Riese’s Team Pick: yogamazing

A few weeks ago it wouldn’t stop raining in Oakland, putting a damper on my plans to go to the Y to work out 2-3 times a week as my only method of transportation is “bicycle” and I’m not hard core enough to bike five miles in the rain, look what happened to Paige McCullers. Furthermore, I am perpetually stressed out.

Enter yogamazing!

These are ~25 minute yoga video podcasts you can get for free on itunes led by this dude named Chaz. You can also access archived yoga podcasts on their website. Each podcast has a theme — Yoga for Gardening! Yoga for Abs! Yoga For Computer Geeks! Yoga for Fibromyalgia! Yoga for Insomnia! Yoga For Better Memory! Yoga for Runners! Yoga for Menstrual Cramps! Yoga For the Butt! Yoga for Hamstrings! Yoga for Hangovers! Yoga for Eating Disorders! Yoga for Posture! Yoga for Rock Climbers! If you have a problem, you can fix it with YOGA.

I’ve probably done Yoga for Toning like ten times and I think I’m def more toned now.

The Gift of Yoga from Primitive Media on Vimeo.

If, like me, your only yoga-esque equipment is a $15 yoga mat you found on sale on Amazon, you’ll appreciate that there are no blocks or balls or other fancy things involved in the podcasts (at least in the ones I’ve done). Also if you need a yoga mat you shouldn’t get that one, it sucks, get this one.

Also I haven’t been doing yoga regularly in, I believe, six years — at some point I was actually teaching yoga to kids at a juvenile detention center, I think that was in 2000. But I didn’t have any trouble following and it was just exactly the right amount of time. Chaz makes me feel happy and safe, and you can get cheat sheets on poses you’re not familiar with on their website.

NAMASTE MOTHERFUCKERS

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3159 articles for us.

17 Comments

  1. I LOVE Yoga so will definitely be checking this out! However, I must say, my least favorite yoga pose is downward dog. No clue why, I just hate it with a passion! LOL! But, I’ve learned to work through it and realize that I do not have to hold the pose forever so I can do it! LOL!

  2. I saw “yoga,” “Chaz,” and “gardening” and thought this post was about my ex-boyfriend. Somewhat relieved, somewhat disappointed.

  3. pigeon hurts and makes me irrationally angry. it’s the hip opening poses that i struggle with. open hips = open heart.

    i’m so good at plow tho.

  4. Sweet I usually turn to Yogatic (on youtube) for my yoga fix but this Chaz guy
    seems pretty legit.

  5. So I was never really into yoga, mainly because it touts this religious, meditative experience while also making one strong and fit. But when I do yoga, I can only focus on how hard it is and how much my muscles hurt. Plus, I’m agnostic, and the spirituality aspect seems disingenuous and corny. I know there are some people who promote non-spiritual yoga, but there still seems to be an element of meditation, which, again because of the physical challenge of the exercise, seems impossible for me. I WILL say that i recently found yin yoga and LOVE it because it’s about flexibility and not muscle use, and think it makes for much better meditation material (if one is into that). Anyone agree with this? Have I just not given yoga a chance? Or is yoga just not for everyone?

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