Yoga?

Hi everyone My town is offering a very inexpensive Yoga class at the local high school. I'm thinking this might be a good thing to get into, but I really am unfamiliar with it. Will it "count" towards exercising? Is it beneficial? I'd appreciate your experiences and feedback. Thanks in advance. Kathy Bilodeau Lap RNY 12/3/03 -101 lbs.

Yoga is great for toning and strength. It's not an aerobic workout per se, but it's very beneficial in other ways. I used to love yoga but stopped taking it when my weight got out of control. I am going to sign up for it again when I hit a 50 lb loss and then when I hit my 100 lb loss I am signing up for Tae Kwon Do. I had an orange belt in it and I want to go for the black belt!

Hi Kathy, I cannot use Yoga myself because I cannot hear and close my eyes while doing it but I have been thinking about joining kickboxing aerobics after I fully recover after surgery. My friend who go for Yoga and told me that it helps her to reduce stress and feel more relaxing. Hugs Kathy K

Yoga is more relaxation, flexibility and some toning. No cardio at all. Now, if you walked to yoga class....that would be a great workout! ;) Combining cardio and toning.... Can't wait to get some of my weight off of these bones and try new stuff myself!

hi girlie. Yoga, much like any other form of exercies is all in what you put into it. (and sometimes about how good your instructor is) If you go to class and just go through the motions, then you'll get nothing out of it. However, if when you go you truly challenge yourslef to aspire to the most perfect form you can acheive, that's where the benefits come from. Yoga is a form of strengthening and toning that will do wonders for your shape and appearance. I constantly have people telling me...ooh you've lost more weight! Well, I haven't lost a pound since March or so, but I'm down another size in clothing. It's all because of yoga. It really does change your shape. The other benefit is that it helps you with your joint strength abd flexibility. It does wonders for my knee arthritis like pain. I do a form of yoga that is cardiovascular as well as strengthening, called Bikram. It' not very common tough, and difficult to find a studio. If you're heart ain't pumping in this class- then you better check your pulse, because you might be dead. one last note -To Kathy- most yoga is done EYES OPEN. Not closed, until the very last position of meditation. If you're doing yoga with your eyes closed, you're going to fall over and hurt yourself even if you CAN hear the instructor. Give it a go, I think you'll LOVE it. If you ever want to try a Bikram class, let me know. Lisa