Yogis often beam with pride, saying yoga has brought about a complete positive turnaround in their lives. By the same token, I’ll tell you about one such yogi Joe Dailey.
At 38 years, a near-fatal car accident paralyzed Joe from the chest down. He spent months in rehab and was taught to focus on his upper body. Joe loved being active and felt he was missing something.
Soon he joined an adaptive yoga class and got hooked from day one. His yoga teacher asked his assistants to get Joe on the floor.
Nonetheless, when they laid him on a mat, Joe felt connected to the ground once again. Since then, he was a regular at the yoga class and regained a sense of whole-body awareness–––the feeling that he thought he’d lost forever.
This transformative awareness improved his balance and body confidence. Now, he can transfer himself from his wheelchair to being without assistance and is much more independent than before. He says he feels alive again after joining yoga.
Yoga is a vast subject. This article will be about hot yoga, power yoga, water yoga, SUP yoga, and their benefits.
What is hot yoga
Hot yoga is a fast-paced yoga that’s practiced in a warm and humid studio. You can find many types of hot yoga classes. One such class is the Bikram form of hot yoga.
It is practiced in a room heated to approx 40 degrees Celsius and has a humidity of 40 percent. Bikram yoga consists of a series of standing and stretching postures and practiced for 90 minutes. This demanding yoga workout coupled with the heat increases your heart rate and exercises your muscles.
Usually, hot yoga classes are done in a warm environment and often include music and more interaction among the people in the class.
However, hot yoga will not suit you if you have heat tolerance, dehydration, heart disease, and history of heat-related illness.
Health benefits of hot yoga
Hot yoga provides relaxation and improves physical fitness. Albeit, if you do it correctly, it could bestow the following benefits.
Improve flexibility
Builds bone density
Burns calories
Reduces stress
Eases depression
Nourishes your skin
Boosts up cardiovascular fitness
Reduces blood glucose levels
Safety tips while practicing hot yoga
Hot yoga is safe if you’re healthy. But if you have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, anorexia nervosa, arterial abnormalities, you may blackout in a heated room.
Would you mind checking with your doctor if you have low blood sugar, low blood pressure, heat intolerance problems, or pregnancy? Stop doing yoga if you feel dizzy and nauseous, and rest in a cool room.
Hot yoga accessories
Paying attention to your yoga accessories helps you to perform workouts effectively. You’ll need lightweight, breathable fabrics that’ll wick away your sweat. Keep a towel to place over your yoga mat. Also, have an extra towel for your face and hands.
Have special gloves and socks for extra grip. And keep an insulated large water bottle filled with cold water so you can sip throughout the hot yoga session.
What is power yoga
Power yoga is a form of Vinyasa yoga that emphasizes the flow of poses rather than doing each pose separately. It builds strength and endurance and is excellent for burning calories.
Fast-paced and intense, power yoga may seem like an aerobics class rather than a conscious, relaxed yoga experience. But it requires you to be mindful and focus on your breathing.
Health benefits of power yoga
Research says that power yoga provides you with plenty of mental and physical benefits. Let’s see some of the benefits of the fast-flowing yoga style.
Boosts your cardiovascular health
Improves cholesterol levels
Controls blood sugar
Help reduce high blood pressure
Improves sleep
Helps with weight loss
Improves brain function
Boosts energy levels
Reduces the risk of chronic diseases like stroke, heart diseases, and diabetes
Also, it gives you strength.
Motor control
Helps in weight loss
Reduces stress
Furthermore, power yoga improves your overall health by providing restful sleep, improving posture and balance, and boosting your immune system.
What is water yoga
Being in the water is imbibed within us because, in the first place, we develop in water as fetuses. You might have heard aqua circuits and aqua aerobics, and now aqua yoga is gaining momentum among the masses. Nevertheless, water yoga requires that you perform the asanas in the water, and these asanas are slightly tweaked.
Generally, the standing poses are not altered, but the seated, supine, and prone poses are slightly changed. Likewise, you can use the wall and aqua noodles to get help with sitting postures.
Water-based yoga is perfect for those with muscular and joint issues, and it helps relieve muscle soreness and help cope with injuries.
Unconsciously we hold a lot of tension in our foreheads, shoulders, and necks. Water helps to release this tension and relaxes the muscles. Likewise, temperature plays an integral part in aqua yoga–––––If the water is warm, it boosts blood circulation.
Health benefits of water yoga
The water’s buoyant effects take the person’s weight off the joints and reduce discomfort while practicing yoga. Aqua yoga makes the practice much easier for those struggling with regular yoga.
Aqua yoga is beneficial for people with hip and knee replacements
Arthritis
Muscular dystrophy
Multiple sclerosis
Depression
Anxiety
Fibromyalgia
Prenatal
Postnatal
Post-surgery
Sciatic problems
People with difficulty balancing
Water yoga accessories
It turns out swimwear is the most appropriate attire for water yoga. Props like noodles and kickboards come into play while performing aqua yoga.
What is SUP yoga
SUP yoga is the abbreviation of standup paddleboard yoga on a water medium. By and large, it’s best to practice SUP yoga on calm water bodies like bays, harbors, and lakes.
As SUP yoga requires more balance, strength, and focus, many yogis perform it to improve their skills. This practice has become a trending water sport for those who already enjoy paddleboarding. Some yogis are even performing acro yoga on standup paddleboards.
Health benefits of SUP yoga
A combination of paddleboarding and yoga gives you a fantastic workout challenge. Paddleboarding gives you a full-body workout, plus if you do a 15-minute yoga session, it will increase your training immensely.
Here’s a lowdown of some of the benefits of SUP yoga
Improves flexibility
Improves balance
Strengthens new muscles
Relieves stress
Refines yogic techniques on land
It helps you to be with nature
Some of the simple yoga poses you can try with SUP yoga include.
Savasana
Boat pose
Chair pose
Downward facing dog
Warrior 2
Sup Yoga accessories
Bathing suit
Rashguard
Women’s yoga clothing
Men’s yoga clothing
Best paddle boats for SUP yoga
- Lotus
All-around
Scout
Megalodon
SUP yoga paddleboards have more volume, are wider, and are equipped with a broader deck pad. It’s best to use inflatable paddle boards for SUPs.
Generally, these sit higher in water, are more stable, and provide a comfortable platform for floating yoga.
Faqs
What are yoga’s health benefits?
Yoga offers you plenty of health benefits. This ancient practice increases athletic performance, helps in weight loss, increases muscle strength and tone. Likewise, it builds flexibility, enhances cardio and circulatory health. Furthermore, it improves energy, vitality, and respiration, protects from injury, and maintains a healthy metabolism.
What are the yoga benefits for men?
Yoga improves heart health, helps manage symptoms of diabetes, and improves mental health. Furthermore, it builds muscle, delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and improves the quality of life of testicular cancer survivors.
What are yoga benefits for women?
Better posture
Reduced joint pain
Improved flexibility
Increased muscle strength and endurance
Helps during pregnancy and labor
Reduces the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome
Improves the symptoms of menopause
Increases the quality of life of women who undergo cancer treatment
Helps cope with gestational diabetes
Improves heart health
Reduces back pain and anxiety
Can yoga help lose weight?
Practicing yoga improves muscle tone and metabolism. In fact, a research study found that doing restorative yoga for six months for adults with obesity or overweight helped with weight loss.
How much is a yoga class?
The average yoga classes range from $15-$25 per hour. The prices of yoga classes can vary significantly by region and even by zip code.
How much is a yoga mat?
The price range depends on the quality of the yoga mat. For instance, expensive mats come with perks from manufacturers, such as easy replacements or quality guarantees.
Can yoga build muscle?
Yes, yoga helps build muscle. For example, power yoga is one of the most athletic forms of yoga, helping you build upper body strength.
How yoga benefits the mind?
The most notable benefit of yoga is that it calms your mind and provides mental clarity. Moreover, it relaxes your mind, increases body awareness, and relieves chronic stress patterns. In addition, it enhances concentration and thus improves your mental wellbeing.
How yoga benefits the body?
Yoga enhances balance, strength, and flexibility. Furthermore, it helps with back pain relief, eases arthritis symptoms, boosts heart health, and promotes better sleep. Likewise, it increases energy levels, helps manage stress, encourages self-care, and connects with the community.
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