East Meets West Yoga and other Forms of Exercise
East Meets West Yoga and other Forms of Exercise
Yoga is a type of meditative exercise that has roots in the Far
East religious traditions Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.
Today, many people have dropped the religious aspects of this art
of the body and simply practice yoga techniques for health benefits.
The various stretches and strength-building exercises done in yoga
can build muscles, increase flexibility, and help you burn fat. Yoga can also be used in
conjunction with traditional Western forms of exercise.
In fact, by combining yoga with cardiovascular and or weight
training, you can help your body be the healthiest it can possibly be.
Yoga is traditionally seen as a routine of exercises that will
rejuvenate the body. That is, although yoga is a difficult workout, it should make you energized as
opposed to draining your body and making your feel tired.
Therefore, when pairing yoga with other forms of exercise, do yoga
first. Many people like to use yoga as a way to warm up the muscles before running, lifting
weights, biking, or doing other cardiovascular or strength-training exercises.
Warming up is an important step, and yoga is a great way to do
this.
Yoga can also teach breathing to prepare you for other exercises.
In yoga classes, students must often learn breathing techniques that help calm the spirit and focus
the mind.
These techniques allow you to breath fully, allowing more oxygen
to reach your brain and other parts of your body. By practicing yoga, you will be able to do
cardiovascular exercises for a longer period of time, since you will not be so quickly out of
breath.
Because yoga helps you increase flexibility, this can also help
you prevent injuries when doing other forms of exercise or when playing sports.
Many athletes learn early on to stretch their muscles before a
game or practice yoga can be viewed as an entire exercise regimen focused on stretching
muscles.
It also helps minimize and prevent injuries because yoga allows
you to find your limits. This is important when practicing any sort of physical
activity.
As always, speak with a doctor or other health care professional
before you begin participating in a new kind of exercise routine.
Yoga is safest when practiced in a class setting with a certified
instructor.
Ask your class’s teacher for tips on how to incorporate yoga into
all of your other exercise routines as well, because this will help you to get the most benefit
possible out of any workout session.
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