Congratulations!!!
I love love love yoga. I want to love calisthenics and prison fitness but it just isn’t my thing.
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Not sure how far out from surgery you are but have friends who have thought this was helpful: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5dffc61c726470237fbcfbba/t/60821cec7330313400f6d4fe/1619139884664/TOP+SURGERY+RECOVERY+CASE+STUDY.pdf
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So, I love this guy Hampton’s whole vibe and follow him on Instagram. I only did his routine for 3 days while I was on vacation (I unrelatedly felt under the weather and napped the next 3 days). But what I did was very approachable and also he provides very clear progressions and regressions which is super rare.
I do NOT recommend the FB group. Too much diet culture gym bro weirdness running unchecked.
https://instagram.com/hybrid.calisthenics?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
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Seconding the recommendation for Hampton’s hybrid calisthenics. He takes some very common bodyweight exercises and I like how he gives lots of variations to try based on your abilities.
It’s paid, but I also enjoyed this course. I liked that it was more varied (I get bored easily lol). It also does a lot of standard calisthenics (squats, bridges, etc) but mixes in some yoga poses and such. I feel like this one helped me a lot with daily life flexibility for things like bending, reaching, squatting.
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Hahaha, that’s what I call it too! It’s not my thing either. I think I would be bored halfway through the first workout if I even could do that type of stuff (burpees, etc.), which I can’t do anyway 
but my husband loves it!
I got so bored with Bikram yoga too (this was pre scandal) because I loved the heat but then when I went to the second class I was like…oh, the choreography is exactly the same? That sucks, but whatever. And then in classes 3+ I was like, “ohhh, ok so it will always be exactly the same sequence? NEXT!!!”
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Can everyone ramble at me about posture? It’s super problematic in my life and I’m not getting anywhere.
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Usually it’s secondary to underlying muscle weakness, limited mobility through somewhere, or strength imbalance that should be addressed instead. Targeting posture rarely gets you where you want to be. A PT is usually a better first step.
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Do you know if breast reductions also help? I am asking for a friend, and that friend is my back.
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Also dont go near the comments or his discord. He is amazing but the followers are 
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HMM. Excellent question. Idk for sure but my guess is YES. It would seem like the body mechanics there could be a definite yes.
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Anecdote, but someone I knew in undergrad had breast reduction surgery and it majorly helped with her back pain.
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I agree with BJ. The best thing you can do for posture if you are starting from scratch is PT, specifically targeting body awareness as well as core strength. Compared to any other type of strength core strength is the one most tied to back pain, and that is true even for people like me who have very obvious spinal conditions. By increasing muscle you essentially bolster your spine and take the pressure off it so that it is more evenly distributed. Core muscles are also extremely important when it comes to maintaining posture while in motion (i.e. in the car, while carrying things, walking up a hill).
Body awareness is equally important because most people have a pretty low body IQ, which means they fully believe they are practicing good posture when they are not. Mirrors are super important for this reason so I would also do all core work in front of a mirror to check, and to practice posture sitting, standing, sitting to standing, carrying things, etc.
@MonkeyJenga Posture is a practice or type of conditioning, like flexibility or balance, so a breast reduction will not make your posture better. However, weight on the spine is weight on the spine. If you have (and you do) far above average sized breasts the sheer weight can create back pain even if you have good posture already. Additionally, it is harder to maintain good posture when there is more weight on the spine in general, and breast weight is particularly bad because it is localized high on the trunk and not near your abdomen, which means you can’t offload it onto your strong core. That’s why the body can tolerate pregnancy or even stomach fat to an extent it cannot tolerate breast weight.
Another thing that’s kind of tangential but IMO high impact is that very large breasts can inhibit your ability to stretch fully. It’s the same as a pregnancy belly in that way, if you have something that comes out from your body quite far, you simply cannot bend yourself as much because there is stuff in the way. So this can compound your back pain too, depending on your flexibility level (some people can still stretch with larger breasts/higher weight because they are inflexible enough to feel a stretch with even a mild positioning, if you are more flexible or looking to increase flexibility this can become an issue). So a breast reduction could have that other added benefit of making certain stretches and workouts less uncomfortable, or even doable for the first time.
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Yes, but the surgery and recovery are tough and PT is a good idea with it
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PT but uf that is out if reach, pilates. This wax typed by a potato
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Oh good call! Pilates is fantastic provided you have a good instructor. I do pilates daily (as able) and it is 100% essential for my back.
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You probably said this somewhere and I missed it, but do you have a particular Pilates resource you could share?
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I use this book, which is seriously excellent and highly detailed in its explanations! I believe it was recommended to me here…possibly by @Elle ? Sorry if I’m forgetting who it was bc it’s one of the best recs I’ve ever been given.
And I also really like this YouTuber! She has fantastic core workouts which do not require weights or bands or anything, which is great because my upper body cannot tolerate any of that, not even resistance bands.
I also really like her yoga but it’s more on the “workout yoga” theme than like, spiritual meditation yoga.
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Thank you!!
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Nothing to add yet except that I am learning a lot, thank you everyone for sharing the really good information in a helpful way!
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Mega thank you 
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