didn't really offer it as an opinion, per se. as an accident i found out they also do yoga on other nights. when i asked, they said it was helpful. one mentioned he prefers doing yoga over aikido.

And I'm HERE, too! Small world!

See you in class...

At 50+, I find that my yoga practice helps me survive the workouts at the Aikido Dojo.

;)

SA

Of course they all complement each other - there is no complete art of living other than trying a few things out for yourself.

However, not to complicate matters, but what school of yoga and what school of aikido are we talking about ?

I have been practicing Kokikai Aikido for 4 years and was always limited in my growth by my inability to relax, and my difficulty to understand than the most powerful throws are just breathing throws ('kokyu-nage") . As it turns out, a knee injury prevented me fromk doing ukemi, so i went for a softer practice instead--- vinyasa yoga. It has worked wonders on my injury and help everything else.
After a few months I cannot consider doing one without the other. Tudasana has helped by balance tremendously. And all the aikido i did allowed me to go into yoga without fear of physical commitment and with a knowledge of how to relax into the most difficult poses. Vinyasa yoga has brought me a control of breath that is now crucial to the strength of my aikido.

I imagine the same must be true , to some degree, with other styles of both arts (aikikai/forest ?). Or maybe it is that yoga should not be regarded as an art, but as a vital element of a healthy existence. Water and air complement aikido, don't they ? Well, so does yoga. Yoga is good for everything, and yes, it's good for aikido as well.

The shodan factor might be a spurious correlation with age. As we grow older we get more injuries and weaknesses, and yoga is an ideal way to work on that. Or maybe it is that age brings some wisdom, and wisdom brings us to yoga. Either way, my sensei (5th Dan) started doing yoga recently and he speaks highly of it .

But yeah, dylan, give it a try - you won't regret it.

yoga is really isometric exercises either for endurance or flexibility, for example either you stand in a posure like a lunge posture for a long period of time or you focus on using muscular contractions -- ie resistance stretching- to create fliexibility. it thus goes well with everything because you create flexibility in not just the muscles but also in the joints, tendons, ligaments.

for example, resistance stretching would be where you sit cross legged and actually push the sides of your feet into the floor, creating flexibility in the knees and hips.

www.yogaenergyheal.com is my website for yoga instruction & vortex healing