Wii Fit Yoga

Guffrey

So, long story short, my fiancee has extremely bad tension problems. Her doctor suggested yoga to help gently stretch it. Classes are way expensive around here, she doesn't want a video (less likely to do it, watching the same exact thing, etc). So we were thinking about Wii Fit. We both want it anyways, and this seems like a great reason to get it. So for those who have played, how good is the yoga on it? Also, I imagine there are other gentle stretching activies that could help, am I right? Thanks

Raggaholic

I haven't played it, but I'll tell you this. You'll have a hell of a time finding it. They're going on Ebay for double their retail price because they're hard to find. I saw three in Walmart and didn't think anything of it two weeks ago. Now, they're nowhere to be found.

Guffrey

Yes, I realize its extremely rare. Its exactly what I went through getting my Wii in the first place. Im putting together a phone number list as we speak, and getting ready to do a lot of grunt work.

Rakkah

I am not an expert on yoga - that is, I've never been to a class or watched a video or read anything about it. So take my opinion with two grains of salt.

That said, I did go through some of the yoga exercises in Wii fit so far and while it's a bit more challenging to get the posture right than in say the strength ones, they do seem to hit the nail on the head once you do. The instructions are pretty clear (as clear as can be, given the medium) and the exercises that are available (and the ones that become available through extended play) seem a good fit for the interface.

I live in Australia, so for me getting Wii Fit involved getting to a store a couple of days after release and buying a copy, but I all the same I feel it's money well spent. Both my wife and I enjoy the exercises.

noir_blood

I don't have it, but my gf does(Thanks to my nerd knowledge that it would sell it, I preordered it for her) she seems to enjoy it quite a bit, not just yoga but the rest of the exercises. Fooling around with it, I didn't see that there were a lot of different stretches, but that might be cause she hasn't unlocked more.

ihmmy

in other news, you can often get yoga tapes for cheap when they go on sale at places that don't really specialize in them, but carry them. They're also fairly inexpensive on amazon. I like Rodney Yee, and hate every other yoga tape I have ever tried (save for of course the couple of his I've used, namely his yoga for strength is phenomenal). I do it for de-stressing, but iirc he had a few ones specifically designed to help with back pain

I haven't tried wii fit yet, but I have two coworkers who think it's the bees knees. I want it, but I'm broke, so not for a bit yet.

bruin

I've been doing yoga with Wii Fit every day since it came out, and I think it's pretty damn good. I did a yoga class once too, even. You're not getting the same kind of instruction, and you have to motivate yourself to do it, but the scientific feedback the board gives you (how your weight is shifting) is something you can't get from a DVD or an instructor.

Szechuanosaurus

bruin wrote: »

I've been doing yoga with Wii Fit every day since it came out, and I think it's pretty damn good. I did a yoga class once too, even. You're not getting the same kind of instruction, and you have to motivate yourself to do it, but the scientific feedback the board gives you (how your weight is shifting) is something you can't get from a DVD or an instructor.

Yeah, I haven't tried the Yoga specifically myself yet but I'd imagine that it sits somewhere between a video and an actual class. The feedback is only going to be able to tell you so much about what you're doing right or wrong (in other exercises the balance board basically tells you whether you are balanced or not, where your centre of gravity is) but that'll probably be more than a pre-recorded DVD would.

Midshipman

I've played around with Wii Fit for a few weeks and the Yoga is pretty relaxing. I've never done any other Yoga, but it seems like if you had a spotter to help you with your posture then it seems like its a pretty solid way to get into Yoga.

Daenris

Guffrey wrote: »

she doesn't want a video (less likely to do it, watching the same exact thing, etc).

While I agree that Wii Fit is a pretty decent game/exercise and the yoga exercises are good, this may cause problems. If she doesn't want a video because she's not going to want to exercise while watching exactly the same thing every time, Wii Fit is not necessarily the best option. Once you've gone through the different poses once, doing them after that is pretty much watching the exact same thing every time. And the encouraging phrases get old very quickly, and sometimes even end up being repeated 2-3 times in a row during a single pose/whatever.

Guffrey

I knew when I typed that I hadn't phrased it well. I think its more along the lines of since its a game, and has other game things on it, shes more likely to do it because its more fun. And yeah, its the same thing everytime, but for example, we watched a yoga thing on tv earlier, and it was kind of corny, and quite frankly, dumb.

cloudeagle

I use Wii Fit daily, especially the yoga.

It rocks. Not only do you have the instructor showing you how to do the exercises correctly, you have a little indicator showing you your center of balance. So instead of just stretching, you're stretching while trying to keep a little red dot centered within a bigger yellow circle. That's helped keep me motivated, at least. And I can really feel the stretch from the poses... and I'm a guy who goes to the gym regularly.

If you're really, really serious about yoga I'm sure classes will give you a more focused experience, but for general fitness it's ace.

Oh, and the corniness factor is pretty darn low on the yoga parts. Now, as for that game where you're a penguin and you have to slide around on your belly for fish...

Improvolone

How much is too much for professional group Yoga classes that could potentially make her life better?

Guffrey

She didn't give me any strict numbers, but considering we are young and getting married, a continuous fee like that isn't ideal. Besides, note that the doctor didn't say she had to take a class, but actually suggested a video. We wouldn't be getting this JUST for the yoga, but I wanted to make sure it was good before we spent the money.

urahonky

I will say that I really enjoy WiiFit's Yoga alot. I've been working on doing those exercises at least two to three times a week. My posture has gotten much better (the game tracks how well your posture is, and your center of balance) since beginning it. It shows you what your posture looks like on Day 1, and progresses to the last day.

I'd say if you can find it, go for it. You can't go wrong with it anyway.

Improvolone

Guffrey wrote: »

She didn't give me any strict numbers, but considering we are young and getting married, a continuous fee like that isn't ideal. Besides, note that the doctor didn't say she had to take a class, but actually suggested a video. We wouldn't be getting this JUST for the yoga, but I wanted to make sure it was good before we spent the money.

Just sayin, WiiFit is $100. I just found a yoga/pilates studio near me and it's $100 for 10 classes, $180 for 20 classes, $60 for 5 classes, and $15 for one class. I really really really think that taking the money spent on WiiFit would be better spent on 10 classes, which could realisiticly be two months worth.

Preacher

Improvolone wrote: »

Guffrey wrote: »

She didn't give me any strict numbers, but considering we are young and getting married, a continuous fee like that isn't ideal. Besides, note that the doctor didn't say she had to take a class, but actually suggested a video. We wouldn't be getting this JUST for the yoga, but I wanted to make sure it was good before we spent the money.

Just sayin, WiiFit is $100. I just found a yoga/pilates studio near me and it's $100 for 10 classes, $180 for 20 classes, $60 for 5 classes, and $15 for one class. I really really really think that taking the money spent on WiiFit would be better spent on 10 classes, which could realisiticly be two months worth.

It's actually 80 dollars for Wii Fit and it does more then just yoga. I say get it because wii fit is an excellent tool for maintaining a healthy life style and its fun.

cloudeagle

Preacher wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

Guffrey wrote: »

She didn't give me any strict numbers, but considering we are young and getting married, a continuous fee like that isn't ideal. Besides, note that the doctor didn't say she had to take a class, but actually suggested a video. We wouldn't be getting this JUST for the yoga, but I wanted to make sure it was good before we spent the money.

Just sayin, WiiFit is $100. I just found a yoga/pilates studio near me and it's $100 for 10 classes, $180 for 20 classes, $60 for 5 classes, and $15 for one class. I really really really think that taking the money spent on WiiFit would be better spent on 10 classes, which could realisiticly be two months worth.

It's actually 80 dollars for Wii Fit and it does more then just yoga. I say get it because wii fit is an excellent tool for maintaining a healthy life style and its fun.

Yeah, the strength training and aerobics are very useful too. If you're going for general fitness and nothing more intensive, you're fine with Wii Fit.

Improvolone

Hey now, I own it and love it, but if it gets recomeded that someone needs Yoga, WiiFit (in my opinion and experience with fitness) won't cut it. It will provide MAYBE more encouragenment than a video, but it has a huge flaw in that there is no built in series of positions.
This sounds a bit like the OP wants to rationalize buying WiiFit.

Guffrey

We're not looking for an excuse to get it. We were planning on eventually getting it anyways, now we are just getting it sooner. I just wanted to make sure that the yoga part wasn't half assed or anything, as that is what she is really looking forward to. Ends up there is a free yoga morning stretch thing she can do on tv too, so she'll be getting it from more than just one place. Anyways, it seems everyone is suggesting it, so now its just a matter of tracking down a damn copy. Feels like the Wii just came out again. Thanks everyone.