Yoga + Strength training

Blazeyoga · 07-04-2007, 03:03 AM

I am 29 yr old fairly fit guy who has recently taken up Ashtanga Yoga.

Previous to doing Yoga i lifted weights three times a week (not huge amounts of weight I'm a fairly slim athletic build)

I find now that the weight lifting interferes with my Yoga as my muscles haven't recovered enough so i stopped lifting a few weeks ago. Does anyone else have this problem?

What i have begun to do instead is to do some simple body weight exercises a few times a week after my Yoga practice to maintain strength.

A guy i know ( not a Yoga guy) recommended Hindu Squats and Hindu Push ups. (i think there real names are Dands and Betheks or something like that) They are conditioning exercises Indian Wrestlers used u can find descriptions of them on google. The push ups are basically a version of two yoga moves.

Has anyone done these regularly on top of their yoga practice? I'm wondering how useful they are.

thanks

- Blaze

Hubert · 07-04-2007, 06:14 AM

Useful to what ?

Physical strenght is good, it enables work, gives self confidence, provides good health. I am sure hatha yoga practice is able to give the necessary strenght for the spiritual aspirant.
If you are an athlete, than your strenght training should be designed for the specific goals you follow, and while yoga is good for balancing your body, it will not be able to fully support a very physical lifestyle. It is not it's purpose, yoga practice usually is "designed" with other goals in mind. In fact, there are recomendations in the sutras against heavy exertion.

Still there are very muscular yogis. Yoga does not change you, if you are athletic you won't become skinny, if you are skinny you won't become athletic, if you are big boned, you won't become a skeleton. It just lets the body blossom to what it has meant to be.

Blazeyoga · 07-04-2007, 06:29 AM

Maybe my post was a bit unclear. I am aware of the benefits / limitations of Yoga in terms of gaining strength.

I was posting about how people integrate / balance doing Yoga AND other strength training activities. As i have found weights and yoga hard to balance and was curious as to how other people balanced the two activities.

In terms of usefulness I was referring to the usefulness of Hindu Squats / Pushups as a general strength conditioner for the body not for Yoga specifically. The reason why i posted about those two body conditioning exercises specifically is that they both have roots in Yoga movements and I thought there might be a fair few Yoga people who threw them in before or after their Yoga practice.

As to why - just for general body conditioning and strength not for any specific sport.

Rereading my original post it is kind of unclear i hope that makes what i was asking a bit more clear!

and thanks for replying

sarahy · 07-04-2007, 08:04 AM

i also practice ashtanga and recently took about 3 weeks off (due to work-related travel). however, i picked up abdominal workouts daily. i also found that trying to do abs and ashtanga in the same day/same time didn't mesh very well.

from the ashtanga teachers i've practiced with, they say that you will develop/maintain the muscle just by doing the practice (daily i assume). but my practice isn't really complete because i don't have the strength to do some of the lifts so i'm now trying to integrate abs and arms again into my daily practice.

what i've found is that if i do abs in the am then the primary sequence in the pm that seems to work- essentially separating the practices by time and space. because you're right, one can/does interfere with the other.

Hubert · 07-04-2007, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blazeyoga

Maybe my post was a bit unclear. I am aware of the benefits / limitations of Yoga in terms of gaining strength.

Rereading my original post it is kind of unclear i hope that makes what i was asking a bit more clear!

and thanks for replying

I am the one who, though I understood your question, answered with the righteous bullcrap of a zealot. I am sorry.

I did weight training, too. I find serious weight training and serious asana practice hardly compatible. Weight training is about stressing the muscles to their limit, than leaving time just about to recover, than reapeat the process. Where does asana practice fit in here ? Because if you do it while recovering, you hamper the healing of the muscles. If you do yoga after the recovery time, your weight training will suffer, because the delay betwen workouts. By suffer I mean you'll get less results in time as others who focus only on weight training.
One must make up his mind. But the change must not be sudden. I understand you do Asthanga yoga. I think it will be more than enough to keep you fit.

I myself do pushups and pullups, but only once a week, without trying to accomplish muscle or strenght development, just as maintenance, because my home asana practice is focused on the lower body for now.

**xela** · 07-04-2007, 03:39 PM

Yoga will keep you lean and cut, but it will not make you big. I find that all other activities affect my yoga in a negative way, so I have stopped. I also just started doing ashtanga (was doing vinyasa flow) and its a very vigorous workout, so you won't have to worry about muscle loss...that's for sure.

InnerAthlete · 07-04-2007, 08:03 PM

Hello Blaze,

interetsing path this thread has taken eh?

In a full, general yoga practice {sidebar: please know my definition of yoga is not synonymous with asana but for this thread we are clearly talking about asana} I do not see a need for hindu squats and pushups. The question I would want answered would be:

"What do these two things do for you biomechanically/anatomically and how/why was that not addressed in the asana practice?"

The first "event" is simple hip flexion and extension.
The second "event" is quite similar to the action moving from Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana via Phalankasana or Chaturanga Dandasana.

So these things might be great for combat preparation but seem, based on the above, unecessary in the presence of a robust asana (yoga ) practice.

As far as integrating Asana (yoga) with other things I don't find an issue there. I do go to the gym. When I go I usually row and I do so with a certain posture and form and breath so I am squeezing as much "yoga" out of it as I can. The rest of what I do is in integrity with my practice: some aided twisting, some hanging, some backbends. The action typically not built in to asana practice is this latisimuss dorsi rowing action or door-handle pullling. And those of us with wall rope systems in our studios are even finding ways to add that to asana. I don't believe there's a way this is incorporated into many of the other practices.

If you find weight training to inhibit your yoga practice it may simply be how you are weight training. Though I frankly do not advocate it since weight training seems to strengthen while shortening.

If it is running you want to do then I advise really working hip adduction, abduction, internal and external rotation in the asana practice for proper balance of the body.

I do hope we will all effort to keep in mind that every asana practice is not OUR asana practice. For this very reason I use care with statments that might be perceived as absolutes. Just as we are ALL not sitting around in a cave neither are we all using a towel to mop up the sweat from our brow.

Blazeyoga · 07-05-2007, 07:54 AM

Some great and thought provoking responses. My weight training was the same as your's Hubert - i found it interfered too much.

To be honest I've never really enjoyed lifting weights anyway. I understand Yoga will not give me big muscles, I'm not after big muscles. But i enjoy having at least a base level of functional strength. After reading Innerathlete's post I think what I am concerned with is the parts of my body a rigorous Yoga practice will not work out. So i can use some supplementary exercises.

I'm interested in what specifically you add to your routine Innerathlete. Just some hangs, Pull ups and rows?

Just to be clear i know Asana's are only a small part of Yoga, i very much enjoy the meditative aspects of the system and find the Philosophy fascinating. I am an Aboriginal person from Australia and we have our own system of spirituality and i'm finding many areas of congruence between the two systems.

InnerAthlete · 07-05-2007, 02:07 PM

Blaze,

more specifically it depends on my body that day.
I rarely do what others are doing. But I think that's been the case for decades and I'm simply biding my time until the Mother Ship comes and it's time for me to go back.

After rowing I typically hang in Adho Mukha with a yoga belt at the top of the femurs.

You know what...I tried writing all this out. PM me if you want me to go into it so I don't take up vital space here on the board with drivvle.

ColinM · 07-06-2007, 07:18 AM

This may well be heresy, but I haven't practiced yoga in over 20 years and am only now getting back into it.

What I have been doing for the past decade is mixing a lot of different exercises--aerobic, weights, calisthenics, martial arts--and you're absolutely right, that if you do heavy weights one day, running the next day sucks. If you run a lot one day, stretching out the next day sucks. The only way the guys I trained with found to make it all work together was to do it all in one workout--so my recommendation to you is to try a bit of yoga, then a set of weights, then more yoga, then more weights.

You may end up doing less yoga than you had planned, and less weight training, and you may not get as much of the overall health benefit from the yoga or as much bodybuilding from the weights, but I think you'll find that overall, you will feel better, and look better, and the day after a workout will really suck.

Do not do this every day.

yogiforlife · 07-12-2007, 12:25 AM

I can definately relate to your experience Blaze, except that when I was weight training, I loved it, was addicted to it. I started doing Yoga and found the lifting was interfering with the Yoga. I decided to take a break from the weights and I've never gone back to them. I too am fairly slender, 5'10, 160 lbs. I do Yoga about 5 times a week, hour to hour and a half at a time and jog about every fifth day and most people look at me and still assume I must do some sort of weight training but the switch cost me about 25 lbs in weight, of which I don't miss.

MiaMi · 07-17-2007, 02:12 PM

Yoga should compliment your weight routine. Yoga is about stretching and fluid movement. This is something that pro athletes have found to work wonders when used in combination with weights.

InnerAthlete · 07-17-2007, 07:21 PM

As an FYI only...

From a look in through the classical Yoga perspective it is not at all about stretching and fluid movement. Factually speaking none of the great yogis of the past did any asana at all. Asana was frowned upon as an ego pursuit and was not entertained, it was shunned.

Even a look at the Sutras indicates there isn't anything about yoga that remotely indicates stretching and movement. There's only one sutra that mentions asana at all and that sutra, depending on ones interpretation indicates one should be still, not move.

If one applys the ashtanga path of Patanjali the purpose of asana is to prepare the body for pranayama. Pranayama is to facilitate sense withdrawl or praatyahara. This alllows the practitioner to focus the awareness (Dharana) and so on.

**Nichole** · 07-18-2007, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InnerAthlete

As an FYI only...

From a look in through the classical Yoga perspective it is not at all about stretching and fluid movement. Factually speaking none of the great yogis of the past did any asana at all. Asana was frowned upon as an ego pursuit and was not entertained, it was shunned.

Even a look at the Sutras indicates there isn't anything about yoga that remotely indicates stretching and movement. There's only one sutra that mentions asana at all and that sutra, depending on ones interpretation indicates one should be still, not move.

If one applys the ashtanga path of Patanjali the purpose of asana is to prepare the body for pranayama. Pranayama is to facilitate sense withdrawl or praatyahara. This alllows the practitioner to focus the awareness (Dharana) and so on.

Word to the Mother.

yobabones · 08-08-2007, 03:06 PM

I would like to use yoga to build muscle and strength, and I would like to get some advice on how to incorporate yoga in with a gym workout schedule (i.e. there is always some part of my body that is sore from lifting weights, depending on what day it is. Should I do yoga that works sore body parts, or should I avoid those poses and let that part rest?).

Thanks!

BayAreaGuy · 08-09-2007, 01:24 AM

Just do what I do.

Warm ups and dynamic stretching (swinging arms and legs around)
Then the strength excersises (neck, abs, back, push ups, pull ups or curls) I do a ton of ab reps and 1 set for push ups and biceps.
Then I do upper body stretches and hold for 20-30 seconds.
Run for about 2 miles
Then I do yoga stretches for my midsection, back, and legs.

That's been working out great for me. I've always stretched after workouts before but just like 10 seconds and that comprehensive. Now I'm doing a lot more stretches for more body parts and for a lot longer. Recovery is better, I feel good, and I've been losing fat a little faster.

yogiforlife · 08-09-2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yobabones

I would like to use yoga to build muscle and strength, and I would like to get some advice on how to incorporate yoga in with a gym workout schedule (i.e. there is always some part of my body that is sore from lifting weights, depending on what day it is. Should I do yoga that works sore body parts, or should I avoid those poses and let that part rest?).

Thanks!

Sore body parts are exactly why I had to stop lifting weights in exchange for doing Yoga. Doing something as basic as down dog is hard if either your arms or shoulders are stiff and sore. Not to mention how difficult any or all of the twisting variations are if your back is tight.

yobabones · 08-09-2007, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yogiforlife

Sore body parts are exactly why I had to stop lifting weights in exchange for doing Yoga. Doing something as basic as down dog is hard if either your arms or shoulders are stiff and sore. Not to mention how difficult any or all of the twisting variations are if your back is tight.

In other words, you didn't end up finding a way to merge the two schedules together in such a way that your body could heal from the weight lifting while still being able to do yoga at least twice a week? I have to admit, that wasn't the answer I was hoping for lol... but I don't know if I would choose yoga over weight training. That is something I'm going to have to think about, as I was hoping to find a way to do both.

yogiforlife · 08-09-2007, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yobabones

In other words, you didn't end up finding a way to merge the two schedules together in such a way that your body could heal from the weight lifting while still being able to do yoga at least twice a week? I have to admit, that wasn't the answer I was hoping for lol... but I don't know if I would choose yoga over weight training. That is something I'm going to have to think about, as I was hoping to find a way to do both.

Well I'm sure there are people, even professional athletes who are able to merge the two but my goal was never to do Yoga twice a week. I might have been able to manage that in some way. For me it got to the point where I wanted to do Yoga more often. I wanted to see better results as well as enjoy it more. The only way I saw that to be possible was to stop weight training.

Hubert · 08-15-2007, 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yobabones

In other words, you didn't end up finding a way to merge the two schedules together in such a way that your body could heal from the weight lifting while still being able to do yoga at least twice a week? I have to admit, that wasn't the answer I was hoping for lol... but I don't know if I would choose yoga over weight training. That is something I'm going to have to think about, as I was hoping to find a way to do both.

I think I understand why you want to do weight training. But why do yoga ?

yobabones · 08-16-2007, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hubert

I think I understand why you want to do weight training. But why do yoga ?

Because years of weight training causes your muscles to tighten up and yoga can help loosen them. Because weight training tends to focus on certain muscles while leaving others weak due to the artificial nature of the movements, and yoga can help me strengthen those smaller muscles that don't get worked out in the gym. Because yoga is calming to me while weight training gets me "all worked up" and I like to have both calm and excitement in my life. Because weight training helps muscles lift heavy things for short periods of time, and yoga helps build stamina. Because I want the best of both words.

Just not if one world has a negative impact on the other.

ScottHughes · 09-06-2007, 07:16 PM

You can consider doing Yoga asanas before your weight-lifting routine. You want to get enough rest between weight-lifting sessions to recover, regardless of Yoga.

Aaron · 04-05-2008, 11:03 PM

I'm seriously considering adding yoga into my workouts and wouldn't mind hearing some thoughts on yoga for building strength.

My interests here are in gaining overall strength but most importantly, strengthening my joints.
I workout using bodyweight exercises (push ups and chin ups are the compound exercises that I use, after that it's all specialised stuff to isolate particular muscles), these are safer than using iron (and produce excellent results, I might add) but it seems I'm capable of injuring myself even by using push ups.

I'm all about functional strength, and so without something to help my joints my progress is going to be seriously hindered. Most of my body is in good condition but my elbows, wrists and knees are starting to suffer.
The small amount of yoga that I am aware of hardly touches these areas, so does anyone have any recommendations?

This I'm sure that you can help me with, but the larger question I'm not so sure about:
Can yoga be used to build great strength in muscles?
I'm a labourer and the nature of my job demands more and more strength. Can yoga help me with this too?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

InnerAthlete · 04-06-2008, 01:19 PM

This is a resurrection of an old thread so I'm not sure who or how many will jump in here Aaron.

The answer to your question is "no" when you are asking about muscular strength.
When you are asking about muscular strength the requirement is increasing load. Yoga does not work with increasing load (much).

However if you are talking about pranic strength, that which comes from the life force in the body and the human being's ability to channel and direct it, then yoga could develop such a thing. The caveat is that most people are not willing or able to have a robust commitment and therefore unable or unwilling to have a robust practice. It is not simply doing some poses that would deliver such a thing to the aspirant.

Aaron · 04-07-2008, 02:14 AM

Have you got any thoughts on how I could go about stretching (okay... strengthening) my joints?
Or since I have so little knowledge of what yoga physically does, a more blunt question would be "my elbow hurts, and my joints tend to be my weakest points, how can I fix this?" (most injuries caused by over training, slightly too much intensity and too often).
Now, I know a lot of people with banged up bodies who sing the praises of yoga for reducing or even eliminating similar injuries. Surely it can help?

Also, sorry about bringing back such an old thread, I intended it to be a new topic but I'm guessing a moderator moved my post thinking it would be more appropriate here? That or I managed to accidentally post it in an appropriate thread? Hmmm...

07-04-2007, 06:14 AM	#2
Hubert saptashata Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Romania Posts: 739	Useful to what ? Physical strenght is good, it enables work, gives self confidence, provides good health. I am sure hatha yoga practice is able to give the necessary strenght for the spiritual aspirant. If you are an athlete, than your strenght training should be designed for the specific goals you follow, and while yoga is good for balancing your body, it will not be able to fully support a very physical lifestyle. It is not it's purpose, yoga practice usually is "designed" with other goals in mind. In fact, there are recomendations in the sutras against heavy exertion. Still there are very muscular yogis. Yoga does not change you, if you are athletic you won't become skinny, if you are skinny you won't become athletic, if you are big boned, you won't become a skeleton. It just lets the body blossom to what it has meant to be. Last edited by Hubert; 07-04-2007 at 06:14 AM. Reason: grammar

07-04-2007, 08:04 AM	#4
sarahy Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Kenya Posts: 53	i also practice ashtanga and recently took about 3 weeks off (due to work-related travel). however, i picked up abdominal workouts daily. i also found that trying to do abs and ashtanga in the same day/same time didn't mesh very well. from the ashtanga teachers i've practiced with, they say that you will develop/maintain the muscle just by doing the practice (daily i assume). but my practice isn't really complete because i don't have the strength to do some of the lifts so i'm now trying to integrate abs and arms again into my daily practice. what i've found is that if i do abs in the am then the primary sequence in the pm that seems to work- essentially separating the practices by time and space. because you're right, one can/does interfere with the other. __________________ sarah

07-04-2007, 08:03 PM	#7
InnerAthlete Mostly Good Egg Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Certified Purna Yoga Teacher - Seattle, WA Posts: 1,021	Hello Blaze, interetsing path this thread has taken eh? In a full, general yoga practice {sidebar: please know my definition of yoga is not synonymous with asana but for this thread we are clearly talking about asana} I do not see a need for hindu squats and pushups. The question I would want answered would be: "What do these two things do for you biomechanically/anatomically and how/why was that not addressed in the asana practice?" The first "event" is simple hip flexion and extension. The second "event" is quite similar to the action moving from Adho Mukha Svanasana to Urdhva Mukha Svanasana via Phalankasana or Chaturanga Dandasana. So these things might be great for combat preparation but seem, based on the above, unecessary in the presence of a robust asana (yoga ) practice. As far as integrating Asana (yoga) with other things I don't find an issue there. I do go to the gym. When I go I usually row and I do so with a certain posture and form and breath so I am squeezing as much "yoga" out of it as I can. The rest of what I do is in integrity with my practice: some aided twisting, some hanging, some backbends. The action typically not built in to asana practice is this latisimuss dorsi rowing action or door-handle pullling. And those of us with wall rope systems in our studios are even finding ways to add that to asana. I don't believe there's a way this is incorporated into many of the other practices. If you find weight training to inhibit your yoga practice it may simply be how you are weight training. Though I frankly do not advocate it since weight training seems to strengthen while shortening. If it is running you want to do then I advise really working hip adduction, abduction, internal and external rotation in the asana practice for proper balance of the body. I do hope we will all effort to keep in mind that every asana practice is not OUR asana practice. For this very reason I use care with statments that might be perceived as absolutes. Just as we are ALL not sitting around in a cave neither are we all using a towel to mop up the sweat from our brow. __________________ ---- http://www.yogamojodojo.com http://www.teamyoga.com http://www.innerathlete.net/forum

07-05-2007, 02:07 PM	#9
InnerAthlete Mostly Good Egg Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Certified Purna Yoga Teacher - Seattle, WA Posts: 1,021	Blaze, more specifically it depends on my body that day. I rarely do what others are doing. But I think that's been the case for decades and I'm simply biding my time until the Mother Ship comes and it's time for me to go back. After rowing I typically hang in Adho Mukha with a yoga belt at the top of the femurs. You know what...I tried writing all this out. PM me if you want me to go into it so I don't take up vital space here on the board with drivvle. __________________ ---- http://www.yogamojodojo.com http://www.teamyoga.com http://www.innerathlete.net/forum

07-17-2007, 02:12 PM	#12
MiaMi Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3	Yoga should compliment your weight routine. Yoga is about stretching and fluid movement. This is something that pro athletes have found to work wonders when used in combination with weights. Last edited by Nichole; 07-18-2007 at 01:07 AM. Reason: removed advertising link

07-04-2007, 03:03 AM	#1
Blazeyoga Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 11	I am 29 yr old fairly fit guy who has recently taken up Ashtanga Yoga. Previous to doing Yoga i lifted weights three times a week (not huge amounts of weight I'm a fairly slim athletic build) I find now that the weight lifting interferes with my Yoga as my muscles haven't recovered enough so i stopped lifting a few weeks ago. Does anyone else have this problem? What i have begun to do instead is to do some simple body weight exercises a few times a week after my Yoga practice to maintain strength. A guy i know ( not a Yoga guy) recommended Hindu Squats and Hindu Push ups. (i think there real names are Dands and Betheks or something like that) They are conditioning exercises Indian Wrestlers used u can find descriptions of them on google. The push ups are basically a version of two yoga moves. Has anyone done these regularly on top of their yoga practice? I'm wondering how useful they are. thanks - Blaze

07-04-2007, 06:29 AM	#3
Blazeyoga Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 11	Maybe my post was a bit unclear. I am aware of the benefits / limitations of Yoga in terms of gaining strength. I was posting about how people integrate / balance doing Yoga AND other strength training activities. As i have found weights and yoga hard to balance and was curious as to how other people balanced the two activities. In terms of usefulness I was referring to the usefulness of Hindu Squats / Pushups as a general strength conditioner for the body not for Yoga specifically. The reason why i posted about those two body conditioning exercises specifically is that they both have roots in Yoga movements and I thought there might be a fair few Yoga people who threw them in before or after their Yoga practice. As to why - just for general body conditioning and strength not for any specific sport. Rereading my original post it is kind of unclear i hope that makes what i was asking a bit more clear! and thanks for replying

07-04-2007, 03:39 PM	#6
xela Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 342	Yoga will keep you lean and cut, but it will not make you big. I find that all other activities affect my yoga in a negative way, so I have stopped. I also just started doing ashtanga (was doing vinyasa flow) and its a very vigorous workout, so you won't have to worry about muscle loss...that's for sure.

07-05-2007, 07:54 AM	#8
Blazeyoga Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 11	Some great and thought provoking responses. My weight training was the same as your's Hubert - i found it interfered too much. To be honest I've never really enjoyed lifting weights anyway. I understand Yoga will not give me big muscles, I'm not after big muscles. But i enjoy having at least a base level of functional strength. After reading Innerathlete's post I think what I am concerned with is the parts of my body a rigorous Yoga practice will not work out. So i can use some supplementary exercises. I'm interested in what specifically you add to your routine Innerathlete. Just some hangs, Pull ups and rows? Just to be clear i know Asana's are only a small part of Yoga, i very much enjoy the meditative aspects of the system and find the Philosophy fascinating. I am an Aboriginal person from Australia and we have our own system of spirituality and i'm finding many areas of congruence between the two systems.

07-06-2007, 07:18 AM	#10
ColinM Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 1	This may well be heresy, but I haven't practiced yoga in over 20 years and am only now getting back into it. What I have been doing for the past decade is mixing a lot of different exercises--aerobic, weights, calisthenics, martial arts--and you're absolutely right, that if you do heavy weights one day, running the next day sucks. If you run a lot one day, stretching out the next day sucks. The only way the guys I trained with found to make it all work together was to do it all in one workout--so my recommendation to you is to try a bit of yoga, then a set of weights, then more yoga, then more weights. You may end up doing less yoga than you had planned, and less weight training, and you may not get as much of the overall health benefit from the yoga or as much bodybuilding from the weights, but I think you'll find that overall, you will feel better, and look better, and the day after a workout will really suck. Do not do this every day.

07-12-2007, 12:25 AM	#11
yogiforlife Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 71	I can definately relate to your experience Blaze, except that when I was weight training, I loved it, was addicted to it. I started doing Yoga and found the lifting was interfering with the Yoga. I decided to take a break from the weights and I've never gone back to them. I too am fairly slender, 5'10, 160 lbs. I do Yoga about 5 times a week, hour to hour and a half at a time and jog about every fifth day and most people look at me and still assume I must do some sort of weight training but the switch cost me about 25 lbs in weight, of which I don't miss.

07-17-2007, 07:21 PM	#13
InnerAthlete Mostly Good Egg Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Certified Purna Yoga Teacher - Seattle, WA Posts: 1,021	As an FYI only... From a look in through the classical Yoga perspective it is not at all about stretching and fluid movement. Factually speaking none of the great yogis of the past did any asana at all. Asana was frowned upon as an ego pursuit and was not entertained, it was shunned. Even a look at the Sutras indicates there isn't anything about yoga that remotely indicates stretching and movement. There's only one sutra that mentions asana at all and that sutra, depending on ones interpretation indicates one should be still, not move. If one applys the ashtanga path of Patanjali the purpose of asana is to prepare the body for pranayama. Pranayama is to facilitate sense withdrawl or praatyahara. This alllows the practitioner to focus the awareness (Dharana) and so on. __________________ ---- http://www.yogamojodojo.com http://www.teamyoga.com http://www.innerathlete.net/forum

08-08-2007, 03:06 PM	#15
yobabones Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 4	I would like to use yoga to build muscle and strength, and I would like to get some advice on how to incorporate yoga in with a gym workout schedule (i.e. there is always some part of my body that is sore from lifting weights, depending on what day it is. Should I do yoga that works sore body parts, or should I avoid those poses and let that part rest?). Thanks! __________________ Compare The Brands

08-09-2007, 01:24 AM	#16
BayAreaGuy Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: California Posts: 7	Just do what I do. Warm ups and dynamic stretching (swinging arms and legs around) Then the strength excersises (neck, abs, back, push ups, pull ups or curls) I do a ton of ab reps and 1 set for push ups and biceps. Then I do upper body stretches and hold for 20-30 seconds. Run for about 2 miles Then I do yoga stretches for my midsection, back, and legs. That's been working out great for me. I've always stretched after workouts before but just like 10 seconds and that comprehensive. Now I'm doing a lot more stretches for more body parts and for a lot longer. Recovery is better, I feel good, and I've been losing fat a little faster.

09-06-2007, 07:16 PM	#22
ScottHughes Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA Posts: 22	You can consider doing Yoga asanas before your weight-lifting routine. You want to get enough rest between weight-lifting sessions to recover, regardless of Yoga. __________________ "Only the descent into the hell of self-knowledge can pave the way to godliness." -Immanuel Kant

04-05-2008, 11:03 PM	#23
Aaron Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 28	I'm seriously considering adding yoga into my workouts and wouldn't mind hearing some thoughts on yoga for building strength. My interests here are in gaining overall strength but most importantly, strengthening my joints. I workout using bodyweight exercises (push ups and chin ups are the compound exercises that I use, after that it's all specialised stuff to isolate particular muscles), these are safer than using iron (and produce excellent results, I might add) but it seems I'm capable of injuring myself even by using push ups. I'm all about functional strength, and so without something to help my joints my progress is going to be seriously hindered. Most of my body is in good condition but my elbows, wrists and knees are starting to suffer. The small amount of yoga that I am aware of hardly touches these areas, so does anyone have any recommendations? This I'm sure that you can help me with, but the larger question I'm not so sure about: Can yoga be used to build great strength in muscles? I'm a labourer and the nature of my job demands more and more strength. Can yoga help me with this too? Thanks in advance for any advice.

04-06-2008, 01:19 PM	#24
InnerAthlete Mostly Good Egg Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Certified Purna Yoga Teacher - Seattle, WA Posts: 1,021	This is a resurrection of an old thread so I'm not sure who or how many will jump in here Aaron. The answer to your question is "no" when you are asking about muscular strength. When you are asking about muscular strength the requirement is increasing load. Yoga does not work with increasing load (much). However if you are talking about pranic strength, that which comes from the life force in the body and the human being's ability to channel and direct it, then yoga could develop such a thing. The caveat is that most people are not willing or able to have a robust commitment and therefore unable or unwilling to have a robust practice. It is not simply doing some poses that would deliver such a thing to the aspirant. __________________ ---- http://www.yogamojodojo.com http://www.teamyoga.com http://www.innerathlete.net/forum

04-07-2008, 02:14 AM	#25
Aaron Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 28	Have you got any thoughts on how I could go about stretching (okay... strengthening) my joints? Or since I have so little knowledge of what yoga physically does, a more blunt question would be "my elbow hurts, and my joints tend to be my weakest points, how can I fix this?" (most injuries caused by over training, slightly too much intensity and too often). Now, I know a lot of people with banged up bodies who sing the praises of yoga for reducing or even eliminating similar injuries. Surely it can help? Also, sorry about bringing back such an old thread, I intended it to be a new topic but I'm guessing a moderator moved my post thinking it would be more appropriate here? That or I managed to accidentally post it in an appropriate thread? Hmmm...