Tips for a newbie

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello all
I am new to doing yoga regularly. I have a few questions. First, I used to do gymnastics and multiple martial arts, football, basketball, volleyball, and triathlons. I was in the army and after boxing practice (I also was on a boxing team) we did pilates, which is similar to yoga, but I know it is not the same. I was sent to Afghanistan and 11 months into it I was severely injured. I am now cleared and able to re-start exercise. However, I am not nearly as flexible as I used to be. Some places I am more flexible in. I do yoga 2 to 3 times a week along with several other workouts. How long until I could become more flexible? I feel best and most relaxed when I am flexible after a good session. What are your tips for beginners?

Thanks

#2

Welcome to the yogaforums!

I also teach yoga at the martial art studio and i have army and recovering students in the class.

Tips? Hard to say without details… I’d recommend to focus on breath and alignment, body mechanics rather than be concerned to much with stretching and flexibility. Again it is hard to say without knowing your condition, but in most cases rage of motion will improve with the practice.

#3

I severely injured my knee. I almost was unable to ever walk again. However, I was lucky. I had surgery and physical therapy after being in a wheelchair in order to build up strength in my leg area. Then, I was unable to exercise or be as active as I normally was, so to try to get some sort of fitness, I was riding a bike and walking. I was cleared by my doctor to do heavy physical fitness if I want to. After that, I began running, light weight lifting, swimming. I felt sore in the muscle in the area of the injury from growth. I no longer have knee problems even though I have moved to a cooler region.

Legs have always been my strong point in fitness or competition. Also, chest, shoulder, and arm strength is very good as well. Core strength and flexibility has suffered because of the injury. Nothing was diagnosed as a problem with my back immediately after the injury, but there was intense pain. Sometimes the pain was so bad, it was almost impossible to walk. I fought the pain because I felt that moving around would help and it did.

I have had breathing training before even considering yoga. There are breathing methods in martial arts (I am sure you know or have heard of this) that remove pain and reduce fear and panic. I have an easy time regulating my breathing, but calming my mind is the difficult part.

Like I said, legs have been my strong point. I want to improve flexibility because I have heard that it decreases the possibility for injury in physical competition.

I am trying to provide as much info, but I don’t want to overdo it. Anyways, thanks for your help.

#4

Flexibility can be Fool’s Gold. It is popularly marketed as BEING “yoga” and thus a very common misconception about the physical practice. And, of course, the physical practice alone is not at all yoga. It is merely a sliver of a much larger tree. Perhaps a toothpick to an oak. It is true that the physical practice is about moving some things BUT it is also equally about stabilizing or not moving others.

More to the point of your question, which appears to be “how soon will I be flexible” I would point out that there are a myriad of factors that go into such an answer. If a student is working like a banshee physically but eating refined sugar, U.S. wheat, and dairy products that student is more likely to have inflammation which inhibits movement. A student who is not resting properly will likely not be able to approach their potential. A student who cannot control their thoughts (this, to degrees of course) also will have a different experience. No two bodies are the same at any moment in time.

Add to this that in the surgical process it is likely some muscles were cut. Not knowing which (for me) means I can’t provide a picture of what might be restricted as a result. Invasive procedures always leave scar tissue and that too hampers mobility.

None of the seven things you mention above are like yoga. A few of the things you mention are very distant cousins of asana. But that’s the most that can be said.

This having been said, a student who is committed to a regular practice (read: daily) will often see some mobility results in 6 weeks assuming they are doing the practice properly (read: alignment and actions) and are regulating the other elements I mentioned (read: thoughts, nutrition, lifestyle).

#5

The injury occurred in my lower left quadriceps. The cut was almost entirely above the knee. It is about an inch above the knee. The injury occurred almost two years ago. There is a small scar.

As for my diet, I recently moved from the U.S. to Europe. Previously, I grew and ate almost all of the veggies I made with food. I do not eat a lot of wheat product. I consume a lot of veggies, fruits, fish, and meats. I eat fish a couple times per week and other meats (not pork) a couple times a week as well. I consume very few dairy items too. I eat veggies and fruits everyday, usually with every meal or snack.