First Yoga Class!

[Catrin]

The instructor seemed quite surprised to learn that I had never been in a yoga class before, but she took it in stride. I have no idea what kind of training she had but I liked her.

To start with I met with my trainer for 35 minutes, then I had an hour break before class. I didn't want to really cool down so I just walked on the track for a good portion of that. I have a new routine about getting in one 4-5 mile walk a week anyway.

I told her about my issues with knee and hip - and she made very clear that I need to listen to my body. There was one pose where she had me just sit and watch the first time they did it, then I joined in the next time. When they did shoulder stands she had me do something different.

There was really only one pose I just could not do at all, probably from hip and back stiffness. My knee did start to ache, but that stopped immediately and is fine this morning. Of course, that may have been from the walking just as much as from the class. My trainer is very careful with things that impact my knees, so I know it wasn't from that.

I did like the class, but I am a little concerned that it might be too much for my knee right now. I do think it is a good sign that the aching stopped immediately, so perhaps this will resolve as my muscles become accustomed to the movement.

Saturday morning will head to the mat Pilates class and see if it has the same effect on my knee. I liked the Yoga class better than Pilates, I especially liked the range of movement, the slow pace and the meditative atmosphere. I also sweated a lot more than I do in Pilates, that has to be a good sign :cool:

[NbyNW]

That's great, Catrin!

Sounds like your yoga instructor took a very sensible approach. My guess is that she will be interested to know how you feel these first few days after the class and hopefully she will have some suggestions for how you can avoid aggravating the knee.

Your explorations with your hip/back/knee have inspired me. I've been living in denial of some chronic muscle soreness, mostly IT band up through my glutes and lower back, especially when I have snow to shovel! Gets me thinking that maybe I can relieve some of these problems if I change things up a bit.

[jessmarimba]

Glad you had such a great experience! I fear those really slow paced classes - my teacher last week spent so long explaining everything to all of the new people I thought my arms were going to fall off :) We barely covered any poses, but after 5 minutes straight in downward dog I was sweating buckets!

[indysteel]

I'm glad you liked the class, Catrin! You know how I feel about yoga; it's my weekly safety valve. Do you remember what pose or poses bothered your knee or was it just class in general? Have you seen your doc yet about it?

[Catrin]

I'm glad you liked the class, Catrin! You know how I feel about yoga; it's my weekly safety valve. Do you remember what pose or poses bothered your knee or was it just class in general? Have you seen your doc yet about it?

It was pretty much just class in general - though I do have to wonder if it was primarily from crossing my legs - I suspect that was the culprit since it puts pressure on the kneecap. It did not hurt it when I did it but, in retrospect, I probably should not have done that.

I am taking a topical medication meant to bring down the inflammation. It is much better than it was! I am going to visit him next week if it is still bothering me, we are giving it a little over 2 weeks for the medicine to work. Feels great on the bike/spinning bike though :)

[indysteel]

My knees and hips don't always like cross legged. At the worst of my hip pain, I couldn't sit cross legged at all.

If yoga messes with your knee then, by all means, don't do it, but I do think a mindful yoga practice can better attune you to the things your body can and can't do, which could be beneficial to you since you've indicated in the past that sometimes you can't tell the difference between soreness and injury.

[OakLeaf]

Some poses will always be problematic to some people, but it seems to me that focusing on foot loop and inner spiraling the thighs really improves knee safety. This language might be unique to Anusara and/or Iyengar, but I think any style of yoga has the same concepts of alignment? My teacher always makes sure we engage the feet, and sit on whatever we need to to keep the knees below the hips, in sukhasana.

http://www.doyoga.com/update_articles/shin_loop_revisited_update.pdf
http://www.yogatic.com/yoga/principles-of-alignment/

I know for me that I've had to work a LOT on foot strength and flexibility. It's coming, little by little. It's been so exciting to me to start seeing some movement in my tarsal-metatarsal joints, that had been completely locked. :)

It's a fine line, too - especially with your history of pushing too far - but for me, yoga brings blood, lymph and healing to injured areas like no other workout does. There's a kind of ouch I can tell is good, but there's definitely an ouch to avoid, too, and you're probably best avoiding anything that hurts.

[Catrin]

My knees and hips don't always like cross legged. At the worst of my hip pain, I couldn't sit cross legged at all.

If yoga messes with your knee then, by all means, don't do it, but I do think a mindful yoga practice can better attune you to the things your body can and can't do, which could be beneficial to you since you've indicated in the past that sometimes you can't tell the difference between soreness and injury.

Right now ANYTHING can mess with my knee until the supporting structure gets stronger. Some days even walking make me aware of the existence of the knee-cap :rolleyes:

I can see some definite benefits to Yoga that I didn't notice in the Pilates class. I have developed such an ingrained habit of totally ignoring anything remotely like pain - and there were reasons how that happened - that I quite often am unsure if something is just soreness or injury. Had a broken bone once that I ignored for three weeks - I assumed it was just sprained since I could still use the thing :o I do like the idea that an intentional and mindful yoga practice can help me become more aware of my body limitations.


Some poses will always be problematic to some people, but it seems to me that focusing on foot loop and inner spiraling the thighs really improves knee safety. This language might be unique to Anusara and/or Iyengar, but I think any style of yoga has the same concepts of alignment? My teacher always makes sure we engage the feet, and sit on whatever we need to to keep the knees below the hips, in sukhasana.

http://www.doyoga.com/update_articles/shin_loop_revisited_update.pdf
http://www.yogatic.com/yoga/principles-of-alignment/

I know for me that I've had to work a LOT on foot strength and flexibility. It's coming, little by little. It's been so exciting to me to start seeing some movement in my tarsal-metatarsal joints, that had been completely locked. :)

It's a fine line, too - especially with your history of pushing too far - but for me, yoga brings blood, lymph and healing to injured areas like no other workout does. There's a kind of ouch I can tell is good, but there's definitely an ouch to avoid, too, and you're probably best avoiding anything that hurts.

I will check out the links, thank you! I need to find a different way of approaching these things and am trying to learn from my past mistakes - especially from last fall. I know that I have flexibility issues with both hips and feet - I hadn't thought that this might be able to help both of them!

[Catrin]

Went to a mat pilates class this morning to compare how my knee likes it....and I do have to admit that my knee was much happier after class than it was after the yoga class. So, at least for now, I will need to stick with pilates.

I will try it again later in the year after I've strengthened the supporting structures for my knee and see if that helps. I need to go the painless route...and for now that is mat pilates. Shame, I did like the yoga class, but pilates is fine and certainly does give me the core/hip work that I need.

[jessmarimba]

Haha - I'm having the opposite experience. Yoga was the first thing I was able to do after I was cleared to exercise and it's been extremely helpful. 7 months after my wreck and I tried my first pilates class...owwwww!! But a good ow, so I will keep going back. My back has been spasming all day though and I can't quite figure out how to make it stop.

[nscrbug]

I tried my first yoga class today. It was at my gym, so I got there at my usual time (when the gym opens) and did 75 minutes of cardio first. Then I took the yoga class. I enjoyed it very much. Our instructor is VERY pregnant, but that didn't seem to interfere at all, with her being able to teach the class. It was a very basic class, geared towards beginners...so there were no difficult or really challenging poses. I found it to be quite relaxing. Although I did have some trouble trying to relax my body at the start of the class. But this could have been because I had just come off running on the treadmill and my HR was still pretty high. The only other issue I had throughout the class, was that I was cold...as in chilled to the bone. Could be because my clothes were wet from sweating through cardio just prior to the class. I may have to bring a dry top to change into next time. I will definitely try the class again...that is, until the weather starts getting nice enough to ride again. Being out on my bike will always win over being indoors taking a class.

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, temperature is often an issue in gym yoga classes, because they set the thermostats for treadmill rats doing heavy cardio and older ladies who freak out if their foundation gets dewy. :rolleyes: You definitely want a blanket for shavasana even if you don't use one as a prop.

[OakLeaf]

More on yoga anatomy and knees:

http://www.dailybandha.com/2011/03/strong-thigh-muscles-benefit-people.html

[Catrin]

More on yoga anatomy and knees:

http://www.dailybandha.com/2011/03/strong-thigh-muscles-benefit-people.html

Thank you for the link Oakleaf, it does make sense that stronger quads do help the knees. I did have a fair amount of knee discomfort last week in class, but I am sure my poses were far from being what they should have been.

My knee feels MUCH better this weekend than it has over the last month. I think that I will stick with the Pilates, and riding of course, until things are a little stronger and will then try Yoga again.

There was one position in Pilates yesterday that I defiantly should have not done - there is some issue with my mid-spine (just below where my bra stap hits) that aggravated it but that feels better now. I've been aware of this for years but it is minor.

[sundial]

...older ladies who freak out if their foundation gets dewy. :rolleyes:

Oak, lol! I have to admit I would probably not enjoy "hot" yoga. I am hot natured enough without having to sweat buckets in a 90 F room. :p

Catrin, did you meet with a PT for your health issue?

[OakLeaf]

Haha, 90° is considered "warm" yoga (and I do sweat buckets). I've never done hot yoga, which is 105° for Bikram, or some styles go even hotter. :eek:

[indysteel]

Oak, lol! I have to admit I would probably not enjoy "hot" yoga. I am hot natured enough without having to sweat buckets in a 90 F room. :p

Catrin, did you meet with a PT for your health issue?

Our yoga studio is intentionally kept rather warm for certain "hot" classes. Not quite Bikram hot, but warm. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked it. Now I can't stand most "normal" classes. I just find myself feeling too cold.

When I first started practicing yoga, I took classes from a very experienced and much loved teacher who really worked her student into a sweat. This was before the studio purposely overheated the room. Even so, I would be completely drenched in her classes. I'm not exactly sure how she did it, because it's not that the poses themselves were all that different from my current practice. It's a mystery to me, but I found it very satisfying to get that sweaty.

[badger]

I got a fabulous deal - $30 for 5 weeks of unlimited hot yoga. I've done Bikram before, but I haven't done hot yoga (or any yoga for that matter) for about 5 years now.

I probably should've started with the 75 minute 30C class, but I really didn't want to be doing that at 8pm, so went for the 90 minute 40C class. I surprised myself at being able to do all the poses, but the last 30 minutes was SO hard. It was just so darn hot, my face felt like it was going to explode from the heat, which strangely felt worse when I was lying down. By the time I got out, I knew I was severely dehydrated. Came home and had an electrolyte drink, a banana and some more water and feel somewhat ok now, but still have a headache.

I remember why I stopped going... it's hard work!!