My Yoga Obsession

So I tried a new yoga class last night. My best friend wanted to go try a class at this new place, so we both went to check it out. I am finding I am becoming rather obsessed with yoga! I've done Pilates for over 10 years, and really loved it for a long time, until I hurt my back, and since then I've found that Pilates can be very stressful on it. I've actually hurt my back a couple of times doing Pilates, although now that I know to be careful with certain exercises, I usually do okay. But yoga has never hurt my back - on the contrary, it usually makes it feel better, which is interesting as there are several poses you would think might be hard on the back, but I haven't found it to be so.

Image by myyogaonline via FlickrYoga provides both stress relief and relaxation, and a great workout - and sometimes even pain relief. And I am really fascinated by all the different types of yoga out there - it's quite interesting to see the differences between the styles! (If you aren't that familiar with yoga yet, and aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, check out our previous post on the different types of yoga.) The class we attended was a Hatha Yoga class - this is the most popular type of yoga, although there are many variations within Hatha as well. I had previously attending another Hatha class a few times, which was VERY different. Last night's class was very relaxing, done in a rather dark room, and involved a lot of slow stretching and breathing - it wasn't nearly as hard of a workout as the previous class I had gone to, although it was a longer class. But any way you slice it, I love yoga!

 I recently got my hands on a couple of new yoga DVDs - Yoga & Pilates: Total Body Toner - a combination of yoga & Pilates which seems deceptively simple, but actually is quite a decent workout, and Shiva Rea: Creative Core & Lower Body - Vinyasa or "Flow" yoga, which is short but I found it very challenging, and it really is a full-body workout despite the title. I've only done these once, so I will post a full review of them once I get into them a bit more, but the first time through I really enjoyed them a lot.

As for last night, I'm not sure if I will return to that class.... It's not that convenient for me in terms of location, and the wood floor was too hard for me, even with my trusty yoga mat. Plus it wasn't very challenging in terms of a workout, although I did enjoy the relaxation benefits and I can always use the stretching. But it was definitely enjoyable - after all - it's yoga!  :-)

For some of my favorite yoga workout DVDs, see below. Or visit our Amazon store for more fun ways to exercise.


Yoga Favorites You Can Do At Home: