By now, most of us know that yoga provides a myriad of benefits for the mind and spirit. In this week’s blog post, MSY’s yoga teacher trainee, Alex White, who also holds a degree in exercise science, explains how yoga is also a whole-body workout.
Exercise is defined as: “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness.”
There seems to be some common misconceptions about practicing yoga: it’s just for people with a deep spiritual practice, for flexibility, to calm the mind and alleviate stress, and/or for people who don’t like to workout. My answer to that is yes – Yoga is one hundred percent for those people. However, I also believe that yoga is exercise.
Case in point: I sweat more in an all levels yoga class than I do when I weight lift, and my muscle soreness is greater after a good yoga practice as well. Actually, let’s be real: During any yoga class I have ever taught and/or taken, I wake up the next day feeling refreshed but with some sore muscle that I forgot I had reminding me of my practice.
So if yoga IS exercise, what does it improve, and/or what muscles does it strengthen? My friends, this is a loaded question; however, in the short time I have with you, I will point out as many things as my word count will allow. Aesthetics are important to many of us, so let’s start with the muscles.
Every yoga class focuses on the breath. Therefore, ALL practices help build all FOUR abdominal muscles. That’s right – abdominal strength and stability comes from more than just than just your six pack (or four pack or two pack). There are layers of muscles underneath rectus abdominus (the technical term for the six pack) that do a lot of the work in your trunk. It is NOT rectus abdominus (insert number pack here) that primarily enables the eb and flow of the breath (a key component of yoga), and strengthening rectus abdominus alone (with crunches or sit-ups) will not relieve your back pain. To build true abdominal strength, strike a pose and hold . . . sound familiar yogis? The key technical term for this is “isometric contraction.” Even in a fast-paced class, you will hold a pose for at least one breath, activating isometric contraction in the core that helps strengthen all four abdominal muscles.
What about those legs? I can’t think of many other types of exercise classes that not only work your major leg muscles but also your feet, ankle, and toe muscles at the same time. Every standing posture either stretches or strengthens the lower body. Some do both! Many seated (cobbler’s pose), supine (bridge pose), and prone (locust pose) postures do as well. So you see, your lower body is engaged for most of the class. The joints (such as the knees and hips) are also worked and gradually become stronger and more supple. If your yoga teacher is registered with Yoga Alliance (or, like me, enrolled in a training program approved by Yoga Alliance), rest assured that he or she has had the anatomical training to keep those joints safe while delivering a sufficiently challenging class for your lower body.
So maybe you’re thinking: “Fine, but there is no way that a yoga class can work my back and arms too!” Well let me tell you, where there’s a will there’s a way. You see, even if you never do a single chaturanga (the down part of a pushup) or down dog, even if you never bring your hands to the floor, nearly every yoga flow is designed to strengthen and tone your upper body as well. You’ll hear cues like “bring your shoulder blades together, lift up from the chest, elongate the spine, place your arms in a way in which they cannot be forced down or up.” Go ahead – try a couple of those cues in a seated position. Your muscles will begin to burn, I promise. And if you or your teacher absolutely loves some chaturanga and down dog, you might not want to move your arms the next day.
Long story short: There is no most important muscle group in yoga. Nothing is overlooked. It is a whole body experience EVERY TIME.
Okay, so yoga works your muscles but what about the effects of it on the cardiovascular system? Can yoga improve heart health? According to John-Hopkins Medicine, “One of yoga’s clearest benefits to the heart is its ability to relax the body and mind. Emotional stress can cause a cascade of physical effects, including the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which narrow your arteries and increase blood pressure. The deep breathing and mental focus of yoga can offset this stress.” Another study, led by Professor Myriam Hunink of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, found that yoga is linked to the reduction of key risk factors for heart disease, including lower body mass index (BMI), weight loss, improved cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and reduced heart rate. Researchers also found that when it came to these improved risk factors, there was not a significant difference between yoga and other forms of exercise.
So there you have it. Yoga really is amazing for your ENTIRE being. It is more than exercise, but if you have a need to strengthen any of the muscle groups mentioned above or desire to increase blood flow to your heart, yoga class is a great place to start!
If you want to start with me, I’ll be teaching at Main Street Yoga every Friday at 5:30pm beginning September 25th! “Bend and Balance” is an all-levels moderate flow class in which we will find courage, stability, and growth with each breath and movement.
Namaste,
Alex