45-Minute Yoga Flows

Hello Linda, I'm loving these classes, thank you so much for your great presence and sequencing. I have a question and thought I'd try asking you, if you don't mind. I have been steadily working my way up to a goal--of one hour a day of yoga on most days--since I started practicing in October 2020, about seven months ago. My strength, flexibility, and stamina has increased a lot in that time, of course. Currently I'm making my way through this season and I'm finding that my lower back is pretty achy afterwards. It's nothing that sleep doesn't fix (so far), but I did need a hot bath last night after practice. How can I know that I'm not over doing it as I head towards my yoga fitness goal? I don't want to hurt myself but I also am very much looking forward to being strong, flexible, and full of energy this summer. I'm 45 years old (and possibly sitting at my desk too much during the day) but otherwise in good health and on the lower end of the normal BMI range. Thank you! 

Katie C  Hello and nice to meet you!  I'm so glad you are enjoying the classes.  How awesome to have a set goal to work towards! Congrats for all of your discipline so far and for reaping the benefits. :)  However, I appreciate your concern for your back and I commend you for taking the time to listen and to reach out for support.  Here is what I think... while one-hour of strong, flow yoga once a day is a beautiful goal, I believe it's a bit too much.  I personally only practice in this way 3-4 times a week, as I feel like more than that can do more harm than good.  I often mix it up with walking/hiking/weightlifting and 1-2 days a week I even do gentle/yin/restorative yoga which is SO important for muscle recovery. 

Katie C Continued... My suggestion to you is to do this and have this be a new goal.  Maybe 4 times a week strong flow and 2 times a week some other activity for an hour and 1 day a week yin/restorative?  (Legs up the wall is one of my favorite restorative poses for low back pain- you could try this every day for 5 minutes!) Also, have you had a private lesson before?  It might be a good idea since you are doing so much yoga to have an experienced teacher look at your body and movements and offer some subtle tweaks to make sure your alignment is on spot and sustainable for a life-long, healthy yoga practice! It's worth the investment- trust me! Hope this is helpful to you!! All the best... 

Linda Baffa Thank you so much for your encouragement and for your thoughtful reply! I will definitely get myself to an in-person class to check my form as soon as I can safely do so. I'll also follow your suggestion to do the legs up he wall pose to alleviate back pain. I'm surprised to hear that 4 days a week of one hour of strong flow is truly the safest and most well-considered goal, but it makes sense and I'm going to revise accordingly. I think it may be that a lot of us stuck at home have just thought "why not?" and gone for a strong and steady yoga practice. Thank you for the reality check! And thank you for all these great online practices. Best, Katie

Katie C You are welcome! Strong and Steady is definitely what we want to feel and achieve, however, it can be too much on the body to do repetitive actions daily- no matter what those actions are... yoga... sitting at a desk... biking... etc.  I've found from my experience teaching and my personal experience the body thrives best when we mix it up and cross train. :) Please check back and let me know how you feel! Stay well!