Like other sports, there is a common misconception that yoga is all about stretching and calmness. But it is not true; many different styles of yoga and poses can help you build strength. Camille Moses-Allen, a Baltimore-based senior yoga teacher, says that pose, class style, and approach determine yoga as a strength training.
Is Yoga Powerful Training?
Some forms of strength training involve resistance bands and weights, while others require machines. However, you can also build strength via gravity and your body weight, which is why yoga is a powerful training that makes you stronger.
Flexibility is only half the story of a well-balanced yoga practice. Many yoga postures qualify as isometric exercises in that you’re holding a muscle contraction in a fixed position for some time without changing the length of the muscle.
One study looking at the effects of a 12-week Hatha yoga intervention found that yoga significantly improved muscular strength in addition to flexibility.
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Beginner Yoga Strength Workout
Begin with breathwork in seated meditation, then move through a yoga flow with nine beginner yoga poses. All you need is a yoga mat.
Seated Breathing Meditation
Take a comfortable seat on the mat and allow yourself to focus on your breath. The breath will give you power, strength, balance, and focus throughout the practice for each pose.
Take 3-5 breaths.
Chair Pose─ Utkatasana
Strengthens: legs, arms
From a standing position, bend your knees, let your body hinge forward slightly at the hips, and reach your arms overhead.
- ♦ Keep your weight toward your heels.
- ♦ Keep your arms firm.
- ♦ Try to hold the position for a minimum of 8 breaths.
- ♦ Engage your legs and return to standing.
Repeat once more.
Warrior III Pose ─ Virabhadrasana
Strengthens: glute Maximus and hamstrings of the lifted leg
- ♦ From a standing position, fold forward and place your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders. Most people will need blocks to reach the floor.
- ♦ Slowly reach your left leg behind you until it’s at hip height.
- ♦ Float your hands and either place them on your hips or reach them out to the sides like a “T.
- ♦ Try to hold the position for 8 breaths.
- ♦ Return your hands to your blocks or the floor and step your feet together.
Repeat with the other leg.
Boat Pose ─ Navasana
Strengthens: hip flexors, abdominals
- ♦ Sit on your mat and bend your knees with your feet on the floor.
- ♦ Reach your arms forward at shoulder height.
- ♦ Lean back, so you’re on the center of your sit bones.
- ♦ Float your feet off of the ground.
- ♦ Keep your knees bent to maintain length in your spine, or experiment with straightening your legs.
- ♦ Hold for five breaths.
- ♦ Place your feet back onto the floor.
Pause and repeat 2 more rounds.
Plank Pose ─ Phalakasana
Strengthens: abdominals, upper body, arms
- ♦ From tabletop position, meaning you’re on your hands and knees, step your feet back into a pushup position.
- ♦ Actively lift your belly while keeping your tailbone reaching toward your heels.
- ♦ Keep your arms firm.
- ♦ If you need to modify, place your knees down.
- ♦ Hold for 10 breaths.
Lower to your knees and repeat once more.
Forearm Plank
Strengthens: shoulders, upper body, arms, abdominals
- ♦ Start on all fours and lower down onto your forearms, so your elbows are under your shoulders.
- ♦ Step one foot back at a time.
- ♦ Resist sinking your lower belly toward the floor.
- ♦ Hold for 10 breaths.
Rest on your knees and repeat once more.
Bridge Pose
Strengthens: Hamstrings, glutes, back extensors
- ♦ Lie on your back with your arms by your sides, palms down.
- ♦ Bend your knees and align your ankles below your knees, with the soles of your feet on the floor.
- ♦ Press into your feet to lift your hips.
- ♦ Press your palms into the mat, roll your shoulders under, and try to interlace your hands underneath you.
- ♦ Hold for 8 breaths.
Lower and repeat.
Credit: healthline.com
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