Anyone here do yoga? Did you start when you were at your highest (or pretty close to it)?

I have never tried it before.. honestly it looked ummm yuppie-ish? Right now my 4 and 5 year olds are doing a kid yoga dvd.. I tried some of the poses and well.. yeah I looked like a big blob who couldn't keep her balance or reach her ankles.

I am really thinking of trying it.. more for a relaxation thing than anything... but seriously.. can it really be done by a 260+ pound woman who is way out of shape?

Any reccomendations on videos that are easy and not cheezy?

I do a little yoga on my Wii Fit and in some of my Belly Dance Yoga DVD's. If Yoga seems silly to you check out pilates, there are some similar moves but it's different for sure!

I have this one Pilates DVD called Pick Your Level Pilates which is only like $7 on Amazon or something like that and it's AWESOME! They show each variation of a move from beginner to advanced so you can alternate between levels during the dvd. Everytime I do it, while I do work up a sweat, I always feel fine after it. Fast Forward to a few hours late "AH! My abs! My butt is sore!" and so on. ha

Also: It use to be on NetFlix instant watch a year or so ago when I first saw it. It may still be on there...

Try the Biggest Loser Bob Harper Weight Loss Yoga... I *LOVE* it. It's definitely challenging...but I started doing it in the 290s. It took me 2 tries to make it through all the way, but I did it. It will make you sweat, but it will also make you feel empowered and strong!

Thanks added them both to my netflix.. and yes the pilates one is still on watch it now.. so I can watch it through the Wii... YAY.

I dream of a Wii Fit to go with our Wii, but there were none to be found at income tax time and well that's about the only time of the year I have money for extras like that

Check Craigslist! I always seem them on there.

I do Yoga on my Wii fit too... love it... nice to get in a good stretch.

As a side note--- yes, you can be 260 and do yoga. I did it... there are still some crazy moves that I am too heavy/ not flexible enough for yet, but someday.

What do you do when you come to poses you can't do? Stupid question, I'm sure.. but when the kids and I were watching the kiddie video, I tried to do the dog pose (? hope I'm remember the name right?) and it was all I could do to hold my weight on my arms.. and I was a bit light headed

Oh, I hate the dog pose!! (Downward dog) It's supposed to be a neutral position, but I found it to be the most difficult move of the session! I have really tight hamstrings, and so does my son. I took a class just this past Saturday to see if it would help with that. By the end of the session I could actually touch my toes and my personal trainer measured me as 4 inches away from my toes before.

I wondered about the yuppy-ishness, though really I thought of it more as hippy-ish. But there is a bit of hippy in me, so actually, it fit me perfectly! I like drawing myself inward quite a lot and found it very relaxing.

I went with my best friend who is 260+ and she absolutely hated it. Part of it was personality. There is ZERO hippy in her. Part of it I think was difficulty. But it is all modifiable.

I don't know what to tell you except give it a try. Maybe rent something from the library. And stay away from downward dog!

For those who have done yoga on the wii fit and in class or with a dvd whats your opinion? Is wii fit yoga a good workout all on its own? or is a supplement of a yoga dvd also needed?

I have the wii fit already but wonder if i should also buy a yoga dvd or two?

Let me know what you think

Ps: i am very much a beginner at yoga

Well, with the WiiFit game you can select which poses to work on... But with videos I will usually attempt it or attempt a modified version of it... some I can't even attempt. In that case, I will usually just skip it or work some other stretch until they finish up the pose.

I find most of the WiiFit poses to be found in a dvd (they are pretty standard poses)... however, at least with the couple dvds I have tried, I find that you hold the pose for a lot less time in the game than you would on the dvd. So I guess I would say the game is good to get into yoga and learn the poses and also working on balance and light stretching. There are some advanced poses that I still can't do on there though... But if you're looking for a more advanced, hour long workout then I would opt for a video.

Neither Wii Fit nor yoga are "good workouts" in terms of absolute numbers of calories burnt, nor cardiovascular fitness increases, nor very large strength increases. But if you want to develop flexibility and some strength, then yoga can be useful. And if you just need to find more ways to be active, or any way at all to be active--then either approach is certainly more beneficial than sitting on the couch or in front of the computer.

I find Yoga puts my mind in the right places and helps me focus on stretching. To me it's kind of like chocolate...it rounds out the nice balanced diet. It's not necessary but oh, so good with health benefits.

I have the Wii fit. I did not like Yoga by itself, but now since taking the class, I realize it was good for practicing the poses. I was already familiar with 90% of the poses we did in class because of the Wii fit. But with the Wii fit, you do not get the breathing technique nor the smooth transitions between poses nor the relaxing music. Any relaxation you may find is broken when you have to click through new screens.

My interest in it comes from a "mental exercise" thought. I am horribly critical with everything in life.. and probably fly off the handle with my kids way more than I should.. so I really am thinking of it as a way of grounding myself.