Boxer in need of introduction

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi everyone,

I hope it’s not too ignorant to post a question before even leafing through the forum, but I don’t want to get too scrambled with options.

I’ve boxed for many years, with a recent hiatus in physical activity. My experience has taught me that getting off on a wrong foot can lead to bad habits. So then…

Where is the best place to start? What ‘kind’ of yoga is most well-rounded - and does it depend upon physical/lifestyle factors, such as size/stature/diet? Is it goal-oriented, or is there is a pretty cut-and-dried sequence which should be taken as a first step?

I do not have the money to take classes and would prefer to self-instruct, if at all possible. I don’t know what resources to go to, or whether or not they would be free.

I should also note that part of the reason why I want to get into yoga is because I have a horrible time getting proper sleep, and would like to increase my energy so that I can focus and better pursue other things.

Thanks much.

#2

It is very difficult to give advise on which type of yoga you should try as I do not know you or what is likely to appeal to you…

If you want something active then try Vinyasa Flow or Ashtanga…start with a beginners class if you want something more technical then try an Iyengar class.
If you really cannot afford classes have a look at some yoga books and DVDs…but it is best to start with a teacher as the boom or DVD cannot help and correct you if you are doing something wrong.

Look for yoga studios that offer community yoga or classes by donation.

#3

The reason I mentioned that I’m a boxer is that I think the sport threw my balance out. A guy I worked with at a kitchen in Montreal, for example, was training to become a kinesiologist. He checked my spine and found that it was unbalanced. Not really a surprise, considering that boxing often requires extreme shifts in weight/force towards one side of the body or the other.

I also get a substantial amount of anxiety in day-to-day events, in addition to being fatigued. I really would like to practice yoga to help relax and also to re-align my spine and help my body to adjust itself - to achieve homeostasis, if you will.

So, there’s no consensus as to how one should ‘begin’ a yoga practice? That is, no reliable guide that is a good bet for an introduction?

#4

Consensus? Not even remotely possible when human beings are involved. It’s like asking if Floyd Mayweather can get along with his father.

Generally speaking there is only one Yoga (which is why I’m using the capital “Y”). However there are various expressions of it. Some of the expressions are simply crafty marketeers in a capitalist context while others are expressions of only an aspect or two. The reasons for each too numerous for this post.

I would suggest a practice that is opposite your nature. If your nature is that of fire then I would look for water. If your nature is that of air I would look for ground. If you rush and schedule and burn and sprint in your living and life patterns, try first a practice that is slower, gentle, calmer. If, on the other hand, you’ve become sloth-like in your approach and you’ve got a tough time getting moving at all try a friskier practice.

If your physical body has been the whipping boy of your previous life choices then I’d suggest a more therapeutically inclined practice like viniyoga, purna, iyengar, perhaps even anusara.

Student who are just beginning rarely place a high enough value on the practice to manifest the finances or manage them in order to get properly taught. Later this understanding comes. But alas the horse has left the barn. It is very important to have some contact with a teacher. Please consider this and do whatever you can to make it so - even if that means volunteering time to a studio in trade for teachings. Take your practice seriously but yourself lightly

#5

I do plan to take classes in the future - that is, when I can afford it. I don’t see it being too far off.

But still, I would like some good, reliable online resources that can help me to get started. I’m relatively flexible for a guy my size (6’4, 220lb), and I have done a bit of yoga in the past. I don’t see it being a problem, and it won’t be a problem for me to learn to take it at an adequate pace.

I wouldn’t say that my body has been the “whipping boy” of my past, but I could certainly use some structure and regularity. For all intensive purposes, I’m moderately fit - I just need balance.

And as far as my nature… I’m really not sure. If you point to astrology, then I’m an air sign, Libra. But astrology were reliable, then I wouldn’t be looking for good, practical strategies…

I personally avoid any statements about having a particular ‘nature’ - because then you end up with really confusing metaphysical ideas of what a ‘person’ is, and I don’t think that gets anyone anywhere. If someone could point to my learning history and say, “oh yeah, he’s full of fire, or no, he’s actually fluid and permeable like water,” then fine - but I don’t see that happening. People change remarkably based on what they do.

What would [I]appeal to me[/I] is a system of yoga aimed at functioning maximally. I’m not the kind of boxer or weightlifter, by the way, who is looking for big muscle and power. For example, InnerAthlete, I read another one of your posts where you mentioned that weightlifting targets the external body (i.e. the tearing and regrowth of muscle tissue [I]per se[/I]) whereas yoga targets the inner body. I couldn’t agree more. I am looking for tightness and flexibility and a general ‘holistic’ program which will benefit me most. And I will, of course, take it very seriously (i.e. be patient and disciplined).

My question is intended to prevent me from scrambling around on yoga websites with elaborate programs and a monthly or yearly fee for full usage. I would simply like good, reliable sources to help me get started, because from my friends who practice it, I believe that it is a very useful and wise form of fitness.

#6

Hi,

As a beginner who started his practice in july, I can relate to your
quest. After trying many styles of yoga I settled on Ashtanga because it
seemed more like “my type” of yoga. Being used to karate’s intensity I
felt right at home with Ashtanga’s continuous flow of breath and
movement. There is something incredibly powerful in that combination. In
a few months time I have dropped to my “natural” weight end feel better
than I can remember.

Being a fixed series of poses (like a kata) it’s probably easier to do
Ashtanga alone but only after taking a few classes or, at the very
least, being supervised by a friend who has a medium/advanced practice
and can safely guide you through the flow.

#7

Thanks man, I’ll look into it.

Interesting that you moved from karate also into yoga.

I had an interesting insight in Montreal. I trained very briefly with a Russian fellow, and while his English was not very good, his explanations made a great deal of sense to me. For example, as a striker, I am very fast. But he continuously told me that my shoulders were “too tense,” and would repeat, “relax, relax.” My jabs and right-crosses, according to him, were “too stiff.”

In addition he wanted to work on slipping (evading strikes) as if imitating a “wave.”

“Like wave, you see,” he would say. And it took me a while to slip-and-strike as he wanted. But he would say, “Your hand, like stone - your arm, like, like rope.”

And it really got me thinking about [I]elasticity[/I] and [I]flow[/I]. These are basically measurable things - they have an empirical basis. Coincidentally, the Russian I trained with finished the entire workout with a series of yoga exercises, a few of which I couldn’t perform.

(He was, however, impressed with my fighting skills.)

In this sense I started thinking of a lot of athletic movements as a concentration of energy that relies upon a compulsion. Mere compulsion is simply habit, and mere habit often (though not always) implies a lack of control. This is often why a hard-and-fast set of rules does not lead to the best consequences - because the wrong rules result in a lack of adaptability and balance.

I will look into Ashtanga immediately.

Any other suggestions are welcome.

#8

One of my favorite resources for Ashtanga. http://www.ashtangayoga.info/ There are lots of videos on YouTube. My favorite is Nicki Doane (7 part series or rent from Gaiam).

Also I recommend Light On Yoga by BKS Iyengar. It has a lot of photographs and detailed instructions. Also in the back there is a graded week by week program that will keep you busy for years. Good luck.

#9

Also if you are in Montreal and choose Ashtanga as your practice, then
you are in luck as one of the internationally renowned teachers of that
style is there, right on your doorstep. Look up Mark Darby at Sattva
Yoga Shala (can’t post a link here yet).

#10

This looks very interesting and comprehensive.

Everyone, thanks for all your suggestions.