Tai Chi, Pilates, and Yoga

I'm hoping to start taking classes in these three things starting next week.  I've done Tai Chi while fat, so I'm not super worried about that.  The last time I did yoga I was about 90 pounds lighter.  I've never done pilates before.  

Will I have issues with yoga or pilates?  Should I show up early to talk to the instructor or something?  (I currently weigh 269.)

I started doing yoga after surgery at about that weight.  Some of the poses will be hard until you build up strength.  My shoulders still get pretty tired sometimes.  You can always go into child's pose to rest.  Enjoy it!  I find it to be a great workout and very soothing at the same time.

Thanks!  Is that something that the instructor will be able to explain to me?  

Yes - it is basically kneeling down and then laying your head forward to the mat.  it is a rest pose.  if you ask beforehand they will show you.  

I checked out some pictures of it online - there's no way my butt will get that close to my legs/ankles :D

I love yoga and pilates!  Haven't done either in several weeks but I had no problem with the classes at my pre-surgery weight of 280+.  

Thank you!  Will I need to do anything special/different?  

The only difference for me was that I couldn't get as low in child's pose as I wanted, but I was always happy with the workouts I got.  Pilates is a bit more intense IMO than yoga, but of course that varies by person--I could definitely feel the stretch the next day!  The great thing about these workouts is you can tailor them to meet your fitness level.  Oh, and I love to take some essential oils with me to yoga classes and put a few drops on my wrists.  Sometimes the instructors at my gym bring them too.  

I really enjoy pilates and started around 250 lbs. It was certainly challenging at first as you build up your core muscles. Now...down at my current weight and fitness level it is still challenging but I can do the poses/exercises. That's the great thing about pilates. You can make it fit your fitness level by the amount of time you hold (or don't hold) the poses.

I would suggest going to a "beginner" pilates or yoga class until you know some of the poses. It can be overwhelming to try to figure out what everyone is doing when you a sweating your butt off trying to balance! :-) I will tell you that I do accredit pilates for my muscular arms, well the upper half of my arm is super muscular. I like to pretend the bat wing part isn't there but I do think it has gotten marginally better.

Good luck with your first class. The only other advice is stick with it for at least 5 classes. That's when you'll really get a good indication if its for you or not.

Thank you!  And thank you for the reminder to stick with it for 5 classes.  I'll keep that in mind for all of the classes I try out!