yoga newbie question

[preklbt]

Ok, first I'm sorry to post another yoga question, I have been reading the various threads & I am so confused!

I have never really done yoga (just a class or two at work a few years ago, but I really didn't give it a chance!). I mainly do strength & cardio type workouts-been doing kb's & kickboxing stuff lately. I do enjoy it, but I am having issues off & on w/some joints & I hate that my balance is so awful & started reading the yoga threads.

Probably what intrigued me the most is people are sleeping better & have more energy. This was great news, I am definitely in peri menopause & maybe moving on to the next stage & rarely sleep well...

So, where would I start, I don't know the terms, so I don't know what anyone means when they say the moves & types of yoga. I definitely like the sounds of ones that help w/strength. Also, at this point, DH said no more buying right now, so I would be looking for something I could download or view for free for now.

Thanks so much for the help, I LOVE this board!!
Tami

[PeakFitness]

If you need to see the poses, you can search for them on youtube and watch a free demonstration of any pose, there are tons of short videos for all kinds of poses.

I'm pretty new to yoga myself, and another VFer turned me on to the FREE audio downloads at yogiwade.com, and I'm loving them. You can search by difficulty level. You can also search for terms like "strength". He gives really good instruction on how to move from one pose to another and uses mostly the english terms, which helps.

You can also use youtube downloader to turn youtube videos into free downloads. I'm liking yogayak's youtube videos, since I only use the audio for those too, they have good instruction. I think she has one for sleeping that I haven't tried...

For strength, look for anything that holds the poses, instead of something that is described as moving quickly from one move to the next.

[TLB]

OK - Maybe this is a dumb question: Do you have a Netflix membership?

I had to try several yoga DVDs before I found one I liked. Now I do like a bigger variety, but I was grateful to be able to "test drive" the DVD first.

Hulu.com shows lots of YogaZone videos - you might look them up on collagevideo first to see if they interest you.

[KathAL79]

Enjoy exploring yoga!

I find yoga is a very personal thing. You'll learn over time what you like and what works for you and what you don't like and what doesn't work, and maybe you'll know why and maybe you won't. And things could change over time, too. You just have to enjoy the journey and avoid obsessing over some destination.

You will learn that "yoga" encompasses a wide range of styles and schools. One list to get you started is the Yoga Journal article "Not All Yoga is Created Equal", which goes over some of the main schools. Not all of the styles they mention are well represented on video, and not all of the styles well represented on video are mentioned in the article, but this could be helpful. That said, if you find yourself easily overwhelmed by choices (the whole "paralysis by analysis"), maybe you're better off skipping this sort of research and just plunging in and trying what you can find.

One resource I often use for quick reference when it comes to matching names to poses is Yoga Journal's Yoga Poses database. This isn't a definitive list, as there are many more poses out there, and it's worth noting different people call the same pose by different names (yes, just like with weights and cardio moves), but it's a good start.

I agree that checking out free online videos, renting via Netflix or Kineticflix, borrowing from the library, etc., is a good way to get the ball rolling on your yoga experiment.

Good luck!