I am new in yoga!

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am new in ashtanga yoga (just started to practice at home with my DVD from

John Scott 4 days ago) and in this group. I absolutely love it, and found it

much better to practice yoga at home than going to gym working out.

 

I have read some early messages saying that following DVD or tape is not a

good thing to do. But, since I am not a rich person who can afford those

expensive class in Stockholm where I live, I guess that would be the solution

for now.

 

I do have some questions though, and hope some of you can help me out.

 

1. I am not so flexible as I used to be (my grandmother is more flexible than I

am). Is it okay if I don't do some poses 100%? I do try hard to go as close as

possible though.

 

2. Has any one of you experienced pain on your back or legs because you sat

too long in front of your computer? I have. So, I wonder if there any pose that

can help me to gain some strength and of course, get rid of the pain?

 

3. Is there any minimum time requirement? Like do I have to practice at least

one hour per day?

 

4. Is anyone in the group in the Stockholm area?

 

Brenda

[Guest guest]

ashtanga yoga, "bondchick721" <jedichick@h...>

wrote:

Brenda, I'm not in Stockholm, but in Canada. Greetings. Welcome to

the wonderful world of yoga. You have many questions, and many more

will come if you continue to practise. First, ashtanga yoga is

physical and it is a workout, however, there is so so much more to

yoga, much of which you can discover through a regular practise (i.e.

insight, self-discovery, peace, joy, clear seeing, and more and

more).

 

I'm not familiar with John Scott's video so can't comment on it

specifically. I'm assuming that you're looking at the primary series

complete? Or is it modified? In any case, YES, it is fine to modify

poses that you can't do; however, I strongly recommend you try to

find a teacher who can offer safe and effective modifications for any

of the poses in the primary series. It usually takes practitioners

years of regular practise to complete the primary series, doing the

full versions of all the poses. You don't necessarily need to go to

classes all the time, but it would be good to get some first hand

advice. Ashtanga yoga is precise, specific, vigorous and

challenging. To do the practise properly requires more instruction

than a video can provide. You could think of the video as a

supplement between classes...whether the classes are daily, weekly,

monthly, or whenever.

 

As for the leg pain from sitting...how common that is for us

westerners! The stretching and strengthing of the hamstrings in many

of the poses should help with this.

 

There is no minimum time requirement, but it is better to practise

regularly than to do a longer practise once or twice a week. Find

the amount of time that works for your schedule and try to make a

daily routine, making sure you take days off from time to time (in

Mysore they don't practise on the full or new moons). No matter how

long you practise, make sure that you take at least 10 minutes at the

end for relaxation. This is important to integrate the work you have

done.

 

Good luck with your journey.

Cline