Yoga Workout Routine at Home Exercises for Flexibility & Strength
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I’m a big fan of at-home fitness simply because having a few good workout routines at home, right at your fingertips— that you can do whenever you want—are the ones you’ll most likely really actually do, especially if you don’t have to get dressed and schlep to the gym. Since I’m really into yoga these days I thought I’d share a new at-home yoga workout that incorporates exercises for flexibility and strength.
The workout video below is a great 10-minute routine you can do as a circuit training workout (simply repeat the routine 2 or 3 times through) or you can combine it with the workout video from last week.
Simple Yoga Exercises Can Give You a Younger Looking (and Feeling) Body
It probably goes without saying that if you practice yoga regularly you will increase your flexibility. Actually, I think it’s the extreme flexibility of some yoga practitioners that intimidates so many people. But, you don’t need to be a contortionist to do yoga or to improve your flexibility. Yoga is not a competitive sport…it’s all about how much your body can do.
A Practical Approach to Yoga and Fitness
Although a certain amount of mystery surrounds this ancient method of exercise, if you strip away the chanters and forget about Om and look at yoga for what it’s based on, which is the principles of breathing, stretching and being in tune to all of the ways your body can move, it starts to become an exercise form that is much more accessible.
As we age we tend to get in a movement rut….we basically stop moving the way we did when we were younger and pretty soon, before you know it, we can no longer move the way we once could, even when we decide to try. But, if you practice yoga regularly you can get your younger body back. Not only will you feel younger, but your body will start to look younger too.
Yoga Can Help You Feel Younger & Move Younger
Your muscles are not static tissues. They move, they expand and they contract. The more flexible your muscles are the better range of motion you have and the less stress you’ll exert on your joints doing normal day to day activities. The less stress you have on your joints, the better (and more youthful!) you will feel.
Yoga Can Help You Get Lean
Young bodies are not only flexible but also strong…and lean. Yoga can help you get strong, which will indirectly help you get lean. Yoga poses force your body to hold your own body weight, which counts as strength or resistance training (and gives you the additional benefit of building bone density.) As you build muscle your body will become leaner.
And by the way, if you have a few pounds to lose and you pick the treadmill over the yoga mat you might be making a bad choice. People go for cardio to lose weight and get lean because they think they are burning a lot of calories during the time spent exercising, but the reality is your resting metabolism accounts for the greatest percentage of calories you burn during the course of the day…and nothing you can do affects your resting metabolism to a greater degree than strength training. And yoga counts as strength training. To read more about whether it’s better to do cardio or strength training to lose weight click HERE.
Doing yoga on a regular basis will increase your lean muscle mass and increase your resting metabolism, which will absolutely help you get lean!
The 1 Month 10 Minute a Day Yoga Challenge
If you incorporate just 10 minutes of yoga into your daily routine everyday for one month I guarantee you will see and feel results. You can start with the routine above or the yoga workout from last week. If you take the challenge please let me know how you made out!
