Hello

Hi guys. My name is Floyd. I’m from Phoenix, AZ but I moved to Singapore a year ago because of a job opportunity. What can I expect from this forum? :slight_smile:

Hi, Floyd. Welcome to the forums.

You can expect lots of anecdotes and science, and very deep conversations about the yamas and the niyamas. If you want to pick a fight here, say that all yoga takes place on a mat, or in a class, or can be represented completely in a photograph.

What can we expect from you? :wink: I hope you will dive in to the juiciness of this community whole-heartedly.

Hi Techne.

I am very much interested in Yoga. I haven’t tried it yet. Actually to be quite honest, I don’t know anything about it yet. What do I need to know first? Better yet, what is it do I have to do to know more about this intriguing activity? :slight_smile:

Well, let’s start where you are:
What is your interest based on, if you don’t know “anything” about it yet?

From the outside, I think Yoga is an exercise which can help athletes. I play basketball a lot and I have poor conditioning. I was wondering if doing Yoga would help me in that aspect? I’m willing to try new exercises and I haven’t tried doing yoga yet. So, a little help would really be appreciated! :slight_smile:

I get it.
“Asana”, or “asanas”, plural, is the word for yoga poses. Notice, the last 5 letters of the Sanskrit name of a pose tends to be -asana. Pound per minute, they aren’t the most effective way to build muscle or open lungs. So they might not be what one first thinks of when hoping for athletic development.
A good entry point for you might be this: the study of yoga, including asanas practice, will let your body rest and recover quite effectively, and you’ll start to recognize a similarity between the relaxed state of mind and being in “the zone”. If you already use visualization techniques – say, to train yourself for free-throws – you’re familiar with the effect the mind has on the body. One way of thinking about asanas practice is that the body also has an effect on the mind, so that you are training both when you go to your mat.
You can certainly apply this to your basketball, and it is my hope that you will discover the joy of applying this to each and every area of your life.

Thanks for the reply.

So the “asana” can help in the recovery of my body? How? Should I do yoga one day after I play? It is true that the mind has so much power when doing sports and I must admit, I am not that strong mentally when it comes to basketball. You think yoga can help me change that?

Yep. Best way to start is, find a good teacher. So much can be different depending on who and what you are to start with that generic advice, even in the best-written book, will most likely miss something key for each beginner.