Is it just a load of hippy shit? Not at all!! In the last couple of decades we've seen quite a significant amount of growth in the popularity of yoga, with more and more people taking it up and adding it to their weekly programme.
In Woolwich we are incredibly lucky to have the beautiful Yoga Space right here under our noses! I've teamed up with the wonderful Dolores (because she's obviously the yoga queen) to bring you some useful facts and information about how adding yoga to your schedule would be a really great thing.
First off why is yoga so good for you? Here is a small selection of the benefits:
Great for flexibility - which is really important! I explain why in this blog
Great for stress management & mental health
Great for balance (which is especially important as you age, helping you to avoid falls)
Great for strength
Excellent for counteracting everyday life where we're often sitting or bent over a computer
Helps to improve your posture
Helps to reduce blood pressure
There are loads of different types, I have definitely been in the 'which one is right for me' camp! Turns out I like Vinyasa best. We thought it would be helpful to give you a little bit of information about each of the most common types to help you decipher them and hopefully feel a little less confused and even confident enough to have a bash at one or two!
Vinyasa (also known as Vinyasa flow): you move seamlessly from one pose to another, without holding one for too long
Bikram: the hot one!
Hatha: slower paced than vinyasa, you hold poses for a while!
Ashtanga: vigorous and often the most demanding one 🙂💪
Yin: slow moving with poses often held for longer periods of time
Many people believe that to "be good" at yoga you have to be flexible - this isn't true. Yoga is open to every single individual, no one is off limits.
There are some things to consider if you're thinking of having a go, such as whether you're pregnant as then a specialist pregnancy class would be more appropriate. If you're still not sure which is right for you, just ping The Yoga Space a message and they will be happy to advise 🙂.
In terms of your wider training and where yoga fits in: it depends on which one you decide you like as some are more demanding that others. Something like Ashtanga would most definitely be a workout in itself and so try to avoid doing this within 48 hours of strength training; however other types are more restful (such as Yin or Vinyasa) so you could schedule them as part of an active recovery day (a rest day where you do something that's not too physically demanding, such as walking).
A short but sweet one this week. I could include a whole load more information but I didn't want to overload you, I just wanted to give a quick, easy to digest overview 🙂.
If you have any specific yoga related questions then send them over to Dolores at The Yoga Space.
If you have any questions on fitness I am always here to help and offer advice and support - regardless of whether you train with me or not. 💖💪
Namaste
C xx
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