Hey,
just interested in knowing why/how people started their Yoga. I started last year just as a way to chill out, I didn’t keep it up but intend on going back this month. I still do stretches now and then when my back feels tense. Are there good programs/videos specifically for back pain/relief?
I could prob find a couple on Amazon but would like some recommendations.
Regards,
Dave
Ireland
Hello David
I just joined today and saw what you had posted.
(1st] I became interested in yoga 13 years ago when I started
running in local races. It seemed to help my back! I eventually
ran a few marathons and I credit yoga with helping me.
(2nd) There are many types of yoga out there. e.g.Raja,bikram
ashtanga,etc,etc. I think what you are looking for is Vini Yoga
This is a good form of yoga for people with back problems or for
people who tense up easy (like myself) I actually do yoga at my
own house. I started out with a book by Howard Kent --Yoga made easy
but I’m not sure wher to a get a copy now.
I have set up a website that you can look at and get some tips.
The url is in my signature at the bottom.
Good luck
Drew
another Irishman from Pennsylvania
Hello David
I took up Yoga in 1986 after an operation to remove a ruptured disc,I have practiced Shotokan karate since 1968 so I had good flexibility untill the operation! I bought some books ayear after the operation and have practiced since then though never in a formal class. The one book that stood out from all the rest was Mr Iyengars “Light on Yoga” which I still refer to to this day, I was fairly flexible before my operation but through the yoga practice I would consider myself flexible to the extreme! I also find Yoga deeply relaxing and has helped me in in my teaching of karate.
Hello David
I started out long time ago to get rid of my sine pain.
Very soon after starting out I discovered that this was the beginning.
Now Im far more intrested in the spiritual aspects and that phliosophie which realy changed my life. If I dont practise one day something is lacking.
Greetings
Lars
If you must use a video then try out the one by Gary Kraftsow.
I started with my mother when I was about 10. She’s gone to yoga classes for almost as long as I can remember. I’ve always danced. We moved to a new town when I was young and I had a hard time finding a dance studio I liked there. I eventually did find one, but before that my mother suggested that I try yoga. I went to a class with her once and loved it instantly. I did it occasionally for about 3 years after that, then got more serious about it. Began taking Bikram classes as well. She and I still take classes together, but I’ve also taken several independently since I left for school. I love it! Yoga is something I’ll do for the rest of my life.
On a related note, my boyfriend is beginning to express interest. He’s noticed differences in the way I look and behave after a class. Says I “glow.” He also has been having back pain lately and we’ve both agreed that yoga might help him through that.
[quote=DavidM;2666]Hey,
just interested in knowing why/how people started their Yoga. I started last year just as a way to chill out, I didn’t keep it up but intend on going back this month. I still do stretches now and then when my back feels tense. Are there good programs/videos specifically for back pain/relief?
I could prob find a couple on Amazon but would like some recommendations.
Regards,
Dave
Ireland[/quote]
Dear Dave,
For great discussions and answers do join my group: pawan_yoga : Pawan Yoga and you can expect all the answers you want. I’m a Yogacharya with 22 years sadhana (spiritual practice).
C U there.
Allan
at the time I had three choices,
loony bin
medication, Tried once for less then a month, did not like side effect.
or try something different
I choose the last and must say I have not felt the need to try option 1 or 2 since then I became more dilligent. 
I have always had a hard time calming the mind but now it is much better. WHen you understand the darkness, you can appreciate the light.
I was an avid runner, but I had been interested in yoga for a while and when I hurt my knee I used it as an opportunity to try it. Well…I never looked back and yoga is my life!
i started because of intense back pain about 4 years ago and had never look back since. i was stiff as a board, the progress has been gradual, the joy immense. can’t remember what life was like without yoga now. 
i started yoga regularlly about 6 years ago, befor yoga i was a very a kind of very lazy n dull girl but after yoga i started i m a new person. yoga is really my life!
About 5 years ago I did a retreat in the jungle of Mexico. Part of the deal was yoga at 6 a.m. The idea of yoga to me at the time was mostly amusing, and relegated to what women did as a way to calm themselves and feel part of the ‘women hood’.
I was wrong.
What else might you be wrong about?
do you think yoga is very addictive too? like you always want to come back for more?
You are as young as your spine is healthy. Yoga keeps your spine young.
[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;26352]What else might you be wrong about?
;-)[/QUOTE]
I’ve been thinking about this and nothing comes to mind.:rolleyes:
I was an avid weight trainer for 25 years. Over time I experienced several injuries related to the training and diminished flexibility.
Insomnia has also been an increasingly growing problem for the last 10 years. My initial motivation to beginning a yoga practice was to improve flexibility and balance while hopefully improving the quality of my sleep.
The results of my yoga practice have exceeded my expectations and have also had a positive impact on my weight training.
I went to my first Yoga class because I wanted a more flexible upper body. I liked the postures, I also liked Yoga Nidra, the Relaxation part of the practice. But then this Yoga group kept sending me information about an upcoming lecture by their leader. I listened and looking back at it now, I think I was very much looking for answers due to a lot of loss and grief in my life. I was vulnerable.
Now I am struggling to start my Yoga journey again. I could say I should have stuck to doing Asanas only, and not be lured into this brainwashing cult, but you can’t turn back the clock.
Beware of Yoga groups who have a Guru, if you see any feet kissing and people throwing themselves at the feet of the Guru, RUN!!! Especially if he claims that only through him will you get “liberated”. I think I might just stick to Asanas, Pranayama and Yoga Nidra, and for Meditation I will go back to Vipassana, which is a beautiful Buddhist Meditation, and which in time will give me the answers I am looking for. (I hope).
Hi, I forgot to mention my favorite Yoga DVD, by Acharya in Sydney. I practised with him in 2000, he is Indian and he is very traditional. All you need is a mat, he does not use anything else. It has a relaxation part, then 10 minutes Pranayama (breathing), then Asanas (Postures), and then more relaxation. The centre is in Pitt Street, Sydney, Australia, acharyasyoga.com.au, and the DVD is 30 dollars Australian. Unfortunately he passed away a few years ago, but he trained some of his students and they have kept the centre open.