# It's all Scylla's fault...trial by yoga **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 13, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848 "2003-08-13T06:12:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/1 "2003-08-13T06:12:40Z")
Scylla was the one who encouraged me to take up yoga for fitness. I am old and creaky and need something for my joints. So I ordered the _Yoga for Dummies_ DVD and I began my workouts yesterday. I should have ordered one level down: _Yoga for Fools_ I did manage to make it through twelve postures for beginners, but I added a few along the way that the instructor apparently hadn’t planned on: 1. squirming starfish flipover 2. swayback cow in crisis 3. dead monkey face down in dirt I’m glad that the instructor said to have a sense of humor while doing the Tree thingie. My version was “Tree in a Tilt-a-whirl.” Did everyone start this way? How can I watch the instructor and keep my head down at the same time? When will my hands get in the vicinity of the bottom of my feet? Has anyone seen my glasses? Does it get better? If not, will you help me gang up on Scylla? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/2 "2003-08-13T10:47:09Z")
Interesting. I was going to give yoga a try. But I fear my “Tree in a Tilt-a-whirl” would be more like “Tree falls in the forest and cusses up a blue streak” :eek: I’m starting to think flexibility is overrated. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/3 "2003-08-13T11:31:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoe \* > > Did everyone start this way? How can I watch the instructor and keep my head down at the same time? When will my hands get in the vicinity of the bottom of my feet? Has anyone seen my glasses? Does it get better? > > 1. Yes, pretty much. I have a lot of trouble with the touching-the-toes postures, myself, and tend to touch the knees instead. > > 2. You can’t, as you’re figuring out. Watch the video until you understand the postures, then do it while just listening- or write them down and do them in peace and quiet. > > 3. No idea. Mine never have. But it isn’t that important. The important thing is that the muscles are stretching. Yoga is entirely noncompetitive, and it’s perfectly okay to modify the postures so you can do them. > > 4. Look under the sofa and the coffee table. > > 5. Definitely. And when you start to develop the balance and inner focus to, for instance, stand in Tree without falling over, you find yourself using it in other situations, like listening to Boss without hitting him in the face. > > \*\* ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/4 "2003-08-13T11:33:19Z")
Of course, only yoga practice much more advanced than mine will help with correct coding. ---
**Author:** ![Gazelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Gazelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazelle)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/5 "2003-08-13T11:35:03Z")
Hey **Zoe**! Try doing the tree up against a wall. That’s what my yoga instructor did with us. Have you done “Downward-Facing Dog” yet? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… so relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![Jadis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@Jadis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jadis)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/6 "2003-08-13T13:42:52Z")
I have this DVD. My advice to you (in addition to the fine advice above about yoga being non-competetive, go at your own pace) is to not even _try_ the bonus intermediate Sun Salute routine. Trust me. If the 12 beginning poses are difficult, the Sun Salute will make you want to die. Leave it until you’ve worked through the basic routine for a while. Oh, and I got bored very quickly with doing the same 12 poses every day. A _much_ better DVD (IMO, obviously) is one called **Yoga For Inflexible People**. It has about 60 different poses, and each one is its own chapter on the DVD, which allows the programmers to mix and match the poses into over 30 different routines of varying purpose and length. They also show modifications using a chair, blocks, yoga strap, etc. so that inflexible people can get the most out of their practice. It might be the best $15 I ever spent…it’s available on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/7 "2003-08-13T16:04:18Z")
**Zoe** You mentioned creaky in the joints… Grace and flexibility issues aside, how did your joints feel after the yoga exercises? Where your joints sore or swollen? Abb(out as inflexible and creaky as they come.) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/8 "2003-08-14T04:21:50Z")
Oh, thank you all so much for the tips and the encouragement! **FairyChatMom** , if this works out for me, I’m coming back to get you. **Abby** , immediately after doing the postures, I felt very good – as if my entire body had yawned. Last night I did notice that one knee (in which I have arthritis) was swollen, but it was okay this morning. I wasn’t as sore this morning as I thought I would be but I could tell that I had had a workout. One thing that I did notice when doing one posture (maybe the Cobra) that is supposed to be good for my upper back is actually uncomfortable for my lower back. Any suggestions on a modification? **Gazelle** , the downward facing dog is one of those that I have trouble doing without watching the screen. I will sit all the way through it first tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion about using the wall. I remember now that a friend who first got me interested in yoga had suggested the wall. I was very heavy then. I had just assumed that that would be unnecessary now. HA! **Jadis** , I appreciate the warning on the Sun Salute. You read my mind. I had already thought about peeking ahead to that one. I will wait a LONG time before trying it. Thanks for the suggested video too. As soon as I feel comfortable with these first twelve positions, I think I will try that video rather than moving up to the intermediate level right away. **FisherQueen** , how can I “look” for my glasses when I don’t have them on? 😃 But the rest of your post was very reassuring. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/9 "2003-08-14T05:24:40Z")
I’ve taken a few yoga classes at my gym and I love it… and really need to go in more :X My instructor said that I’m “a pretzel” and most of the poses are not difficult for me to get into, but I’m with ya on the “how do I hold this pose and still see the instructor” bit. I’m sure once I learn the poses I’ll be able to just go on voice but for now I’m having all sorts of trouble doing what I need to be doing and seeing what it is that that actually _is_! The gym’s yoga studio only has one mirrored wall, however… a fully mirrored room would be much easier, I think. Does anyone have any good recommendations for Yoga dvds that I could buy? (I don’t need the one for inflexible people, just some regular ones) ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-all-scyllas-fault-trial-by-yoga/194848/10 "2003-08-14T06:30:49Z")
Good on ya, **Zoe**! Any kind of fitness thingy is better than none. And yoga’s one of the best, IMNSHO. Hey, I’ve been doing it for over five years, and I still wobble and even fall over sometimes. But when I started, I could hardly reach the floor and now I can put my palms flat. I’m not only more flexible, I’m stronger, too. But Sun Salutations still wear me out. I know a lot of people prefer the flexibility (har) of having a DVD they can use according the their own schedule. Plus it’s a heckuva lot cheaper. But a class with a good yoga teacher is invaluable. Make sure you’ve got a certified teacher and not somebody who went to a weekend workshop and thinks they can teach. They can show you appropriate modifications for your abilities (and you don’t need to be embarrassed or ashamed - they get all kinds of people) and they can talk you through the poses as you do them, so you know what you’re supposed to be doing without trying to look at the same time. They can be specific about what you personally might be doing incorrectly that will hurt you. Plus, you can ask questions. [The Cobra pose](http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/471_1.cfm) is basically a mini-backbend. It’s important to have the lower back really stretched out, so you don’t compress the spine. Press your thighs and pubis into the mat, tuck your tailbone, really pull it towards your feet, before your raise yourself (see #3 at the link). If it hurts, back off. You don’t need to raise yourself all that high. Or try the suggested modification with the chair. The great thing about yoga is that you get the benefits of the poses no matter what level you’re doing them at, as long as you’re moving your muscles in the right direction. Keep up the good work! Oh, **Opal,** I’d think a fully mirrored room would drive you buggy, seeing all the reflections of reflections. They got rid of the mirror in our studio, and sometimes I miss it, but the goal is to learn the feel the pose rather than see it. Still, when you’re starting out, seeing is sure a lot easier!