Seeking snowflake-specific yoga rec
August 10, 2020 5:00 AM Subscribe
I am 90 percent sure I am doing most yoga postures at least a little wrong. I'm convinced there's a YouTube channel that can help me.
I've been doing some beginning yoga with Yogi Ivanka here, and she does a good job in a lot of ways. I have two problems following her lead: For one, I'm an overweight dad pushing 50, so I can't do some of that stuff, especially when she's bending forward from the waist (not that I mind so much; everyone should have the experience of enjoying yoga partly because they can't stop literally laughing out loud at their own efforts).
But the biggest problem is that I don't know how close I am to doing most of these positions right. The most basic ones I think I'm about there, but even something like downward-facing dog, I have no idea what angle my torso and legs are forming. Some of these poses, being just a little off means I'm not stretching/working what I'm supposed to, and I assume I'm occasionally risking injury or something like it. I figure there's gotta be a channel where the audio consistently is telling you where you should be feeling different poses -- you hear 'You should be feeling this in your glutes, and the tightness in your shoulder should make you want to kill me but not yourself,' or something like that, and you know you haven't got it quite right, and you can adjust the pose until you're feeling what you're supposed to be feeling. Would be way more helpful than a mirror, and I wouldn't have to turn my neck toward my laptop so often.
So ... anyone know anything like that?
I've been doing some beginning yoga with Yogi Ivanka here, and she does a good job in a lot of ways. I have two problems following her lead: For one, I'm an overweight dad pushing 50, so I can't do some of that stuff, especially when she's bending forward from the waist (not that I mind so much; everyone should have the experience of enjoying yoga partly because they can't stop literally laughing out loud at their own efforts).
But the biggest problem is that I don't know how close I am to doing most of these positions right. The most basic ones I think I'm about there, but even something like downward-facing dog, I have no idea what angle my torso and legs are forming. Some of these poses, being just a little off means I'm not stretching/working what I'm supposed to, and I assume I'm occasionally risking injury or something like it. I figure there's gotta be a channel where the audio consistently is telling you where you should be feeling different poses -- you hear 'You should be feeling this in your glutes, and the tightness in your shoulder should make you want to kill me but not yourself,' or something like that, and you know you haven't got it quite right, and you can adjust the pose until you're feeling what you're supposed to be feeling. Would be way more helpful than a mirror, and I wouldn't have to turn my neck toward my laptop so often.
So ... anyone know anything like that?
I don't have any specific recommendations , but a private video class with an instructor would help a lot. It's not as hands-on as being in-person, but they can cue you into the right positions, especially if you tell them you're specifically looking for that kind of feedback. One or two classes would give you a lot of material to bring back to your video practice.
As far as forward folds go (bending forward at the waist), having a slight bend in your knees will help stretch out your lower back and not your hamstrings, if that helps you.
You might want to check out The Underbelly Yoga, by Jessamyn Stanley. She's great at accommodating poses for bigger people, and I really like her cues.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 5:09 AM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
As far as forward folds go (bending forward at the waist), having a slight bend in your knees will help stretch out your lower back and not your hamstrings, if that helps you.
You might want to check out The Underbelly Yoga, by Jessamyn Stanley. She's great at accommodating poses for bigger people, and I really like her cues.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 5:09 AM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
So I do not find Yoga with Adrienne very helpful in acknowledging bigger bodies. Instead, try The Yoga Room (Round Rock TX). Her videos are much more inclusive and her bigger bodies series features a student demonstrator with a bigger body which gave me much better visual clues.
posted by TwoStride at 6:34 AM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 6:34 AM on August 10, 2020 [2 favorites]
This yoga teacher is absolutely outstanding for what you are describing - she is super knowledgeable and detailed about muscle position, etc. She is currently teaching online. I know you said YouTube, but you could always take a few classes with her just to get a good foundation.
posted by gt2 at 7:16 AM on August 10, 2020
posted by gt2 at 7:16 AM on August 10, 2020
Best answer: The first track of The Underbelly Yoga, mentioned above, breaks down all the poses for a certain sequence. I've found it really helpful because she explains the ways to move my (fat) body so that I can achieve the right sensation/stretch, even if my body shape isn't making the pose look the same way it does for a thin person.
posted by assenav at 1:54 PM on August 10, 2020
posted by assenav at 1:54 PM on August 10, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks very much for all the suggestions. That foundations playlist really does seem like what I need, so starting there.
posted by troywestfield at 3:23 PM on August 23, 2020
posted by troywestfield at 3:23 PM on August 23, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by guster4lovers at 5:05 AM on August 10, 2020 [3 favorites]