Yoga For Fitness
Throughout 2020 and into 2021, the focus on genuine health and wellness has grown, but so has the desire for a workout regimen that not only keeps us physically healthy, but also is in alignment with nourishing our bodies to the fullest.
It’s hard to deny the benefits of a regular workout regimen. Only 20 minutes of activity each day can have remarkable benefits on both health and wellness. Just taking a walk every day will improve your overall health, but if you’re looking to make the most out of your workout, yoga is the way to go. Yoga is so much more than “stretching and movement,” it involves a full range of motion that can increase flexibility while burning fat with only a minimal amount of stress on the body and numerous benefits to your mental health and wellbeing. [Read our Yoga for Stress post here]
A proper yoga routine can improve strength, aerobic capacity, and lung function… which are general indicators of fitness and overall health. Of course, weight loss is another key benefit, though it might be more accurate to say ‘reduction in the body’s fat-to-muscle ratio’. Fitness isn’t, and shouldn’t be, about weight so much as being able to live your life fully with a body that supports your goals. Having more energy, higher stamina, and a markedly lower risk of heart disease certainly helps with that!
As we age, muscles tend to shorten and tendons stiffen, which means a lower range of motion and a higher risk of injury when we stretch past that range. Spending some time every day stretching out those muscles allows them to remain limber and flexible, well into old age. Most yoga routines also include a comprehensive variety of poses and movement, reducing the risks of developing painful diseases such as arthritis.
Regularly practicing yoga can also help trim that waistline, of course. Too much fat and not enough muscle increases the risk of heart disease and makes regular movement take more energy, which in turn leaves you more tired after doing the most basic of tasks. Yoga doesn’t seem like it would be more effective for weight loss than jogging a few miles, but regular yoga can be even more rigorous than traditional cardio workouts, and certainly more comprehensive. Your entire body is flexed, stretched, and stressed by yoga, which translates into better flexibility, improved blood flow & lung capacity, and gently stressed muscles. All of this invariably burns calories, and thus, fat.
While there are many incredible benefits to yoga, physically, mentally and everything in between: the most important thing to do when developing a fitness routine is to move your body in a healthy, supportive and FUN way that will keep you healthy and strong to live the life you deserve.
Want to explore yoga in a beautiful climate surrounded by jungle and exhilarating excursions? Join us in beautiful Costa Rica at a Yoga Retreat or Yoga Teacher training! Learn more about available accommodations here.
