Gym: weights, abortive yoga

[redbird]

I got to the gym later than usual today, which means that there was a vinyasa yoga class about to start when I was done with my cardio, weights, and stretching. I decided to give it a try, which started with sitting on the floor with three other people while we awaited the instructor (he blamed the E train when he got there).

I lasted about five minutes. There were several problems. The simplest was that I was underdressed: the minimal outfit I wear for lifting weights is too light for lying on the floor focusing on my breath. That's fixable, if I want to do it again: bring long pants and a t-shirt. Second was that there was a spin class in another room at the same time, and they play their music very loud. Loud enough that I could feel it through the slightly raised floor of the room we were in (which, again, might not have been a problem for a class that hadn't had us lying flat on our backs). Third, the instructor started by having us breathe in and out, slowly, then explained that meditation isn't mystical, it's a technique, and like any technique you can improve with practice. This is in fact true. A minute later, he was talking about focusing on the moment as a way of finding our "true selves" and "peace beyond understanding." If you're selling mysticism, okay, but don't claim it's something else. Then he had us pull our legs close to our chest and wrap our arms around our calves, and told us to keep breathing slowly and deeply. Sorry, I can't give you both of those at once. And I was still cold. I grabbed my things and got up. He asked if it was something he said, and I just said "too cold": it was simplest, and I didn't want to disrupt the class for the other students.

I think I'm looking for a different kind of yoga, as well as a different instructor and slightly warmer clothes, if I pursue it again soon (I think I've taken two yoga classes in the six years I've been a member of this gym, not counting today; I took yoga weekly for a couple of semesters in high school, but that was to deal with the phys ed requirement).

Weight lifting details:

Cardio, 17 minutes, top heart rate 137
Chest press, 70 pounds, 12, 6; 65 pounds, 3 (to round off that second set)
Leg press, 270 pounds, 3 sets of 13 (upped it again already)
Balance ~fly, 55 pounds, 2 sets of 15 with each foot forward (4 sets total)
Calf raise, 82.5 pounds, 13, 10; 77.5 pounds, 12
Wrist curls, 35 pounds, 3 sets of 15

Crunches, 4 sets of 30 (because I launched into an extra set while thinking about something unrelated)
Back arch, 3 sets of 17
Tree, 4 sets of {3 on each leg}

Balance lateral raise, 5 pounds each hand, 15; 2.5 each, 2 sets of 15
Hip adduction, 110 pounds, 13, 9
Hip abduction, 95 pounds, 13, 11
Bicep curl, 10 pounds each hand, 3 sets of 20

Stretches

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

The only form of yoga I've taken (and I took it for several semesters) has been Iyengar. The teacher I had focused on postures and breathing, and linking postures together into [I forget the word, but martial artists would call them katas] with almost no mysticism -- the only even slightly mystical aspect was that she ended each class by having us all say "namaste" together.

She did sometimes point out other effects of certain postures (e.g., "if you're feeling tense and anxious, this posture can be very calming" or "if you have an upset stomach, this posture may help reduce the discomfort").

[janetmk.livejournal.com]

It's been 30+ years since I've done regular yoga (and that was at a community center, once a week for six months or so).

I'd like to try it again. I remember it as being great for flexibility and quite relaxing, too. I definitely don't want much mysticism involved.

Lots of storefront yoga places around here—it's hard to figure out which might be a good match for someone my age and condition.

[saoba.livejournal.com]

I was attending the yoga/Pilates class at my gym until they changed instructors.

The original teacher was great about always providing tips on how to modify for mobility or joint issues in very non-intrusive ways. And she changed up the class often enough it didn't become routine. So despite the mildly arthritic shoulder I was getting a lot out of the class, enough that I was willing to go to the gym a couple of hours earlier than usual.

New intructor? Not so much. She basically leads the same series every class. And you know, I could get a DVD and do that at home. Plus, despite my repeated queries she would not or could not suggest modifications, not just during class but when asked outside of class time. And at least twice I've talked with other folks who were in the original class who dropped it for similar reasons. I note, wryly, that all of us dropouts are over 40 and the new class demographic is 25 and under.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I once had a water exercise instructor who not only did the exact same thing every time, she'd turn on music and then count for us out of rhythm with the music.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

One of these days I'm going to post a checklist on how to determine, at the beginning of class, whether one is in a yoga class that is good for one's own abilities.

Today, I've been working on something lesss useful and more scattered, but here's a quick overview:

At the beginning of class the instructor should introduce him/herself and ask whether anyone in the class has any mobility issues or injuries that the instructor should keep in mind during the class. Then, during the class, he or she should offer accomodations for just about every posture, because even if participants don't have specific issues (a bum knee, tendonitis in a wrist, a bad back), they may not be ready for that particular pose. It's best too, if the instructor gives participants a quick overview of the sort of thing to expect in class, so that participants can decide whether they have what they need for the class.

At the studios I attend, they have a collection of clean blankets that they use for people who get cold lying on the floor, because most classes start or end with people lying down, which brings their body temperature down.

Generally my preferred instructors offer several stages of any pose: "Here's the prep, if this is enough, stay there. Here's one way to deepen the pose, try it, but if it doesn't work for you give yours go back to the prep." sorta thing.

So for your quandary with the knees up and hands around your calfs thing, he should have been telling you that this is a lower-back stretch. The goal is to keep your shoulders against the floor, and to maintain an even, steady breath. I think, in this instance, the lower-back stretch and breathing steadily is more important than maintaining the depth of the breath. You wind up breathing into your back ribs, rather than your diaphragm, if that makes any sense.

Instructors should show how to get into a pose step by step, and, once participants are there, should wander about the room, so that they can see everyone's alignment, and offer individual corrections, quietly. They should ask if they may adjust you, and do so gently, in a non-creepy way, only with your permission. They should also offer props to help people who can't manage certain poses get there.

Ideally, they'll tell you a couple of key points about alignment, so that you know what to work on, even if you can't get all the way into the pose. So they'll say things like "You're really looking to keep your hips square and the weight distributed evenly between your feet, so that you can feel the pull in your hip flexor." Again, the instructor should repeatedly remind participants to be gentle with themselves and work at their current levels of ability.

Some people really like the mystical take. I tend not to, but if an instructor does everything else well, then I'll put up with a certain amount of "true inner peace" stuff.

[redbird]

He specifically told us to have our shoulders off the floor, so either I described it badly, it's a different pose, or he doesn't know what he's doing.

If I were serious about yoga, I might stop into the yoga center that is occupying the former convent near my house, but if I take yoga at the gym I get it at no extra charge.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm...it could have been a different posture, or a difference in the way the pose is done in different practices, or I could be completely misinterpreting how we do the pose in my classes. (*lies down on floor to see what the muscle-memory says. Find that it says shoulders flat. Makes mental note to check that with Tuesday-night instructor*)

My Tuesday night class is a Pilates-yoga fusion with an instructor who trained in Hatha yoga, whereas my Saturday class is a Hatha intensive—I find them complementary.

When I had a gym membership, I tried a few of the yoga classes offered there. That was what inspired me to start a list of traits I looked for in a yoga instructor—the yoga instructors at gyms were frequently fitness instructors who had taken yoga, and decided they could teach it, but they hadn't done the intensive, exhaustive yoga teacher training that my yoga teachers had done, so they frequently didn't correct people's alignment, or offer less strenuous alternatives. This isn't to say that the guy at your gym isn't properly trained, just that I found when I was at a gym that it wasn't worth taking the yoga classes there.

Since I don't like gyms and I do like the yoga and Pilates classes, I eventually decided to forgo the gym membership and buy class passes for the two studios I frequent. As a fitness regimen, the yoga and Pilates plus dancing and cycling (three seasons of the year) work well for me.

Sounds like the gym works well for you overall, though, so it might just be a matter of trying any other yoga classes they offer to see if one's a better fit.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

It's too bad the yoga didn't work for you. Yoga is one of those things I want to work for me, but I need so many things changed it usually ends up just being a mess.

Third, the instructor started by having us breathe in and out, slowly, then explained that meditation isn't mystical, it's a technique, and like any technique you can improve with practice. This is in fact true. A minute later, he was talking about focusing on the moment as a way of finding our "true selves" and "peace beyond understanding." If you're selling mysticism, okay, but don't claim it's something else.

I don't know if he WAS trying to sell mysticism. Mindfulness meditation really is not mystical. You breathe, and focus on the breath, and let go of distractions. (Sure, doing it in a cold noisy room does not seem good for beginners, but we'll let that go.) If your mind is racing in circles, that's a distraction, let it go and focus on your breath. I think it makes more sense to to talk about finding ourselves without distraction, rather than "true selves." I also find it helpful to think in terms of a non-rational process, where reasonable arguments can be distracting, instead of "a peace beyond understanding."

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Yoga sounds interesting, but I have to fall to get on the floor and am partially paralyzed on the left side. I've tried some in a chair (there's some books with adaptations and my friend Jill teaches yoga), but it's just really painful. I can do mindful meditation and focussed breathing without yoga, so I usually just do those.