UKH

A thread for those using the lockdown either to start yoga, or to take their yoga further. 

NOT intended to detract from the long-running UKC fit club, but to allow yoga-specific sharing of tips, video class recommendations, achievements etc.  I’m also a yoga teacher, so if you’re a beginner I may be able to answer any queries.

Any newcomers to the thread, please feel free to join in!

Last weeks thread:  

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/rock_talk/yoga_fit_club_3nd_week-718333

Girlymonkey: Great news that your foot is better.  Hope that’s enabled you to enjoy this amazing weather!

Also good that your husband found a class that works for him.  Would you post a link to it as I have friends that might enjoy it too?

The Wild Scallion: How are those challenging new poses going?

Derek Furze: Sounds like it’s going well.  Hope you’re still enjoying it!

Flaming Sarah: Thanks for the tip about Navasana last week – I’ve been trying that each time I practice and it certainly gets deep into the core!  How is the Ashtanga going?    

Little Butch: Great that you’re enjoying the relaxation!  Have you tried any other videos?  Any you’d recommend?

HansStuttgart: How are the core workouts going?  Is it starting to get easier like you hoped?

Disclaimer: Even very strong and fit climbers can injure themselves if yoga poses are done incorrectly.  If you’re trying yoga for the first time via an online class, it’s best to choose one which takes time to show how to do the poses safely

Not to bad although I haven't done as much this week as I would like.  I've done so much in the garden past week that I've needed a rest from anything to strenuous.  

I did a session from my online course Monday ,  21 day yoga shred for men. That was good.

Loving my headstands though. Now upto 4 minutes and finding that quite easy. And it's not a difficult pose.

Very energising 

The garden is done now so I'll be back in it next week.  

Hi!

Some becomes easier because I get to know the workout and the poses better. But this is compensated by a general loss of fitness which makes everything harder.

I think I'll look for a new one to add some variation this week.

PS. The loss of fitness is because my climbing has shifted from climbing gyms where a lot of the routes demand fitness to power based climbing (and excercises). My fingers are getting stronger, so it is a good trade

My plan to take a step back from my peak poses paid off this week.  Instead of trying the poses every day, I focused on strengthening my core and stretching particularly tight areas such as pecs, wrists, hamstrings and hip flexors. 

For my core work I used the Down Dog app, which allows you to add a "core boost" to a regular vinyasa flow.

Last week I was asking about shoulder stretches for Wheel.  After a bit of googling I found some ideas on-line that are definitely helping.  Basically you lean back over a gym ball or padded chair to get the shape of wheel pose without the work.  Then you just relax into it and let gravity do the work!

A tip for tight wrists in Wheel is to lean blocks at 45 degrees between wall and floor, and place your hands on those instead of the floor.  Made a huge difference - like many climbers I find it hard to extend my wrist backwards.

Tried the Crow and Wheel again on Thursday and was really pleased to find a noticable improvement.

Thanks for the prompt again Heleno.  A reasonable week of both training and yoga, though I have been fairly tired as I am redeveloping our bathroom as a lockdown distraction.  However, just about finished (certainly on the finishing touches now anyway), so hoping to get more regularity back into my sessions.  

Following your disclaimer comments, is there an online class that does 'take time to show how to do the poses safely'?  So far, I am just following my intuition and what I remember from previous yoga classes, but more understanding is always helpful.  Mainly following Adrienne's 30 day routine up to this point.

As you may have gathered from my other posts, my favourite site for online yoga classes is https://www.doyogawithme.com/yoga-classes.  They offer classes from a variety of very good teachers, and you can filter your favourite teachers from a drop-down menu.

Three good ones for detailed instructions are:

Melissa Krieger - gentle, enjoyable introductory classes

David Procyshyn - physically therapeutic classes often focusing on particular body areas

Rachel Scott - slightly more demanding classes but very detailed explanations.  I'd particularly recommend this series: https://www.doyogawithme.com/content/fundamentals-practice-challenge

Thanks Heleno.  You're right, I had forgotten that you had given these details before.  I've got a bit more time coming up now that I have finished the bathroom!

If anyone has been thinking of trying the DownDog app, subscription is free until 1 July for health workers, teachers and students.  The app automatically sequences yoga movements and poses to generate a classes tailored for each user.

I've been trying it this week and have mixed opinions about it.  On the plus side you can select the level, length and style, and you can choose to "boost" areas such as core strength.  On the negative side, the sections start to get repetitive, and there didn't seem much difference between levels (both beginner and intermediate levels include poses I would normally regard as intermediate).

However, if you're a health worker, teacher or student, you've nothing to lose by giving it a try!