[Closed] Yoga – Anyone do it?

Have a search on here we've discussed it before. Short answer yes I used to (got lazy/out of habit), it helps a lot with flexibility and core strength and once you get the basic moves its very easy to do at home/gym etc and you don't need any kit/equipment really. If you do basic sun salutation regularly (ideally every day) you will notice a major improvement in flex and strength.

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Depends entirely on why you are grounded.

Yep, im a regular. After a bad accident in Whistler 10 years ago, its the only style of exercise that keeps my back pain free.

Twice a week is all i need.

Can't recommend it enough.

Been going every Friday morning for the last 6 weeks.

My wife was more interested but dragged me along for support. I gave it a shot and really enjoyed it, so much so that I actually look forward to it now. I've started to notice big improvements in flexibility and feel great riding at the weekend, a lot more comfortable and loose on the bike.

That said, the class if quite good. I think they can be very variable, my wife has been to a few and didn't enjoy them for various reasons. They can either be really easy, full of hippies or have a patronising teacher who makes you feel bad for not being able to wrap your legs around your neg and jump up and down.

There are also a lot of 20 - 30 min yoga videos on youtube that are quite good, worth trying those also.

Going to my first class tonight per advice from the osteopath.

I used to do it at a gym I was a member of (but it was called Dynamic Stretch so the blokes didn't feel like it was a girlie class).

I really enjoyed it. Harder than you think it's going to be and was really helping with my flexibility, even though i was only doing it once a week.

Depends on the particular class you go to though - the first one I went to was pretty much 45mins of lying on your back relaxing and breathing. Not my cup of tea at all. I kept waiting for it to get a bit more 'stretchy & physical' but it didn't. So, I found a more suitable class.

I bought a DVD to do it at home, but it's one of those things I never seem to find the time for....

Is this the new Monday Night Pub Ride?

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Yes go, it will help with core and flexibility both of which don't get much use when riding, not really. The flexibility is the most interesting aspect, I think cycling basically ties your body into a crouched knot, you may find the first few classes harder than you think and whatever you do, don't MTFU and over stretch... you can tear things. Steady as shes goes.

Depends entirely on why you are grounded.

Damaged knee bursa and a muscle tear in my calf.

Dont know about Yoga but Pilates is bloody brilliant.

I've been dying to try it for ages - I was hoping to speak to the Yogie Sensei beforehand to see how I'd get on with some old injuries but she seems to disappear into a cloud of smoke at the end of each class in my local LC.

After a physio session last night reminiscent of the opening scene beating handed out by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale I feel the need to get a bit more stretchy and bendy.

There is a Yoga class at the village hall over the road on a Monday night, when I should be riding my bike – but I’m grounded. Will this help? Will I die?

This sounds almost exactly like my physio session a few weeks back. I went in with a tight hamstring problem that's been going on for a few months.

The Pysio was doubtful there was a tear or damage to anything and put it down to me being extremely tight and stiff (oh err!) so my muscles and tendons are having to compensate and being overworked.

She started me off with a few stretching exercises and then moved on to some Yoga. The idea is that this will help loosen me up and make me more flexible and stressing my tendons and muscles less.

I've been doing the stretches and yoga for about 8 weeks now and its really helped. I spend about 20 - 30 mins most mornings stretching out and do a few special stretches before and after exercise. The legs feel freer when cycling or running and a lot less painful and tight the next morning.

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Damaged knee bursa and a muscle tear in my calf.

After a physio session last night reminiscent of the opening scene beating handed out by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale I feel the need to get a bit more stretchy and bendy.

Hmm - is that physio qualified? Because those two posts should rarely meet.

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Damaged knee bursa and a muscle tear in my calf.

Jambalaya - I think a more pressing concern may be that he's doing this tonight......

😀

i dabble.

maybe worth remembering that there are different kinds of yoga.

the class i currently dabble with is 'iyengar' yoga - which my wife calls 'yoga for pussies' - because as far as we can tell it's mostly about getting comfy, and then having a nap.

i'm told that ashtanga yoga is much more hard work.

Hmm - is that physio qualified? Because those two posts should rarely meet.

I had a stiff neck also. She fixed that.

i'm told that ashtanga yoga is much more hard work.

yup. i started a class in this a few weeks ago having previously done a couple of 'generic/chill/hippy' type yoga classes.

ashtanga is tough no doubt. despite the room being freezing, by the end of the classes I'm sweating like a good'un. the stretches are deep and intense. after a few weeks now it seems to be slowly helping reduce my tight hammies, glutes and sciatic type pain i've been getting.

Yeah since about 2011

Have never been particularly flexible and was getting v-e-r-y slowly worse. Decided to have a go, found it beneficial and have stuck with it ever since

Like everything else I do I cherry pick the bits that work for me

Yes, definitely worth a go. I hurt my back about 18 months ago leading to nearly a year off the bike.

A combination of a monthly physio session and doing yoga three times a week has really helped and I'm
now riding pain free. If you don't fancy classes have a look at the Ryan Giggs dvd, some really good stretching and core exercises.

interesting to hear iyengar yoga being called easy. I did it years ago and didn't find it easy. there wasn't the leaping around you get in some yoga classes, more a case of find the position and hold it until your muscles complain from holding your weight. Maybe depends more on the teacher.

Now doing pilates which is definitely helping with core strength and sorting out some other weaknesses.

Go for it - I need daily Yoga to keep my back relatively pain free. It's been 11 years now and it really helps maintain your core strength and flexibility as you turn into an [s]old fart[/s]giffer

Like MikeHealey I learnt from DVD's and books - there are certain positions like [url= http://yyoogaa.com/?p=3531 ]plough pose[/url] that I can't go near though

It's a beautiful thing..

I've been doing Ashtanga flavour twice a week for 2+ years. Really recommend it.

Start easy and don't force it. Make sure you get the essence of the poses and not force it- do a little well, rather than a lot poorly. 2 years on there's bits (shoulder stand) that really don't agree with me so I don't do them.

It's also no quick fix and can be subtle to the point I wasn't sure it was helping, however miss a few sessions and I was feeling much worse. Also, going to classes is the only way I'm going to do that much bending/stretching etc.

which my wife calls 'yoga for pussies'

Is she a practitoner of full contact Yoga or Krav Maga yoga 😉

an ex ballet dancer runs a yoga based class near me...might be worth looking something similar up. Her class was for cyclists and runners and called a stretch class. It helped a lot, I did five weeks of it before other events overtook that time slot each week but now regularly stretch with some of the yoga based moves I learned.

I am a yogaist also. Be prepared to be very poor at it and be surrounded by very bendy women who will pity your uselessness.

But it really helps me, and I notice when I'm not able to go... home practice is ok, but it's difficult to know if you're doing it correctly and tend to end up doing the same routine, so I'd say classes are better

The Ivengar yoga I do isn't easy by any stretch (geddit...) despite the above, but it is intended to be progressive so us unbend types ca actually make some progress.

Hatha Yoga for me. Been at it for about three years. Can't recommend it enough, it changed my life. I've not actually been to a class for ages, but I do it at home regularly.

I did ashtanga once a week for a couple of months, but quit because I felt bored by it. I wasn't going often enough to get any progress out of it, so I never felt motivated to get more often and improve. Especially since chucking iron around at the gym feels like an absolute blast and it's easy to measure progress. Didn't help that the class was a bit too "mystic" for my liking.

Well, I did my first ever 'Yoga for Pussies' class last night, and have to say I'm feeling pretty good. I've been feeling like an old man for some months now, tight hamstrings, stiff back in the mornings but worst has been crunchy neck, tight shoulders and the headaches, my back has been slowly markedly deteriorating.

The osteopath has recommended hot water bottle several times a day and he's been doing some sort of vulcan death grip type thing for the past month. This has helped a great deal but I think is only part of the solution.

I came out of the class feeling the best I've felt in months and will be going back next week.

We just got back from Yoga for Pussies.

a few of the positions do a decent job of stretching my hamstrings, but other than that it's basically pointless.

Ashtanga next - i'm told it'll destroy me, and i want a bit of that!

I did an ashtanga class with a mate a while back. Lets just say I'm glad I spent most of my childhood doing gymnastics 😆

warm up properly that's all I'm saying

I got into it about 2 years ago, on the advice of some top snowboard coaches. I really enjoy it, as someone who is now nearer 40 than 30 and tends towards the muscle-bound (former rugby player, with the hamstrings to prove it), plus making my living from outdoor sport all year round, it's really made a difference to me.

We actually run some Yoga + Ski/snowboard trips these days.

I did this write-up after I did a week-long yoga/surf camp last autumn:

So, Yoga for Dudes.

I started doing some yoga about a year ago, following a recommendation from one of the British Snowboard Team coaches (former Olympian Lesley McKenna). It was something I'd been looking at getting into for a while. I'm turning 35 shortly which, while hardly ancient, isn't exactly the first flush of youth either. I grew up playing rugby and sprinting to a half-decent standard and now ride bikes and snowboards for a living. My body takes a lot of abuse and some days it can feel like a struggle to get enough of my limbs moving for me to be able to get out of bed in the morning. Anything that promised to give me some flexibility and help avoid injury was worth a go. Even if it did mean watching some dude in his pants.

Throughout last winter, I went to a few classes in Sainte Foy and also did a fair amount of practise on my own, following some videos by a guy called Rodney Yee (apparently a big name in Yogic circles). He has a selection of short (25 mins) sessions focussed on flexiblity, stamina, strength, etc. This worked for me as you can just do, e.g. a flexibility session if that's all you have time for or put together a few sessions to make a longer workout. While I was away in Hintertux in April for a 2-week instructor exam (2 weeks of full-on, flat-out, under-pressure snowboarding every day) I did the flexibility session most nights to try to recover and be ready for the next day. Really made a big difference to me (still didn't pass though!). A few sessions, whether in Sainte Foy classes or at home and I was, without a doubt, more flexible (at least in the legs/hamstrings) than I was at 20 years old. I'd gone from barely being able to touch my toes to being able to put my hands flat on the floor. I don't think I've EVER been able to do that. Struggling to find a link to flexibility session video now (not sure the original YouTube clip I used was entirely official...) but it was based around Sun Salutations, which any Yoga instructor can tell you about.

Since then, it's been a long and stressful summer, with a very busy mountain-biking season on top of trying to renovate our house. I never seemed to find the time for either yoga or even just some basic stretching. So, long story short, at the end of 15 weeks of intense bike-guiding (plus a couple of pretty heavy crashes) I was in a bit of a state. Straight after the season, we were heading off to Spain for a week to meet up with my family, then flying over to Morocco for a surfing / yoga camp that Iona had booked for us months ago. I was expecting to be a black-belt yoga-ninja by then, but my complete lack of practise over the summer hadn't really helped me get there. A couple of quick pool-side sessions in Spain weren't really going to help either (better than nothing though).

Anyway, out to Morocco to stay with the guys at Surf Maroc. Format for the week was a 2-hour, pre-breakfast Yoga session at 7:30am(!) every day, surfing afterwards, then a relaxation/recovery yoga session in the evening. Anyone who knows me will, of course, confirm that I'm always at my best first thing in the morning. But I was up for it, and pretty motivated to try sort myself out after the season. The week was also on a vege diet and alcohol-free. Very zen - although the lack of beer was actually due to the local village being a dry town for religious reasons, you could bring-your-own if you wanted.

As expected, I was pretty inflexible. The mountain bike season had left me with massively (at times comically) stiff/blocked hips and lower back. Following a couple of whiplash-inducing heavy crashes, neck and shoulders weren't much better. Interestingly, Iona (who is usually flexible to an almost freakish degree) was in almost as bad a state, so it was pretty clear that mountain-biking was to blame. Our kind of riding, where you're out of the saddle and cranking hard on the pedals in short bursts, seems almost designed to cramp-up the lower back (as the back has to tense and engage to provide the equal-and-oppsite reaction to the legs cranking on the pedals). Add in the limited range of movement of the hips on a bike and you have a recipe for a lot of stiffness in the hips and lower back. On the plus side, my sporadic yoga practise had got me at least familiar with most of the postures and my flexibility in my legs was actually pretty good. My core was also pretty strong.

The morning classes were great. Good teachers (Thanks to Jen & Becky!) and lots to learn. Over the course of the week, I managed to make a lot of progress in working out the stiffness in my back (although the surfing was putting a lot of it straight back in again). Big improvement, really pleased with it. Makes a difference to every-day life too. On the plane back home (and now sitting at my PC) I CAN'T slouch. It's uncomfortable. Sitting "properly" feels much better. That's 35 years of habit broken right there.

Evening sessions were good too. Aimed a little more at the spiritual side of yoga (real yogis will tell you that all the physical stuff is just so that you can sit and meditate comfortably...). I have a healthy amount of built-in scepticism towards all things spritual. Chanting is not really my thing. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the meditation and all the rest. Whether you are seeking enlightenment or not, there's no doubt that just taking some time to chill and try to clear your mind leaves you feeling good.

So, the big question has to be, do I think yoga makes a better bike-rider or snowboarder? The short answer has to be yes. Feeling open and flexible puts you in a much better place to ride to the best of your ability. I've been trying to improve my park/freestyle snowboarding a lot recently and, with the way my back and hips felt at the end of the summer, there are some moves (Method, anyone?) that just wouldn't have been possible. You also gain an improved sense of balance and and a feel for what your body is capable of. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants to push their riding. Especially for those for whom touching their toes may be only a memory.

Oh yeah, and the surf was great! Good conditions and cool instructors (thanks Red & Ilyass!) meant that I got back to where I was years ago pretty quickly, then made some progress - managed to ride my first proper green faces. Stoked!

You realise how tight regular cycling makes your body when you do yoga (and how much long term damage you're doing if you're not also doing a load of stretching to counteract it.)
Strong core will really help you climb, sprint and your top speed.
Personally I don't think you can do any regular athletic sport to a decent level without knackering your body, unless you also do 2-3 core and strength sessions a week as well

Started doing a couple of classes a week at my gym about 5 months ago. Have really enjoyed them and now prefer them to the more weights based classes I used to do. Feel much more flexible all over and I think has developed additional strength in certain areas such as the core. Its also good for both concentration and relaxation. Wish I'd started years ago.

Its ruddy brilliant, done a bit of the ashtanga style stuff originally at the insistence of the gf but now fairly converted. It is pretty brutal though if your not all that bendy and the sense of amused pity that radiates of the room full of attractive women takes some getting used to.

In the new year a yoga teacher friend of mine is going to start some sports stretching classes. It's going to be yoga but skipping all that alternate nostril breathing and the such like.
Will be in Sutton,Banstead ,Epsom area.

Ashtanga Yoga.
Kino Macgregor.
Nuff said.

Haven't tried yoga but have been doing pilates once a week the past couple of winters. It does help hugely with bendiness. I had very bad posture and all sorts of cycling related tightness. Not fully sorted yet but definitely on the way.

zippykona - Member
In the new year a yoga teacher friend of mine is going to start some sports stretching classes. It's going to be yoga but skipping all that alternate nostril breathing and the such like.
Will be in Sutton,Banstead ,Epsom area.

This sounds like the classes I used to go to at the gym I was a member of.
They called it 'dynamic stretch' so blokes would be more likely to attend, but I think in general in a class of 20, there'd be perhaps 3 blokes.

I really enjoyed it - great to think about nothing but the moves you are doing and having a nice relaxing stretch. We used to start easy and build it up through the lesson, generally finishing with a series of moves that we'd repeat - quite hard work if you weren't used to it.
I keep meaning to get in contact with the woman who ran the class and see if she does evening classes outside of the gym. Just one more thing to try & fit in though.

Is Yoga or Pilates the best one to start off with? I have been cycling for 20 years and always had pretty crap flexibility. I started doing Karate with my kids 2 years ago and am really enjoying it, but am finding that my crap flexibility (even in my wrists) is holding me back now it's getting more serious.

I also started boxing 6 months ago and the coach has commented that I need to work on my flexibility.

Time is a scarce resource so I am unlikely to be able to manage more then one session a week realistically - am I going to see any benefit from that?

hughjayteens - I'd go for Yoga over Pilates for flexibility.

You can do a very good yoga-based flexibility session at home in under 30 minutes, so even for the most hectic, more than one session a week should be possible.

Have a look for the "Power Yoga for Flexibility" video by Rodney Yee. Think it's 27 minutes long. Works for me!

Thanks Stevo - I'll look that up.

Time is a scarce resource so I am unlikely to be able to manage more then one session a week realistically - am I going to see any benefit from that?

get thee on youtube. if you can do a couple of sessions (even if only 30mins) at home during the week you'll get more benefit.

there are lots of good yoga vids on there you can follow at home (so long as you're motivated to do so). you can filter search results to only show "long" videos which helps filter through the 4min long ones 😉

here's a good video to warm you up....

numbnut - Member
here's a good video to warm you up....

Wow, she's certainly could warm me up!

@ stevomcd - nice write up and very interesting! Thanks!

I remember a conversation some years ago with some Canadian snowboard instructors who were of the opinion that too much yoga/stretching (esp in the legs) wasn't helpful for snowboarding as it made you too 'floppy' - and you were better off being 'stiff & p155ed' ... however these guys were young and it was interesting to note that as they got older and sustained more injuries through snowboarding, cycling and ice hockey etc that they needed to start looking after themselves - and so they started doing yoga.

I've been doing it for a few years now (I'm 46) and if I stop I can really tell the difference as I will get lower back pain, tight calves, tight hip-flexors etc within a few days.

So it's yoga that enables me to keep going!

I learned from Rocky Snyder's 'Fit to Surf' book and Barbara Currie's '10-Minute Yoga Workouts' book along with the DVD 'Yoga for cyclists' with Andria Baldovin.

I really should try a 'class' though, but I'll check out the Rodney Yee DVD! Ta! 🙂