Yoga offers a wide range of benefits for physical and mental well-being. It improves strength, balance, and flexibility while also helping to reduce stress and chronic pain. Yoga can also improve heart health, boost energy, and even enhance cognitive functions like memory and attention. But should it be your only form of exercise? Keep reading to find out.
Begin with the End in Mind
I like to think of wellness as a journey, with a starting point and a clear destination. The starting point is, of course, where you are now. The destination is where you want to be or what you want to achieve. In other words, your goal. So to quote Seven Habits of Highly Effective People you should begin with the end (your goal) in mind.
Look within yourself and take some time to think about where you want your fitness/wellness program to take you. Try to eliminate the external influences, like cultural body stereotypes. Also consider this destination from strictly your own heart, and not to please or impress someone else.
Fundamentals of Fitness
Next, let’s consider the key elements of fitness. These are generally recognized as:
- Cardiovascular endurance
- Muscular strength (degree of maximum force a muscle can produce)
- Muscular endurance (how long muscles can work before they get tired)
- Flexibility (range of movement in a joint or series of joints)
- Overall body composition (balance of muscle and fat tissue)
These five components are interconnected and contribute to overall physical well-being.
How Does Yoga Fit In?
Now let’s examine yoga’s established fitness/wellness benefits, and see how they match up.
Cardiovascular Health:
More vigorous yoga practices, like power yoga, can elevate heart rate to improve aerobic function. Yoga’s emphasis on deep breathing can lower blood pressure and pulse rate, reducing the risk of heart disease.
But if your goal is to run a marathon or engage in high-intensity activities like running or soccer, you’re not likely to get there with yoga alone. For more about cardiovascular training, check out this post.
Muscular Strength and Endurance:
Yoga postures, called asanas, require holding your own body weight. In slow-flow Vinyasa and Hatha yoga practices, postures are held longer, building muscular strength. Also, much like regular strength training, holding poses improves bone density and has been shown to fight osteoporosis.
Yoga can certainly improve overall upper and lower body strength and endurance when practiced regularly. However, yoga won’t improve your personal best at performing a deadlift or chest press. For more about strength training, read this post.
Greater Flexibility:
Flexibility comes primarily from our joints, and the connective tissues (tendons, ligaments, joint capsules) that provide their structure. Also, muscle fascia more so than the muscles themselves contribute to flexibility. Many yoga postures involve gently stretching and bringing blood flow to these tissues, improving their elasticity. This in turn makes these tissues less likely to tear or rupture. Yin yoga in particular exclusively targets these tissues while relaxing the surrounding muscles.
Yoga definitely excels in this category. Regular Vinyasa or Hatha yoga practice, coupled with a once-a-week Yin yoga class, is the ideal way to improve overall flexibility and mobility.
Overall Body Composition:
Achieving a healthy balance of muscle and fat tissue requires a combination of proper nutrition and strength training to build muscle tissue. It also involves proper rest, recovery and stress management – in essence, a well-balanced fitness program. Yoga definitely can play an important role in this, especially considering these additional benefits of yoga practice:
Mental and Emotional Benefits:
Yoga’s energy boost brings a greater sense of well-being. Mindfulness practices are incorporated into slow-flow Vinyasa, Hatha, and Yin yoga. They encourage a focus on the present moment by connecting the mind to the body. This present moment awareness builds out into daily life, which can improve our response to stressful situations.
Increased Energy:
Many yoga practices can be energizing, leaving you feeling better when you finish than when you came in. This comes from enhanced blood flow to the muscles, and the effects of specific poses such as twists and forward bends on the brain and spinal cord.
Improved Balance:
Performing many yoga asanas requires balance and a sense of grounding. Vinyasa and Hatha yoga styles typically include specific balancing postures that enhance body awareness and develop core stability.
So Can Yoga Be Your Only Form of Exercise?
The answer is: it depends on your goals.
Yoga is a wonderful practice that has many health benefits. But as your only form of exercise, it may not fully address all the elements of fitness – especially if your goal is building muscle mass or improving cardiovascular endurance. Yoga alone doesn’t provide the same intensity or targeted strength training benefits as other forms of exercise, such as weightlifting or running.
Instead, incorporate yoga into a well-rounded fitness program. Let yoga balance out your strength training, cardio, and other activities to add variety and fun to your weekly routine.
Varying your exercise routine can help prevent plateaus, reduce the risk of overuse injuries, and keep your workouts engaging. You’ll find lots of articles helpful articles about this on my blog.
Variety in Yoga Practice
Varying the types of yoga you practice is also a great way to round out your fitness program. Besides a weekly Vinyasa or Hatha class, a Yin yoga class will target those connective tissues that are often injured during weight training, running, and other high-intensity activities. Adding a weekly Restorative yoga class will supercharge your recovery from physical activities as well as manage everyday stress.
Always remember, though, that yoga should make you feel good. If you finish a yoga class and you feel exhausted or beat up – find another teacher whose style isn’t so intense.
The Takeaway
It’s all about you – your goals, your preferences, and what you can do consistently week after week. Keep things balanced, incorporate variety and recovery, and enjoy what you do!
About the Author
Laurie Kelly, CPT, RYT-200 is the owner of Dragonfly Drishti Yoga. She is an experienced yoga instructor with advanced specialty training in Restorative, Yin, and Trauma-Informed yoga practices. Her background in personal training and nutrition coaching gives her unique insights into the benefits of this ancient practice. She loves helping others to incorporate yoga and mindfulness into their daily lives, and thereby reach their personal wellness and life goals. Contact her here.