Yoga with Weights For Dummies

Sherri Baptiste, Megan Scott

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780471749370
• eBook ISBN: 9781118068496
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Sport & Exercise Science
• Index: Biological Sciences

An easy-to-follow guide to a hot new form of yoga

Yoga with Weights is the latest breakthrough in mind-body exercise, integrating the mindfulness of yoga with the physical culture of body-building. Building on the strengths of both disciplines, this friendly guide shows readers how to safely combine yoga postures while simultaneously working out with lightweight hand-held free weights. It features customizable exercises that target specific areas of the body, each illustrated with multiple photos, and provides guidelines for combining healthy eating with workouts.

Sherri Baptiste (Marin County, CA) is the founder of Baptiste Power of Yoga, a nationally recognized method of yoga offered throughout the United States. She teaches yoga classes throughout the United States and hosts retreats around the world.

Part I

Getting Started

In this part . . .

**IN a DROPCAP**

P art I is where you get your feet wet. Don’t be shy. Walk right up to the shore and stick your toes in the water. We’re here to show you the way.

In this part, you find out what yoga with weights is and all the different ways this exercise program can help you physically, mentally, and spiritually. We describe in detail the equipment you need for yoga with weights, and we show you how to get ready for your first workout. We also look at safety issues, show you how to manage exercise pain, and explain how to set up the ideal place for a yoga-with-weights workout.

Chapter 1

Introducing Yoga with Weights

In This Chapter

Exploring yoga and yoga with weights

Looking at the potential health benefits of yoga with weights

Deciding whether you’re ready to start doing yoga-with-weights workouts

Investing in the appropriate tools, equipment, and gear

Aligning your body properly for the exercises

Reviewing safety issues and pain management

“W hat is yoga with weights, anyway?” Wonder no more, dear reader. This chapter familiarizes you with this exciting new exercise discipline: what it is, what you can get out of it, and what you need to get started (don’t worry, you don’t need much).

We believe that everyone can benefit from yoga-with-weights exercises. No matter how flexible you are, how old or young you are, whether you’re a paragon of good health or you’re just starting down the road to a healthier, happier lifestyle, yoga with weights can help you. We really want to encourage you to take up yoga with weights. We think, no, we know you’ll love it!

In the Beginning, There Was Yoga . . .

Long before people started working out to dance videos or even doing calisthenics, there was yoga — a system of personal development and spiritual practice that began in India at least 5,000 years ago.

You thought yoga was an exercise program, didn’t you? If so, you’re right. You can get enormous health benefits from yoga exercises, called poses or postures, without going into the spiritual side of yoga.

But yoga is more than an exercise program. Yoga means “union” or “to integrate” in Sanskrit (the language of yoga). Yoga addresses the whole person, cultivating the mind, the body, and the spiritual potential that you have inside. Classic yoga practitioners seek to be integrated with universal consciousness. They believe that life is a process of purposeful evolution toward a state of self-realization. To achieve this state, they study and live the eight limbs of yoga, or the eightfold path (see the upcoming sidebar for more on this topic). Meditation is one of the vital limbs in this system. The exercise side of yoga emerged about 600 years ago to prepare yoga practitioners for meditation. Sitting for hours in yoga meditation is common, and to make themselves strong enough and supple enough to sit in meditation for long periods of time, yoga practitioners developed yoga poses, or asanas in Sanskrit. The poses are only one part of a much larger personal development system that over time becomes a rich lifestyle, but in the Western part of the world, most people think of exercises when they hear the word “yoga.”

From a practical point of view, part of the appeal of yoga comes from the stress reduction that occurs while practicing the postures and concentrating on the breathing, which we discuss in detail in Chapter 4. Practice yoga long enough and you’ll discover that yoga is a personal journey as well; you notice an overall sense of well-being and peace of mind. Yoga can help you relax, feel more grounded, and experience more joy in your life. For that reason, it benefits not only your mental and physical health, but also the quality of your work and daily life.

In this book, we focus mostly on the physical aspects of yoga with weights. We want you to know that the techniques, exercises, and practices you experience in this system aren’t watered down; they’re the real deal for body, mind, and spirit. If you’re interested in discovering more about the philosophical and spiritual aspects of yoga, we recommend Yoga For Dummies, by Georg Feuerstein and Larry Payne (Wiley).

As a spiritual practice and exercise program, yoga continues to evolve, with new schools of yoga and new exercise variations prospering every day. Enter yoga with weights!

The eight limbs of yoga

To work toward the goal of self-realization, yoga practitioners study the following eight limbs of yoga and integrate them into their lives:

Yama: The code of ethics by which practitioners measure and monitor their behavior. Practitioners refrain from injuring others, lying, stealing, being greedy, and engaging in sensual activities.

Niyamas: The observances by which practitioners control their mental energy and develop willpower. The observances are defined as purification, contentment, austerity, sacred study, and attunement to the absolute.

Asanas: The poses, or exercises, that constitute the physical aspect of yoga. The exercises help develop the mind-body relationship and build physical strength, flexibility, and balance.

Pranayama: The science of Prana (the life force) and its correlation to breathing. By controlling their breathing, practitioners discover how to control their thought processes.

Pratyahara: A series of breathing exercises and techniques by which practitioners separate consciousness from sensual perception. The goal is to withdraw the conscious mind from the bondage of the physical body and its instinctual drives.

Dharana: A series of breathing techniques and exercises, including mantra, designed to develop endurance through conscious effort and the power of concentration.

Dhyana: A series of breathing techniques and exercises designed to help practitioners reach an effortless state of meditation.

Samadhi: Advanced breathing exercises and techniques designed to return the individual consciousness to perfect divine unity.

Yoga schools at a glance

No yoga school is better than another; which one you choose to study is simply a matter of personal preference. More important than any yoga school is the student-teacher relationship.

The differences between schools usually have to do with emphasis. For example, some schools place more emphasis on the alignment of the body, the coordination of breath and movement, holding postures, or the transition from one posture to another.

Roughly speaking, here are the different yoga schools:

Ananda: Developed by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. The emphasis is on self-realization.

Anusara: As taught by John Friend, this school focuses on flowing with grace and is based on principles and spirals of alignment.

Ashtanga: Developed by K. Pattabhi Jois, this yoga gives you a serious athletic workout.

Baptiste Method of Yoga: Developed by Magaña and Walt Baptiste, this school is based on Raja yoga; the focus is on mind and meditation.

Baptiste Power of Yoga: Developed by Sherri Baptiste, this school brings together flowing postures, breathing techniques, and yoga philosophy.

Bikram: Developed by Bikram Choudhury, this school presents a series of 26 static-holding postures practiced in a room heated to 110° Fahrenheit.

Himalayan Institute: Developed by Swami Rama from a lineage of sages of the ancient cave monasteries of the Himalayas, the focus is on meditation.

Integral: Swami Satchidananda’s Integral yoga is a major componenet of Dr. Dean Ornish’s groundbreaking work on reversing heart disease.

Iyengar: Developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, this ...

Table of contents

• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I : Getting Started
• Chapter 1: Introducing Yoga with Weights
• Chapter 2: Gearing Up
• Chapter 3: Preparing for Your First Workout
• Part II : Mastering the Basics
• Chapter 4: A Breath of Fresh Air: Yoga Breathing Techniques
• Chapter 5: Making the Mind and Body Connection
• Chapter 6: Warming Up and Cooling Down
• Chapter 7: From Head to Toe: The Balanced Workout
• Part III : Refining Your Technique
• Chapter 8: Waking Up Your Mind and Body: The Energy Workout
• Chapter 9: Taking It Easy: The Restorative Workout
• Chapter 10: Pumping You Up: The Strengthening Workout
• Chapter 11: Releasing Your Athlete Within: The Endurance Workout
• Chapter 12: Iron Abs: The Belly-Burner Workout
• Part IV : Personalizing Your Program
• Chapter 13: Eating to Enhance Your Yoga-with-Weights Workout
• Chapter 14: Addressing Body Aches and Pains
• Chapter 15: Toning and Focusing on Different Body Areas
• Part V : Addressing Special Situations
• Chapter 16: Improving Your Game
• Chapter 17: Girl Talk
• Chapter 18: Exercises for Seniors
• Part VI : The Part of Tens
• Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Stay Motivated
• Chapter 20: Ten Myths about Yoga with Weights
• Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Chart Your Progress
• Appendix: Resources