caged-nomad wrote:

Prescriptum: I was seriously tempted to address you as Master Yoda, if only you weren't female (edit: and of course far better looking than Yoda -- I wasn't going to insult you); so once again your sex has served you well.

Anyway. My two questions, should you choose to answer them, are as follows:

(1) Do you know this book ('Yoga: The Iyengar Way' by Silva, Mira, and Shyam Mehta), and if so, would you recommend it to a yoga beginner like me?

(2) What to do when I end up with pulled legs (overstretched hamstrings) after a yoga session? I guess I'm doing something wrong.

Any ideas?

caged-nomad wrote:

OK that was actually four questions, but anyway...

wrote:

I'm in the middle of a 5 alarm freakout right now, but I'll at least answer the second question-

You're doing too much. Men tend to have tighter hamstrings than women. Never stretch beyond the point of VERY mild discomfort.

Another thing that would help is warming up your muscles. Going for a 15 minute walk before doing your yoga practice might be helpful. Anyway, for recovery, it's rest and active recovery, such as mild walking or cycling.

caged-nomad wrote:

Oh.

I see...

If I want to stretch those hamstrings a bit, would it be enough to do a 2-5 min. stretching session (just for the hamstrings) each day?

Not quite sure what a 5 alarm freakout is (is it like having 5 alarm clocks set in the morning to guarantee that you'll hear at least one of them? That's what I do.), enjoy it anyway.

wrote:

Always stretch each muscle from 10-30 seconds. Again, I can't stress enough to do it when your muscles are warm.