Guest guest Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 Hello John, I have been practising 2nd series for three years now and I understand your frustration. I too was also very stiff (still am I think).Don't worry about where you are with your practise, let it go. Be in the moment and feel what your body can do on a day to day basis. If you are experiencing stiffness in your postures you are benefiting just as much as someone who is very loose and feels stiffness in harder postures if that makes sense. Don't do weights to build your strength, this is not yoga, its holistic not the latest fitness craze from the US. You may build strength in your shoulder but the universe will balance your out in creating as much strength you gained in the form of stiffness in your shoulder which will hinder your practise. The quickest way for me to soften my body was to soften my mind through meditation, this is the answer. So don't compare yourself to others, love your stiffness and it will dissolve. Take care my friend Paul John de la Garza <john wrote: Do you guys think that it would be helpful to do some heavy military presses to build up my shoulder strength help me be able to do poses that require strong shoulders? I just got David Swensons DVD on the short forms. I am really inspired after watching the 'demo'. That man is amazing. Also, I'm 36 and pretty stiff. Can anyone eventually become flexible like David with enought time and practice or are certain people genetically gifted to the point that others that are not will never be able to atain the same flexibility? I know most people say Yoga isn't competitive and to do the poses to your best ability without pushing to the point of injury, but some poses simply require a high degree of flexibility to do correctly. I'm just wondering if I should expect to be able to do all the poses if I take the right steps and give it time. Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over time? ashtanga yoga Find local movie times and trailers on Movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 I can help you out with the flexibility thing. When I first started doing yoga, I had a hard tinme doing most of the poses, but now I'm very flexible and linder and I've been doing yoga a while. John de la Garza <john wrote: Do you guys think that it would be helpful to do some heavy military presses to build up my shoulder strength help me be able to do poses that require strong shoulders? I just got David Swensons DVD on the short forms. I am really inspired after watching the 'demo'. That man is amazing. Also, I'm 36 and pretty stiff. Can anyone eventually become flexible like David with enought time and practice or are certain people genetically gifted to the point that others that are not will never be able to atain the same flexibility? I know most people say Yoga isn't competitive and to do the poses to your best ability without pushing to the point of injury, but some poses simply require a high degree of flexibility to do correctly. I'm just wondering if I should expect to be able to do all the poses if I take the right steps and give it time. Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over time? ashtanga yoga Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 John, If you must build strength in your upper body then use exercises that involve your OWN body weight - stay away from the weights and machines in the gym - this will hinder your flexibility. Having said that if you stick with your Ashtanga practice and your frequency is at least 3 times per week then your strength will come naturally. DON'T DO MILLITARY PRESSES - it will cause bunching and shortening of the fascia surrounding the muscle tissue and your flexibility will suffer (in fact this is true of any weight training exercises + running too). If you must, then one of the best general upper body strength exercises you can do is dip's - lift yourself between parallel bars or improvise with 2 chairs, and lower yourself down slowly and then back up again. This will not isolate any muscles (which tends to cause imbalance in the body) and give your whole upper body (arms, shoulders, chest) a good workover - if done properly it's a tough exercise though. If you want to give your flexibility/stiffness a jump start then look into getting some structural integration bodywork done like Rolfing or Hellerwork - painful and intense but well worth it! I'm 30 and have been practicing for a year now (3/4 times per week) and came from a weights/wrestling background - my hip flexibility was terrible, the Hellerwork has really helped, I've still got a long way to go, but I'm on the right path and accept it will take time. Hope that helps John de la Garza [john] 07 January 2005 20:29 ashtanga yoga ashtanga yoga building strength Do you guys think that it would be helpful to do some heavy military presses to build up my shoulder strength help me be able to do poses that require strong shoulders? I just got David Swensons DVD on the short forms. I am really inspired after watching the 'demo'. That man is amazing. Also, I'm 36 and pretty stiff. Can anyone eventually become flexible like David with enought time and practice or are certain people genetically gifted to the point that others that are not will never be able to atain the same flexibility? I know most people say Yoga isn't competitive and to do the poses to your best ability without pushing to the point of injury, but some poses simply require a high degree of flexibility to do correctly. I'm just wondering if I should expect to be able to do all the poses if I take the right steps and give it time. Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over time? _____ * * ashtanga yoga <ashtangayoga?subject=Un> * Terms of <> Service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 > Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly > stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over > time? Yes there are! My father and I started doing yoga maybe a year ago. My father had his childhood in forest, woodcutting, always in the woods, so he is very strong and he was unable to cross legs or have an arm in his back, etc. I've never seen someone as stiff as he was. When he started doing yoga, he was desperated, he thought he could never do what the rest of the group was doing. But week after week, he was gaining flexibility and now he can follow a beginners course very well! And he's very happy with that because he tought that being almost 50, he could not change his body that "fast." Even myself was relatively stiff and made greeeaaat improvements. Just don't give up, keep working on it! When your body has nothing to do, just move in some poses you can't do very well... Max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2005 Report Share Posted January 8, 2005 I am limited to what I can achieve and what I can expect from my practice. I have kept my goals low and find that I surpass them sometimes. I have some back injurys from a car accident that can be a limitation at times. While pushing myself to do well and do the selected pose to the best of my ability on that day, sometimes I get a little surprise! And my body takes it alittle bit further than I've ever been before all by itself. So exciting. Found my feet lift off the ground one time in a pose that I never thought possiable for myself. Stay determined. listen to your body. And let your body guide you. Sometimes we're not the most connected with whats going on with our body so it knows best. jennifer John de la Garza <john wrote: Do you guys think that it would be helpful to do some heavy military presses to build up my shoulder strength help me be able to do poses that require strong shoulders? I just got David Swensons DVD on the short forms. I am really inspired after watching the 'demo'. That man is amazing. Also, I'm 36 and pretty stiff. Can anyone eventually become flexible like David with enought time and practice or are certain people genetically gifted to the point that others that are not will never be able to atain the same flexibility? I know most people say Yoga isn't competitive and to do the poses to your best ability without pushing to the point of injury, but some poses simply require a high degree of flexibility to do correctly. I'm just wondering if I should expect to be able to do all the poses if I take the right steps and give it time. Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over time? Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Like everything, strength & flexibility build in increments. Just keep at the yoga & results will follow. John de la Garza <john wrote: Do you guys think that it would be helpful to do some heavy military presses to build up my shoulder strength help me be able to do poses that require strong shoulders? I just got David Swensons DVD on the short forms. I am really inspired after watching the 'demo'. That man is amazing. Also, I'm 36 and pretty stiff. Can anyone eventually become flexible like David with enought time and practice or are certain people genetically gifted to the point that others that are not will never be able to atain the same flexibility? I know most people say Yoga isn't competitive and to do the poses to your best ability without pushing to the point of injury, but some poses simply require a high degree of flexibility to do correctly. I'm just wondering if I should expect to be able to do all the poses if I take the right steps and give it time. Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over time? ashtanga yoga Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less. ashtanga yoga ~*~ "Your spirit is the true shield." -Morihei Ueshiba Read only the mail you want - Mail SpamGuard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2005 Report Share Posted January 11, 2005 Derek Evans <drkevans wrote: I can help you out with the flexibility thing. When I first started doing yoga, I had a hard tinme doing most of the poses, but now I'm very flexible and linder and I've been doing yoga a while. John de la Garza <john wrote: Do you guys think that it would be helpful to do some heavy military presses to build up my shoulder strength help me be able to do poses that require strong shoulders? I just got David Swensons DVD on the short forms. I am really inspired after watching the 'demo'. That man is amazing. Also, I'm 36 and pretty stiff. Can anyone eventually become flexible like David with enought time and practice or are certain people genetically gifted to the point that others that are not will never be able to atain the same flexibility? I know most people say Yoga isn't competitive and to do the poses to your best ability without pushing to the point of injury, but some poses simply require a high degree of flexibility to do correctly. I'm just wondering if I should expect to be able to do all the poses if I take the right steps and give it time. Are there any people here who started off as someone who was relitivly stiff and is now relitivily flexible? I mean has made huge gains over time? ashtanga yoga Mail - 250MB free storage. Do more. Manage less. ashtanga yoga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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