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| I am new to Iyengar yoga, having begun classes in North West London. I only attend about 1 class a week because it takes my body about 3 days to recover from a 1 and 1/2 hour class. After the class I am ravenous and almost shaking and usually need a huge sleep. Is this normal? I am super fit so am quite surprised at how deceptively hard yoga is! I am seriously considering attending an Iyengar yoga retreat in India in summer if there is such a thing. Does anyone have any tips or suggestions?  |
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| Welcome Jessica. Iyengar is a great way to go as a beginner. What you are experiencing I find quite strange. I'm not super fit but a stiff overweight old geyser and hardly break a sweat during practice. And, quite frankly, I never had any sore muscles or other pains after class. Sometimes on my way home I can not drive very well cause I'm too relaxed.
Are you maybe working too hard on your poses? I just pinched a nerve in my foot because I overdid some poses, so you see nothing good comes from trying too hard! Don't stress yourself! Nobody's expecting you to be perfect, there is no perfection in yoga. Go as far as you comfortably can and then stay there. Rather try to enjoy the stretches and twists, mind your breathing, stay calm and don't fight. Stop as soon as any shaking occurs. If you're trying too hard or too long, the integrity of the pose is already corrupted and you'll not benefit from it.
Yoga is no competition, no sport, no aerobics! It's no shame to come out of asana earlier than other students. You don't know if they're maybe practicing since a few years already.
This may sound old but is right nevertheless: Go with the flow!
Usually Iyengar teachers are supposed to tell you these things and watch out for shaky people. Did your teacher knew that you are new to this? At this time of the year classes are usually overcrowded and teachers don't have time to cater for everybody.
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| It's tough isn't it? I too was terribly surprised after my first yoga encounter--and felt just as you do. I'm only 18 months removed from my first yoga session but I'll say you're normal. And you know what? For me at least, it doesn't get easier really because no matter what point you're at, you can keep going--finding deeper movement--going to your edge--I'm still sore and exhausted--and I like that--I'm in control. Before beginning yoga I jogged and lifted weights. Since yoga, which is all I do, I've never felt or looked better and now have 100% use of my physical faculties where before, weight and running injuries often restricted me. Welocme to the forum and the yoga universe lady--it's a wild ride! |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Welcome Jessica! I am always happy to find another Iyengar student here:-) Don't let afroyogi fool you by his remark about beginners, Iyengar is a complete path of yoga which can keep you challenged and focused for many, many years. I have heard some of the very best teachers are in London (I assume you mean England, not Ontario, Canada  ) and my teaher is originally from England.
So let me ask you about your class. Are you starting at the first level that is offered? Usually with Iyengar classes you don't go into higher level classes no matter what your experience or fitness level. Do you spend a lot of time doing standing poses (poses where you are standing on your feet as opposed to sitting or upside down)? Are you "competing" with others in the class or, even more important, are you competing with yourself and trying hard to be really really good, because after all, you are very fit? Are you breathing while in the poses? Are you eating enough during the day well before class? You aren't on a January diet, are you? Be sure to have a good meal during the day if you are taking class at night and hydrate appropriately. No need to slam water like you are doing a marathon in the desert, but do have enough to drink and be sure to do that well before class also.
My experiences are that sometimes I am very hungry after class, but not always. The shakieness can, as afroyogi said, be from working in a "hard" or too intense manner and will go in time as you learn to work the pose from inside rather that from the external muscles - well, I must qualify that. I do get shakey from some classes because some classes are big challenges for me! Yes, as Bruce said, there is always another level, another interesting place to visit in yoga The sleep thing, I didn't get until my second or third term. I would come home feeling wonderful and just pass out on the couch, which I never normally do. I took it as a sign that I needed the sleep and just went with it.
As for retreats, there are certain to be some in India and very likely other exciting places. If you are at an Iyengar studio they can help you find one that would work well for you. I am guessing that if you are already thinking of retreats, the bug has bitten you well! Come back any time with questions or just to let us know how you are doing  |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | Well, now, I am not at all surprised to hear that an Iyengar class can make you
sore. It really depends on what your teacher is emphasizing. Long holds in even
simple postures can be very tiring. I practice a couple of hours a day, and my teacher
still manages to structure classes that can leave me a bit sore the next day. I won't
go into details, but no matter what your level is, it can be pushed to the point that
you work the muscles to their limits.
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| jkherron:
1. If you are superfit, you should not feel sore in 1.5 hour workout.
2. If you feel continuously sore for 3 days after class, you should reduce the workout to the point of soreness which is removed each day after the night.
3. And, if you feel sleepy, you must sleep, do not avoid it. When you build up, you may not feel sleepy if you do the same amount of workout. If you increase the workout further, you might again feel sleepy.
That has nothing to do with Iyengar Yoga. It is a normal physiological activity.
All the above should happen in Any Kind of Yoga where you are working out, and NOT only Iyengar Yoga.
Neel Kulkarni
www.authenticyoga.org |
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| tourist - 2005-01-19 1:42 AM Don't let afroyogi fool you by his remark about beginners, Iyengar is a complete path of yoga which can keep you challenged and focused for many, many years.
Yeah, right! Blame this poor german guy! I didn't say Iyengar is beginner's yoga but only that it's a fantabulous choice for a beginner.
BG, even if some poses are a bit more strenous, especially if you hold them for extended time, I don't think that one should go sour for 3 (in words: three!) days. We're talking about starter yoga class here. Nobody is supposed or forced to hold an asana longer than it is good for him/her. Where's the benefit in that anyway?
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| I've been practising yoga for about 10 months now. I've found that sessions focussed on stamina and conditioning do leave the worked muscle groups aching. However, I've not found that it lasts more than a day and quickly dissipates if I do a session focussed on flexibility and stress release that following day.
I'd tend to agree with the other folk here who suspect that you may be trying a little too hard. Yoga should never hurt when practised. If it does or if your breathing is much restricted, then you are probably going too far into the poses for you or are holding them too long for you at this stage of your practise.
Yoga is not an exact activity. Differences in body shape and fitness mean that everyone's practise is unique. If you find some poses simply agonising, ask your tutor for advice on correcting your posture or for a variation of pose that is more within your range. For example, due to my weight issue, I find the seated spinal twist involving wrapping one's leg's around (similar to http://www.yogadancer.com/Pages/Bharadvajasana.shtml#B2 but with both feet being on the ground) extremly difficult as my stomach simply gets in the way. Instead, I use a version that has my legs stretched out in front of me.
Regards,
Fiona |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Sorry Stefan - I get a little defensive about Iyengar being for beginners and then you can to Ashtanga like the "big kids"  Certainly everyone has different yoga paths and I am so lucky tohave found mine right from the start 
Once or twice I have had classes that made me sore for 3 days or so. But it is the exception. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
Location: A Blue State | tourist - 2005-01-19 9:57 AM
Sorry Stefan - I get a little defensive about Iyengar being for beginners and then you can to Ashtanga like the "big kids" Certainly everyone has different yoga paths and I am so lucky tohave found mine right from the start
Once or twice I have had classes that made me sore for 3 days or so. But it is the exception.
I'm with you Tourist. There's beginning level Iyengar, and then there are levels 3 and higher.
In Ashtanga, stamina and strength are needed, as well as an awareness of alignment in
all those vinyasas, but there really aren't any "advanced" poses in the primary series,
and the intermediate (or second) series only includes two or three....
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| Hi-ho,
I'm new here, but in my usual sytle I'll just burst forth like a little spring onion and pop in my two cents!
I had the same experience when I started yoga around 8 months ago- I couldn't cope with more than 1-2 classes per week, because I ached and felt sore for days after a 1.5 hour class.
I then followed the advice on a more experienced friend, who suggested I might find that pushing myself to do more allowed me to break past that achey threshold.
She was right!
I started doing 3 classes a week, and after the second week, all the achiness was gone. I'm now doing 5-6 classes a week, and don't think I'll ever look back. Now I see any aches or pains I experience (which are still there, but to a lesser degree), as real indicators that I've affected deep change in my body. To be honest, I get a bit excited when I feel achy now!
Good luck with it all, and greetings to everyone! |
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| Yes, funnily enough, I find the same thing. If I feel like road-kill the day after class, doing a flexibility-oriented routine seems to help more than anything.
Fee |
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New to Iyengar Yoga
