Vinyasa Yoga?

Is Vinyasa Yoga "beginner friendly"? I've looked it up on the internet and didn't walk away with any more understanding when I started. Of course I won't do anything that tweaks my knee or neck...

I am seriously considering changing fitness centers. My place is great, but quite expensive. The facility I am considering is equally awesome and in some ways even more so - and considerably cheaper since they have a corporate agreement with my employer I had rejected them 2.5 years ago due to not understanding what they had, nor knowing what I need and what I want. That has changed Frankly, I probably wouldn't have lasted there at the start.

One of the benefits is an assortment of free Yoga and TRX classes (and others). They also have "Yoga Flow" and "Sunrise Yoga" classes they offer, but that sounds like perhaps something more general and a mixture of styles perhaps? Vinyasa Yoga is the one offered during the week when I can attend after work, Yoga Flow (whatever that is) is offered on Saturdays.
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Vinyasa basically means "breath synchronized movement" and has become a rather generic term used by yoga studios and gyms. It is often used interchangeably with "flow." It says very little abou whether the class is easy, intermediate or advanced, although I will say that vinyasa classes move fairly quickly as that is the point of the "flow." I don't know whether any of NIFS classes are geared for beginners; I would just make some inquiries. They share some instructors with my studio. Anha Hoke is particularly good. With your current injuries, I would be hestitant to recommend it until you are more fully healed and with the consent of your doctors.

Thanks Indy, that is good information and I will check it out. I know I can do mat pilates and they also have several core and Bosu classes that look quite interesting.

Just my opinion, but I am betting you would not like some of these classes. All of the yoga I have done in studios has been Hatha/Kripalu style yoga. I got some DVDs that are more Vinyasa style and all I can say is that I am glad I didn't pay for a series of classes like this. At one point, when I was taking a lot of classes at my last gym and later at a yoga studio, I felt pretty proficient, strong and I really liked the poses. They helped my back and they helped me relax. The Vinyasa yoga is very fast and just didn't seem to meet my needs.
That's not saying you won't like it, but I found it to be very different.

I am very thankful that the woman I take yoga from now is a nurse. Our hospital system offers subsidized classes (I think, based on the price) and they're usually quite small and the teacher is very knowledgable about who should avoid what poses and what modifications are acceptable for common injuries. It is less of a spiritual class and more of a stretching-for-rehabilitation class, but that's fine by me.

Just be careful about introducing anything new right now--be it yoga, Pilates, bosu, etc.--while you are still healing. I just think you're asking for trouble. I love yoga and enjoy vinyasa classes, but I don 't think they are for everyone and aren't necessarily a good place to start for a beginner.

I appreciate the advice and experiences, it really helps. I do like that the new facility offers a wider range of free classes than my current place, but I will use caution with whatever I decide to do. Working with my trainer I know what I can do with weights to provide at least a decent workout without tweaking my neck - and we've worked enough with TRX that I am pretty confident that I can avoid further injury with that.

I will set aside trying out the Yoga until some later time perhaps. I do, finally, start physical therapy for my neck this week to strengthen it. It does make sense that this isn't the time to take on something totally new as I don't need to risk further neck injury.

I like all yoga! Flow is more for elderly or people with injuries. I would check with that gym and see what they mean and if that is what the class is for. I would try the one class or just sit in on one and see if it is for you. You want a teacher who will not force poses on you. To be able to just go into childs pose during a pose that might hurt you or you are tired is good to have. I have had teacher's hurt me because of how flexable I am. It is fine to push me BUT I got pushed to far and threw my neck out. Went to a gentle yoga class while hurt and went for a year. Just nice to have a slow class that really makes you familiar with the poses. Then you can move on to other types. I like them all now. From relaxing to the sweat your butt off types.

I'd inquire. Vinyasa yoga could encompass many styles and the gym could be trying to use it in a generic sense.

http://yoga.about.com/od/typesofyoga/a/vinyasa.htm

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Originally Posted by Brandi

I like all yoga! Flow is more for elderly or people with injuries.

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I have to say that I've never heard "flow" used to describe a yoga class for seniors. Restorative, chair and gentle, yes, but not flow. Not saying you're wrong; it's just that at least around Central Indiana (where Catrin and I both live), "flow" classes tend to be for more active yogis. There is one studio that offers "slow flow" but it's not billed for seniors specifically. I'm also of the mind that slower doesn't necessarily translate to easier. Holding a pose for more than a breath or two can be hard.

I would agree that vinyasa isn't for beginners, just because the teacher can't possibly check everyone's form closely when you're moving quickly from asana to asana. I'd recommend Iyengar or Anusara for a place to start.

+1 also that holding a standing or balancing pose can be very strenuous. Still, while there's a very valuable place where you hold through the fatigue and find strength in a pose, no one should ever feel pressured not to drop into child's pose or downward dog when they need a rest.

I greatly appreciate all of the comments. As I am responsible for a "last month" at my current facility, I won't be moving to NIFS until next month. At my current place if you cancel in Jan, you are still on the hook for Feb...I guess this is how they avoid an actual contract. I am sure I knew this at one time, but having been there for 2.5 years I had forgotten. I do want an overlap between the two facilities, but not two months worth :eek:

I won't take on anything new until I've been released from PT for my cervical spine arthritis, which should be mid-late Feb. Whatever I decide about the Yoga classes they have at the new facility, I will watch a class first before I decide. I know that in the past I've found mat Pilates to be kinder to my joints than Yoga, but that may have been related to the instruction as well.

At least this way I avoid the "Resolution Rush" at a new facility (to me), and that is a good thing - things always calm in Feb - and that is especially good for parking. The new place is close to my office, but a pain to get to.

The New York Times Magazine has a very good article that offers some persepctive on the use of yoga. If it feels good, do it, but if not.... watch out.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/ma...me&ref=general

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Originally Posted by withm

The New York Times Magazine has a very good article that offers some persepctive on the use of yoga. If it feels good, do it, but if not.... watch out.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/ma...me&ref=general

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Huh. I was going to a yoga class briefly (and although she was certified, I did not believe she was an expert teacher). She was trying to get me to do stuff and my body just flat out wouldn't do it--I even told her I had back issues. I talked to my doc about it who has been working with me on my hips and low back (chronic pain from an injury years ago) and she was adamant that I should not be doing those things! So I quit.

I do a video, available on netflix, Candlelight Yoga. It's a very gentle yoga program. It's relaxing and I do enjoy it very much. But it is the only yoga I have ever been able to do.

To me, the entire article can be summed up in the second to last sentence: "if you do it with ego or obsession, you’ll end up causing problems."

And you know what? That's not just for yoga. That's for weight lifting, running, and for that matter, scientific research.

I don't at all mean to suggest that there isn't a chance of serious injury in yoga, or that sometimes even the best teachers miss something. But it seems to me this article has a tone I often see in NYT fitness articles - the idea that practitioners of whatever sport they're talking about are "outsiders" of some kind. There's an underlying tone of alarm and mocking in that yoga (unlike weight lifting) is supposed to take the ego out of the practice, and yet many practitioners can't help letting it slip back in. Well, duh. That's why we practice for years trying to take it out...

It also reflects a lot of the reason why I'm souring on group fitness, both as an instructor and a participant. Some teachers are MUCH better than others (and I count myself in the middle there), and obviously smaller and skill-tracked classes are easier, but outside of one-on-one, there's just no way for a teacher to closely monitor every participant's form every minute of every class. And then there are always the participants who insist on doing a move unsafely no matter how many times I correct them or how many different cues I use...

I have decidedly mixed feelings about the article. I will be the first to admit that the rise in yoga's popularity has led to an increase in inexperienced teachers and classes that cater to the masses. As a student, you have to be discerning, which is pretty difficult if you know nothing about yoga in the first place. Even when you have a good teacher, you have to resist the urge to follow their every instruction. It's your body and your practice. But I think that's true for anything involving a teacher, trainer or coach. You have to remain willing to think for yourself.

But I fault the article for making it seem like yoga is inherently dangerous or somehow unique in causing injury. Most physical activities can lead to injury if done to excess or incorrectly. Heck, they can lead to injury even when we're being exceedingly careful. Stuff happens, and sometimes we don't know our body's limits until we exceed them.

So, while I appreciate the caution suggested by the article, I think it should be applied equally to most of our physical pursuits.

Oakleaf, +1 on your reasons for souring on group fitness. I felt exactly like you did, and I also put myself squarely in the middle of instructors. Well, maybe in terms of "skill (i.e. unique choreography)," not in safety or monitoring. I mostly taught smaller classes, because I taught early in the AM. I think part of the reason I got burned out is that there were a lot people who thought doing weird, hard stuff equalled "better." It's the same when I lead rides. I am a safety zealot and it pisses people off. This is why I actually prefer to work with beginners.
I am taking spin classes at my new gym. They don't have a lot of classes. Although it's 5:30 AM, I still would like a little variety. There's no warm up and all climbing is done standing, save maybe 3-4 minutes. Lots of jumps on Wednesdays. It's just boring. She doesn't correct me when I don't do stuff, as she knows I'm a "cyclist." It's making me want to get spin certified, but I don't want to go down that road again.
I had very good yoga instructors at my old gym and at the one yoga studio I went to. I have only done 2 yoga classes at the new place; one was fine and the other was really too easy for me, but nothing strange. She seemed to be noticing what people were doing. I may try the power yoga class today, just to see how it is.

The NYT article was interesting and, as OakLeaf says, alarmist. I think that, regardless of the instructor's skill, many people tend push themselves into situations they should not be in. "No pain, no gain" is a deeply rooted belief in the US (no equivalent phrase in Spanish, for example) and there is nothing unique to yoga practitioners in that respect. People might be making a pose more extreme to "feel the stretch," ignoring pain when they run, etc.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

my practice, my decision

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I think my favorite teacher uses the phrase "you are your own teacher" at least ten times every class.

Now, I've worked with another teacher who gave lip service to the concept but habitually pushed me beyond my limits (verbally, not physically, but in such a way as to get my ego very much involved :rolleyes:). I wound up with a minor injury almost every time I did his class. Needless to say I stopped going to his classes... Still, I think working with a well-trained teacher has got to be safer than working on your own with no one to watch or supervise.

Like most things, from food to disease, north/western culture places so much emphasis, from infancy onward, on NOT listening to the body, that it can be very difficult to unlearn those lessons and listen to the guru within.

This has been an interesting discussion, and as I said, I am holding off on trying anything new until I am released from PT. It will also be almost the start of riding/mtb season when that happens so I still won't be taking on yoga then. I may give it a shot next winter, we will see.

Part of my problem is that not only do I ignore pain (improving here though) - even when I am injured there are things that don't hurt that should. Still trying to figure out the difference between actual pain and soreness, and you would think that I would have that figured out at my age :o

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Like most things, from food to disease, north/western culture places so much emphasis, from infancy onward, on NOT listening to the body, that it can be very difficult to unlearn those lessons and listen to the guru within.

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This is true, though I've not thought about it before. All those "pain is a sign of weakness leaving the body"-type sayings...

I've taken one yoga class through my undergrad institution. She actually wasn't a bad teacher. She gave tips on how to modify positions if we needed to. Her favorite thing to say was "Yoga is not supposed to hurt. If it hurts, back off," though this was a class pitched explicitly for beginners. I wonder if her more advanced classes had the same kind of tone.

Along with the "yoga isn't supposed to hurt" reminder, we also get frequent reminders that yoga isn't a competitive sport.

My favorite yoga instructor reminds us not to get ourselves into anything (meaning yoga positions) that we can't get ourselves out of. Although she also admits it's good life advice, too.

Another response from a yogini blogger: http://www.rachelyoga.com/2012/01/a-response/