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 Rodney YeeModerators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Yoga -> General Yoga | Message format |
jmcdan3 |
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Only does yoga? How can these people stay so fit doing just that? Would 30-60 minutes 6 days a week keep me fit and improving? I want to improve my mind and body and not to mention....look good for the summer. Im a 23 year old male, 6'1'' and 175 lbs. Is this feasible doing just yoga???? I will get myslef into David Swenson's Ashtanga (45 minute program) soon.   | |||
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| rgny |
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| uhm, i don't know what rodney yee does specifically, but a lot of teachers are not entirely honest about their process. baron baptiste, for example, lifts weights and does a lot of cardio and such, and yet tells people it's "all from ygoa" and encourages his teachers do so the same. personally, i just do what i like to do.  | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098   Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442    | Prancing (or in my case, dancing elegantly) off to get a glass of wine or beer after class won't make a teacher into a particularly bad example of a yogi. But yeah - what we constantly say here about this remains true. Excuse me while I shout: YOGA IS MORE THAN A FITNESS ROUTINE! I am really, really curious about why this topic has come up so often recently. It is well past the "January joiner" season and most of the New Year's resolution people should have dropped out by now. My guess is that yoga has got it's hooks into some folks pretty intensely and they are now having to figure out how to fit it into their lives permanently.  On a separate note - Rodney was once voted (on the yoga forum where zb and I first met) the yoga accessory most desirable in a home yoga studio.  | ||
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| jmcdan3 |
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no actually ive been doing yoga for a long time and have seen improvements (not a january joiner lol). i suppose if you live yoga things may be different-rodney yee for example. im just trying to get an idea of what most people consider to be "top" or "peak" physical shape while doind only yoga. I KNOW that yoga is WAAAAY more than the physical aspect but im just considering it at the moment-please do not denounce me  | |||
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well, rodney isn't to my taste, to be honest, but seems like a nice enough guy i guess.  --- beyond that, there is this question of whether or not yoga is "enough" for fitness or if we have to do something else or what not. the truth is, different physical activities will create different "looks" and of course different body types will fall into these "looks" differently. triathletes, for example, do not look the same as body builders who do not look the same as runners, who do not look the same as swimmers, who do not look the same as skiers, and so on. from a physical stand point, yoga will draw the body into it's natural balance which may be ectomorphic (long and skinny), mesomorphic (balanced, muscular look), and endomorphic (what our culture generally calls 'fat' but it's really a study body type with a lot of muscle and bone, and a soft layer of fat that is perfectly healthy). so, if you're naturally ectomorphic which your height/weight ratio would indicate, then doing yoga will keep you endomorphic. you'll gain muscle, but not as much as if you lifted weights, and you'd get leaner looking and possibly look more muscular--but you wouldn't look like rodney yee who is likely a mesomorph. my husband is a body builder who also practices yoga. he's an ectomorph. at 5 ft 7 inches, he'd probably weigh 120/125 without weight training, and with weight training weighs 165, which is a lot of muscle for his frame. he looks like a "normal guy' if you look at him; most people think that he's a "mesomorph" but he works very hard for that muscle. a friend of ours is the same height, and weighs about 160 or so, and he IS a mesomorph. does nothing really for exercise--does yoga occassionally, plays soccer when he wants, what have you. just walking around, he's naturally "more muscular" than my husband is. so, when you ask questions about "whether yoga is enough" for fitness--the answer is that "for fitness" the answer is yes. but that doesn't answer what you want to look like. and that may require something other-than yoga. | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | zoebird - 2008-02-27 8:07 AM baron baptiste, for example, lifts weights and does a lot of cardio and such, and yet tells people it's "all from ygoa" and encourages his teachers do so the same. personally, i just do what i like to do. You know what, I like that, it is all yoga. Asana means posture, and what most people are referring to here on this forum is the physical aspect of yoga. Having that said.... Anything you do, whatever physical thing, or meditative thing...if you are practicing loving kindess, compassion and all those other yamas and what nots....you are doing yoga. Some cultures call it a Zen thing, some cultures call it a Buddhist thing...whatever. As far as I'm concerened, it's all good. When you operate from and/or lead with your "pure heart", that is all that matters. From here, the rest will fall into place, IF you are a dedicated devotee and SINCERE. As for the technicalities of "yoga", that does not exist anymore, there are only a few "real" yoga teachers that are alive on the planet anymore and the ones that are, you'll never hear about. Meanwhile, do what you have to do to get there and be intuitive about it. Trust yourself and know that you are doing something good for yourself, others and the entire planet. I had this conversation with a girl in yoga class the other day that didn't have a clue about what the word "yoga" meant. When I told her, she was in awe. She loved the idea that all these physical postures (asanas) led to something greater, perhaps even spiritual. I think I made her day, Edited by Cyndi 2008-02-27 11:01 AM | ||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | zoebird - 2008-02-27 11:39 AM i'm not so sure i understand what you mean, though, cyndi. i mean, i know that one can get many physical benefits from yoga--and that the fitness that one gets is amazing. and of course, that it leads to something amazing in the end. but i also think it's problematic to lie to a student and say 'no, i don't do any other exercise other than yoga, you do it too and you'll look like me." i do say that yoga is will create great physical fitness, but that they may not look like me and that it shouldn't really be a goal for them anyway. and i'm honest about my activity levels overall, so that people understand that what i do, my body type, and the yoga all impact how i look. I'm sorry that I'm not being real clear. I'm getting this thread and another one mixed up. That something at the end is a very important statement and counts...bigtime. However, I guess the reason I've harped so much on this one this morning is because, it seems that lately on this forum, I've noticed the tone going in the direction, or implying if you will, that you cannot do yoga if you are only looking at the fitness and/or physical aspect and should take a hike or do gymnastics. This is simply not true. Contrary to the orthodox practictioners way of thinking. So, I just wanted to emphasize this to the OP. imo, if the OP wants to only do yoga, then he should only do yoga, but he should not expect to look like Rodney Yee because he is not Rodney Yee. if his goal is to look like Rodney Yee, then he may need to do something different, such as weight training, to look more like Rodney Yee's body. I agree, but let's face the reality, Rodney is a good model and I can see how someone would want to look like him, or at least be on a similar path to a good healthy body. I don't see this being problamatic, I see this as a stepping stone, which might lead to weight training in addition to yoga or whatever. Hey, again, it's a starting point. We do live in a commercialized yoga world. We always talk about how in yoga, we have to role with the changes and go with the future, remember western yoga?? Which one are we going to beee, Are we going to be rigid and tell everyone that you aren't qualified for yoga because you want only the physical, or are we going to open ourselves up and allow the person to enfold and grow. That was my point. i don't think that either practice leads to a lack of sincerity. my husand and i often speak about how weight training is deeply "yogic" for him. it's transformative, it creates an environment of focus and self-revelation, etc. he's very sincere about it. but he does it because he loves it and he loves the way it makes him feel and look. he also practices yoga diligently, because he enjoys and loves the benefits of that. My husband says this also, although, he does not practice yoga, he only practices body building and claims that this is his yoga. He also claims it is better than yoga asanas. In fact, when I drive to my yoga class at the college on Mondays, I drop him off at the weight room. but what my husband doesn't want is to be "small" again, and he knows that if he did "only yoga" then his body would go back into it's normal, ectomorphic balance. Yep, but then again, if it were the other way around, like in my husband's case, I wonder if he could find what my husband has found?? Which brings me to say that "discipline" and "focus" are very powerful tools and are the backbone and foundation for yoga or anything you set your mind to do. Or, what I think is interesting is how some people are doing "their" yoga, which may not consist of one single asana....but yet, they're lives are incredible and they are so far advanced than some of us so called "yogi's". Not that I'm trying to de-bunk the yoga asana practice....it's just an interesting observation. Edited by Cyndi 2008-02-27 12:30 PM | ||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | |||
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| yogabrian |
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | zoebird - 2008-02-27 1:13 PM i get what you're saying. i hope you understand that i was not saying that at all. I know you didn't say that ZB. I don't consider you in that category. I can also understand how a person could be led to frustration by celebrity body appearances...I'm still a little upset that I can't have a Madonna body, Seriously, I think this is part of the terrain, and has to be dealt with. It's a great learning tool in itself. I call it un-schooling or un-training the mind. Since I grew up in a time where TV was limited, I didn't have that embedded in my brain, like most of our younger generation does today - in all cultures too. Yes, it is quite unfortunate. But, the good news is that we have great yoga teachers, such as yourself, who are completely aware of this. Instead of discouraging the student away from the practice of yoga, there is a golden opportunity, a small window actually of opportunity. It's that defining moment that when dealt with can make all the difference. Where the hell is Rodney?? | ||
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| because rodney was a dancer prior, and most dancers train only via dance and dance-related movements (stretches, etc, designed specifically for dance), this is the foundational evidence for why i think rodney is a mesomorph, not an ectomorph. which of course is why the OP being the height/weight ratio that he is likely wouldn't look like Rodney just on dance or yoga or drinking coffee and going shopping (a meso friend of mine is always ripped, she doesn't do anything except drink coffee and bagels and go shopping), because he is an ectomorph and rodney is a mesomorph. but, yoga is great for everyone. | |||
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| tourist |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 8442 | Beau - I am going waaaay back to your op here. I think that yes, you could do "only yoga" for fitness, though I rather think you would need more than an hour per day 6 days per week. Maybe not much more, but some. But then, it depends on you and your body. My DH was a triathlete and as zb says, some of his friends worked a LOT less than he did and were able to maintain racing shape with very little difficulty. Some people are born lean, mean racing machines. No doubt about it. Some of the rest of us are built for comfort rather than speed. | ||
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| diyyogini |
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tourist - 2008-02-27 6:34 PM ome of the rest of us are built for comfort rather than speed. I love this. Just like some of us have great child-bearing hips. I heard that Rodney Yee once said something which really strikes at the heart of no one is physically perfect and why should we even care. He once said that he has a difficult time in Eagle (Garudasana) because his thighs are big and he can't wrap his foot around the calf. This is a great message that perfection is an illusion and the real benefit of yoga is not in having sculpted biceps (though I will confess an envy of that sometimes!) | |||
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