BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Yoga Yoga Challenge

Hi Tracy. I am currently on vacation (and of course I could do some yoga) and would like to join your challenge when I get home next week. Yeah, something to look forward to!

Great to hear everyone's progress and enthusiasm. Glad you're feeling the benefits already Sandra. Know what you mean about Salute To The Sun. I have struggled on occasion to stretch as far as my toes some mornings.

Diane, maybe your sister could add meditation and pranayam to her day - they are also aspects of Yoga practice. Through the breathing exercises she may find some relief... I don't mean to be presumptuous, I know that certain foods cause the muscles to weaken while others strengthen them. If she is able, seated exercises are good too; such as neck rolls, fist clenches, hand and feet rotations.

Today I did an hours meditation, alternate nostril breathing and my exercise has consisted of painting and mopping! I intend to do some back stretches, spinal twists and a long shavasan!

Tracy,

I image you got a good workout painting and mopping. Your one hour practice sounds lovely. I, usually, only do 20-30 minutes. That is the beauty of yoga. You can go at your own pace and even small amounts do wonders for your health.

Your advice to Diane's sister is very good. I have found the neck rolls and hand/feet rotations to be a big help in easing the pain of fibro. I would add some advice that a yoga instructor once gave me. She had a client with fibro who said the best thing would be to do a little each day. That kept the muscles more flexible so that they would not stiffen and hurt so much. I have done that and found it to be true. Even just one pose a day is a good way to start.

Today I continued my pranayama and most of the same stretches and poses. I did a modified version of sun salutation and included Sphinx pose before cobra. I had a lot of pain in my neck and shoulders after yesterday's practice. I think it was from not being used to cobra pose. What I mean is that I think cobra awakened those muscles and they complained. So I tried Sphinx today first to more gently stretch my neck before cobra. Seems to have worked.

Today was a very short practice. Mostly neck and shoulder rotations with some supine poses. My body was happy to do some yoga, but I could tell from experience that I was more fatigued and weak feeling today. That's when it is best for me to go very gently.

I did do pranayama and a short meditation.

Very wise Sandra. Always best to listen to your body. Pranayam will help oxygenate the blood and increase energy to the cells etc. Meditation helps bring acceptance of self and abilities, and peace to the mind.

It's right what you said, by starting with just one pose a day you will start to receive benefits.

I did an hour meditation this morning then cleaned the house! Just about to do some twists and stretches before heading out.

Thanks, Tracy. That hour of meditation sounds lovely.

Today I had a nice, fluid practice. I moved easily from one pose transitioning into the next. I included Downward Dog today.
Yogic breathing and a short meditation.

Have a lovely weekend.

Hi Sandra, Sounds good. Downward Dog too! I love to do my yoga stretches in the morning as they energize me for the day. I used to go to a class every morning at 7 am - I loved it. Other commitments meant I couldn't attend after a year of going.

I'm still getting over pleurisy which took my feet for 6 months, I feel like I am rebuilding myself and still got residual pain. My practice is gentler than it used to be. The Kundalini Yoga will be challenging! Not sure if its definitely happening as numbers seem low at the moment.

Meditation and mindfulness get me through. I'm Vipasanna trained - Vipassana is a meditation technique, you have to go on a 10 day silent retreat to learn and practice it. It's like meditation bootcamp! It has stood me in good stead. I've completed around 12 courses as I love the silence and stillness it brings. Today I have meditated for 2 hours in total.

Hope you have a lovely weekend

Hello! I would like to elaborate on an earlier post of mine where I stated that yoga had changed my life. About 2 years ago I began practicing yoga. One of the first changes I noticed was my posture. It was pretty cool to be standing one day and realize that my shoulders were back and not in my line of vision. After practicing for about 2 months, I realized that I had not had a coke for 3 weeks. CokaCola was my coke of choice and I drank 2 to 4 per day while working. I am not sure how it happened, but even though I was carrying cokes in the cooler, I was not drinking them. I love standing straight and not being a coke drinker. Peace and love, Diane

Diane,
That's wonderful. I know how hard it is to cut out soda and sweets. I never knew yoga could help with that. I am so glad that it worked for you. Maybe others will have similar results.

Yoga certainly is amazing.

Tracy,
Wow, 2 hours of meditation. I admire your commitment.

Sunday - A nice, slow practice with pranayama.

Today - Good breathing exercise session. Some standing poses and spinal twists. Just a short meditation.

Nice practice today. Lots of standing poses, including Eagle. Haven't done that in a while.

How is everyone else doing?