cus]

I joined my local gym a few months ago and have been going to lots of body conditioning type classes, which I really like. I've never really got into yoga but at 47 I'm thinking it would be a good thing to add to the things I go to - there are yoga sessions at my gym too.

I did a taster session but as a fundamentally lazy person, I still can't quite get my head around spending a whole hour at the gym on an activity that doesn't make me hot and sweaty and burn a ton of calories.

So...yoga...what is it good for?!? I'm not very flexible so I suppose that would be a thing it might help with. Will I be able to stretch like Angela Ripon if I stick with it?!

If you want to get sweaty I recommend astanga, as others have mentioned. It's also good for upper-body strength as you do a lot of downward dog, press-ups and planks, and jump backward and forward on your hands.
Those wondering why yoga is meant to be good for toning, it's because much of it works the muscles isometrically ie statically as you hold your limbs up/out/ at angles etc.

Plus it's good for balance, coordination, proprioception and flexibility.
Different teachers will emphasise the spiritual aspect more or less, so try a few. IME astanga doesn't emphasise it very much, although some astanga classes will start with a Sanskrit chant to the originator of astanga, Patanjali. But even if you're not arsed about him and don't feel the need to thank him, chanting is great for your breathing, trying to pronounce Sanskrit is a workout for the mouth and tongue muscles, and it's good exercise for your brain and memory too.

I'd also say that barre/ballet fitness is worth a try; I find it uniquely exhausting and come out with legs like cooked spaghetti. In a good way. It's sweaty and it's super-challenging for coordination, strength, stamina, flexibility, memory etc.

My former yoga teacher used to be really passionate about explaining what each move does and how it’s beneficial for the future. She used to go into retirement/nursing homes to do it! It’s things like getting in and out of cars when you’re older and being less prone to falls (which often leads to death in older people).

It’s great if you do other exercise too as it all complements each other. Because I stretch loads I rarely get aching muscles when I run or do weights etc and because I do weights, I can do a lot of the yoga poses a lot easier. I think when you see it all as interconnected, it’s more motivating to do it. Really eye opening when you’ve done it a while to then do a session with someone who doesn’t do it-the difference in flexibility and mobility is amazing.

Try Ashtanga yoga. I’ve been doing it for 18 years and was SO stiff and weak, now I’m practising second / third series (a quick Google will explain) five times a week.

I’m fitter, slimmer , stronger and more flexible than I was in my mid 20s. Never been over a size 8 (except two pregnancies) and am now 45.

ANYONE who tells you yoga doesn’t tone / strengthen muscles and create cardio conditions has never practiced Ashtanga. the women I know in their 50s / 60s who do it look incredible.

I always struggled to get into it with YouTube videos but they started running free weekly classes at work which helped me "get" it. After a few months of that I started supplementing with YouTube, I then did the 30 days in January and have done something every day since then although sometimes it's more of a 5-10 minute stretch than a proper session.

For me it's helped my balance more than my flexibility and despite being a bit sceptical about the more spiritual side of it, I started to feel more grounded and at one with myself - there were other positive changes in my life but I do think yoga helped.

I like the routine of taking time at the start of the day for me, and I know it doesn't have to be a hard or long session unless I want it to be.

You need a different kind of yoga! I've always done vinyasa flow types of yoga or hot yoga and you really feel it. 20 salutes to the sun leave your arms aching and yoga ab work, done properly, is way harder than your average gym class. I got out of condition this year and am working out at home until I reach a fitness level that can keep up with the pace of my favourite classes. i am not yet at yoga abs level. I can do russian twists with 16kg weights but yoga abs are still beyond me!

The fittest I have ever been is from doing exercise where I barely feel I have exerted any energy - let alone broken a sweat! Your a human being. Moving and physical activity is literally what your built for. Correct posture and alignment goes a long way to making that effortless.

Pilates and yoga all the way.

I was never able to do Mindfulness until I did yoga. Yoga is great for just focusing in the moment.

I couldn't see the point of yoga until I reached late 40s and then started to give it a go. Now mid 50s I absolutely love it and am mildly obsessed. It can be whatever you want it to be - a strenuous work out or much more meditative depending on what classes you do. It's also the one thing you can improve on as you age, whereas everything else seems to go downhill! Spending a lot of time stretching is pretty much essential as you age if you want to keep everything else going. You'll find out...!!

It's supposed to be good for "toning" (I also fail to see how).

Either you've never done a proper yoga class, or you've gone and not tried at all.

Gym yoga is absolute arse - just don't bother.

Yoga completely cured my plantar fascitis. I was paying a physio to stretch out my calves and then thought, hang on, this is what downward dog would do.

I like yoga as part of an broader exercise regime

I like the fact that you get more focus on flexibility and balance and posture which are all useful to help prevent injury and tone lesser used muscles , and it reminds you that you don't need to beast yourself to improve yourself or be happy

Thanks, all!

Totally take the point about gym yoga not being great, but I am bone idle and if it's not offered at my local gym then I won't go , I know it's pathetic! Same for online (plus I have form for injuring myself when following online routines). Interesting re.body balance, I used to go to that somewhere else ages ago but haven't seen it offered at my current gym.

I do really like pilates but can't make any of the classes due to timings, annoyingly.

Anyway you've convinced me to give it a whirl, better than sitting on the sofa, right?!

That's great that you're giving it go! Well
Done - you've nothing to lose.

My only thing about gym yoga is it makes me think I hate yoga, but my local yoga studio/ park and community its sessions are actually lovely and are really beneficial. So all I want was if you don't enjoy it, don't write off yoga completely. But it'll
Probably be the great so long as it's not at my current or previous gym

I've done pilates for years but found yoga hard - it really teaches some muscles deep inside! It can be tough - maybe you aren't trying hard enough or the poses in the taster session weren't challenging you.

It tones you because you are using your muscles! Quite a lot of yoga poses require considerable strength to hold them for any length of time. The effort required will also raise your heart rate if you are doing sufficiently challenging poses. Yoga is fantastic for balance and flexibility, as well as strength. It makes me more relaxed generally (as does most exercise), but not necessarily while I'm in the process of doing it - it can be hard work!

Yoga completely cured my plantar fascitis.

Mine too! After orthotics, different shoes, a night splint and going to a physio did nothing!

Welll... there's the classes my mum dragged me to when I was 15 (she loved yoga & raved about it). I must have gone about 10x. The adults all raved about my suppleness. I could do every move there easily (being 15). And then there's the 3 classes I tried in the last year.

1. Teacher looked almost anorexic & stopped nonstop about letting go of self-doubt. The class (plenty there) meant staring upwards a lot at fluorescent lights.

2. & 3) Young teacher, small class, comfortable venue, good for my balance, but made me think I might like ballet instead. Only I have no sense of rhythm & hate performance.

The more I read about yoga the more I think you have to do it for like 15 years and try 4000 different teachers to find the 'right' one for you. I just am not hooked.

Does trying Ashtanga involve getting interested in "energy locks". I just know I can't do that. I looked at advanced Ashtanga. That's the sort of stuff my teen DS loves. The teen DS's are doing (for showing off rights)l

I had a couple of excellent yoga teachers at the gym I went to. Don’t write off gym yoga.

I really enjoy yoga, but I only attend faster and harder classes. I can do a belly role by moving my abs independently (the belly dance move) and I’m working on crow into plank (it’s not going well!)… it’s absolutely got the potential to completely transform your body.

BUT honestly, as you’ve said your bone idle, I don’t think you need me to rave on about how amazing yoga is. What you need to hear is that exercise is bugger all to do with motivation. You need to be ‘disciplined’ enough to go do it consistently and then stick to that for at least 6 - 12 months consistently … until it is a habit, until it’s so engrained in your soul that doing exercise becomes part of you (just like getting up and having a coffee is for some people)

You will feel completely and absolutely like you cannot be bothered, you will hate it for months, the pit of your stomach will go ‘uuuugh do I have to’…. Don’t depend on getting motivated because it will fail you! You’re not motivated, just accept it….. instead….be disciplined, force something in your diary and get your butt to a class! Then do the same the week after, and then the week after, and the week after that… do it so that it’s what you do and you don’t even give yourself the option. Embrace your inner adult but recognise your inner child! I promise you will go one day and it won’t give you the ‘ugh I cannot be bothered’ feeling, you’ll have the ‘this is what i do, it’s not that bad’ feeling, then eventually you’ll get to ‘this is what I do and actually I kinda enjoy it!’ And eventually, you’ll miss it if you don’t do it! You’ll crave it! And then that’s it, you’re fully over the hump!

Also…. I personally find it useful going to a class/gym where I have gym buddies, they will ask where you were if you miss a class…. So I’d recommend chatting to people (I’ve migrated some into actual friends too which is lovely)

If you’re disciplined now, in a years time you might find yourself booking a holiday looking for hotels with a gym/fitness classes! I know, crazy thoughts!!

Discipline eats motivation for breakfast…… just suck it up, feel that deep sense of dread, and get your butt moving. Then do the same thing week after week after week. Get parental on that demotivated inner child/teen!

As the teacher above has said it depends on the type of yoga you do.
I do hatha and vinyasa.
Vinyasa flow means you are moving through the poses and I often can work up a sweat.
I've been doing yoga for 4 years my shoulders and arms are really toned, my thighs are rock hard! The only other exercise I do is regular walking. I'm hoping to do a yoga teaching course as I enjoy it so much.

Yoga provides more than just flexibility! It improves strength, balance, and mental well-being. Stay committed, and you'll experience the advantages both on and off the mat.

I used to think that way about gym yoga and I'm glad to say I was wrong. I go to classes at my local sports centre now, there are four different instructors on different days and they are all excellent (they are all specialist yoga teachers who work in various local venues, not sports centre instructors doing body pump one minute and yoga the next). The studio is clean, small and relaxing. I can't focus in the same way as at home, and it is nice being with a group of other people all working at their own level. I used to worry that I couldn't do as much as some of them but it is your own practice so you find your level. I have to modify quite a lot because of various health conditions but have had lots of advice from the instructors and get such a lot out of it despite the modifications.

For those who dislike yoga or feel it doesn't provide a good workout - remember that there are many many ways to practice yoga and teaching can be so so different. I've been practicing yoga regularly for over 10 years (mostly online classes these days but I did lots of in person classes at first) and I can still go to a yoga class with an unfamiliar teacher and be bored to tears because it's not what I'm looking for!