Ok, I'll admit I've been curious for at least a few years but afraid to check it out because every time I researched it there were so many options that I felt at sea and that it would be too uncomfortable to start now.
As we know, our new coach is apparently a fairly recent convert and Some Guy asked him about it yesterday at the presser.
I run daily and I love it, but I do very little strength/core stuff and I know I should do more. My CrossFit friends keep on me to try that, but I know that's not for me. I've also been curious about Pilates, but I have pretty much the same apprehension that I have with yoga, i.e., too many options and too awkward to start now.
So...any Yarders do yoga? What would you recommend for an active 50-something guy to start?
I'm in my 16th year of steady and thoroughly undistinguished, not terribly flexible yoga practice. It can be an exercise program or adjunct to spiritual inquiry, or more commonly, something in between. The set, setting, style, class, teacher, and your own orientation will determine this.
Google "The Yoga Poster" for a nice overview of what initially seems too vast to approach, and then ease off from any ambition to 'get it all' instantly. Doesn't matter.
YouTube's "Yoga w/Adrien" has a nice enough vibe & variety for initial exploration before you go out into the world, which you should.
@Walker11 mentioned 3 others, but I'm not familiar with them,except Tara Stiles from DVDs.
@HuskyNan was helpful to me in mentioning Les Mills Body Pump, because it's available at one of the Ys that I go to, and I will check it out. Pilates is definitely helpful for core work, and Tai Chi is good for balance & mindfulness.
Yoga has impacted my balance, breathing, flexibility, strength, mindfulness, and overall psycho-emotional well-being. In the truest sense, its purpose is to support the body to be able to better sit in meditation. But, at many fitness clubs that is either downplayed by management or seen as contrary to why busy exercisers show up for class. People's mileage varies all over the place on this balance of exercise class vs. holistic life enhancer.
My best yoga teachers are like low level gurus for a balanced life, in that they work my body, mind & soul, and any good teacher is fully supportive of *their* class being *your* practice. There are many classes during which this man's aging body says, "Not today" and I spend lots of time doing my own thing, including lying in Shivasana ("corpse pose").
Get yourself started, at a slow pace, and without high ego. Go more gentle to begin with, which argues against Bikram, Vinyasa, and other more vigorous practice.
PM me if you want more specifics, particularly in the New Haven area. I believe you are Shoreline, and I have a very wonderful teacher who has a studio in Branford (Short Beach). What would be best is for you to get yourself started and then come to her classes at Cosey Beach in East Haven once the weather warms.
With that, I cede the floor to
@champs99and04...