I Want to Be Bendy
April 18, 2023 11:22 AM Subscribe
I'd like to begin doing yoga every day. I have a yoga mat, and a book entitled The Yoga Bible, which contains a bewildering number of illustrated yoga poses, and now what I need is a set of seven daily routines that would take 20-30 minutes each, involve a variety of poses, are suitable for a beginner, and that I can cycle through every week, ideally in a format I can print out. Can anyone point me to something like that?
this may not be the advice you're looking for, and it may not fit your life, but... maybe consider finding a local yoga studio where you can do a class once a week, some time that fits your schedule, and then take those lessons home with you for your daily routine.
I started going to a yoga class to rehab and add flexibility after a torn calf muscle. In the beginning I would get into poses that seemed right, but were slightly off and potentially damaging, and the teacher adjusted me into the correct, safer and more beneficial poses. In short - a teacher can make a big difference, especially in the beginning.
posted by martin q blank at 11:58 AM on April 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
I started going to a yoga class to rehab and add flexibility after a torn calf muscle. In the beginning I would get into poses that seemed right, but were slightly off and potentially damaging, and the teacher adjusted me into the correct, safer and more beneficial poses. In short - a teacher can make a big difference, especially in the beginning.
posted by martin q blank at 11:58 AM on April 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
martin q blank’s advice is very important, especially if you are getting into yoga with a goal to be bendy. Please consider starting with a live, qualified teacher, or at least with video instruction from someone who really knows anatomy and cares about student safety (Jason Crandell, who I have the utmost respect for, teaches through a platform called Glo, which also hosts a number of other teachers with serious commitment to teaching, not promoting yoga as fitness or “wellness”).
Most folks would not try teaching themselves gymnastics or Olympic weightlifting or rock climbing or martial arts from a book, because we acknowledge that there is a safety benefit to learning these disciplines from trained and caring professionals. Yoga has a reputation for being gentle, but when people want to be bendy, they often push harder/farther than they should, and can do real damage. The biggest hurdle in yoga is often meeting yourself where you are, and learning how to be gentle with limitations and impatience.
Whatever you end up doing, please be particularly careful with your neck - “… yoga can do wonders for neck problems while simultaneously teaching safer, healthier posture habits. But some of the poses that can help you, like Sirsasana (Headstand) and Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), can also do harm if performed incorrectly. It’s important to approach them with knowledge of proper alignment.”
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 12:18 PM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Most folks would not try teaching themselves gymnastics or Olympic weightlifting or rock climbing or martial arts from a book, because we acknowledge that there is a safety benefit to learning these disciplines from trained and caring professionals. Yoga has a reputation for being gentle, but when people want to be bendy, they often push harder/farther than they should, and can do real damage. The biggest hurdle in yoga is often meeting yourself where you are, and learning how to be gentle with limitations and impatience.
Whatever you end up doing, please be particularly careful with your neck - “… yoga can do wonders for neck problems while simultaneously teaching safer, healthier posture habits. But some of the poses that can help you, like Sirsasana (Headstand) and Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), can also do harm if performed incorrectly. It’s important to approach them with knowledge of proper alignment.”
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 12:18 PM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have a yoga card deck that might fit what you're asking for. But I really want to cosign what martin q blank and rrrrrrrt have said -- use the yoga deck as secondary to a good instructor.
posted by Dashy at 12:43 PM on April 18, 2023
posted by Dashy at 12:43 PM on April 18, 2023
+1 primary series you can buy a laminated fold out online I’ve been using by mine for 20 years !
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:01 PM on April 18, 2023
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:01 PM on April 18, 2023
I downloaded the FitOn app, which is free, and found a few brief videos (like 16 minutes) with an "Intensity" of one star (out of three). After a few weeks of these, I have branched out -- but it gave me something to start with.
In addition, using an app or YouTube lets you bail on a video that was too easy or too hard or whatever (as opposed to an in-person class that you can't leave as easily).
posted by wenestvedt at 1:05 PM on April 18, 2023
In addition, using an app or YouTube lets you bail on a video that was too easy or too hard or whatever (as opposed to an in-person class that you can't leave as easily).
posted by wenestvedt at 1:05 PM on April 18, 2023
Bendy by name, bendy by nature!
posted by bendy at 5:24 PM on April 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by bendy at 5:24 PM on April 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Another +1 to the Ashtanga Primary Series, which is designed to be a single (long) sequence of pose that you repeat every day, but you can skip any parts of it that you don't want to do. However, if you are a beginner, please please seek out an in-person instructor to guide you first.
posted by serelliya at 12:06 PM on April 20, 2023
posted by serelliya at 12:06 PM on April 20, 2023
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posted by coldbabyshrimp at 11:32 AM on April 18, 2023 [3 favorites]