Yoga: January Challenge Daily Thread

Sometimes when doing Asanas in Ashtanger yoga, you focus on the motions and doing a pose ''right'' over learning more about your own body, its joints, its tendons and muscles. Yin really helps slow down the practice enough to work on stressing the joints and has certainly helped me with my flexibility.

It has also made me focus much more on breath when doing yoga. Sometimes when doing an Asana in Ashtanga, I feel like it pays lip service to the importance of breath. Maybe it's because I have never attended an in person class (yogi for 2 years), but I feel like it is something that is not paid it's due respect.

I find that my posture, position and endurance has greatly improved as a result and I'd strongly recommend other people to try a session or two of Yin!

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My view as I finish up with savasana today in my back yard...a short session but happy to be out here in this beautiful weather

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 08:22 AM PST

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[COMP] here’s my dancer pose contribution. Not a perfect body, messy house, and an adorable puppy! Need to work on my balance to hold the pose longer.

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 10:19 AM PST

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Weightlifting? Spinning? Pilates?

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 05:32 PM PST

What other exercise works well with yoga? I've been practicing yoga for about a year, 4-5 times a week. This is the first time as an adult I'm getting consistent exercise but I'm ready to start doing more to get into better shape, gain strength, and continue to lose weight. I'm just a couple of weeks into a gym membership and so far I've really enjoyed spinning but haven't been able to come up with a good plan for weight training or other types of workouts. I've tried a couple of group cardio-type of classes that seemed really counter productive to the slower controlled movements I'm used to in yoga. What works well for you?

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Transition help please!

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 05:01 PM PST

Hello, I'm hoping someone can guide me in the right direction...when I am in down dog, my knees are bent but then when I transition into three legged dog, should I keep the supporting knee bent or straighten it? I know it may sound like a little detail but it always messes me up and I turn into a wobbly heap! Thank you...

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Question for you!!

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 07:31 PM PST

Hi friends! I've been practicing & teaching a lot lately and my hamstrings have been fairly sensitive. I have very tight hamstrings, and I think I've over-stretched them in my practice lately. They feel very tight and sore.

Any tips for improving the situation? Obviously resting as much as possible, but in addition to that, any tips for poses to avoid/incorporate? I think I need to strengthen my hamstrings before I work on flexibility again.

Sorry this is so incoherent, I'm really tired haha. Any help is appreciated!

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Online Yoga courses

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 11:21 AM PST

I am looking to take some online yoga courses and classes... I found Yoga International and I'm trying their 2 week free trial. I see they have courses where you can get a certificate. Has anyone tried the membership and taken the courses? Did you find it helpful?

Do you know other websites with Yoga courses?

Thank you!

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Anyone else experienced this before?

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 02:33 PM PST

tonight at hot yoga we were winding down and going into the more meditative part of the class & i'm repeating to myself "i surrender to this moment" over over and then suddenly i am nothing feel nothing and do not exist whatsoever and straight up disappeared into just "being"

it absolutely felt as though i was just pure light/energy and it was similar to an orgasm in its purity.

has anyone else experienced this? i've done psychedelics before so definitely have felt this on drugs but never sober and i've never really mastered mindfulness either.

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Help! Hand pain during practice.

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 01:56 PM PST

Hi there! I really want to get back into yoga, for all the many benefits I'm sure I don't have to explain to anyone here! However, the reason I always quit is that I am always very limited in what I can do with my hands. When I incorporate a lot of poses with significant stress or weight on my hands (even really common poses like downward dog!) I inevitably 'pull' something in the palm of my hand. I don't think I really do any damage but for the rest of the practice and several days after, I can't use my hands at all during yoga. It's super frustrating because I don't know what I'm doing wrong and it is the sole reason I quit yoga every time. It's also weird because I did gymnastics up until I was 14 and never had this issue. I was just wondering if anyone has specific experience with this and what you did to strengthen your hands, because it seems like it only happens to me. :( (sorry for the pity party haha) Anyway, I would love some advice on this because yoga is just too good to give up for good. (Also maybe be important info that I am 25F, 5'4", 130 lbs)

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Teaching through pregnancy?

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 04:34 PM PST

I'm currently in my second trimester and am definitely finding teaching to be more and more challenging. I'm curious if there are any other yoga teachers out there who continued teaching through their pregnancy, and if so, what was your experience like? Did you only continue certain classes? Did you tell your students? Do you have any tips overall?

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Insane relief on posterior chain

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 12:35 PM PST

Hello everyone! I wanted to shared something I find fascinating and that I don't really understand.

I think I've always had a weak posterior chain and only recently I started working of fixing this issue with body weight exercises and yoga.

When I perform poses such as lying reverse plank or the locus I realize that if I hold the isometric for a while I feel my muscle more and more and I manage to squeeze them harder. At the same time, as I contract them I feel like all the tension inside my body goes away. Starting from my neck all the way down to my feet. For example it's almost like I feel all the toes like I can feel each individual fingers on my hand. I think I've always had blockages in my hips area and that has caused me many problems.

Is this something you can relate to? Does it have a name? It's almost like a complete release on tensions, it's almost like if I can feel the energy in all the muscles. The problem is that after a couple of seconds I can feel tightening back up again. How can I prevent this? Can I feel so loose all the time?

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Help with headstands

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 07:57 AM PST

Hi r/yoga I'm hoping someone can provide some insight into a problem I've been having.

Periodically when I work on my headstand (not a tripod headstand, but with my forearms down) my upper back and neck seize.

I have a gymnastics background and have been doing inversions for longer than Ive known what yoga is. This is not a new pose for me. I've been working on a pike press to headstand, usually I can straddle press no problem.

Most of the time it's fine, but sometimes (like yesterday) my upper back and neck just light on fire. And now today sucks.

Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?

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Itching during yoga

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 11:08 AM PST

I do weekly yoga via video chat with my parents, nothing too advanced or strenuous.

Recently whenever we do poses that stretch one side of my back or even front I'll get intense itching during the stretch that persists for a little while after stopping.

Anyone else experienced this? How can I stop this happening? I've googled and found almost literally nothing on this (and always get sent my search engines to articles about stretch marks, which is not what I'm looking for).

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I’m suddenly quite physically and wondering if anyone can recommend specific poses?

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 02:45 PM PST

I just had an unexpected sinus surgery and cannot do any exercises where I bend or lean forward, or where I am lying flat, for the next 1-2 months (no down dog!!)

I am wondering what some of your favorite seated/standing upright poses are.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: title should say: "suddenly quite physically limited". Oops! And I should clarify I just mean limited with regards to yoga. I do realize things could be a lot worse!!

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What are your favorite restorative poses??

Posted: 24 Jan 2021 10:08 PM PST

'Cause ya know, sometimes "yoga every day" is less -instagrammable- and more -feet up the wall with fluffy socks-

I'm a huuuge fan of supported fish!

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What brand is this?? I've been trying to find it and can't! This is a yoga/sports bra.

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 11:55 AM PST

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When does Gaiam restock?

Posted: 25 Jan 2021 11:22 AM PST

Been waiting three days to order the black yoga mat from them but no dice. Anybody know when they'll restock or any other recommendations?