r/yoga

I understand why they compare the two but both the setups are very different. My batches are smaller, I correct postures personally, plan the flow and try to give each student proper attention. Since I can only take limited students in each batch, pricing too low just to match gyms can make it harder to scale the studio sustainably and this also would leave me with no profits, not even break even. I am at a position where I am handling all the admin and teaching work to keep costs down and grow my business in next few months.. so when people push back on price, all this really discourages me and a part of me starts to worry that what if people stop enrolling to my classes!

If you sell something capacity-limited, how do you deal with people who say that you're too expensive and keep comparing it to something which is not at all relevant?

I find Adriene a little too easy, so I've been trying to find another YouTuber to use when practicing at home. I've seen both of these channels recommended a lot, and I'm struggling to choose which one to try first. Which of the two do you prefer/would recommend, and why?

I’ve been on a health journey which has included the goal of 30lbs weight loss which I have now achieved. I want to stop focusing on weight and have some yoga “goals”. Mostly yoga for me is about switching off and enjoying the movement but I would like to do wheel pose again as I had some years of practice. Currently I just don’t have the arms strength/back flexibility. I also want to set out to practice at least 4 times a week, I go to class twice a week but the rest of the week is hit or miss if I do some practice at home.
What are your goals?
Any other goal suggestions?
Any tips for wheel pose?

Hey there, folks. I’ve been really struggling with my identity lately, who I am outside of work, and what my interests are. One of the things I’m trying to return to is my yoga practice. I started practicing about 20 years ago and was instantly hooked on the calmness it brought me. I felt like I connected not just with the asana practice, but learning about the philosophical side as well. I even became certified to teach in 2016. However, around the pandemic I really fell away from it. A lot of the teachers I taught with were wrapped up in anti-vax, anti-pandemic measure rhetoric, my local studios seemed to be more focused on either solely the physical component (hot yoga/pilates), or completely appropriated other spiritual practices. I found I had lost my community. Around that time I also enrolled in a full-time masters program while working a full time job and had little time to practice either physically or mentally. I’ve lost much of my strength, flexibility, and connection to the teachings. Getting on the mat is a challenge.

For those who have also stepped away for a time, how did you get back? I live in a small town and there are not a lot of studio options, so I sense this is solo work at least for the time being. Any advice would be much appreciated.

I was reading an article about a new medical procedure to implement a device to stimulate the Vagus Nerve and how it reduces depression symptoms up to 70%. During practice I sometimes hear some instructors refer to how we’re stimulating the Vagus Nerve in some poses. After practice I always feel calmer, more peaceful, and happier. So maybe there is some truth to all this. Enjoy your chest openers and breathe deeply to bring joy into your life.

for context i used to workout alot and usually id incorporate various stretches & recently ive decided that its time to tap back into working out again, and i thought why not add yoga to my repertoire and omg?? wayy harder than i expected, i was literally not able to focus on both my moves & breath at all times, at one point i realized i was too focused on the movement that i literally forgot to breathe, which led me into this cycle of then grasping for air and therefore losing track of movement. props to everyone that makes it look so graceful i hope ill be able to get to that level someday !!

I've gone to a couple of yoga classes at my gym (Yin and Vinyasa), and I'm continually bewildered by what I'm supposed to be doing. The instructor in the first class didn't interact with me at all, and the instructor in the second class made one small correction to a pose. I'm just trying desperately to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing, and half the time when I look up, the other students are in a pose significantly different than mine. Most of the poses are painful, but that could be because I'm doing the wrong movement, or I'm overusing certain body parts due to fatigue, or just because I lack the flexibility to do them correctly. Despite the fact that I'm obviously just flopping around like a fish, it doesn't seem like there's much in the way of actual instruction.

I've tried to follow along with a few yoga videos at home to learn the poses, but it's very frustrating not to have any idea if I'm doing the movements correctly. I tried to video myself and compare my poses what the instructors are doing, but their level of flexibility and body control is so far above mine that I'm usually not physically able to make my body look like theirs.

When I've done other types of group exercise, there was usually at least some portion of the class that was devoted to actual instruction. In a jiujitsu class, the instructor will typically show you a technique, and then you practice that technique, with feedback from other students and from the instructor. In a Crossfit class, they show you the movements you're expected to perform, and there are generally scaling options to make every movement fairly beginner friendly.

Is there anything like this for yoga? I'm very discouraged by the idea that I will need to study and practice a bunch of movements, and then figure out the appropriate scaling options for my level of flexibility and advancement, before I'm even ready to take a class.

Hello all 👋

In the last couple of years I've expanded my practice a bit; started attending kirtans, done some pranayama and vedic chanting lessons, I'm developing a daily seated meditation practice and quite enjoy trataka and some "body scanning" techniques.

I know people often put pranayama and seated meditation before shavansana - but I find if I sit for more than 15 minutes or so, shavansana feels a bit redundant? Like the sit feels like a good way to end the practice.

And for those who chant or do japa meditation - how do you work that into your asana practice? Or do you keep it completely separate? And other shatkarmas such as trataka or nauli? Or is it asking a bit much to fit all of that into a single practice?

Thanks

The battle between a yoga teacher and the city of San Diego is heating up.

At the center of the controversy is a sidewalk vending ordinance San Diego adopted in 2024 that also prohibited yoga classes of four or more people at shoreline beaches and parks without city permission. Steve Hubbard, known as “NamaSteve,”  first sued San Diego in federal court in June 2024, alleging the ordinance violated their 1st Amendment rights. Recently, Hubbard has filed a third lawsuit alleging the city has violated his rights by citing him for teaching free public yoga classes.

Read more.

I have been trying to get more flexible for dancing. So I started yoga about six months ago once or twice a week. Then I started doing some at home throughout the day around March, and really started to enjoy yoga more so than just to help with dancing. Then around end of May I saw a Youtube video about how beneficial deep squats were after searching about why my hamstrings and quads were so tight each time I tried to do stretches in yoga. My knees have been a sore spot for me for years. I couldn't even cross my legs without knee pain so I has hesitant to do a deep squat.

At 1st I could only do about 25 or 30 seconds a day without the knee pain. Then after about a week I would tough it out and do one min twice a day. Then suddenly about two weeks ago, I did my second one min squat of the day and had trouble getting out of the squat once I was down due to knee pain. I stopped the squats for about three days, then started doing the squats again in 30 second increments along with sitting on the floor with my legs crossed for approx 10mins(no more pain in knee when crossing legs)

Low and behold, today I was able to sit in a deep squat for five consecutive mins with no pain, and I didn't need to push off with my hands off the ground to get up.

🎆👏🏽🎆👏🏽🎆👏🏽

Doing this on purpose so the mods will see it, every single time I try to post here my posts don't get approved, in the meantime, I see a lot of posts that are really specific or dull, but apparently, I cannot ask my concerns about the practice here.

I'm trying to learn more about yoga but my questions are not accepted here and I don't know why.

Mods ghost me if I text them as well.

I’ve been hearing a lot recently that your arms being at a 90 degree angle isn’t that necessary for chaturanga because it’s not how a body normally moves.

I know as long as your core is engaged and hot head and shoulders aren’t flopping forward to the floor it’s a win but, I don’t know.

What’s your opinion?

Does anyone else here have endometriosis? Mine is stage 4 and when the surgeon went in, she saw all my organs were stuck together from scar tissue. She released some of them and removed cysts, but an MRI and a lot of pain flairs suggest things have already reattached less than a year post - op. I was VERY active prior to getting sick. I’ve not gained about 30 lbs most of which I think is fluid retention in my abdomen. I am in PT and see an LMT for lymph flow. I’m looking into block therapy to try to release some of that tension there. It swells very easily. Doctors have been of little to no help unfortunately. Has anyone else dealt with this and have any techniques they’ve tried that have been helpful?

Cause mine has. It went from a yoga studio forever (over 15 years) to like 1/2 or more classes of Pilates which are done by mostly 20 something's
I live in a college city so that's fueled it in part.
I guess I have a few questions. Is Pilates like the new exercise for Gen Z females?
Just trying to get scope on this phenomenon
It's potential shelf life etc
It's definitely a different energy now

Hello!

During my yin practice today, I held shoelace pose for about 4 minutes on each side. Afterwards, I noticed some discoloration in my thighs. After some googling the closest thing I could find indentifying the discoloration pattern was livedo reticularis.

I’ve been practicing over 6 years now and while I’ve experienced some tingling in certain poses before, I’ve never noticed a discoloration pattern like this.

I was wondering if anyone could help explain why/if this has also happened to them?

I’ve been healing from a neck injury that spiraled into all sorts of wacky dysfunctional layers in the body and could use some ease my mind that this isn’t a red flag.

For extra context, I am a healthy 27 year old with no medical history other than the single neck injury I had about 2 years ago!

Thank you ❤️

Hi!

I started doing yoga 2 years ago and since then I've been doing a mix of classes (mostly yin) and guided videos, which have both been of great help. However, I feel like I am mostly doing hip openers -which also relieve a lot of tension in my hips and my body generally- but I believe I carry so much tension in my chest and throat. It gets better when I'm doing well, and it feels like I'm suffocating when I'm feeling down, but it's always there anyways even if I'm okay. What are poses or videos that you would recommend that can help?

Thank you!