Physical Benefits of Vinyasa Yoga Practice
November 15, 2022
There are so many different types of yoga around the world, so how do you know which one is right for you? At Uptown Yoga, we most widely offer our “All Level Flow” which is a vinyasa yoga practice for all levels of practitioner.
What is vinyasa yoga practice? The word “vinyasa” means “to place in a special way” and is often translated as “to flow”. In a vinyasa yoga practice, the teacher creates a sequence of yoga poses that allow the students to work on a specific body area focus or peak pose, or to simply move their bodies. It is one of the more popular forms of yoga in the western world.
While we know yoga benefits more than the physical, here are some benefits you can expect with a regular vinyasa yoga practice:
Improved Cardiovascular Endurance
This may come as a surprise, but vinyasa yoga can improve your cardiovascular endurance. Unlike its slower-paced counterparts such as yin yoga, vinyasa yoga has the opportunity to flow at an increased pace. When you are moving through a series of postures at the cadence of your breath, you have the opportunity to increase your heart rate– more so than you would if you were to hold each posture for multiple breaths. While at first, it may seem fast, with regular practice you will see benefits in your cardiovascular endurance as a result!
Increased Mobility and Injury Prevention
Most of us know that by nature of the poses we practice in vinyasa yoga, we have the opportunity to stretch and move in all planes of motion. Did you know when you include dedicated flexibility work (i.e. attending yoga class 2-3x a week) you are also helping yourself prevent future injuries? The more mobile a person is, the less likely they are to strain a muscle since they have greater mobility around the joints. Increasing your overall mobility will also help you to be less susceptible to daily aches and pain such as a tight lower back or tight hips.
Balance, Core Control, and Coordination
Want to know a fun fact? Most peoples’ balance peaks between the ages of 23-24. If you are over that hump, no fear– practising balance regularly will help it from declining as we age. The poses we practice in vinyasa yoga help us to utilize our core in a functional way, from all different positions moving from one to the other. Because of how we sequence balance poses in vinyasa yoga, it more closely mirrors weight shifts and movements you might do in your daily life. It also helps to get multiple areas of the brain involved because you are having to process what the teacher is saying and match the movements to the words you hear.
Conclusion
If you haven’t started a regular yoga practice yet, hopefully, these benefits will have inspired you to give it a shot. If you haven’t visited Uptown Yoga, we have a new student offer that allows you to experience what it would be like to be a member of a yoga studio with a regular yoga practice. Try it out for 30 days and notice the physical benefits as well as some others!
