Unlike other forms of exercise, yoga typically isn’t designed to elevate your heart rate. Nonetheless, researchers have found that it may improve cardiorespiratory fitness, especially when combined with other types of exercises.
Use a yoga block for your bottom hand in Extended Side Angle to help maintain shoulder opening and torso stability. Micro-bend your knees as needed to keep your back flat and avoid compression of the spine.
Strength
Yoga workouts can improve strength, especially if you do a variety of poses and hold them for longer periods of time. The key is to find the balance of pushing actions and pulling actions.
Depending on the style of yoga you do, this could mean doing poses like Four Limbed Staff Pose to strengthen arms and shoulders or Reverse Tabletop Pose to build core, arm and leg strength. Many yoga positions require you to use your own body weight, such as Handstand or Plank Pose, and this can also help you build strength.
Most experts recommend incorporating yoga as part of your regular workout routine, but it’s important to keep in mind that if you’re a beginner, adding too much yoga can lead to over-training and injuries. It’s generally recommended that adults aim for 30 to 45 minutes of exercise, six days a week, which should include both aerobic and strength training.
Flexibility
Increasing flexibility is an essential part of yoga, and it’s something that you can see a dramatic improvement in with regular practice. The greater your range of motion, the easier it is to perform other types of exercise and even just go about your daily routine without getting injured.
You can improve your flexibility with a range of poses from the peaceful hatha to the high-intensity power yoga. You can even try acro yoga, which combines a bit of gymnastics with some traditional yoga poses.
However, you’ll need a good mat for comfort and stability. Most yoga classes rely solely on your body weight for resistance, so the strain is fairly controlled compared to some other workout styles that can be more jarring on your joints and muscles. This makes it an ideal workout for people with injuries or health problems, as well as older adults. But even if you’re healthy, yoga can help you develop better body awareness and posture.
Coordination
Aside from the physical strength and flexibility that yoga provides, it also improves balance and coordination. The demands of coordinating movement, breathing and focus on the present help to train the brain to quickly integrate sensory input.
This includes visual, proprioceptive and vestibular signals to control body position. Having better balance and coordination may reduce falls as people age. A study of children who did yoga showed improvement in balance and posture, as well as a reduction in the number of falls that occurred.
Depending on the style of yoga, some classes can get your heart rate into the targeted zone for moderate exercise. However, it’s important to mix up your yoga classes so you’re working different muscles and getting the variety that helps prevent fitness plateaus. Try adding a new class at a different time of day, or find a different instructor to provide a fresh perspective. This will challenge your body and your mind in different ways, and make for a more rewarding yoga experience.
Mind-Body Connection
As a form of meditation and breathing exercises, yoga can help you relax and focus on your mind-body connection. Whether you’re in a group fitness class or a solo strength training session, incorporating yoga into your workout can improve the way you feel both on and off the mat.
In addition to the mental benefits, yoga can also enhance your mood. Yoga’s controlled movements and breathwork help shift your body out of the stress-inducing “fight or flight” response into the more relaxing parasympathetic nervous system via the vagus nerve. This change in your brain’s functioning can reduce the production of stress hormones, which can contribute to depression and anxiety.
A plethora of studies show that yoga can improve quality of life (QOL) by boosting physical health, cognitive abilities and emotional resilience. Yoga is a great workout for any athlete looking to build muscle, increase flexibility and get in tune with their body’s signals. However, it’s important to remember that yoga doesn’t replace other forms of exercise, especially high-intensity interval training and weightlifting.