Yoga can be a valuable supplement to any exercise regimen. In contrast to intense HIIT workouts or weightlifting, yoga tends to be slower and with lower impact, emphasizing mindfulness and stretching, both of which offer significant benefits. However, it is also feasible to integrate strength training into a yoga practice.
Yoga is renowned for its positive effects on both mental and physical well-being. It offers a structured practice that allows for meditation through breath-focused relaxation of the body. Additionally, it serves as an effective form of exercise to enhance overall fitness, boost general health, and deter potential weight gain.
In 2024, if you are planning to embark on a new fitness plan, Yoga can be the right mix of fun and exercise. The objective of practising Yoga aligns perfectly with all types of fitness mentalities!
Some people do yoga purely for the physical benefits. Others find that it does help them feel better in their everyday life as well as mentally, emotionally, and perhaps spiritually.
How To Choose The Right Yoga Class
What might be the most suitable style of yoga practice for you? In today's society, there is a prevailing belief that there is one "correct" way to structure a yoga class.
This is particularly evident in certain types of yoga where the sequence of poses is predetermined by the teacher, often based on a guiding principle that shapes the practice. For example, some teachers might structure their class around a specific goal, like relieving back pain, opening the heart, improving inner strength and endurance, or cultivating self-love.
Yoga exercises are commonly referred to as "asanas" in Sanskrit, the ancient language of yoga. Each asana has a specific name and is designed to promote physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Yoga is centred around exploration. This is why the leaders are called "teachers" and sessions are labelled as "practices." Through yoga, you will learn from everyone you interact with (including fellow students) and use those lessons in your practice. Therefore, yoga embraces various personal experiences and forms of self-expression.
Various teaching methods appeal to different individuals. If you prefer a more organized approach to your yoga practice, Vinyasa or Ashtanga yoga might be a better fit for you. Conversely, if you prefer a more flexible approach, traditional Hatha yoga can help diversify your practice by introducing you to a wider range of poses.
There are dozens of different types of yoga out there today, so don’t be afraid to shop around and try different styles and teachers to find the type of class and instructor who works best for you!
What to Consider When Looking for Yoga Classes
What factors can you evaluate when searching for classes? Here are the most common criteria people consider when deciding on a style of yoga and the type of teacher to practice with.
Desired Outcome of Class
Do you want to get a ripped six-pack? Or maybe you want to become more flexible? Looking for general wellness and strength? Increased spirituality? Better sleep?
For every desire, there is at least one type of yoga meant to help.
Here are some yoga styles for different aims.
- For strength, try Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Bikram (Hot), Power, Iyengar, or certain types of Hatha
- For flexibility, try Vinyasa, Yin, Yinyasa, Hatha, or Bikram (Hot)
- For general wellness, try Hatha, Vinyasa, Iyengar, or Sivananda
- For spirituality, try Kundalini, Ashtanga, Hatha, Kripalu, Jnana, and Jivamukti
- For relaxation and stress relief, try Yin, Restorative, Hatha, or Yoga Nidra
Type of Teacher
Each class will be different based on who is teaching. This is the magic ingredient when it comes to a practice like yoga! Not every teacher will click with every student, and that’s okay! If you take a class and find that you don’t like the teacher’s style of explaining, cueing of poses, or sequencing, you can always try the same type of class with a different teacher.
Sometimes you find a teacher who helps you to just “get it,” and they can help you go further in your practice than you ever thought possible!
Style of Studio
Do you want to practice yoga in a brand-new studio? Outdoors? At someone’s home? A local recreation centre like the YMCA? Do you want to join a small class of 2-10 people or is it alright if there are 30-40 students? Consider if you’ll feel comfortable in a certain environment before booking your class, and mentally prepare for the environment you will be in for the best experience.
Benefits Of Yoga For Kids
In today's society, when we think of someone starting a yoga practice, we often envision an adult looking to incorporate a healthy activity into their routine. We typically associate the physical benefits with older individuals and how yoga can help keep their bodies active and strong for a longer period.
We may also consider the spiritual advantages of yoga, such as the opportunity to slow down, take deep breaths, and be present in the moment.
These are all things we usually view as solutions to the challenges faced by adults in a fast-paced world.
However, what about children? They are not typically burdened by job stress, university pressures, or family obligations. So, why should they learn yoga?
Despite their comparatively carefree lifestyles, there are numerous benefits to introducing children to yoga practice at a young age. It's never too early, or too late, to start a yoga practice!
Relationships and Behaviour
A yoga studio provides a great environment for your child to develop social skills and follow instructions from the yoga instructors. Being in a class with other yogis and learning a new approach to discipline can help your child better understand the world around them.
They can learn some of the tenets of the Eight Limbs of Yoga whether they realize it or not, like “Tapas” (discipline), “Saucha” (cleanliness), and “Svadhyaya” (self-study).
Teacher-Student Relationship
Yoga instructors differ from traditional teachers. The teachers at school are usually more focused on academics and may not be able to give individual attention. They may reprimand your child for moving or fidgeting during class, and they may use disciplinary measures.
While school teachers need to do this to ensure that everyone can learn, it can create a distorted view of adults and authority figures for your child.
A yoga teacher encourages both movement and stillness, and they can give individual attention and listen carefully to each student's thoughts, concerns, and needs.
Having a non-relative adult who can provide a sense of safety and trust is extremely valuable as it teaches your child how to interact with people of different ages.
Discipline
The level of discipline in a yoga class may differ significantly from the discipline your child experiences at home or in school. Along with punctuality, the class also teaches appropriate behaviour in a new setting and self-control.
It can be more challenging for a child to resist being disruptive in an environment without desks, schoolwork, or parental supervision. Therefore, your child needs to learn how to behave in a new place with its own set of rules.
Body Awareness
Body awareness and mindfulness are both essential skills that enhance a person’s life, so learning them early on and being able to connect with the body and mind even during stressful situations is an amazing boon. We see this in babies with basic movements like rolling over and sitting up, to younger children with more complex actions like using utensils and writing.
Why stop there? Being aware of your surrounding space can prevent accidents, such as suddenly stopping in a way that could cause someone else to trip, or hurting yourself at work. Developing mindfulness can help individuals move more smoothly and avoid unintentional mishaps. Learning this mindfulness young can help keep everyone safer while promoting a sense of harmony with the surrounding world.
Benefits Of Yoga For Adults
Modern media and advertising often portray yoga as solely focused on physical poses, but in reality, yoga encompasses a wide array of introspective and self-disciplined activities such as meditation, chanting, mantra, prayer, breath work, ritual, and acts of selflessness.
Asana is only a small part of a holistic yoga practice.
Although scientific research on the benefits of yoga is still in its early stages, much of the current evidence aligns with what practitioners have believed for centuries: Yoga significantly contributes to our overall health and well-being.
The Same Benefits as Children, and More!
All the same benefits that children can derive from yoga – relationships with others, self-discipline, and body awareness – can also be learned by adults who practice yoga. In the average adult’s hustle and bustle life, taking the time to intentionally be away from technology, work, and other stressors is a vital thing that many of us don’t take seriously enough.
In addition to yoga helping to keep muscles and tendons limber and strong, bones solid, and the body flexible and functioning, the mental health benefits of yoga go a long way in helping to reduce existing stress and be better equipped to handle new stress.
Healthy Mind & Mental Health
A study was conducted to correlate Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) and subjective happiness in Singapore. The analysis indicated that as the frequency of SKY increases, the likelihood of feeling happier also increases.
Pranayama, commonly known as "yogic breathing," is a significant and advantageous component of yoga. A review of 1,400 studies published in The Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine examined the overall effects of pranayama.
One important finding was that yogic breathing can enhance the functioning of multiple body systems, not just the respiratory system. The research outlined in the review specifically demonstrated that controlling the pace of breathing had substantial benefits for the cardiovascular system, leading to positive changes in heart rate, stroke capacity, arterial pressure, and heart contractility.
This suggests that yogic breathing may have a direct impact on the brain's cardiorespiratory centre, improving its function. In turn, this increased cardio and respiratory function helps keep the entire body more oxygenated, which makes you feel more awake and aware, boosting your mood and making you better able to take on daily life. In short, yogic breathing may help you lead a happier life!
Flexibility, Balance And Strength
Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance conducted a global survey examining various statistics about the practice of yoga to measure its significance in light of its growing popularity. The top reason that people cited for practising yoga was to "improve flexibility."
Flexibility plays a crucial role in physical health. Yoga provides a wide range of styles with different levels of intensity, ranging from high to moderate to mild. Even the gentlest styles have been shown to improve flexibility.
But yoga doesn’t just create more bodily flexibility.
Active yoga styles (meaning, aside from Yin and some Restorative) stretch and strengthen at the same time. While you get more comfortable touching your toes, you’re also strengthening your muscles in functional ways. This is important because flexibility without support can lead to injury.
Of course, yoga is also well-known for helping students to become more balanced, both literally and figuratively.
With flexibility, mobility, and strength comes more body control. With more body control comes the ability to hold standing balances as well as other advanced movements like arm balances and headstands. With this confidence and body control comes a more confident and balanced mind.
Join Yoga Classes To Improve Your Health In 2024
Mindfulness involves directing your focus to the present moment without passing judgment on yourself, others, or your surroundings. Engaging in yoga has been proven to enhance mindfulness not only during sessions but also in other various aspects of an individual's life.
Yoga has the potential to facilitate transformation in your life, which is perhaps its most significant benefit. Tapas, the Sanskrit term for "heat," symbolizes the drive and discipline that fuels yoga practice and is cultivated through showing up consistently to your yoga mat.
The determination and self-discipline developed through tapas can be applied to other areas of your life to overcome resistance and break unhealthy patterns. You may notice that, without consciously trying to make changes, you naturally begin to eat healthier, become more active, or successfully quit smoking after multiple unsuccessful attempts.
When you join a yoga class to get more physically fit, you’ll likely find that it comes with a handful of side effects: mental clarity, reduced pain in the body, a feeling of general ease, being less reactive to stress, making healthier choices because they are easy and you want to instead of because you “should,” and more.
If your New Year’s goals include things like getting fit, losing weight, feeling better in your body, meditating, eating healthier, quitting smoking or other unhealthy habits, spending more quality time with friends and family, and taking time for your own self-care, yoga has got you covered.
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