Weightlifting and yoga

[Guest guest]

Hello,<br><br>>Also, I weight lift...does

anyone recommend WHEN >to lift<br>>

weights....BEFORE or AFTER Yoga????? <br><br>Before starting

Astanga yoga, I used to weight train several times a

week. Unfortunately, I think that my weight training

has had an adverse effect on my flexibility. (I used

to do Iyengar-style yoga years ago, before I started

weight training, and I see a marked reduction in my

flexibility now compared to then.)<br><br>I do a little

weight lifting now (I do think it can be good for

maintaining bone density), but I have reduced the frequency

of my training, and the weight and number of reps I

do. When I weight train, I do so before yoga, in the

hopes that I can perhaps counter some of the damage I

may have done to my flexibility.<br><br>This still

feels like a compromise, and someday I may give up

weight training. But in terms of what you are asking, it

just seems right to practise yoga, to stretch and

release the muscles, after the weight

training.<br><br>Good luck with your practise!

[Guest guest]

I find that what has worked best for me is to

lift weights and/or do cardiovascular excercise in the

morning, and then do yoga in the evening when the mind and

nerves will be calmed. I think stretching all of the

muscles before you go to sleep when they will be immobile

for several hours is very beneficial.<br>I remember

reading "Education of a Bodybuilder", the first book by

Arnold Schwarzenegger. In it Arnold mentioned an

encounter with a yogi he had when he first visited

California in the early '70's, already a big European

bodybuilder but as yet unknown in America. <br>Arnold asked

the man if he could watch him practicing his yoga and

was told yes. While observing Arnold took note of

asanas which he felt would make good stretches in

between sets of different weight training routines. He

felt that lots of stretching, yoga or otherwise,

helped to keep muscles long and proportioned with the

rest of the body, as opposed to the lumpy,

"musclebound" look which is what happens to bodybuilders who

never take the time to stretch before or after their

workouts. The intense weight training with no stretching

causes the muscle to shorten a little as it grows,

causing the decrease in flexibility that many

bodybuilders complain of. <br>Good luck with your workout

routine, let us know how it goes!<br>-Steve