Yoga

I go to a gym where I do 20-25 min of aerobics and weights. I also swim. Thought I'd mix it up a bit and join my first yoga class. This ended up being a big mistake. I loved some of it and the peaceful feeling I left with. What I don't like is the fact that you spend so much time on your knees and abusing your knees (I have arthritis in one knee). Also, they don't tell you that you really need to be thin to do yoga. Physically, if you have too much flesh on your bones, you can't get into some of the poses... it's physically impossible. Between this and the knee thing, I realized that it was a mistake. I went to 4 of the 8 classes I paid for, and the teacher was great -- giving me lots of one-on-one help-- but I can't go back. My knee is worse than ever! (fyi, I had open RNY on 8/5/03 at 355 lbs and now weigh 263.) Guess I'll have to find an old geezers yoga class if I want to participate. I was hoping to be able to go to a "normal" class. Oh well!

Terri, I too am incorporation yoga into my routine along with Pilates and cardio and a little weight training. I have a personal trainer and personal Yogi. My knees hurt too, especially my right one. My Yogi says for every pose that you cannot do because of pain, get into a position that does not cause you pain and do it anyway. So a lot of times when I cannot do the sitting on my knee thing I just sit on my butt. I still get the upper body work. I modify all my stuff, and I would in a public class too! I started at 330 and am down to 203 in 8 months, but am stuck. I think this exercising so much is making me hungrier and it's time to look at the food choices! Jeannie

Terry, Yoga is not about pain. It is about listening to your body and making adjustments to it and putting it into better alignment (there is also the spiritual and emotional aspect of it). Anyway what I'm trying to say is that if your instructor did not tell you how to adjust your position to eliminate pain, shame on them. This is not a true yoga instructor then but someone who got a yoga certification in 4-6 hours. Yoga poses take years to master - I spent 4 weeks just learning how to listen (listen!) to my breathing. I'm truly sorry that you had this experience and I encourage you to look for a true yoga instructor. They will not want to take your money - they are not about mass production classes. Best wishes. Ro