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| I've been doing an 1hr vinyasa yoga video(stott body and soul 3) for the past month.
Is it wrong to do a calisthenics workout right after a vinyasa yoga workout? |
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| no knowledgable yogis here then? |
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| *The question must have scared them all...*
Calistenics and yoga dont mix? no?
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| Whether they mix or not is questionable. Why do you feel it necessary to do an additional hour of calisthenics after a vinyasa practice? Perhaps you're ready to move up to the primary Ashtanga series if the video you are doing is insufficient. I recommend David Swenson's Primary Series or Richard Freeman's Primary Series. But be forewarned, these are serious practices and you must know how to modify what you can't do. |
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| Thanks TaoOFYoga for the reply.
I pretty much used to doing calisthenics with any and every workout,as body weight exercises strenghtens the legs,and cruches works the abs while pushups is an excellent exercise for the upper body.
To answer your question- My trying to combine these two different workouts( I do yoga basically for the holistic and mental benefits) is to save time,and not having to workout everyday,whether it be yoga or calithenics.
Edited by Revampo 2004-07-13 2:18 PM
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| If you want to save time, I stand by my recommendation of the Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series and the DVDs I recommended. You won't need to do anything else to strengthen and stretch just about every muscle and tendon and gain the holistic benefits of yoga then that. Also, unless you are already a gifted asana practitioner, there is a lot of room to grow in the practice since it is so challanging, which means if you do it over time consistently, you will be able to notice your progress very concretely. |
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| Thanks once again.I'd try and purchase one of those primary series videos.
I've been practicing yoga for about 2 years now,but always did cardio or calisthenics.I'll be overjoyed if its really possible to just do only yoga and enjoy all those (fitness,holistic)benefits.
My problem though,is I really do feel the weakness of my knee(pain) after every vinyasa session.I suspect the jumping back/front to being the culprit.However, the same knees feels better if I do calisthenics/pilates the next day.Right now,I really cant imagine any of the asanas in asthanga that builds or re-builds the muscles around the poor knees and legs.
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| I don't think there's anything wrong with doing a little cardio in combination with yoga practice. The Ashtanga practice is pretty intense and will work you out cardiovascularly though. However, it will not be full blown intense cardio throughout, so if you feel the need to supplement with some cardio, that's fine.
With regard to the specific DVDs, it's worth noting that the Swenson primary series DVD has the full 10 sun salutations (which is what's going to get your heart going) at the start of the practice, and he moves at a slightly faster pace. Richard Freeman's, if memory serves, only has 6 sun salutes and moves at a slightly slower pace.
Finally, regarding knees, many yoga postures help the alignment of the knees and strengthen all the muscles that insert around the joint. Also, it's not necessary to do the full jumping if it injures you. It's very acceptable (and preferred if you have injuries) to step your feet back in the practice. Over time, your knees will gain strength. Additionally, there is a great practice in Coulter's Anatomy of Hatha Yoga that I'll share here without permission (please note the capital letters, emphasis mine, which states this practice is only appropriate for people without serious internal knee injuries. If you DO have serious internal knee injuries, you should be working with a doctor and physical therapist):
From “Anatomy of Hatha Yoga” pg 311 with some technical jargon removed and some other terms defined (the series of postures is illustrated on 414-417):
What can be done to prevent and resolve minor knee problems? The answer is simple - regular and prolonged muscular tension applied to the extended knee joint (straight leg). Under those circumstances, all parts of the joint fit together perfectly, allowing it to withstand intense isometric contractions of the surrounding muscles. If you have KNEE PAIN WHICH IS NOT DUE TO SERIOUS INTERNAL INJURIES, the following series of standing postures can be highly therapeutic.
Keep the feet parallel and as widely separated as possible while holding the thigh muscles firmly, especially the adductors. Extending the knees fully is fine provided you do not hyperextend them beyond 180 degrees, and provided you hold tension in the hamstrings as well as the quads. Holding a firm base with isometric tension is the whole point of this series. Twist right, then left, then face front; in each direction bend forward and backward, holding each position for 2-7 breaths (about 5-30 seconds). That's six combinations. Hold the arms in various positions - elbows grasped behind the back, arms and forearms stretched laterally (out to the side like in warrior), hands in prayer behind the back, arms overhead with forearms behind head catching elbows, hands interlocked behind the back and pulled to the rear, arms in cow face position first one way and then the other, and hands on the hips. That makes six times eight which is forty eight poses. Remember the point is to maintain isometric contraction of ALL the muscles in the upper and lower leg during the postures.
Start modestly, doing only five minutes a day, and then gradually increase your commitment. If you spend fifteen minutes a day on this series, you cannot help but strengthen the muscles that insert around the knee and place a healthy stress on the capsule of the knee joint, as well as on its associated tendons and ligaments. And this works wonders. After a few months of regular practice, the connective tissues of the joint will have gained strength and integrity, to withstand not only reasonable stresses on the knees in flexed positions, but also the stresses of sitting in cross-legged meditative postures.
Hope this helps!
j
Edited by TaoOfYoga 2004-07-14 11:27 AM
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| your replies have been fantastic so far.I appreciate.
About the knee exercise,it'll be much safer with visuals I think.In the mean time I'll just continue doing the pilates flexband workout for rebalacing muscles e.t.c. |
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| Visuals are available in the book I referenced which is available through amazon.com (or you could browse it in a local bookstore. It's actually a very basic practice.
Good luck! |
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| Been searching for this...
Is this the DVD you referred to:
http://www.theyogashop.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=28
I currently do sun salutations of about 6 sets of pushup,upward/downward dogs,jumping back/forwards,Tadansanas.10 thunderbolts,6 nose to knees,6 warriors,triangle,twist,shoulderstand,plough. All these done in flowing/fast way from the STOTT BODY and SOUL level3 video with PJ O'clair,51mins.
Will David Swenson's be better than this video I use? |
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| Will it be 'better'? It will certainly be more challenging. I haven't done the practice you are referring to, so I couldn't accurately say. However, the Primary Series is at least a 90 minute practice and will include a much greater variety of asanas then what you described. The site you linked to is a uk site. If you're in the US, try www.ashtanga.net for purchasing.
j |
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| Can one skip downward dog pose in a vinyansa or yoga as a whole-I've had problems with this particular pose for 3 years.Teacher says to leave it out if its giving me neck strain,shortening the trapezious muscles.
I probably have to give up yoga and concentrate on pilates which seems to help the neck better.Perhaps I should take a year or two off paractice.I'll miss yoga though.
Any advice? would be grateful. |
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| Revampo
I wouldn't skip downdog altogether. Maybe substitute child's pose for it as it get bothersome during your practice. Do lots of neckrolls and stretches before you practice to loosen up the traps.
As for your calisthenics workout...Not knowing what it is, it is hard to comment but consider giving it a certain element that your yoga practice doesn't have. For example, I sometimes do a workout of 100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats for time. Meaning I go as fast as possible and try to finish with the best time I can. I break my sets according to how many I can do but also have to pace myself so I minimize the amount of rest I need. You will find this to be an awesome workout that can be completed in a relatively short period of time. Also consider other variations like doing 5 pullups, 10 pushup and 15 squats on the minute for as many minutes as you can. That is when the second hand hits 12 you go as fast as you can so you can rest until it hits 12 again, then go. Seeing how many rounds you can keep up the pace. 10 minutes of that is a killer workout. These types of workouts compliment your yoga practice and will tax your body in an entirely different way (anaerobic conditioning) so that it is not duplicative.
To avoid overtraining and boredom, find workouts that work different systems than your yoga practice (generally that is anaerobic exercise). Keep them short and intense. Yoga classes last 60-90 min, so you don't want to spend a lot of time on top of that doing more working out. Find ways to pack the most work into the least amount of time, e.g. sprints. Check out www.crossfit.com
Hope this helps.
Edited by YogaGuy 2004-09-23 1:55 PM
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| Greetings all. New here and nice to have found this group.
I was a gym rat for like 15-years on and off. Gave them up pretty much completely after starting a vigorous practice, about six times a week.
I've never been tighter, stronger or more flexible and I haven't lifted a weight in months.
I will say that swimming in conjunction with yoga really worked for me (although I haven't been in the pool for some time) and there was even a brief article about the subject in Yoga journal a couple of months ago.
It would seem to me, and this is based purely on my own personal experience, that doing a vigorous vinyasa or Ashtanga followed by calisthenics would be redundant.
On the other hand what I'm learning in short order is that out here in cyber space, one persons vinyasa is NOT necessarily as vigorous as anothers. I've met people (video yogis I'm guessing -- no negative connotation intended) who either don't know what Sun Salutations are or have a completely different concept of what they are.
Not saying one is better than the other merely that some times questions can be hard to answer because not everybody on-line is working from the same base of knowledge or experience. |
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| I don't think Revampo understands the difference between live chat and a message board.
Step one for learning patience. 
tbittick is also correct in that swimming is a very complimentary activity to yoga. It's the one sport that actually elongates vs. contracts the body. I also agree that doing calisthenics is redundant, given the weight bearing and aerobic activity that Ashtanga offers.
I also agree that one man's vinyasa is another man's stretch. I move through my Ashtanga practice watching my breath absolutely. The moment it becomes ragged, short, or my tongue presses against my upper pallate, lips clench or I think, "Oh, God" I slow down immediately. It's all about the breath, after all. I can whip through anything, using momentum to carry me through, but it takes physical strength and mental stamina to focus focus focus enough to be in the moment where the breath is happening. Speed doesn't offer as much as a slow, evenly moving practice where the breath is the count. My practice takes longer, but I find I gain so much more from it.
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| I love what YogaDancer says about speed and breath. My first couple yoga classes I was working so hard just to get poses I wasn't even thinking about breath. It took a while, and a switch of teachers, to learn I had it backward... that you should NEVER sacrifice the breath for the pose...
That little piece of advice was what really started my practice.
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Vinyasa workout
