As you know, I have been blogging for the lovely team at TruBe. My first article was all about the benefits of yoga, and why everyone, could do with some time on a mat!
"Yoga… It is everywhere! Your mum, your friends, and now even your brother is at it! So what is the deal? And why is everyone doing it?
What are the benefits of yoga?
It depends on the type of yoga you are practising. There are so many different and complimentary forms of yoga. From the most restorative like yin, all the way to some of the most intense like Astanga or Rocket.
A TruBe yoga session is a more dynamic form of yoga which means that you get the benefits of a good workout with added relaxation! Whaaaatt? Yes! Not only will you sweat from all the moving, but the deep breathing methods used in yoga are super balancing for your nervous system, leaving you to feel enlivened, poised and refreshed. Tuning into the details of motion and breath means you can really focus on being present so that the practice becomes similar to a moving meditation, taking care of both your body and your mind.
What happens in a session?
A yoga session usually starts with some settling. This gives you time to bring your focus inwards and shift your attention to the body and breath (rather than that huge list of phone calls you need to make in the afternoon). The next step is to start warming up the body with some gentle movement, maybe some core work, to move to the more challenging sun salutations. Once the body is really working, you will
often progress into backbends, before bringing the whole tempo back down with some stretching and some deep relaxation (called savasana). All of this can be adapted to your level of practice making it as challenging as you need.
What if I’m not flexible enough?
Yoga is not really about being bendy, and there are numerous modifications and props that can be offered to make the practice work for you, no matter how big or small your range of movement. Yoga has acquired that reputation because it is a great tool for increasing flexibility (and indeed, some of the very advanced postures really do require becoming a human pretzel). By increasing your range of movement, not only are you helping prevent injury, but you are also becoming stronger!You can read more about that here. It is so beneficial to the body and mind that sports teams and athletes are getting in on the action too, rugby players, marathon runners, triathletes, boxers… That’s right, yoga is not just for girls!
ow does yoga fit into My work out? I want to be strong!
Well, yoga is just the ticket! Even if yoga is not part of your daily fitness regime, see if you can incorporate it once a week, or on an active rest day? You are more likely to remain injury free, you will increase your movement range and your proprioceptive awareness, as well as making your shoulders and core super strong! It won’t be just muscly strong, but actually useful strong. All that practice pushes the body to really move three dimensionally, therefore challenging the muscles to create extra stability, especially once you start to get your feet off the floor (although that does take some dedicated work). So not only will you develop strength and make movement more efficient, you will improve your performance in other areas, whether that’s running, team sports or even weight lifting. And thanks to the calm mind and steady breath you will develop, you can be sure you will be able to go the extra mile. So get on your mat!