If you want to increase your muscle building capacity it is important to train hard and eat right, but you also need a lifestyle that affords plenty of sleep for recuperation. On top of all that you need to free your mind of stress too. Only when mind, body and soul come together can you truly tap into your body’s fitness potential.
Yoga will help you lose weight. Practicing yoga changes your mind: It changes the way you approach life, your body, and eating. Yoga shows you how to appreciate your body for all of the amazing things that it can do for you and points you in the direction of wanting to fill your body with the best possible fuel rather than processed junk food. And changing your mind about your body and the foods you feed it will be a much more effective weight-loss tool than burning a bunch of calories in an aggressive kick-boxing class and then mindlessly plowing through equal or more calories later that day.
Yoga is not a competitive sport! Isn’t there enough competition in work and in life in general? While some people thrive on trying to be the fastest in spin class or trying to run longer than the woman on the treadmill next to them, in yoga it doesn’t matter what any one else is doing. There is no comparing or competing because there is only you.
No injuries. In yoga, you learn to unite your body and mind. This allows you to move with ease and pay attention to how your body is feeling at all times, so you move in a way that feels good for you and not one that puts you in places your body doesn’t want to be. The result? An injury-free, strong, healthy, whole you.
Yoga for Building Strength. Similar to aerobics classes or weightlifting workouts, the intensity level within each discipline varies by style and instructor. Doing these mind-body exercises consistently will build up strength. Don’t worry about making mistakes or getting all of the movements right. In the beginning, just being there and doing it is enough. Yoga is definitely not just a stretching class.
So lets summarize the benefits:
- Raises heart rate – making it both a great cardio and fat burning workout
- Works the muscles fully, but in a low impact way that doesn’t stress the joints as much as weight training
- Increases cognitive function, coordination, and balance
- Greater flexibility, reduced tension, and stress
