Guest guest Posted February 4, 2000 Report Share Posted February 4, 2000 Caralee,<br><br>I was reasonably strong from years of other activities when I started astanga, so I can't comment from my own experience on what it's like to be limited in my yoga practice by lack of (physical) strength. (By lots of other things, yes, but not that)<br><br>But, my experience from other not completely dissimilar activities like climbing and martial arts is that if you work on technique - i.e. do lots of practice - you will get stronger as a side effect. The opposite clearly isn't true. Strength training won't improve your technique at anything other than lifting weights.<br><br>If you enjoy strength training for its own sake then clearly you should do it. I think it's unlikely to help with your yoga, and I think a regular astanga practice together with some aerobic exercise, which you do, should be more than enough to keep anybody basically fit and healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2000 Report Share Posted February 4, 2000 I had to stop weight lifting when I began Ashtanga because I was losing flexability in my shoulders, but was still not strong enough for the full first series. I found my strength built best if I did two yoga sessions one day, then one short session the next day. Alternating like that allow'd me a really good day, and the short session the next day prevented my muscles from tightening up. I guess you could think of it as one day for strength and one day for flexability. As for classes -- if you can find a good teacher then it's worth a long drive. Yoga conferences often have the best of teachers too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2000 Report Share Posted February 4, 2000 Hi Caralee, I don't think it's necessary to do anything other than your practice. The practice is the training. Just proceed on a daily basis and you will progress.The type of strenghth you develop will be balanced and complete and will bring you a peace of mind that weight training will not. Check in from time to time with qualified teachers if you can, and then go home and enjoy your practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 4, 2000 Report Share Posted February 4, 2000 <<Yoga conferences often have<br> the best of teachers too. >>except for the aforementioned charlatans and frauds that frequent them.<br><br>spw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2000 Report Share Posted February 5, 2000 caralee2000:<br>Congratulations on your practice. Your strength will develop as you increase your breaths in each posture. How long are you holding each posture at this time? Increase by 1 to 2 breaths per week until you are comfortable in the 15 to 20 per pose if you want to experience the full benefits of Ashtanga system. This will be easy since you practice on your own. You will have to modify back to whatever class you attend. The # of postures you perform will decrease if you are limited to an hour or 1/1/2 hour of practice but you can rotate the poses you learned so they all fit. Yes this is a method from the Guru himself. Remember that the primary series is working your legs mostly. Increase your # of sun signs so the vinyasas work your upper body. Find someone to begin teaching you handstand to experience the ultimate upper body balance.<br>yours in yoga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2000 Report Share Posted February 5, 2000 Hi Caralee,<br>One thought I had which you may want to consider as you're in a remote location is to find a teacher or location you like and explore doing a "yoga" vacation there. I found doing a 10 day intensive to be amazing for my practice after learning on my own for a while (but I've heard of 3 day intensives too). Contact some of the instructors listed on the internet and find out where and when they offer intensives. I've seen a few that offer vacations to exotic locales but if that's too expensive find a city or place that's close and has a friend you can stay with.<br><br>With regards to weight training, I agree with all that's been posted. When I took a course in college on setting up training programs we were told of the "law of specificity". This says that to build muscles for any activity, the best thing is to do that activity as it engages the muscles exactly. Since ashtanga focuses on the body as a whole (and my hips especially), I've stopped other training except for my practice to undo a lot tightness I've built up.<br>Keep it up and best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2000 Report Share Posted February 5, 2000 I haven't heard about increasing the number of breaths in poses. I had been thinking of doing this before to increase my flexibility but didn't know if I should. Thanks alot for sharing that little gem!!! I don't have access to senior ashtanga teachers where I live & have practiced on my own for 3 years. I do attend workshops when I have the opportunity & cash. Keep all the good info coming. Glad to see we're back on track with the more 'yogic' topics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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