Guys, I have some pretty big news… I really think I am starting to enjoy yoga!*GASP!* This is HUGE for me!
I’ll admit, I’ve pretty much always been a yoga-hater. I’ve always been about the blood pumpin’, high intensity, get-your-adrenaline-going kind of sports and activities. In other words, not yoga.
I remember the first time I tried a yoga class was my freshman year of college. I was taking an aerobics class for a health credit I had to get, and our teacher decided to do yoga with us for a week. I absolutely hated it. I felt so awkward, I was bored, and I couldn’t hold any of the poses. That pretty much summed up my opinion of yoga for the next 4-5 years. I decided to give it another shot after Brittany suggested the Hulu yoga channel to me a few months ago. I did a couple of the Hulu yoga video, and I enjoyed it more than I remember liking it from before, but I still wasn’t super psyched about it.
Up until a week and a half ago, I haven’t done much yoga. I keep telling myself that I should, but it never really happened. Well, the past week and a half or so have been rather stressful (to put it lightly), so I decided to give yoga another go last week to help me chill out a bit. I found a couple yoga videos on Netflix that were more Vinyasa style yoga that have really helped me relax my body and my mind. Vinyasa yoga (aka “flow yoga”) uses poses that will flow from one to another in conjuction with your breathing. There are several different types of yoga, but I especially liked the Vinyasa to help me relax.
I’m so glad I gave yoga another chance! I really think I just needed to have a yoga attitude adjustment and have a different mindset going into it. I also think both the instructor and the type of yoga make a huge difference as well. From here on out, I hope to include more yoga videos and/or classes into my workout agenda each week!
I encourage those of you that haven’t enjoyed yoga the first few times to try it out again. Try out a different kind of yoga or a different instructor. Focus on readjusting your mindset of yoga before you go into it again. You might surprise yourself! 
Questions:
- Do you like yoga? Why or why not?
- What is your favorite type of yoga?
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Okay you just introduced me to a whole new world – I had no idea that hulu had a yoga channel – or that I could find workouts on Netflix. What are some of the names of the workouts you liked on Netflix?
yeah! it’s super nice if you just want to do it at home. the netflix yoga videos are a little more “cheesy” and older, but i tried a crunch “candlelight yoga” video the other day that had a ton of stretching that i loved for my tense and sore body. there’s also a “10 min solution” one that i’ve tried and liked. just search “yoga” and a bunch will pop up.
I’m not a huge fan, but I’m probably a lot like you … I could probably like it if I gave it more of a chance and had a good teacher/video. Glad it’s working for you. Not so glad, though, that you’re so stressed out. I’ll be praying for you!
thanks girl. yeah, it’s been a tough past week or so, but i’m hoping things will start to look up!
I’ve always enjoyed the feeling after a good yoga class. Your body feels so relaxed and full of energy at the same time. I’ll be checking out Hulu pretty soon. I’ve always used Hulu to catch up on current shows, but had no idea they had a yoga channel.
Whoah! I’m with the other commenters – Hulu and Netflix have workouts available?? I’ve been missing out!
Just last night I was thinking I need to give yoga another try. I’ve liked it *once* when I was at a class at school. Whenever I do it on my own, I start to get bored. I think they key for me is short sessions, rather than trying to do an hour long video on my first go.
awesome, right?! i never knew about hulu until brittany introduced it to me, and i just randomly came across the ones on netflix.
Haha I was the same in college. Twice I tried a free yoga class and I HATED it! I spent half the time giggling and half the time just uncomfortable! But now I love yoga, especially hot yoga! You should try out a class sometime! If you have corepower yoga anywhere near you or go somewhere that has it, they do a free week for people who’ve never been there before, it’s totally worth it!
I wish I liked yoga! I think it is a great way to clear your mind..I hope that one day I’ll like it! My favorite way to clear my mind and relieve some stress is by running!
i also enjoy running to relieve stress, but i needed something else a little less stressful on my body to help me relax, so yoga it was!
i usually dislike yoga, too… i think it is so boring! however, i do love bikram yoga… even though it is 90 minutes i feel like it goes by so fast AND gives a great workout!
i have yet to try out bikram, but i’d love to someday!
I LOVE YOGA!
I am so glad you are loving it too! I do the hot yoga, so I always go to the studio for the most part but I do it at home as well
Happy Sunday! <3
That’s great news. I sort of like yoga. I like to do 10-20 minutes of it from time to time, but I find the long videos always bore me. I usually end up stopping them halfway through. haha
Yay ! I used to hate yoga too but then I found Bikram and I turned to LOVE it
i still need to try out bikram!
I need that umph to do it more often
Hehe. I felt like you–soooo boring. But if I’m in the mood, it feels so good.
That’s great!! My sister is the same way, she doesn’t like the slow tempo.
It is great, plus it really builds lean muscle and the best part is abs. It really works your deep abs muscle!
and yes, it’s good for relaxing, I think we all need a quite time once in a while!
absolutely! quiet time and relaxation is crucial!
Hello Ashley… very nice blog!
YAY to learning to love yoga… I got into it 4 years ago, but then discovered the heart-pumping, adrenaline kicking workouts and thought, yoga is lame. But even though I had those thoughts, I still kept doing it because it worked wonders for me. In the past 5 months, I have been practicing it about 5-6 times a week. Pretty much everyday and totally love it. It is surprising how it can kick your butt but also teach you how to learn about your body, it’s capabilities and limits. I suggest that you visit a yoga studio and do a live class a couple times so someone can really see how you’re doing your poses and such. It surprised me to find out that I have been doing my down dogs and warrior poses wrong for the past 4 years! It was a frustrating adjustment, but totally worth it. 
P.S. Glad I found this blog!
thanks margarita! welcome! i definitely hope to try out yoga at a studio at some point. thanks for the suggestion!
There are so many different styles of yoga and I do not like them all. Sometimes I love a class and sometimes I hate it. I have some DVDs that I like and it’s pretty new to me as well to be enjoying yoga in any fashion
I’ve only taken a handful of yoga classes, & I’ve never really been a fan. I need to check & see if my gym offers a beginner class & maybe I’ll give it another try!
I love yoga but always find it hard to get the the yoga studios! I had no idea you could find classes on hulu! That is amazing.
Great that your loving yoga recently! I’ve tried to get into it, but I’m kinda like you I just like those intense activities too much
I guess I should just keep sticking to the yoga though, I’m sure I’ll like it eventually! And I know I could use the stretch of it!!
Whatttt teach me how to like it! I know it’s amazing for you, but I just cannot get into it. But in reality, I have not given it a fair chance!
that’s what i realized… i didn’t give it a fair chance, so i shifted my mindset on it and gave it another few shots.
I’m just like you but maybe I’ll give it another go..
Woop whoop go yoga go yoga go!
You must have read my mind today
I ran my first 10K on Saturday and I pushed myself like crazy so my whole body is sore today, so I’m trying out a yoga studio that my mom got me a groupon for a month of unlimited classes tomorrow! I’m really excited to try it, because all I’ve done is yoga classes at the gym at my school and I didn’t really like them either. I do the hulu videos occasionally, but I usually end up getting bored and shutting them off! The class I’m going to tomorrow is an hour and fifteen minutes so I hope it holds my interest! 
i hope it went well!
I like yoga, but I’ve never loved it. I like doing it for some low impact movement on rest days though!
I absolutely love yoga. I particularly like to do relaxation yoga on my rest days. I lay out my mat, light some candles, turn off the lights and breathe…
I’m glad you gave it another chance!
YEY! This is music to my ears! Trust me, I used to HATE yoga too, but I feel like it’s just one of those things that you need to prepare your mind to do.
Once you keep practicing and notice your poses getting stronger, you’ll REALLY start to love it!
thanks to you, i discovered more options on hulu and gave it another chance!
I think it’s great that you are trying yoga….I feel the same way about it that you felt. I know that I should give it a try, but feel so awkward and clumsy when I do it. I knwo that I need to give it a try and just do it! Especially for those stressful days.