The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Hot Yoga *faq* › New To Group and Hot Yoga :)
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › General Hot Yoga Discussion › Hot Yoga *faq* › New To Group and Hot Yoga :)
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hello all!!!!
this is all very new to me so i may be asking some silly questions!!
i am 47 years old and work in as a veterinary technician. it has been very hard on my body and joints over the years and i am looking for something to help me stretch, tone and strengthen my body (either the dogs are getting stronger or i am getting weaker!)
i have had lower back pain/spasms over the years and need to be careful lifting at work, turning correctly, etc. i had/have bursitis in my right hip. i dont know if this is relevant but i also have mitral valve prolapse (not on any medication)but sometimes do have irregular heartbeats. i have a very low energy level, trouble sleeping and stiff back and hip (i AM getting old!!)i really feel this may work for me and want to give it my best shot. do you think any of these issues will pose any limitations for this program?? what do you think would be the best way to start?
thank you in advance for your guidence!Hi kumagirl
I am positive that doing hot yoga can have you feeling young again!
I would like you to consider something VERY important before you start. It seems that you most likely are experiencing difficulty in activating your core muscles. This appears evident with your troubles at work and your back spasms and stiff back over the past number of years.
I am wondering if you would consider seeking out some core activation training. You can to a gym and have some private training. You could go to a physical therapist and even one that devotes their practice to helping people build core strength. You could attend some Pilates sessions.
If you start your yoga without knowing HOW to activate your core muscles you won’t actually strengthen them in any appreciable way.
So please deal with what could be your most serious problem first. I think that once you can do this you will already feel more comfortable in your day to day life. This yoga WILL give you back your flexibility and your range of motion. With a regular frequent practice you ought to get to a point where you have no aches and pains in your body and you feel good just about all the time!!! And your sleep should improve too.
Go to the videos section of this website and have a look at the video entitled: Flatten Your Tummy And Strengthen Your Back. This has a neat exercise that you can start with just about straight away.
Congratulations on making this great step towards changing your life!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thank you so much for your quick reply. I will certainly take your advice and start working on my core muscles – it sounds like a great way to start. I am on my way to link you gave me!
Do you have a link for any nutrional/healthy diet suggestions?
Thank you again – I will let you know my progress!Hello kumagirl
You are welcome!
Concerning nourishment: My family is vegetarian. I grew up eating a diet which included plenty of meat. I did carry some extra shape for a number of years and discovered with a good combination eating plan that meat did not ‘sit’ well with me. I also lost a ton of shape by doing this. I felt so good that I became vegetarian (16 years ago). You can create a commonsense combination plan with all the foods that you love (which I believe is key) and include meat if you like.
There have been some contributions to the forum that may interest you. Here are the links: What DO You Eat? and Regaining Your Figure. Plus we had a little blog post that a few people contributed recipes: Your Favorite Yoga Recipe Resource List.
If you are willing to go veg and if you really want to ‘clean up your digestive act’ then I would also encourage you to avoid dairy, at least for a month or 2.
As you know the internet is an amazing place and you can find many free online resources for recipes and ideas. The library is a great place to test out books and find the one or 2 or even more that really talk to you!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂I found this site by browsing the net. I have never done hot yoga as I live in a small town that doesn’t offer anything of the sort. I would love to try it sometime. I could learn through DVD’s but have no way to get a spot to the temperatures needed except when it’s that hot outside.
I’m 48 and am in pretty good condition a far as strength and cardiovascular is concerned. My flexibility is lacking and that’s what got me interested in Yoga. My only exposure to yoga so far has been doing YRG to videos at home.
If I were to buy your manual and DVD’s, I’m sure I would still benefit from it but is there that big of a difference in doing it in a hot environment as opposed to 65-70 degree range? Of course, you will sweat a lot more when it’s hot but can I still gain good strength and flexibility and get other benefits without the hot part of it? I guess I should look on faq as it’s probably answered there.
Hi Tulsa – a quick response before Gabrielle gets to this!
Firstly, welcome to the site & forum!
A home practice using the poses in the manual (and on this site) would definitely have great benefit, even without the heat. Most folks would probably say they feel as if you go a whole lot “deeper” and with more cardio when practiced in a hot yoga studio – but sometimes you have to take whatever benefits you can get! The difference is quite big, yet if flexibility and not cardio is more of a goal, then in my opinion you’d still get very good benefits – with a home practice and no teacher on hand, self-alignment is the key to getting good results.
Wearing more clothes can also help increase the cardio-factor if practicing at home.
Re: FAQs – thank you for reminding me as there are not really any FAQs for the manual/dvd package ate the moment, I’ve been wanting to put some together, so you are gently reminding me how important this is!
Namaste
Robert
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