Yoga is catching the world by storm. We know that yoga can help us sleep better, live happier, reduce stress, eliminate toxins and loosen up those tightly wound muscles. Clearly, there is no doubt that yoga deserves a consistent spot in our weekly wellness routine, but can we also count yoga as a full-body workout? That question and more will be answered in this article.
Is Yoga Considered a Workout?
Yes, yoga is considered a workout. It can vary in intensity from gentle stretches to vigorous, sweat-inducing sequences, making it adaptable to different fitness levels and goals. Here's why yoga qualifies as a workout:
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Strength Building: Many yoga poses require you to lift and hold your own body weight in new ways, which builds muscle strength and endurance.
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Cardiovascular Health: Certain styles of yoga, such as Vinyasa and Ashtanga, involve continuous, flowing movements that increase heart rate and improve cardiovascular health.
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Flexibility and Balance: Yoga emphasizes stretching and balance, enhancing overall flexibility and coordination.
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Core Stability: Many poses engage and strengthen the core muscles, contributing to better posture and stability.
- Holistic Fitness: Yoga integrates physical exercise with breathing and mindfulness practices, providing mental and emotional benefits that complement the physical workout.
In one study that examines the relationship between yoga and fitness, researchers at the University of California at Davis tested the muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and lung function of 10 college students before and after eight weeks of yoga training. Each week, the students attended four sessions that included 10 minutes of pranayama (breathing activities), 15 minutes of warm-up activities, 50 minutes of asanas (yoga poses), and 10 minutes of meditation.
After eight weeks, the students’ muscular strength had increased by 31%, muscular endurance by 57%, flexibility by 188%, and VO2max by 7%. VO2max is is a measure of the maximum volume of oxygen that the body can use. Typically it takes about 15 to 20 weeks of consistent activity to see improvements in VO2max, so a 7% increase if eight weeks shouldn’t be taken lightly. These results show us that, yes, we can label yoga as our “workout” for the day.
How Does Yoga Compare to Other Workouts?
Yoga offers unique benefits that set it apart from other forms of exercise. Below are some examples of yoga directly compared to other types of workouts and what the benefits are.
Yoga vs. Cardio
While traditional cardio workouts elevate the heart rate more consistently, yoga styles like Vinyasa and Ashtanga can also provide significant cardiovascular benefits through sustained movement.
Yoga vs. Strength Training
Yoga builds functional strength by using body weight for resistance, targeting muscles often neglected in traditional strength training. It can be a good addition to strength training in order to ensure all your muscles are properly targeted.
Yoga vs. Flexibility Exercises
Yoga's holistic approach integrates flexibility with strength and balance, offering a more comprehensive workout than traditional stretching routines.
Holistic Approach
Unlike many workouts, yoga simultaneously addresses physical and mental health, promoting overall well-being. Yoga allows you to tap into your mindset using breathing techniques which help to improve many aspects of your health including your nervous system, mental health and more.
What Do I Need For Regular Yoga Practice?
This is one of the greatest things about yoga! You really do not need much in order to start yoga practice and start to gain the benefits. In order to practice yoga you will need:
- A Yoga Mat
- Yoga Pants (for women or men)
- A Yoga Teacher/Instructor
Keep in mind that you do not need to go into a yoga studio or gym to get in your yoga workout! There are plenty of yoga teachers that upload free yoga practice videos online via platforms like YouTube. Through these videos you will be able to practice different types of yoga from restorative yoga, hatha yoga, vinyasa yoga, sun salutation and more.
What Does A Yoga Workout Contain?
Of course, the level of yoga workout depends on which style and level class you decide to take. A hot power vinyasa class is going to be much more physically rigorous than a yin class. Don’t discount yin classes though – they are magical in their own way! Sun Salutations and other continuously linked poses will increase your heart rate, strengthening your aerobic system and counting as cardio. Keep a good, steady pace, matching your breath to your movement, for best results. Many yoga poses, think standing poses, balancing poses, and inversions, build strength because they require sustained isometric contractions of different large and small muscles to increase muscle strength, making yoga a great strength training workout.
When going through a yoga flow, your whole body is involved. You aren’t simply performing bicep curls, isolating those bicep muscles. You are moving from one yoga posture to another, with your arms, legs and core engaged the entire time. The core is engaged for full body stabilization, along with protection of your lower back. Specific poses, like boat pose and handstand, truly work the core. In many regular yoga poses, you are carrying all of your body weight on your arms – that takes strength! Inversions and arm balances allow you to raise your heartbeat and strengthen the body, all while elongating the muscles.
With every movement, your mind is present and engaged. You breathe into each pose and mindfully melt into proper alignment. The body and breath move as one. You can do a million crunches, but if you aren’t performing them mindfully and efficiently, you aren’t going to achieve the desired result. It is always better to do fewer repetitions properly than it is to do a hundred repetitions with bad form. Proper muscle engagement must be there for proper sculpting. Yoga practice encourages this way of thinking and being, making it arguably more effective than many other forms of Activity.
The 5 Yoga Asanas
Try including the following five yoga asanas in your practice to increase your heart rate and really break a mindful sweat. Remember that yoga doesn’t have to be in a studio, there are plenty of yoga videos online to help you with your practice:
1. Phalakasana (Plank pose) – abs, arms, spine, quadriceps, mind
2. Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) – arms, core, courage muscles
3. Navasana (Boat pose) – core, spine, hip flexors, intuition, purpose
4. Dekasana (Airplane) – legs, core, ankles, arms, courage
5. Chaturanga Dandasana (Tricep pushup) – arms, triceps, shoulders, core, determination
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Written by Hannah Aylward
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