5 Reasons to Practice Power Yoga
It’s fun, it’s trendy, it seems like the movement of the moment. But power yoga is SO much more than a pretty Instagram picture. So why is everyone doing it, you ask? It’s almost easier to list the things that it doesn’t benefit than it is to list the things that it does but let me take a stab at it.
1. BUILD STRENGTH
Let’s start by defining it. Power yoga is a style of vinyasa yoga focused on building strength and endurance. Often the use of strenuous transitions and inversions of the body help to increase heart rate and stamina. Straight out of the definition it seems obvious that power yoga helps us get stronger, and in many ways. There are thousands of yoga postures, variations and transitions used in this practice which allows you to strengthen everything from the largest muscle groups, to the smallest, to the connective tissues themselves. While many sports strengthen and highlight particular parts of the body, yoga truly is a way to work everything from head to toe.
2. INCREASE FLEXIBILITY & RANGE OF MOTION
In addition to building strength, you are constantly working toward your max range of motion in many yoga poses. This means that as you are building muscle, you are also working to increase your flexibility and range of motion. Essentially you are getting the best of both worlds. Building lean muscle and at the same time NOT limiting your range of motion or getting tighter/stiffer during your workout. In addition to all the active range of motion you’ll find in the “meat” or “body” of the practice, you’ll get some wonderful passive stretching at the beginning and end of class as well. Theoretically, you can get pretty much everything you need or want out of a full gym, in a 60 minute power yoga class.
3. IMPROVED BALANCE
We’ve talked about strength, flexibility and range of motion. Let’s add balance to the list. Not many sports or physical activities we do as an adult focus on our ability to balance on one foot (or one hand!) and that makes this practice really special. As we age, our balance and proprioception start to fade if we aren’t constantly working on them. While you might never need to be able to transition from standing splits to a one-legged tadasana in your everyday life, the principles that teach you that transition in your yoga class will lead to a powerful core, strong ankles and an excellent mind body connection that will keep you steady on your feet, and more likely to avoid falls. The earlier you start the process, the better you’ll be able to maintain your balance and even improve it as you age! I always joke that yoga ages you in reverse, but really, I am only half joking on that one!
4. MENTAL STRENGTH
The last points I’ll make to you about the incredible benefits of power yoga, are not physical at all. Being forced to focus on these difficult and intense movements allows the rest of the world to fall away. This emphasis on the present moment IS meditation. You don’t have to sit silently or stare at a candle to meditate. You simply need to let go of the past and future and be in the now. This is a lot easier said than done, and for many of us westerners this seems easier to tap into through high intensity movement than it is during stillness. I always try to bring a fun and interesting flow to my classes so that my students have no other choice than to be engaged in the present moment, almost as though I am tricking them into meditation, if you will.
5. EXPAND CONFIDENCE
Lastly, I can speak from personal experience on this one, this practice has the ability to give you incredible confidence. I cannot tell you how many times I have had students nervous about coming to practice because they aren’t flexible. I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard someone say “I’ll never be able to do that”. I cannot tell you the number of times these beautiful humans have proven themselves wrong through this powerful form of movement.
The next time you ask yourself, “why power yoga?” maybe instead ask yourself, “why not?”.
Written by Alex Johnson
