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Yoga (Read 15665 times)

TobyD

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#25 Re: Yoga
February 22, 2017, 11:41:15 pm
there are many benefits from doing "yoga" and if you get something from it then more power to ya. but doing kick ups isn't playing football and fingerboarding aint climbing.
practising asana is 1 of the 8 limbs of yoga and personally i think that if your yoga practice doesn't involve the others then your not really doing Yoga. i think that most classes focus on the asana part because that's the interesting bit to most people. i dont think most people are interested in the other parts, generally i don't see/meet a lot of people who are interested in spiritual progression and that is really what its for.
on a sidenote i very much dislike the word spiritual, too many horrible associations with flakey new age goonery, but there's not really any other word to use.

I entirely agree with everything you've said in this thread. Especially the last bit; this is how I feel about climbing and yoga, in fact.

The word spiritual pisses me off, but how else do you describe a feeling/ intention of progression through work, experience and faith? (That alternative sounded just as bad as spiritual...)

sheavi

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#26 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 12:22:15 pm
Interesting thread.  I'm a physio, practice yoga asanas and go in for the so called spiritual side of yoga too. Anyway in answer to the original question.  There is no one size fits all when it comes to low back pain and asana/postures to avoid.  If you're serious about doing yoga asanas then go to a good class/teacher and discuss your needs.  Each asana is very specific and requires careful anatomical 'know-how' not to mention use of breathe which is probably more important.  Using a book or DVD etc can help but is no substitute. 

tomtom

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#27 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 12:57:47 pm
Some really interesting replies here - thanks..

I've been experimenting in the meantime - downloaded a yoga app (goes through a sequence of positions with some verbal instructions, pictures and ambient music :) ) and tried a couple of the routines.

Really interesting, I did 40 min on tues and weds night - and afterwards my back (and body) felt all floppy and floaty - which is good. I modified their routines a bit taking out positions I was clearly no where near doing - or were painful, and added in a couple of other positions I'd read were good for backs...

I'll probably try and get to a class/see an instructor at some point... though I've also taken the week off climbing to ease my back, which may be helping as well.

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#28 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 01:07:18 pm
I found yoga to be quite useful to get my mind to rest a bit last year at Uni - some nights I'd try to go to bed too wired/buzzed from working and couldn't sleep.

I find the real meditative side difficult to "engage" at home, but in a class it somehow seems easier to get lost in it. As other have said, declare any injuries!  That said, I got injured at my first, and only yoga class as the instructor thought my spine was more flexible than it is and twisted me too far - cue 5 days of searing back pain!



galpinos

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#29 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 01:13:53 pm
I'll probably try and get to a class/see an instructor at some point...

Have a chat with 'Little Fire Yoga', Eithne Kane. She's down at the Depot doing classes every Tuesday and Thursday, very approachable.

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#30 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 01:16:29 pm
People tend to think of yoga postures as stretching which isn't quite right, it's about alignment - which obviously makes you stretch in the process. They should be followed quite precisely to be effective and to avoid injuries down the line.

If you think of a series of video frames of someone moving fully and correctly into a posture, most of us can just reach a few frames into that sequence and then have to stop. See how far you body will go correctly along that process, next time it will go a bit deeper and so on. Trying to struggle towards the final position will distort everything and is potentially damaging.

That is why I think you really need a class/teacher, it's not easy checking yourself even if you know what to look for.

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#31 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 02:28:53 pm
I found yoga to be quite useful to get my mind to rest a bit last year at Uni - some nights I'd try to go to bed too wired/buzzed from working and couldn't sleep.

I find the real meditative side difficult to "engage" at home, but in a class it somehow seems easier to get lost in it. As other have said, declare any injuries!  That said, I got injured at my first, and only yoga class as the instructor thought my spine was more flexible than it is and twisted me too far - cue 5 days of searing back pain!

You did well to not go back there; crackers bad practice by the instructor.

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#32 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 02:30:24 pm
I'll probably try and get to a class/see an instructor at some point...

Have a chat with 'Little Fire Yoga', Eithne Kane. She's down at the Depot doing classes every Tuesday and Thursday, very approachable.

Eithne's Depot classes are (I think);

Tuesday - 7pm
Thursday - 6:15pm & 8pm

She's normally milling around half an hour or so before those times. I'm sure she'd be very happy to help.

benno

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#33 Re: Yoga
February 23, 2017, 06:22:55 pm
People tend to think of yoga postures as stretching which isn't quite right, it's about alignment - which obviously makes you stretch in the process.

I agree with this. I've dabbled with yoga classes before, but have recently started doing ashtanga classes once a week. "Stretching" to me implies a fairly passive activity, whereas in practice you also have to be very strong to hold many of the poses. It seems to me that people suggesting stretching in front of the TV as an alternative are missing this aspect; it's much more demanding than that.

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#34 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 08:50:50 am
People tend to think of yoga postures as stretching which isn't quite right, it's about alignment - which obviously makes you stretch in the process. They should be followed quite precisely to be effective and to avoid injuries down the line.

do you think that the proper alignment is only down to injury prevention? or do you think theres more to it?

mrjonathanr

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#35 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 10:38:33 am
No, not at all, but I do think bad alignment in postures will produce injuries eventually.

Asanas are a training programme as well as active meditation aren't they? They are designed to create space within joints, align bones and strengthen tissues enough so you're not strained when sitting still for extended periods of time. You can't meditate for hours with backache basically, that's the point of it.

((Not that I meditate for hours...but still))

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#36 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 10:54:31 am
Hi All,
I went to the (early) Yoga class at the Depot last night. Only three of us in it - and I really enjoyed it. Didn't feel out of my depth or pushed to do anything uncomfortable or out of my zone. Worked my legs (thighs) much more than I thought it would, and had to stop a couple of times due to leg collapse :)

I'll try and go again...

My class also included a free session at the wall - afterwards I didnt feel like climbing at all (felt lovely and floppy) so just hung about and chatted to Galpinos for a few min and went home! So - here's aQ - better to climb before or after?

TT

mrjonathanr

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#37 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 12:35:25 pm
Before.

SA Chris

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#38 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 02:43:59 pm
Before. Clearly.

I also found that some of the postures were good for getting better at "grounding" your weight, and feeling distribution of weight for one foot to the other as you move through a sequence, which may be useful for climbing.

Or maybe I was just ommmmming out.

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#39 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 02:46:46 pm
My class also included a free session at the wall - afterwards I didnt feel like climbing at all (felt lovely and floppy) so just hung about and chatted to Galpinos for a few min and went home!

This is why yoga, cycling, weight-lifting, etc don't help your climbing. Because you do them instead of climbing-specific things, which would be more beneficial.

Fultonius

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#40 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 02:50:56 pm
My class also included a free session at the wall - afterwards I didnt feel like climbing at all (felt lovely and floppy) so just hung about and chatted to Galpinos for a few min and went home!

This is why yoga, cycling, weight-lifting, etc don't help your climbing if your aim is to get strong quickly. Because you do them instead of climbing-specific things, which would be more beneficial.

But maybe they are beneficial for a long, injury free climbing life?  (I was going to say "career" but that seemed a bit poncey - what's a better word?)


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#41 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 03:58:19 pm
I started messing about with yoga as a form of stretching on rest days. Then, after various climbing-induced shoulder and back issues that physio wasn't helping, I started taking it more seriously. Took a while to find a teacher that suited me enough to make the effort to go very week. Since he emigrated, and I've become a dad, I've drifted out of it. Without ~5 years of regular yoga I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to continue climbing at the level I was at. To some extent I feel less need to do it now as my posture is much improved.

Any Ashtanga class should suits climbers pretty well. It's much harder to find someone who delivers the spiritual side at the right level to avoid alienating most of the class.

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#42 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 04:01:41 pm
But maybe they are beneficial for a long, injury free climbing life?  (I was going to say "career" but that seemed a bit poncey - what's a better word?)

No need to give it a name - "a lifetime of injury free climbing" suffices.

I wonder if it can do anything for golfer's elbow......

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#43 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 04:55:44 pm
I've always enjoyed this video:



It's a good (long-ish) workout, she's not overly irritating, and seems kinda useful.

You can skip the looking at your thumb bit if you want to...

I've always wanted to do more Yoga, ideally as many limbs as possible but often find there's not enough time in the day - and asanas are the most accessible?

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#44 Re: Yoga
February 24, 2017, 05:34:52 pm

I'll probably try and get to a class/see an instructor at some point... though I've also taken the week off climbing to ease my back, which may be helping as well.

Sam Shaw yoga classes at Rockover on Wednesday and Thursday are very enjoyable. Turned me from a cynic into a convert (briefly, I've moved away from Manchester now). Pleasingly free from spiritual nonsense and all seemed relevant to climbing (well relevant to being able to move like a normal human again which has got to be good for climbing).

nai

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#45 Re: Yoga
February 27, 2017, 08:39:42 pm
Just found and done this, quite good I thought, she explains what she's addressing up front and is about right with what climbers generally need from yoga.  Just could do with being a bit longer in some of the positions, have to keep the remote handy to keep hitting pause


nai

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#46 Re: Yoga
March 06, 2017, 09:49:31 am
Anyone know of a decent class in Sheffield on a Tuesday night? Just had to change my night and at the place I currently go it's a different teacher who's a bit too Yogary for me - far too much time spent lying down with your eyes shut.

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#47 Re: Yoga
March 27, 2017, 11:05:38 am
Just found and done this, quite good I thought, she explains what she's addressing up front and is about right with what climbers generally need from yoga.  Just could do with being a bit longer in some of the positions, have to keep the remote handy to keep hitting pause




Worked through this on Saturday and you're right, it's pretty rapid fire. That said, I'm glad it was as a) it felt like a lot of the transitions were helping core etc and b) I'm not fit or flexible enough to hold them for longer!




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#48 Re: Yoga
April 20, 2017, 09:39:51 am
Anyone know of a decent class in Sheffield on a Tuesday night? Just had to change my night and at the place I currently go it's a different teacher who's a bit too Yogary for me - far too much time spent lying down with your eyes shut.

I used to live in Sheffield and I went to lots of yoga classes. You're somewhat spoilt for choice! I'd recommend 'Unity Yoga' - their studio is in town, just off West Street.
Another good studio is Hot Yoga Sheffield, I've heard that they've opened up a second studio just off Abbeydale road. Their original place is still open and runs classes in Crookes.

Just as a side note, I don't know how advanced you are in your yoga practice, but if you're after something challenging then I'd suggest going for Ashtanga-style classes - you won't be laying down with your eyes shut! Saying that - it can be quite intense.
Vinyasa flow classes are also a good option, as the name suggests there's lots of movement and transition through poses. If you do go to Unity Yoga, Lydia Ainscough is a wonderful yoga teacher and does fantastic vinyasa classes.

Also, asking the teachers directly about their classes and what you want out of them is probably the most cost effective and hassle free way of finding out whether you're going to be laying down with your eyes shut.

Andy P

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#49 Re: Yoga
April 21, 2017, 01:26:06 am
For the Sydney, Australia viewers, my big brother David and his wife Val own and run Yoga Hotspot in Chatswood. Quite a few climbers go there ... They sell copies of my book. Woo Hoo !
Cheers,
Andy P.

 

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