Ok does Yoga really help you relax and does it really strengthen your muscles up??
After my first yoga session my arms, legs and abs hurt like crazy the next day (in a good way!) If I keep up with yoga 2-3 times a week, I am much more flexible and toned. PS I really like the Yoga Journal (with Natasha Rizopolous) DVDs and also Rodney Yee does a lot of DVDs that I like. The workouts I have on DVD are all just 20 minutes long and I combine them with running daily for a great workout.
Yes. It's the only physical activity where, when I am doing it, I end up completely silencing on the constant chatter that runs through my head. And at the end of the yoga session, they have a brief period where you laydown on the floor and just be still and quiet. It's the perfect ending after all that physical activity. And for several days after my yoga session, I do feel as if my body has been stretched out and I'm walking taller. I just love it.
Absolutely!! I was never able to do pull ups until after I started yoga. It is all over strengthening and does a great job on the all important Core muscles. I always include yoga in my current training programs...I tend to have to change it up ever now then...but yoga is always included.
for videos - Rodney Yee and Baron Baptiste are great. Also the yoga video in the P90X series is good too.
Hot yoga at a studio is the best, just not in the budget for me now...but if you can - try it.
If you practice and you are mindful, the short answer is yes.
I've tried yoga, and now I'm trying Tai Chi and I like Tai Chi better, but that is jmho.
OH yes! The combinations of breathing and stretching really help relaxation and flexibility. There are many variations of yoga that can help you strengthen your muscles and get in really good shape. Check out Ashanti Yoga or "Hot" Yoga.
I can't do yoga because I have bad knees... it's rather the exact opposite of relaxing; excruciating.
But I can do splits (sitting or standing), backbends, back walkovers, handstands, flips... all sorts of gymnastics tricks. I just can't hold poses that require me to have most of my weight on my knees for extended periods of time (any kind of lunge, squat, etc.). Those poses (in all 3 kinds of yoga I've tried) account for about 2/3s of all the poses.
I can snowboard (because it's below freezing, and one's knees are never held in the same position for very long, and because the muscles are constantly shifting). I can ride horses. I can surf. I can swim and dive. But because I have loose tendons and ligaments in all my joints... yoga actually destroys my body. Every time I've attempted yoga classes I've ended up injured for several weeks. Which is neither relaxing, nor strengthening. The last time I royally screwed up my back. Yoga isn't for everyone, but most people enjoy it. ((Hint: Most gymnasts and dancers I know can't do yoga... because we sculpted our bodies in different ways and have different needs for our joints)). Runners... I've noticed... tend to really dig yoga.
Yes regular Yoga builds strength in the muscles of the upper back, increases flexibility in the lower back, massages the internal organs, especially the digestive organs which ultimately keep you healthy and active.
http://www.medicine2life.com/
