So I recently found out my community center offers a couple of Yoga classes and the one that works for me schedule wise is called stretch and flow. I am just trying to get the supplies I will need to get started. I am an absolute beginner.

I do have a yoga mat that I bought to put under my Ab roller but it’s not very thick so I’m not sure it will be good for my knees. Do I need a thicker one. I also noticed they have some that say they are good for sweat which I’m sure I will do even during regular yoga because I sweat super easily. Should I go with that one? If they had one that was both thick and good for sweat I would just go with it but it seems to be one or the other. The sweat one is prettier though. lol.

What about clothes. So far in this size I just have a couple pair of bicycle shorts I wear to walk around the block. I assume I need pants of some sort but do people really wear the flare bottomed ones anymore or can I go with the slim leggings? Any particular material or better yet brands that work better for one reason or another? Also, I don’t think I’m quite ready to be out in public in just a sports bra do some people wear shirts? I assume I will need something more fitted like a tank maybe (oh boy the first showing of my big white arms, lol). Any suggestions there.

Amazon also has mat bags and straps, yoga straps, balls and bricks plus knee pads. Is any of that necessary to get started? I suppose I could get the knee pads and use the mat I already have but the mats aren’t terribly expensive if that would be one less thing to have to carry and buy anyways. Ooh and they did have a mat towel that says it had something in the corners that sticks it down? It’s for hot yoga but for me I think right now any yoga will be hot yoga. Would you advise getting that? Also, what about the socks? Are they helpful? Do you go barefoot otherwise or wear regular socks?

They have contact Info for the instructor on the site should I email her and let her know I’m a beginner and want to attend or just kinda show up, stay towards the back and do what I can?

Also, where do people put their stuff? Like is it okay to bring in my purse and phone or should I lock that In the car or what. It isn’t like a gym where everyone knows everyone. It’s just the community center so I’m not sure who will be there and I’m 99% certain there will not be any lockers.

One last thing, is yoga considered strength training? Do I still want to do my walking for cardio that same day or do I take that day off?

Sorry for so many questions but this will be my first group class in over 20 years and my first real month of exercising at all in just as long. I honestly don’t really know what to expect other than the fact that I won’t be able to do much to start but I need to get over that just like I did with the walking.

Edited September 21, 20241 yr by ShoppGirl

I’d ask her. Just start by telling her you like her leggings and ask if she finds them comfortable because yours are annoying you at the moment. Then ask what brand they are. Most women are happy to share especially after a compliment. I know I am. ? You may find a few others join the conversation and you might get a few ideas and style options.

the rolling down is because the leggingd are too big or too loose or to worn out

i have some pairs that i still have to hike up during class.

the best ones i find are the snug-properly fitted high waisted ones...but the have to fit like a glove! these are hard to find for me, so the next best i find are the low cut ones, where the band sits on way down on my hips (easier to find leggings that fit just my hips vs BOTH my hips and waist i guess)

I wear high-waisted Nike ones and they stay in place plus are really comfortable too ?

I bet it is just because they are too loose. I am about ready for the next size but I think they will still be a little too snug. You know how In the extended sizes they make you go a couple of inches before the next size which is so unfortunate. Once you get down to the “normal” sizes, there are more sizes in between so I’m sure I will find some to fit me better down the road. I actually am still within the return period for Amazon, maybe I will just send these two back and get the smaller size. If they are not comfortable anyways I may as well wear something I already have that isn’t perfect. At least that’s free. Or maybe I will be pleasantly surprised and they will just fit. If that doesn’t work, I will check out Nike. I just hate to spend a lot knowing that I’m still losing. Then again the ones that I got were not super cheap either, $30 bucks. I ordered some that were three in a pack for $30 and the material was just horrible so I went with the same brand as my bicycle shorts and I really like the material. I only have two pairs of the shorts so I have washed them every other day for over a month now and they still look brand new (navy and black not faded). Plus, they are really soft.

Edited September 30, 20241 yr by ShoppGirl

So I have been using the sanitizer that they have at the community center to clean my yoga mats and tossing them into the wash once a month (we use two across one another). The one new one I bought is for hot yoga and says machine wash so I guess it’s fine once a month but the other is older and I don’t know what the care instructions are. It seems to be losing chunks so I am thinking machine wash is not such a good idea. Also, I just tried the classes at a gym and they did not have any disinfectant for us to use. Any tips on what to use for daily disinfecting as well as how to deep clean them? I read so many different things with tea tree oil and vinegar/water but the ratios of vinegar and water are all different and the tea tree oil it doesn’t specify how much. I just tried doing them with soap and water in the driveway but that was a disaster. Apparently I used way too much soap so they are back in the washing machine now. And no I didn’t add more soap. Although I almost did toss a pod In there out of habit. ?

Oh, I never sanitised my mat. It was back in the pre COVID days, but I was the only one who touched or used it. I remember wiping it down with a wrung out microfibre cloth when it looked a little dirty but that was all. What are your mats made of? Mine was a rubber material which I wouldn’t put in a washing machine. Plus it wouldn’t have fitted in my front loader. I don’t wash the foam & rubber mat I use for my at home stretches either. You got me thinking now.

Glad you’re enjoying yoga so much.

Edited November 3, 20241 yr by Arabesque

38 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

Oh, I never sanitised my mat. It was back in the pre COVID days, but I was the only one who touched or used it. I remember wiping it down with a wrung out microfibre cloth when it looked a little dirty but that was all. What are your mats made of? Mine was a rubber material which I wouldn’t put in a washing machine. Plus it wouldn’t have fitted in my front loader. I don’t wash the foam & rubber mat I use for my at home stretches either. You got me thinking now.

Glad you’re enjoying yoga so much.

The one I got on Amazon and it says machine wash. I just looked and the material says rubber although I don’t think it’s just rubber (the back definitely is). The other one is older and it is some synthetic material and feels like it may have foam in between the layers. I have a third one that I do not use often because it’s kinda slippery since I sweat a lot. So I pulled the old one back out and put that one away.

It’s not very porous so I feel like I am able to get it clean enough with the disinfectant but I honestly don’t know what’s in the one they have and I need to make or buy my own to take with me to the PIYO class at the gym. which btw was actually super fun but a lot harder just because of the pace of it was so much faster than the YOGA class i am used to. I did that for the first time this morning. My friend went with me and she is really tiny but not necessarily super fit considering. I was surprised though when she told me afterwards that she wanted to quit and just lay down like five times.

It was pretty tough. I would say I was able to do half of what the instructor was doing. Like I can hold the pike or downward dog for the first half maybe but then by the time she adds stuff my arms give out and I definitely can’t do the one handed stuff. I have been doing wall pushups to try to strengthen my arms but I guess it will take a while My heart rate was still up the whole time so it’s a workout for me regardless but I would like to get to where I can do it and get toned and have better balance and coordination someday.

Edited November 3, 20241 yr by ShoppGirl

i use a diy spray (1 part distilled white vinegar, 3 parts filtered water and and several drops of tue essential oil du jour...currently it's peppermint)...fill up a spray bottle and bring with me and some disposable "dry" wet wipes.

i spray (both sides) of mat when done and wipe down. then once a week i soak it in the bathtub with some dawn dishwashing soap and warm water for an hour and dry (first with a towel and then hang).

BUT i use my mat 2-3 times a day every day. 80% of the time doing hot yoga so my mat gets pretty sweat soaked.

also...this is the first time ive heard of putting a mat in the washing machine!. i looked up the care instructions for the ones i have and none say i should do that? maybe because mine are on the thicker/heavier side?

I’m glad you’re enjoying yoga! I just throw my mat in the front loader with color wash (cold) once a month. I spot clean after a sweaty class with sensitive baby wipes. Some in the class use Clorox wipes. The instructor throws hers in the washing machine cold too. We all hang them to dry. They were “invented” by a woman who saw that the non-slip pads under rugs helped her. Angela Farmer was her name.

ok, i need to see what your mats look like that you can throw in the washer!

i can't imagine throwing any of the ones (Manduka Pro 6mm) we have in our washer...they just wouldn't fit i think..and i feel like they'd get damaged??

i wonder if i should try...it would definitely make like a little easier...**off to google***

UPDATE: jeez! just read the lifetime guarantee conditions of my mat and it says i SHOULN'T use vinegar based cleaners NOR soak in bathtub. OOPS! Though it does say i should use THIER propiertary cleaner which is just distilled water and lemongrass essential oil....sounds like a cash grab to me...

Edited November 3, 20241 yr by ms.sss

3 hours ago, ms.sss said:

ok, i need to see what your mats look like that you can throw in the washer!

i can't imagine throwing any of the ones (Manduka Pro 6mm) we have in our washer...they just wouldn't fit i think..and i feel like they'd get damaged??

i wonder if i should try...it would definitely make like a little easier...**off to google***

UPDATE: jeez! just read the lifetime guarantee conditions of my mat and it says i SHOULN'T use vinegar based cleaners NOR soak in bathtub. OOPS! Though it does say i should use THIER propiertary cleaner which is just distilled Water and lemongrass essential oil....sounds like a cash grab to me...

https://a.co/d/5efMT0T

The old one I have no clue what the care instructions are I just tried it thinking if it didn’t come clean then it was garbage anyways. That link above is the one I bought recently. They have really good reviews and they are cheaper than the Manduka brand. It’s really pretty and very vibrant colors in person. I have washed it in the machine three times now in a front loader and it still looks fine but who knows after a while. I take it out immediately and hang it up to dry (over my bar stool). Mine doesn’t have any kind of guarantee, though, that I know of anyways and no it’s not very thick at all. In fact when I went to the other gym that uses one mat I learned that my knees hurt when I don’t have that second layer where they cross one another so I guess i will be stacking two on top of one another for that class now. I quickly grabbed my towel and put that under my knees last time because they were hurting and that worked but it was a little awkward. I agree it sounds like a money thing them expecting you to use their brand specifically. If you buy their cleaner you basically end up paying for a second mat anyways and if you don’t they can say that you voided the warranty and not replace it. Either way they save money.

22 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

… I have been doing wall pushups to try to strengthen my arms but I guess it will take a while …

I love wall pushups. Been doing them for almost 2 years now almost every single day. I stand about 1 metre away from the wall (which is almost 2/3s of my height - lol!) and do 35 ordinary pushups & 35 with a clap. Should do more but I am ultimately lazy.

I have distinct deltoids, triceps & biceps. Don't know how much stronger I actually am but my arms are toned which is what I wanted & not muscle bulk.

My 14yr old competitive swimmer niece complemented me on my arms last week & was comparing them to hers. I’ll take that. Though she did point out they’d look better if I had the loose skin removed. Aah 14yrs olds, they give & they take away. ?

2 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I love wall pushups. Been doing them for almost 2 years now almost every single day. I stand about 1 metre away from the wall (which is almost 2/3s of my height - lol!) and do 35 ordinary pushups & 35 with a clap. Should do more but I am ultimately lazy.

I have distinct deltoids, triceps & biceps. Don't know how much stronger I actually am but my arms are toned which is what I wanted & not muscle bulk.

My 14yr old competitive swimmer niece complemented me on my arms last week & was comparing them to hers. I’ll take that. Though she did point out they’d look better if I had the loose skin removed. Aah 14yrs olds, they give & they take away. ?

Gotta love kids. They are so brutally honest. But of course compared to a 14 year old they are flabby. I am suddenly very aware of my saggy arms too and I have only lost 59 pounds so far. I think part of it was just normal aging and I just wasn’t paying as much attention before to them as I suddenly am now. My belly skin is starting to get pretty jiggly too. I am dropping the weight rather fast though. BMI of 39.2 to 30.3 in 3.5 months. My secret goal is another 51 pounds so I’m sure it’s gonna get a lot worse if I can get there.

Unless insurance helps, plastics are not an option. I’m really hoping it snaps back a bit with time but I will be doing a lot of crunches and pushups I’m sure. Does it make it easier or harder to stand back further? I am just doing them exactly how the instructor showed me in class which is my feet back a ways but not as far as you describe. I haven’t told her yet they are getting a bit easier for me now. I assumed the next step was knee pushups, but they hurt my knees so if I can alter the wall ones and skip the knees that would be ideal.

21 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Does it make it easier or harder to stand back further? I am just doing them exactly how the instructor showed me in class which is my feet back a ways but not as far as you describe. I haven’t told her yet they are getting a bit easier for me now. I assumed the next step was knee pushups, but they hurt my knees so if I can alter the wall ones and skip the knees that would be ideal.

Yes, it makes it harder because of the greater angle and greater the resistance (pushing your body back) so works the muscles more. Just slowly work your back away from the wall. Years ago I used to do them on a side board so a greater angle. I probably should start using that again or the kitchen bench.

I also do a small number from fully extended (straight arms) cobra position. Because it’s on the floor there’s no pressure on the knees. You could work your way up from that to your knees as you’re able and then to true pushups.

Every bit counts.

Mat: Knee-thick; optional sticky mats.
Clothing: Fitted tank top or T-shirt, slim leggings; sports bra optional underneath.
Props: Knee pads, straps, and blocks are optional. The norm is barefoot.
Class: Stay in the back and email the instructor if you're a beginner. Carry a little bag and protect your belongings.
Exercise: Walking the same day is acceptable; yoga increases strength. Proceed at your own speed.