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Old 06-06-17, 12:22 PM  
Terri1222
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Yoga Modifications for Various Poses

I am just now getting into yoga and am really enjoying it. Like to the point that I almost have to force myself to do other types of workouts, because I find that I am "craving" yoga (does that make sense?).

Anyway, since I'm a newbie at this, I find I can't get into a lot of the poses. For example, camel pose is almost virtually impossible for me. And it's something I really want to work towards.

So my question is, is there any specific website/DVD/whatever that will show you possible modifications to do/use while you're working your way into a pose? I really am just following my body lately and letting it tell me what feels right and/or wrong. But I also don't want to do any damage either.

So any recommendations would be most appreciated.

T
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Old 06-06-17, 02:03 PM  
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I would invest in a private session with a certified teacher.
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Old 06-06-17, 02:11 PM  
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A private session is a great idea. You may still want a reference to remind you or to look up new poses, though. The yogajournal.com pose directory has lots of modifications - for example, here's camel pose (modifications are toward the bottom so keep scrolling): https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/camel-pose
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Old 06-06-17, 02:30 PM  
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I think taking a few beginner focused classes or private classes is so worthwhile to work on good form. Good form prevents injury & allows the maximum benefit from a pose.

This book, Cool Yoga Tricks, is a good reference for modifications:
https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Yoga-Tri...ol+yoga+tricks
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Old 06-06-17, 04:17 PM  
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Live instruction is a great suggestion.

If that's not possible, Miriam Austin wrote a book called Cool Yoga Tricks that offers modifications and such (I think).

Carol
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Old 06-06-17, 04:25 PM  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yogapam View Post
This book, Cool Yoga Tricks, is a good reference for modifications:
https://www.amazon.com/Cool-Yoga-Tri...ol+yoga+tricks
That is a great book! It's one of my favorites.

Terri, I have searched for books and websites that show the poses and different levels too, although for me, I'm doing it from the perspective as a teacher who is teaching mainly beginners classes. There have been some books I have found disappointing, such as Peggy Cappy's--I was hoping for modifications, but instead it was virtually all chair yoga (which is a great option if that's what you want to do, but not what I was looking to teach in my regular classes).

For a summary of poses and tips/modifications for beginners, Ekhart Yoga does an excellent job (although the photos don't generally show the modifications): https://www.ekhartyoga.com/more-yoga/yoga-poses

The site "Teaching Yoga for Round Bodies" offers great pose modifications for larger people; you might not fit this category, but the modifications are actually wonderful for anyone! https://www.expandinglight.org/free/...troduction.php

10 common pose tweaks from Jessamyn Stanley, a larger instructor: https://greatist.com/fitness/yoga-po...-modifications

Freebies from Curvy Yoga, including modifications for 6 common poses:
http://www.curvyyoga.com/freebies/

Hope this helps!
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Old 06-06-17, 05:16 PM  
Terri1222
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Oooh, all of these are wonderful! Thank you!!

T
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Old 06-06-17, 05:24 PM  
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camel is one of several back bend poses. you could try different back bend-ish poses to work the muscles in different ways. do a little each day and your muscles will adjust. try doing camel lying on your side on the floor, grabbing onto your feet.

I've done backbends with a stability ball underneath - it's a nice stretch and feels good. with back on the ball + hands and feet on floow, you can raise up into a backbend, then relax onto the ball.

I couldn't do plow for a long time. I did it every night, using my bed as a prop (facing bed and putting feet on bed, raising butt upwards; then back to the bed and feet go over my head, touching the bed). eventually, I could go all the way over.
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Old 06-06-17, 06:51 PM  
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A lot of instructors on youtube have practices labeled beginner that will go over modifications. A lot of the teachers loved by VFers discuss yogi's choice for different poses. Yoga with Adriene, Brett Larkin, Yoga with Tim, and Fightmaster yoga might be good places to look if streaming works for you.
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Old 06-07-17, 04:35 AM  
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i just tried doing camel lying on my left side on the floor, then my right (apparently, this is called side bow pose). i'm more accustomed to doing camel the conventional way, but thought i'd try it on my side to see how it would come out.

to do it on your side, let's say you want to try your left side first.

lay prone on the floor, bend your left knee, pointing your toe to the ceiling.

grab your left ankle with your left hand, using your right hand to balance on the floor.

then tilt slightly to your left, as if you want to roll over toward the left, but take your right hand and grab your right ankle, right knee bent. you're slowly getting into camel while lying on your side.

your head might be touching the floor, but you can lift up your head so that it's parallel to the floor, neck also parallel to the floor.

squeeze your shoulder blades together while you arch your spine. it feels so good at this point!

release, then do the same pose on the right side.

wow - what a nice stretch and very relaxing doing it this way. when i got out of the pose, it really helped my posture - it was almost difficult to slouch!

another backbend pose you could do is bow pose, to prepare yourself for conventional camel. also cobra. another back bend pose that you can try is dragonfly. a variation of bow pose is frog pose - there's also half frog pose to lead up to frog.
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