Is yoga enough?
There are many amazing benefits that are scientifically proven when practicing yoga every day. However, does one yoga session satisfy all the needs for improving health and increasing longevity?
When you picture a yoga class, you might picture people relaxing in child's pose or corpse pose. However, depending on the type of yoga, yoga poses can help you sleep better and get your heart pumping.
What is yoga?
Tamara Teragawa, a yoga instructor in Los Angeles, says yoga can be practiced by almost anyone. Because there are many different styles of yoga, each individual can find a style that suits their body and achieves specific goals.
According toEatingwellHatha yoga is probably one of the most popular types of yoga you can find in the United States. In most basic terms, Hatha yoga focuses on both the physical and mental aspects of the practice, combining postures (asanas), breathing techniques, and meditation. Several types of yoga fall under Hatha yoga, each with its own unique characteristics, including Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Power Yoga.
Camel pose in yoga brings many health benefits. Photo: Health
Hot yoga or hot yoga is similar to Hatha yoga but is performed in a room heated to 30-40 degrees Celsius. Some other types of hot yoga include Bikram yoga, Baptiste yoga and Forrest yoga.
"Yoga is great to incorporate into your routine, whether you're just starting your fitness journey, rehabilitating or preventing an injury or other health issue, or cross-training with other exercise modalities," Teragawa explains.
Teragawa says yoga complements many activities, including running, cycling, resistance training and even gardening.
Why is yoga a great form of exercise?
Exercise in general has been shown to benefit mental health, and yoga is no exception. Yoga improves mental and emotional well-being, reduces stress levels, and can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. Yoga also increases the likelihood of getting a good night's sleep.
Chronic inflammation has been found to be the culprit behind many conditions, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and arthritis.
According to a 2022 review in the journal Brain, Behavior & Immunity Health, regular yoga practice may reduce chronic inflammation. This may be due in part to yoga's ability to reduce cortisol, a stress hormone linked to increased inflammation.
A 2022 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found evidence that yoga can improve health-related physical fitness, particularly muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. The types of yoga most likely to provide these benefits include Hatha and hot yoga.
It's a low-impact exercise that's virtually infinitely adaptable to suit people of all fitness and flexibility levels, so Teragawa says yoga can simultaneously increase both muscle strength and mobility while also reducing stress.
And because yoga is gentler on the body than running or strenuous strength training, you can incorporate it into your schedule more often.
According toPrevention, regular yoga practice can help boost your memory, reduce stress, and ease chronic pain. Yoga not only helps you lose weight, increase flexibility, and improve balance, but it can also help you reduce stress, feel happier, and sleep better.
Does yoga alone meet my fitness needs?
With all that in mind, if you increase your yoga practice to almost every day, will it help you meet exercise recommendations for health and longevity?
The World Health Organization recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise such as brisk walking, cycling, and swimming each week and muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week.
If you're new to yoga, Teragawa recommends scheduling several shorter sessions several times a week instead of one long session once or twice a week. "This will help you develop more consistency and form the habit of recognizing how to honor yourself based on what your body needs each day," Teragawa explains.
If you can make time to practice yoga at least three to five times a week, even if it is only for 30 minutes, most people will start to reap the health benefits of their practice. So, considering all the different types of yoga, if you choose wisely, you can meet your health requirements.
Even if yoga is the only form of physical activity a person participates in, practicing a Hatha or Vinyasa style practice every day for at least 30 minutes will likely meet the minimum recommendation, says Jacqueline Crockford, an American Council on Exercise and personal trainer.
But if your goals go beyond basic fitness, you may need to consider adding other forms of exercise, such as walking and weight training.
If weight loss is your goal, you may need to step things up, Crockford adds.
“If the goal is just to lose weight through strenuous physical activity and you’re doing Yin yoga, which is very relaxing and restorative, then it might not be effective. But if you’re interested in improving flexibility, awareness, reducing stress, increasing endurance, then a regular practice of Vinyasa style yoga can be extremely effective,” explains Crockford.
Thus, different types of yoga can address different components of fitness, including cardiovascular fitness, respiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and balance.
