Why Yoga Is So Much More Than A Fitness

Regimen

After witnessing yoga grow in popularity in recent years, some observers wondered if it wasn’t just a passing fad whose luster would fade as people moved on to the next fashionable fitness trend. Much to the surprise of many though, yoga has remained consistently popular over the last decade and has actually gained additional acclaim during that time.

While outsiders often viewed it as mainly a fitness routine, dedicated practitioners recognize it as an effective discipline that affects and influence many areas of their life. They’ve experienced positive benefits in their health, their sense of wellbeing, their stress levels, and their sense of equanimity. This goes well beyond the common perception of yoga just increasing fitness and flexibility.

How is yoga more than a fitness regime?

While there are obvious fitness gains that come with practicing yoga – better balance, increased muscle tone, improved flexibility – the discipline offers much more than this. Those who take up yoga often find that there are more subtle, and potentially more important, benefits to regular practice. Many notice a sense of calm that they feel after class and that they become more attune to the people and world around them. This mindfulness can aid in dealing with challenging situations and people, fostering a sense of openness and responsiveness rather than reactivity.

In the high stress, high-speed world that we live in today, our brains are bombarded constant stimulation from many different directions. It can be hard to find the time and space to give ourselves a break. Taking time for a yoga class, or even finding a quiet place where you can roll out a yoga mat and practice for an hour, can help you step out of that frenetic pace and recalibrate. Making time for yoga an really help you to press pause stop and return to the present moment with no distractions.

When most people think of yoga, their first thought usually centers on the asana, the physical poses. While these postures - designed to stretch and strengthen the body - are important, they are only one component of the larger yogic system. Only when you integrate focused control of the breath, concentration, and meditation do you realize the full benefits of the practice.

It’s the combination of all these techniques that helps to induce a natural state of relaxation, giving us some distance from the frenetic pace of our modern world and inducing our nervous systems to return to a state of equilibrium that creates a sense of inner calm and well-being.

Can yoga be practiced solely as a fitness regime?

There are some who focus strictly on the physical aspects of yoga and are rewarded with improvements in strength, muscle tone, flexibility, and balance. In fact, many who later discover the more profound aspects of the practice start with just this intention. Over time, however, they notice the additional potential inherent in the practice and find themselves exploring some of those aspects as they begin to feel changes that extend beyond mere physical fitness.

However, if you are already an athletic person and your main goal is to become more fit, then you should probably choose a more dynamic style of class – such as power yoga or vinyasa flow – as these tend to be more strenuous and do a better job of elevating your heart rate. Yoga can be a wonderful complement to other forms of exercise and can also aid in both injury prevention and healing.

If you’re just starting out, don’t expect to jump right into the acrobatic yoga poses that you may have seen in magazines or on social media. Like any new skill, your yoga abilities will evolve over time and the rush to look “picture perfect” could lead to pushing yourself too hard, even to the point of injury.

Whatever your primary focus, the best advice is to keep an open mind, take things slowly, and leave your expectations behind. You may find that your original intention changes and evolves over time. Even if getting lean and flexible is you immediate goal, you may find that there are additional pathways down the yogic journey that are even more rewarding.

While many are originally drawn to yoga for its fitness benefits, most invariably find that they reap several additional positive benefits. The true power of yoga lies in its ability to help us calm our minds and cultivate a greater sense of equanimity. Even though we may be surrounded by stressful situations, regular yoga practice helps us to maintain both mental and emotional clarity, lessening the stress of the daily challenges we face. The deeper we delve into this profound practice, the more rewarding it becomes.

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