CHANGING ROOM CHAT...Well... You Either Do or You Don't !

[Oldfloss]

Good evening, you active and inspiring friends !

So good to see you... ! Take a seat and rest a while...!

I am ready for a rest, been whizzing around all day... and getting nowhere pretty fast! But, here I am shoes off and chilling quietly!

This week, as the picture indicates is all about... YOGA !

The YWA challenge for February , thanks to  CBDB is up and running and I am just about keeping up , with tweaks!

Now, I am aware from comments on posts on here and on our running forums too, that some folk really don't fancy yoga at all, or find some moves tricky.., or painful, and not always relaxing !

So, intending to support Yoga fans.. or potential yoga fans... I have been researching some simple, different yoga exercises.

When we first think about yoga, it may all seem a tad overwhelming... odd names, odd poses and all a bit strange.

But, when you get out of bed, do an enormous stretch over your head with your hand, well, that is a very simple yoga pose.

What happens with yoga is... you start at the beginning, very simply and you move on. Learning as you go, slow and steady. For many folk it becomes a daily habit... and as such becomes almost second nature.

Taken steadily, many of the moves and poses become very natural and as we move on , then we can become more confident and begin to see how our life and exercise are impacted in a positive way?

Do not be afraid to tweak either... I simply cannot do the Downward Dog pose. My back and my neck will not allow it. But many options are available... ! So:

First off.

I think we would all agree when we say that sitting, anywhere, particularly for a very long time in one position, is very very tiring and will result, often, with niggles and twinges in all kinds of places on our body!

Sometimes too, we might find ourself in a position where standing, or mat exercises are out of reach...If we do a desk job, or even working at home at a table, this may be even more evident... so:

Sitting down on the job.

Chair yoga is an adapted yoga practice that allows you to sit down whilst practising yoga poses.

Anyone with mobility or certain physical constraints, ( I have a dodgy neck), or not, can do this

Great to do, also after a period on the IC or after illness or injury.

I am putting some links here for you to go and take a peek at.

adventureyogi.com/blog/10-d...

verywellfit.com/chair-yoga-...

bupa.co.uk/newsroom/ourview...

Standing up for YOGA

Sometimes, though, standing could be an option too.. so again... here is a link.

youaligned.com/yoga/standin...

Loads of info here, too!

yogajournal.com/poses/types...

Again, keep it simple and build up!

For anyone who would love to do a YWA, but not a full on month's worth... she does some very simple moves for beginners.

youtube.com/watch?v=pWobp3p...(Not working as expected?)

I tweak as necessary and I ease back if necessary too.

So... bottom line..

Maybe just give it a try, you may just find, like me, who was not originally, a huge fan, that you enjoy it, find it beneficial and it becomes a small part of your exercise routine.

I begin every single day with a ten to fifteen minute, wake up yoga routine, before I even sit up in bed; it is simple and effective! It starts with fingers and hands, moves on to arms and wrists , toes, feet , legs and knees and reverse breathing!

Okay... your turn!

Who is a yoga fan.... who isn't and if not, why not? Who uses bits here and there... who does it every day? Is that you  Bluebirdrunner ?

Looking forward to see who pops in …

Oldfloss x

PS...

If you want to copy my wake up, lying in bed routine... I will add it to this later!

=

[Bluebirdrunner]

Hi Floss, 🧘‍♀️

I began doing YWA practices a few years ago when I hurt my achillies and couldn't run. I tried hurt foot pilates first, but found the way you are kind to your body in Yoga and the stretches are so enjoyable and beneficial, that I began to fit a practice in daily. At first because my ankle was injured I could not manage the downward dog position, but my practice has grown over the years and now my heels can touch down in that position.

There are so many YWA videos available on Youtube I never find them boring.

I have seen that chair yoga is a great option, and can really help with flexibilty and even weightloss (yes, there is corework)

So yes, I am a huge fan and try to find some mat time every day.

Good luck to anyone who gives it a try!

Namaste 🙏xxx

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Bluebirdrunner]

Hello !!!

You are very welcome here and thank you for calling in!

I feel that if folk take look at your posts, especially on the running forums, they will see how valuable you have found your yoga sessions! Reading this tells us so much about how you carry out your exercise and how you have used the yoga to help you.

You have had some tricky times and I know how yoga has played a huge part in your comeback.

Thank you so, so much for this... I do hope some folk will read this and give it a go!

Stay a while and Namaste , my friend x

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

Massive yoga fan, and I managed a 2 year daily yoga streak back when I started running. That really helped my knees and joints, whilst having to adapt and amend many of the poses.

In the last few years, bar January, I struggled to fit it in, but I feel I still get the benefit of yoga. I do a thorough 10min stretches after walking, running and also after rowing, and the movements are often yoga like. So I use my yoga knowledge to get everything out of these stretches, with breathing techniques or adaption of the moves.

As often I row daily, and then walk or run per day, I get a 20 minute (2 x 10 min) stretch in daily.

So even though I don’t do dedicated yoga sessions, yoga is still with me on a daily basis. It is now part of my daily movement practices.

😃😀🧘🏽‍♂️🧘🏾‍♀️🧘🏻

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to CBDB]

Hello and thank you much for this.

I love that last bit... and I feel that would be something that many of us might find easier to handle..

"...yoga is still with me on a daily basis. It is now part of my daily movement practices."

Super... and it has got me thinking how much Yoga is part of mine too. Hmmmm.

So, so interesting that yoga relates so much too, to the stretches you use for your other love, of rowing. You are certainly getting plenty of really beneficial exercise in and wonderfully, it is all linking and working ! I really hope we get some folk across here to read this very useful reply.

Thank you so much!

[Holidaylass]

Hi Floss, I don't usually post, but thought I'd share my absolute love of yoga. I've been doing yoga for about 3 years and it's helped me so much physically and probably more importantly for me, mentally. I started off going to a class once a week and now go three times a week. I use yoga stretches after one of my plodding runs which I try to do 2-3 times a week. I do back stretches every morning which only take a few minutes, but really help as I have a desk job. The calmness and breathing techniques i have learnt from yoga has helped me enormously in coping with difficult situation and the rubbish bits of life in general. Running or my plodding version of running also brings a calmness that I struggle to find elsewhere, so combining the two works amazingly. I feel they compliment each other and work for me, so I'd encourage anyone to give yoga a go. It can seem a bit daunting at first with the poses and names etc, but learn as you go as each pose usually has a different level of difficulty and after a bit of practice you'll be amazed at how strong you really are 😁

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Holidaylass]

Thank you so much for this... this is just what we all need to read... and so much positivity!

I do agree that the combination for we runners works really well... and the mindfulness of the two things , has got to be good?

It can be a tad daunting at first, but as you say, so rightly, after a little bit of practice... it all starts to come together !

You have clearly embraced the whole thing and are finding a way to fit it in with your work life too.

Well done you and than you again, for sharing this!

[Madwife60]

Good morning from downward dog👍

I love a bit of yoga and am lucky enough to be able to access donation only classes in my local park. I’m fairly rubbish (I definitely don’t bend like others seem to) but I love it. My DIL is a yoga teacher and frankly watching her is quite intimidating as I’m pretty sure I’ll never stand on my head with my legs crossed or other pretzel moves. However I love the stretches and my balance is definitely improving - can actually hold a tree pose now and it’s a game changer when I’ve been sat at a desk all day. I always feel it seems a bit gentle but I do usually work up a sweat. I started with Fightmaster Yoga on YouTube which has a free 30 day course. Can also recommend Qui Chong (which again I can do through my local park initiative). It’s less bendy but works wonders for mindfulness

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Madwife60]

Hello ! That really made me smile... I have this image now!

Your reply will help many folk... we do not have to be perfect and lithe and bendy.. we do it our way, with tweaks and simply enjoy! Your DIL sounds awesome !

Finding a way to fit it in with a busy work day too, although that Fightmaster Yoga...it sounds a tad fearsome!

The Qigong, yes... a wonderful way to strengthen mind and body.. ! Dome through your local Park Run initiative too, how does that work, please?

I am doing T'ai Chi classes with Mr OF and finding them equally beneficial! The post here next week, is all about that... and I may add in the Qui Chong recommendation too ..

Thank you so much for sharing this with us x

[Over60sRunner in reply to Oldfloss]

Oooo, now I love Qigong. I follow Qigong Meditation on You-Tube who does a bit for everyone. His 15 minute daily routine is a game changer for me after a stressful day at work 🙏

youtube.com/watch?v=y2RAEnW...(Not working as expected?)

[Madwife60 in reply to Madwife60]

My park initiative has loads of donation only classes with everything from yoga to lino printing, wood cutting, nature walks, meditation and mindfulness. You just rock up and pay whatever you can. My husband reckons I’ve turned into a geriatric hippie. The Qigong is the same although there is a handy bandstand for rainy days. I think it started during COVID when you started to be allowed to mix outside. Up to 100 people turn up to the Sunday morning park yoga. The teachers volunteer on a rotation. There is volunteer gardening in the parks, tree planting, star gazing etc Any profit goes back into the pot for new classes and to pay the teachers.

Dont be put off by the title Fightmaster Yoga is real beginners stuff and very much do at your own pace and ability.

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Madwife60]

That's amazing!! What a fantastic idea!!

A geriatric hippie !!! Sounds blinking great to me x

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Madwife60]

Fab! I have had a look at the Fightmaster Yoga channel, and have subscribed. It does look great! I hadn’t known about it.

Also sad that the founder has passed so young. She seems to have started her yoga channel just before YWA started hers. And they both have that gentle, find what feels good, kind of attitude to yoga. Love that. Will do a few sessions to try them out.

So thanks for the pointer!

[Over60sRunner]

Hiya Oldfloss I am here representing the other side of the coin as I find yoga quite a challenge just now and, as such, not a particularly helpful or pleasant to do on a regular basis. I find the floor work almost impossible as my spine is so grotty, despite surgery, that getting up and down is not easy, especially coupled with the fact that I am a woman of larger stature (aka I'm fat, but we aren't allowed to use those negative terms any more, are we!). I have tried chair yoga, but that doesn't really float my boat either. Truth be told, I find it very challenging to get in the zone just now, but I am working on this.

Then are time constraints. I often say that once I finally get off the treadmill of working life in August 2025 I would like to make some major changes my life and fit in many of those things that I'd love to have a go (or another go) at and chair yoga is one of these things.......you never know, I might end up flexible enough to roll around on a floor mat regularly at some point too!

I am a great lover of a sound bath, and go once a month as a treat to myself. Interestingly, I always finish the session with a downward dog, upward dog, child pose, cow pose and cat pose to help stretch everything back out after an hour of just being still on the floor - so I do have some use for yoga, but not as a regular activity. The clicks, crunches, and muffled yelps are very amusing to my fellow bathers 😂😂

When I was running regularly, I used a standing stretch session pre and post run routine by Yoga by Joelle which was amazing! I am now finally under the Long Covid MDT's wing and am hopeful that I can recover some of my energy levels and start regular running again.........I do so really miss it, both physically and mentally. If I do, Joelle will definitely be giving me a nice gentle stretch before and after my Niko Niko jogs again

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Over60sRunner]

Hello... I am so glad that you replied, because we do need to have the two sides of the coin and you are not alone with some of your feelings.

The time constraints can be a real issue and also, physical ones... I did actually hurt my back, once, doing a Yoga back exercise! My own fault and not that of the pose!

Chair yoga can be a useful one, but if you are not a fan, then I do feel that it may be difficult to maintain...?

What is a sound bath??? I am intrigued! Clicks and crunches? EEEK! Do tell!

I really, really hope that the Long Covid loosens it's grip . To get your energy levels up again and start regular running would be so good x

I am doing a T'ai Chi Post here next week... maybe, just maybe, here may be something there for you..

Thank you so much for the reply... and I do hope things start to feel easier soon...gentle hug being sent x

[Over60sRunner]

I love Qi Gong, which is similar to Tai Chi and follow Qigong Meditation on YouTube ( see my response further up the thread). I'll be intrigued to read your post 🙂

I quote "Sound baths are a meditative practice involving the use of resonant music. This creates an immersive sound that fills the room and the body, aiming to help people relax and let go of stress, anxiety, or other worries and concerns. People report feeling deeply relaxed after sound baths, which may have health benefits".

There are sound baths that almost exclusively use gongs (also be called gong baths), but I prefer sound baths as the practitioner uses many different musical instruments that resonate on different wavelengths and affect different parts of the brain accordingly - either switching them on or off. I find them incredibly relaxing and healing as they allow one to just be still, which is something many people find incredibly difficult to do (me included) 🕉️🙏🤲

I also use singing bowls (crystal and brass), rain sticks, rattles, bells, finger cymbals and many other resonating instruments when undertaking Reiki sessions, which I find often have a profound effect on the recipient.

The clicking and crunching afterwards, for me at least, is associated with my deeply relaxed state letting all my tight tendons and ligaments relax - hence when I stretch deeply they all crack and twang. Sounds painful, but actually it isn't at all......it's rather like cracking your knuckles.

[Oldfloss Administrator in reply to Over60sRunner]

Oh yes... that sounds super...anything that helps at the end of the day! I shall take a look !

Our T'ai Chi classes are in a village about 35 minutes from us, but so good!

The sound baths I have never heard of. They sound fascinating... and the Reiki sessions too ! All this going on and making such a difference to the well being of the recipient!

The relaxing ligaments and tendons..... ? My goodness. It sounds really painful and as for cracking knuckles. that just makes me shudder... thank you so much for all the new information ! x

I am off to look up sound baths!

[GoogleMe Graduate]

I only came to yoga after C25K after many years of not deliberately avoiding it but somehow avoiding it all the same. I think I was looking to deal with a painful back and found Esther Ekhart on YouTube with some short and very accessible (and helpful) sessions. But I kept it up because of my loathing of 'poncy stretching' which most seem to regard as de rigueur for runners. (I have a variety of reasons for this, some daft (teenage embarrassment at parent who was forever stretching, doing squats etc) some very sensible due to past experience where 'warm up' alone would leave me in pain and dysfunctional for days... and there is, sadly, a possibility that I did myself irreparable harm with those 'squeeze and release' type relaxation practices.

I still don't stretch before or after my runs (with the occasional exception when the end of run walk has been skimped and my body says "Stretch") For a good few years, I would do a brief yoga session just about every single morning (I am sure my elder son loved his mother doing her yoga in her knickers in their shared Cambridge college room that bonkers summer of all the open days) Then Google had a mysterious illness which meant she needed to be got downstairs first thing and it all wobbled (this was before the other horrible illness) and I am still trying to get back.

Apart from Chinese yoga whilst teacher training (during a period of somewhat better health), I've never been to a yoga class... and I probably won't. The effort of getting there, the length and all the social/cognitive element once a week... not for me. Online yoga has been great and has helped me develop my own sessions. At home I do it in our rather lovely bathroom and if it is my own session, directly on the wooden floor because that feels good. But I keep my mat and blocks in there. Unfortunately the streaming in there is not good so I have to download first for classes.

One thing I'd like to get back to is more restorative yoga. Time to dust off the yoga bolster and belt!

[Oldfloss Administrator]

Hello... Thanks for this really useful reply... it is so good to get different perspectives of things... I was not a yoga fan previously, but now do find with tweaks a great deal of benefit in it... I do find the mindful aspect of it incredibly helpful.. especially the breathing routines..

You sound as if you have found, and are finding what works for you... and that is exactly what we are all seeking to do I feel... ?

I do enjoy having the inline option, but as with our new T'ai Chi class , am glad to have someone there to guide and gently support..

You are doing okay after a fair few blips! Get that bolster and belt out!

[MissUnderstanding]

I really enjoy yoga (and Pilates) and go to a couple of classes every week. I also enjoy Yoga with Adriene although I daily challenges aren’t my thing. They make me more stressed about getting behind which is the opposite of what yoga is supposed to do!! I really like her cool down/post run ones and I often do hips and glutes focussed ones.

From having seen a physio, I’ve been really impressed by how many yoga flows and poses are essentially the same as some of the exercises I was encouraged to do to help stay off the injury couch. Plus, at the end of every class, you get to lie on the floor with your eyes closed and it counts as exercise!!