Am I too big for Yoga? Can you reccomend some yoga tapes or books on the subject? I would like to try it as it looks like it does a lot of strengthening but it seems to be a lot more injury free.

Any ideas, thoughts or comments?

Yoga is great at any size. You would be surprised how much a little "stretching" can get up a sweat. There are different kinds of yoga too. My suggestion is to try a "beginners" dvd and see how you like it. You can probably check some out for free at your library. Take it easy and pay attention to how you feel. Don't do anything that hurts. Just do what you can. You may not be able to touch your toes...but you can touch your knees, etc.. Good luck and have fun with it.

I'm thinking about Yoga too, in fact I just discovered today that I can get fitness videos through Netflix ($16 a month, all the movies you can watch, just pick them online and they send them to you, you send it back and they send you another!) ANYWAY, I am getting the Jillian's 30 day shread, and I am getting Bobs Biggest Loser Yoga, just to try them out........300 pounds here people, there will be no dance areobics for a bit, thats for sure!

I am wondering if yoga could be done from the couch? the floor is a LONG way down there

Seated yoga, where you work with a chair (you are not always sitting down, though) can be quite a workout, believe it or not. From that, you could work into the typical regular yoga.

Jay

I started doing Bikram Yoga (90 minute class-- 110 degrees in the room, sometimes called "hot yoga") when I weighed around 250. Go for it! It's great for flexibility as well as spine strengthening and overall wellness. Search online for a studio near you-- I like taking a class so the teacher can help me and make sure I am doing the poses right, so I am getting all of the medical benefits!

I tried yoga a few years ago & wasn't too impressed with it... I only had 1 class tho lol

Somewhere just today I saw a post about "Yoga: Just My Size". I found a review about it by googling. It is geared toward the heavier person. The reviewer seemed impressed. The review was on "associated content."

I am close to 300 right now and I love Cathe Friedrich's stretchmax Dvd. It is very relaxing and is based on yoga poses, without all the yoga terms. I love Namaste Yoga on FiTV, but those girls can do some amazing contortions. I really have to pick and choose which episodes I can follow.

I do yoga three times a week. I actually have a "Yogo for the golden years" lol! and a fit pregnancy yoga one. Both a little gentler and not quite so out there. I love them! I AM pretty flexible though (can do the splits etc) so YMMV.

The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD is quite a workout too! I have to modify some of the poses (for now!!), but I still sweat up a storm. Afterward, I feel great!

Dolly, if I can do it at 340 lbs, you can do it!!

You guys!! You just made me spend money!!

I just ordered the Just my size and biggest loser yoga videos. That would be a great way to start my day!!

Even if you get a video, I also suggest "Yoga for Wimps: Poses for the Flexibly Impaired". It really helped me learn to modify yoga positions as I needed to.

I had a really bad yoga experience with a large yoga class. They did a lot of on-your-knees positions, and I just couldn't do them. I didn't feel like I could interrupt the teacher to ask for modified positions. So I tried and tried, through the pain in my knees, and ended up in tears by the end of hte class, and hurt for a week afterward.

DON'T DO THAT!!! If it hurts, stop. If you're taking a class, talk to the teacher about your concerns about your body ahead of time. She's heard it before. And she'll be able to help, and to offer you options that will work better with where you are now.


I've also had an amazing yoga experience with a smaller class. They went slowly, did positions I could at least try to do (mostly standing rather than kneeling), and I felt relaxed and energized at the end of it.

I keep that experience in mind when I think of the first one. The difference was the choice of positions, the size of the class, my confidence in speaking to the teacher, and her gentleness and approachability.

I have the JUST MY SIZE YOGA dvd by megan garcia. Love Love Love it!
Thanks for reminding me
I haven't done it in awhile so I am going to pull it out today!

You can also do a search on http://yogadownload.com

There is a ton of different types of yoga there, and you can download some free 20 minute sessions. They are MP3 files that you listen to, and can print out a pose sheet if you want. I find the instructors are very good at telling you how to pose, and I find it much easier to do with someone giving tips in my ear instead of trying to watch on the TV.

I have Megan Garcia's, too! I might pull that one out to do when I get home tonight!

Even if you have to modify the poses a bit for your body (my belly gets in the way when I do certain ones), the benefits are enormous!

I actually have Netflix so I might get the Bob one. There is a class on base but I have to ask my friend what she thinks of it. Of course she is little but she still might be able to give me an idea of how it goes.

Thanks Ladies!