Yoga
 

O.k so I went to the gym SUPER early this morning at like 5:45am! At my YMCA there is yoga, and I'm thinking about going back today. Well I have a question, does yoga REALLY burn calories? Or is it more of a sculpting thing? And do you recommend it? THNX :)

Yoga is wonderful to destress and relax. Some yoga practices will burn more calories than others. I don't think the traditional yoga burns much and it is definitely not cardio, but hot yoga burns more than traditional. I do traditional yoga every Thursday and I would never give it up ~ it's so relaxing and really helps center my mood.

Emme: Nice! I'll go to relax and get rid of stress! I guess I was just looking at it from one angle! O.k so that's it every Friday I will go unwind, and do yoga!! ^.^ Thank you!!

I looove yoga. I do it once a week. I know the P90X yoga does get my heart rate up, certain yoga moves really get the blood pumping, but it's more of a strength training type thing rather than cardio. Either way it's awesome to add in to your regular work out schedule for lean muscles, stronger muscles and more flexibility.

I tried the P90x yoga..It was super tough...but I hope to get stronger by doing it

Ashley829 and jewelswa: P90X!! Wow! I'm super scared of it lol! Good job you guys! As for the yoga thing, I think I'll try it. As both of you mentioned it should increase strength, do you think that I can replace weight training with yoga?

Haha I just praised the glory of yoga on another thread, but oh well I'll do it here too :) With the exception of one strictly cardio (bike or elliptical) workout a week, yoga is my only exercise. I do around 4 1 hr 15 min classes a week.

Yoga can range from more gentle stretching/breathing (hatha) to more vigorous cardio (vinyasa/flow/power). Some classes are designed more for relaxation and de-stressing, but a lot of them are not. Fitness-focused yoga include a good deal of strength training: upper body from planks/sun salutations and lower body from standing positions. Most of yoga focuses on the core, so your abs will often be engaged even when you aren't doing explicitly core-building positions.

Yoga has the additional benefit of building flexibility and lung capacity. I see a tremendous difference in my breathing and posture from yoga that I don't see from other sports or activities.

One of the big caveats with yoga is that you HAVE to do the positions correctly. After doing intermediate- advanced yoga for 5+ years, I firmly believe that the majority of the people who say they can't get a good workout from yoga are not doing the asanas (poses) correctly. It can be as small as not keeping your leg firmly straight and bending it a little bit, or not ensuring your thigh is parallel to the ground as it should be. Most of this isn't the fault of the student- you really have to find a good teacher. Good teachers will provide clear instructions on where your arms and legs should be, how deep the position should be, etc. Better ones will go around and correct your posture to ensure you get the maximum benefit. Even "simple" poses like Warrior 1 will get your heart rate going and your thighs burning if you hold it the right way.

One of the best teachers I ever had only had us do 10 basic poses over the course of the 1.5 hour class. Because we had to hold them for a long time and in the exact right position, pushing our bodies further than they wanted to go, they were exhausting. My heart rate would be sustained at 70% for most of the class and every muscle score the next day.

I have always run/been a competitive athlete in very good shape and I find I get just as good a workout with yoga as with other sports or exercises. Try a class and if you like the idea and feeling of it, stick with it. Try different teachers too. Admittedly the ones who work at gyms are not the best, but yoga studios are expensive so sometimes they are the only ones accessible. There are some good ones out there though, so hopefully the one at the Y is good.

Happy yoga-ing :)

I fully agree with indiblue!

I teach dance classes at both an athletic club and a yoga center. I do all types of yoga.

Yoga is its own exercise form...and it can't be categorized as one thing only. Some classes are meant for relaxation, some are meant for flexibility, others are meant for strengthening, and other classes provide calorie burning and cardio benefits. Others can be made of of particular poses that do such things as help detox the body, aid in digestion, focus on the back, or other particular body part. It all will depend on what you do and what type of class that it is!

I've been reading the benefits of yoga because I will be taking a yoga class once a week starting in a few days. I think it can compliment any cardio/weight activity.

Here are some good websites about the benefits. It is amazing what yoga can do. I used to do yoga (a long time ago), and I can attest to some of these benefits. It is good for the body and mind.

http://www.holisticonline.com/yoga/h...a_benefits.htm
http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginners...gabenefits.asp

Depending on your current distribution of weight training, I probably wouldn't replace it with yoga, I'd do both. Personally, I WT 2xs a week, Yoga 1x a week and cardio 4xs a week. Works pretty well for me, although I think an added yoga session would be good, but I have no time :)