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| I am new to Ashtanga and practicing a few days a week. Is it a bad idea for me to also strength train with weights? If I just do Ashtanga and three days of cardio kickboxing is that a better mix for me physically and fitness-wise? |
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| a lot of it depends upon your fitness goals and your personal preferences.
astanga yoga, or basicly any form of yoga, will ultimately provide everything that one needs for fitness. practicing 6 days a week is generally recommended, if they 'only workout you want' is yoga.
but, there are people who want to look more muscular in a western sense. it's a good idea, then, to take on western modalities of fitness-such as weights, pilates, kick boxing, running, or whatever else to get the 'look' that you want.
and then, there are people like me. I love to move. So, i swim, i run, i ride my bike. i lift weights. i go hiking, kayaking and canoeing. I like to go dancing when i can--i consider all of this stuff 'fun' and not 'exercise' or 'a workout.' So, for me, it's yoga every day and then something else or two every day--and it's a joy.
if yoga or kick boxing or weights are simply workouts for you, that is, if your only motivation is for fitness, then just doing one or two will be fine. If you lift weights or do yoga or do kickboxing because you enjoy them and find them fun, then there's no reason that you can't mix them in. in the middle of this, if you have a certain 'look' you want (for example, the way rodney yee looks), then you may need to lift weights to get that look. |
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| I love yoga and other forms of fitness, I'm just strapped for time with a job, college classes, a husband, kids, and pets.
The actual reason I asked this question, I believe, is that I've heard three days of weight lifting with four days of Ashtanga can be taxing on the body. I am worried about ending up injured if I do the wrong combination of exercise. What do you think? |
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| My advice is to listen to your body and make sure you are honoring it by giving it enough fuel and rest. Practicing yoga helps make you aware of your body and its needs. As long as you stay mindful in your Ashtanga practice AND weightlifting then you'll avoid injury. |
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| well, i come from a school of thought regarding lifting that takes it down to functional training for 30 minutes once or twice a week only--so already i'd say you're overtraining if you lift weights more than once or twice a week--three times tops. But then, you're probably not doing the sort of weight training that i like to do--which is large muscle groups, high weight, and low rep training.
But, if you're doing a split routine training such as arms and legs one day, chest and back another day, and then taking a day off between and repeating the split--then it's not that big of a deal. redundant and unnecessary, but if you're doing low weight and high or medium reps in a split like this, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to do three days of astanga.
also, you may find that you want to do two days of astanga in a class setting and one day mysore so that you can go your own pace and back off as much as you feel you need to. The body does need a restorative day--no matter what--so a good idea is to either get rid of one of your weight days or take one of your yoga days as a restorative yoga class (try anusara or classical yoga). |
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| Thanks for all your help!!
I lift for an hour three days a week using 10-15 lb dumbbells (arms, chest, legs). I'm going to add kickboxing on those three days, also. I am doing home practice with Ashtanga an hour a day four days a week. I'd like to add a class at some point but the classes are all the way in Tampa. That's a 50 minute drive to and from where I live (near Sarasota). There are NO Ashtanga classes any closer. I've looked. I'm kind of stuck with home practice most of the time.
Any other suggestions? |
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| sure. if there aren't astanga classes in your area, find another class to take one day a week that would be your restorative class. Another option, if there aren't classes, is to find a teacher and give yourself the gift of an occassional private lesson.
here is a list of teachers from the Yoga Alliance web site--their name, number, and style. They're in sarasota florida:
Harmony Ananda
Multi Style, 500 hr Registered
Telephone: 9419210074
Email: Harmonyiam@aol.com
web address: harmonyananda.com
Victoria Angela
Hatha, 200 hr registered
Telephone: 941-330-1241
Email: victorysong@hotmail.com
Luraline Aslanian
Kripalu, 200
Telephone: 9413660223
Email: lurline3@yahoo.com
Lynn Burgess
Hatha, 500
Telephone: 941-929-9878
Email: lynnburgess@comcast.net
Susan Clare
MultiStyle, 500
Telephone: 941-927-6762
Email: SueClare@msn.com
Cathrine Daily
Hatha 200
Telephone: 941-779-0945
Email: cathydaley@aol.com
there are many others. I suggest that you go to yogaalliance.com and click on their registry to find a registered teachre in your area. Even if you don't find an astanga teacher, there are iyengar, kripalu, and a myriad of other individuals in your area who teach yoga. Perhaps you could do your astanga at home and one class a week with one of these folks. I got three pages of listings for Sarasota, FL. |
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| Thank you so much for that list. Actually, I know Harmony Ananda. A friend of mine is good friends with her. She's a great teacher. She used to teach on the island four miles from where I live.
The studio I go to is Stillpoint Yoga (www.stillpointyoga.com) and is near Busch Gardens in Tampa. If anyone else reading this lives in the Tampa area I strongly recommend this studio and the teachers, particularly Jim Cooper. |
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| I used to run a lot, but gradually that got phased out, and now I feel that ashtanga covers all my bases as long as I practice often. |
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| I agree. My goal now is to practice Ashtanga enough that I can eliminate anything else.
The only ashtanga class in my area is an hour's drive away and at a time that is not convenient for me. Do I have to take a class or are books and DVDs enough to launch a successful practice? |
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| if you know the basics of asana, then it should be enough to have a book or DVD. I like Beryl Bender Birch's materials on the matter. |
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| Hi I noticed you were practicing Ashtanga Yoga in Sarasota, FL. Where do you practice? Have you tried the Power Vinyasa Yoga class at Rosemary Court Yoga? Venessa Hernandez is the instructor and she has a background in Ashtanga. She teaches Power on Tues. and Thurs. at 5:30 and Candlelight Vinyasa on Tues. at 7pm. Check out the full list of classes at www.rosemarycourt.com. |
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| I just came across this resuscitated thread by accident. I didn't know that Rosemary Court had a Power Yoga class. Right now, I pretty much practice at home and I admit I've gotten away from yoga in the busy-ness of my life. I'm sitting here thinking of how to reintegrate it back in.
Do you take that class? |
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| You know...that is so weird that you put that on here this week!!! It's like an answered prayer!
I used to go to Rosemary Court when I was part of an organic produce co-op (Green Door Organics). There's a beautiful and very old cemetery across the street I love to explore. That is such a neat little collection of buildings.
A guy in my Developmental Psych class had his daughter delivered at the birthing center there. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Miabella! So nice to see you.   |
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| Tourist! I missed you and Zoebird and everybody! How are you doing? |
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Ashtanga and other workouts
