Yoga Benefits for Weight Lifting

 I thought I would share this.  I had to write a little somethin’ about a favorite pose for my Yoga class.  Yes, I’m STILL in school…  This is just one of MANY poses or benefits that yoga has.  I ❤ Yoga 😉 

 

              I have learned to really enjoy yoga and almost find myself craving a session.  I have always been an extremely active person and love the feeling of exercise, sweat and pushing myself.  As an avid gym goer, my exercise habits were always geared more toward high-intensity cardio and weightlifting.   Lifting weights activate fast-twitch muscle fibers while, in yoga, doing the movements slowly and holding poses activate slow-twitch muscle fibers.  I find my muscles sore and tight most days and, since taking classes, see the many benefits yoga has for my body. 

 

               One of my favorite poses to help with my strength training is the Crescent Lunge Pose, known as the Anjaneyasana.   This pose stretches the hip flexors, strengthens legs and arms as well as engages the core.  The Crescent Lunge Pose, also known as High Lunge Pose, emphasizes on neutral alignment and creates muscle balance.  This is a powerful standing pose that stretches and flexes your entire body.  To do this pose you first start in Downward Facing Dog.  Step your right foot forward between your hands.  Use your core to lift up arms off the ground and above your head.  Relax shoulders and biceps by your ears.  Push down with ball of you back leg and hold the leg straight.  Hold for a few breaths.  Bring hands back on the floor on either side of your front foot.  Step back to Downward Facing Dog again.  Repeat these motions with the opposite leg.  This pose really helps me focus on strengthening my muscles and body.  I find myself taking those amazing breaths during this asana.   Because my hips and legs get tight during my regular exercise program, the Crescent Lunge Pose helps to restore my range of motion in those particular areas discussed previously.   I feel this helps with my risk of injury by lengthening my muscles and opening up my body.   Not only has yoga positions such as this helped me physically, but it has also helped relieve stress and has increase my overall mental health and relaxation.

               There are some contraindications that go along with certain poses.  With the High Lunge Pose this could be risky on your knees if you have knee problems or injuries.  A way to help with those issues is to modify the pose.  The Anjaneyasana can be modified by lowering your knee of the back leg on the floor.   Another tip is to engage your thigh of your back leg to keep it straight.  There is a tendency to let the leg just hang back there.  Keep your chest forward and open to the sky.  Your hips should be straight and equally facing forward.  Do not let the hip open to the side.  And breathe.   There are other variations that include a twist that increases the challenge of balancing, while also stretching out the spine, shoulders, and chest.  This is known as Parivrtta Anjaneyasana. 

               The key to injury prevention during weightlifting is having balance and proper posture.  Yoga helps balance our bodies, minds and souls.   Poses such as the Crescent Lunge have definitely helped strengthen, lengthen and balance my body.  

Yoga

I started taking Yoga classes this month and I must say that I have grown to love it!  It may have been a little awkward and “weird” for me in the beginning, but it has helped me focus more on me…my body…my breathing…my center…my zen.  It’s pretty incredible to be able to shut out the world, even just for 50 minutes, while I clear my mind all while strengthening & stretching my body.  It wasn’t easy to be able to do this clearing-of-the-head thing the first couple times. There’s always something going on up there for me. Like most people, I was concerned about how I looked or if I was doing the pose exactly right, but once I was finally able to relax and focus on me, I was able to feel the benefits.  Ahhhhh.  I get this sense of calmness in my chaotic world…even while not in class. Not only has it been beneficial for my mind but also for my physical aches and pains…already. My neck and lower back have always given me troubles and I’ve noticed that those don’t seem to bother me as much. I’m hoping as the class goes on that they won’t bother me EVER. Yoga helps strengthen core and back muscles along with improving posture…and don’t forget flexibility and full body strength

I recommend trying it.  And try it more than once or twice.  You won’t be comfortable with all the other people around you at first, but somehow they seem to slowly fade away.

 

 

Power yoga’s effect on the total body:

It increases endurance, strength and flexibility.
Mental endurance and physical stamina are tested through holding postures for extended breaths.
Arm and shoulder strength is multiplied as you use your own body weight for resistance.
Lats and other back muscles begin to support the spine better than before.
Abdominals and obliques are refined and sharpened through building core muscles.
Poor and average posture begins to correct itself over time.
Hip flexors are stretched and rebuilt.
Glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves are tightened and lengthened where they need to be.

Ohhh…P.S. I hear it helps in the bedroom (or wherever else) as well 😉 See below

You can amp up your desire and ensure an O-mazing time between the sheets by practicing daily asanas, a study from The Journal of Sexual Medicine suggests. The love connection: Yoga helps reduce anxiety, increase body awareness and even speed the release of hormones that rev arousal. All of that translates to a boost in libido, lubrication and ability to achieve orgasm, experts say. If you can’t squeeze in a daily session, two hours a week may make a difference. Yoga—satisfying couples since 200 B.C.
-George Holz