Yoga?

So after I brought up the subject of joining a Zumba-type class, my spouse expressed an interest in join a yoga class. This would probably be easier due to my spouse having flat feet, and something like Zumba could be painful.

I'm totally on board with the yoga suggestion, but (1) where do we even start to look, and (2) how much into the New Agey bull**** do I have to buy? I have a severe allergy to bull**** (thankfully I only gave a mild intolerance to nonsense.. ) and this will be a non-starter if we have to put up with pseudo-cult mind games and crystals/veganism/chakra crap.

Anyone here do yoga?

I do yoga in the comfort of my own home. Look into YogaGlo.com, it's like Netflix but for yoga classes. You can stream them at home, and nobody cares about your yoga farts!

Googling for yoga studios is one way to go. Classes are also offered at many (if not most) gyms; I occasionally go to the classes at the LA Fitness near my house. Places like the YMCA and your county/city parks and recreation department tend to have classes too.

The amount of New Ageyness you'll have to deal with will vary from teacher to teacher. Some are very into the "cleansing harmonic vibrations of the universe," other teachers follow "yeah, that's a really good stretch for your hip muscles." If you're going through a yoga studio, reading the teacher's bio can give you a good clue as to how much woo you're in for.

I'm woo-intolerant, and the instructor I went to during college had us stretch to Bob Marley and Eric Clapton. That was a good fit :)

Hopefully we'll find something similar!

I recommend if you're going to start a yoga practice that you start with actual classes in person. It's important to be able to get correction from an instructor to ensure you're doing the right thing. From there, once you have some in person classes under your belt, it's easier to move to a home practice.

As far as new age bull**** goes, it depends on the teacher. Every instructor is slightly different, some just focus on the poses and some incorporate the other branches of yoga as well. So it's really just a matter of experimentation and finding an instructor that gives you what you want.

Most gyms offer yoga as a fitness class these days. YMCAs are a good option. My preference is my local community college which has a wide range of fitness classes and multiple yoga teachers. I prefer these options to actual yoga studios because the cost tends to be better. For yoga studios I find that it's a per class fee whereas if you take classes at a gym, you can do all the classes you want for a flat fee per month.

As for Zumba - every class I've done is done wearing shoes, so your spouse shouldn't have an issue with proper orthotics.

Our gym is a no-go due to scheduling, but checking out the local colleges is great idea, thanks!

I agree on doing classes in person while still a novice... music is the same way. You can learn a lot of really bad habits without careful supervision, and potentially sustain major injuries.

My husband actually started with a class at the library...

ive tried a few classes here and there with my mom - an 80 year old yogi - but that instructor is severely bull****ty - even though she is a super nice person and really looks after my mom... but she does all this walking meditation and alternate nostril breathing that basically makes me want to kick something.

BUT. I don't know how strong the Groupon game is in your area. I'm in NY so Groupon is a huge thing here and I was able to get a great price on a yoga studio in my area -

basically I looked for one with a lot of classes and different instructors so I can use the Groupon to see if any of the instructors are a good fit for me...

good luck!

where do you live?

I'm in Chicago and started going to yoga about a month ago at core power yoga (they are all over the country). I live in an area where there are a lot of trixies (skinny, young blondes lol). I was a bit intimidated that yoga would be full of them and it is! I came to grips that i don't care what they think of me...i'm trying to get healthy and that's what matters to me.

Instead of fighting the yogi mentality...try to embrace it. Since i've had surgery a little over 3 months ago, i've had a hard road with a lot of nausea, burning and extremely high liver enzymes that resulted in a liver biopsy. Thankfully all of that is resolved but yoga helped me get through it. At core power they focus on trying to get you to clear your mind...you can't change that bad crap that happened all day so let it go. That is something very hard for me to do but the classes have really helped plus it is a much harder work out than you would think. In addition to clearing your mind, they also push you to work on breathing which doesn't sound like much but can make you feel amazing afterwards.

Something i've learned in the past 3 months is that i've lost my typical coping mechanisms for when i have a really bad day which were having a glass of wine or ordering thai food. I've had to try new things such as meditation and yoga. I can't say enough good things about yoga so give it a try. I also did zumba for years and never lost any weight. It's fun but you are probably better off with cardio/weight training.

Let us know if you try it!

I LOVE yoga! I started practicing about a year ago... after losing weight 158 pounds I still couldn't wrap my head around the space my body took up in the world if that makes sense... I would look at turnstiles and narrow passages and think can I make that and umm yeah I obviously could but the brain wouldn't catch up... Yoga helped with that... and I had terrible balance post-op... I literally would randomly sort of keel over every once and a while just standing and it helped that too. I blogged about it... http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2016/07/frida y-five_15.html

I took a class initially for beginners it helped I think in the intimidation factor.... beginning yoga isn't always full of newbies and when they are saying poses and you don't know them yet that's not fun... ask if there is a real entry level class (or semi private instruction.)

or... there are a few great online YT channels and apps to get started... and I highly recommend Abby Lentz DVDs (she's in our community) I think I probably met her at an OH event years ago and she gets adaptations for our bodies if that is needed.

LOL on the new-agey stuff... I like the meditation I have a super unquiet ADHD mind which that has helped with but some yogis are more spiritual than others... a gym/YMCA/college class should be less new agey than a yoga studio

Oh one more thing... you can buy a mat for like $10 and then you can buy $80+ mats... buy the most expensive you can afford... especially if you have knee issues... it makes a difference, trust me on this one.

Hope this rambling LOL helped & hope you find a class that you love. ~Shelly

Yoga is definitely something that has helped me connect with my new body. Pilates too. Hopefully none of my classmates notice the inordinate amount of time I spend staring at myself in the mirrors of the studio ;)

I agree with finding an in-person teacher for at least a few sessions to get the form right on the basics.

I bought this:

https://ddpyoga.com/

and it's awesome, but I would feel better if I could have an in-person coach to make sure my form is right for the basics... even if I had to put up with some woo for a few classes. However, I have access to yoga classes at my gym that should be low-woo that I'm going to hit up in the near future. :)