alming meditation anymore. Power yoga is becoming increasingly popular as a fantastic and healthy way to burn calories, shed excess pounds, and stay fit. Many health clubs nationwide are jumping on the power yoga bandwagon. This is a great form of exercise for men and women – young and old – fit and out of shape. Vinyasas moves, also referred to as “yoga flows,” are the posture sequences used during a power yoga workout. Each posture, or “vinyasa,” flows smoothly into the next one. Breathing is very fundamental to all forms of yoga, and that absolutely includes power yoga with vinyasas moves. Here are some tips for getting the most out of power yoga:If you are working out at home, turn up the heat. Hopefully, you are able to turn your thermostat up so that the heat is isolated to whatever room you are exercising in. Otherwise, be sure to forewarn your family members or housemates before your crank it up to eighty degrees! You will find that at many power yoga classes, turning the thermostat to about eighty degrees is commonplace. It causes your muscles to actually be more relaxed, and also, you will inevitably sweat more and therefore burn more calories. If you are a beginner, start off by just doing the vinyasas moves without increasing the heat, and after about one week, try turning the heat up by two degree increments in the following power yoga sessions until you are up to eighty degrees.Take your time and be patient with your body as you adjust to the vinyasa positions. You may not have the flexibility yet to achieve perfection in your postures – and that’s okay. Don’t try to contort your body into positions that it doesn’t want to be contorted into. Only go as far as you can go. Pushing yourself to do your best is one thing, but working your body to the point of physical injury is quite another. Too many beginners try to jump in head first to power yoga and they wind up getting hurt, and giving up. The key when you are just starting out is to learn to master your movements and your breathing. Remember: good things come to those who wait. Hang in there – before you know it, you’ll be moving your body in ways you never even imagined possible.
Develop a vinyasas sequence prior to beginning your workout, rather than just making the transitions up as you go along. Your workout will be much more structured and effective if you have a “game plan.” There are several great yoga videos and DVDs that can aid you when you are just beginning with power yoga. Some of the best ones to try out are Rodney Yee’s Power Yoga Total Body (61 minutes long), The Firm: Power Yoga (33 minutes long), and Ashtanga Yoga Beginners Practice with Nicki Doane (59 minutes long). Once you are familiar with the moves and techniques, and you have mastered concentration over your breathing, you can begin to do some power yoga independently, without a video. However, if you like having the video as a guide, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with it.
If you can afford a membership to a gym or yoga center, then you should invest in some power yoga classes. It’s great to train with a qualified and experienced yoga instructor. A professional will be able to help you to adjust your body into the correct formations and they will also be able to point out any areas that you are falling short in. If you’re out of shape, just look around at the experienced members of the class and the instructor for inspiration – they’ve probably got nice toned and lean bodies with great definition… and you can have that too if you stick with power yoga!
