Martial Artist learning Yoga seeks advice

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello Everyone! This is my first time Posting here so I will say a few things about myself and then my question.

My name is Drew and I have been practicing Dance and Martial Arts seriously for about 12 years but I am just beginning my plunge into the lifestyle that is Yoga. A close friend of mine has recently returned from being trained as an instructor in Bikram Yoga. I have seen the transformative abilities of yoga first hand in her and I am planning to do a full 30 days straight to see what happens within myself. I’ve also just finished the 3 month P90X training program and want a little Yin with my Yang.

The reason I mention all this is that I still hope to do other training as well along with the month of Bikram and I wasn’t sure about the effects of Yoga when incorporated with other strenuous exercise. Is there anything I should avoid that may be counter productive or should I use my physical limits as my general benchmark? I’m sure trial and error would work fine for me but I want to consider this training path seriously so any advice is greatly appreciated!

#2

hi, jade —
Here’s a starter question, just to draw a bit more of your story from you.

Do you think Bikram yoga (especially since you classify it as strenuous exercise) is the way to go, if you’re seeking yin?

#3

Well my focus now is really on full body transformation so I feel that the exercise that I’m doing should be strenuous. I also want a bit more philosophy and mental stimulation as well. I think that’s more what I mean when I mention Yin. I also am interested in Bikram as an emotional relief to winter. I am from the South originally but now am staying in Chicago which has especially brutal winters. The heat aspect is important to me because I feel more comfortable existing at higher temperatures. But other than that I am open to all styles/modalities of yoga for any possible benifits.

#4

Hello Drew.

Wow you pack a heck of a question into this first post.
In just a few lines you’ve broached perhaps three very significant issues.
I’m not sure whether you want to be educated through this reply or whether you simply want an answer about style of practice you mention and your workout.

In yoga, and perhaps in your arts as well, yin and yang refer to natures. These are very robust and developed concepts which cannot be classified simply. However it is “okay” to think of yang as active and yin as passive - knowing such thinking is only a sliver of the nature mentioned above.

In Yoga if something works FOR YOU then it works for you. There is no one answer otherwise Yoga becomes dogma and there is no room for such a thing in yoga at all. What suits you, you must discover.

If you are training for the purposes of effect in the external body then a practice that focuses there will more readily meet that goal. Obvious, right? The style of yoga you mention prides itself on stoking the fires of competition, doing, performing, looking at yourself, and showing yourself to others. It also attracts a certain sort of person - usually one who enjoys fire, discipline, rigor, intensity, heat, sweat, et al.

It is best to ask those practicing in that style what you can or cannot do with the rest of your time. Not to get permission but to benefit from their experience which precedes your own. My guess is that your cleared to pound the bejeezus out of your body in any way you want. In other words, you have a “green light”.

I will say that it appears to be a sad living which ends only with a transformed shell. To me this is one of the great under achievements of human beings. To have so much and to only work on that which can be grossly seen with the naked eye…is a real waste of Divine time.

Hope this helps. If I’ve left something out or you have a follow-up, please feel free.

gordon

#5

Hello Drew.

Wow you pack a heck of a question into this first post.
In just a few lines you’ve broached perhaps three very significant issues.
I’m not sure whether you want to be educated through this reply or whether you simply want an answer about style of practice you mention and your workout.

In yoga, and perhaps in your arts as well, yin and yang refer to natures. These are very robust and developed concepts which cannot be classified simply. However it is “okay” to think of yang as active and yin as passive - knowing such thinking is only a sliver of the nature mentioned above.

In Yoga if something works FOR YOU then it works for you. There is no one answer otherwise Yoga becomes dogma and there is no room for such a thing in yoga at all. What suits you, you must discover.

If you are training for the purposes of effect in the external body then a practice that focuses there will more readily meet that goal. Obvious, right? The style of yoga you mention prides itself on stoking the fires of competition, doing, performing, looking at yourself, and showing yourself to others. It also attracts a certain sort of person - usually one who enjoys fire, discipline, rigor, intensity, heat, sweat, et al.

It is best to ask those practicing in that style what you can or cannot do with the rest of your time. Not to get permission but to benefit from their experience which precedes your own. My guess is that your cleared to pound the bejeezus out of your body in any way you want. In other words, you have a “green light”.

I will say that it appears to be a sad living which ends only with a transformed shell. To me this is one of the great under achievements of human beings. To have so much and to only work on that which can be grossly seen with the naked eye…is a real waste of Divine time.

Hope this helps. If I’ve left something out or you have a follow-up, please feel free.

gordon