Yoga has become a very popular discipline in a very short time. Practicing yoga tones the body, exercises the muscles and makes you sweat, but yoga goes beyond burning calories. Its main objective is not focused on sports exercise, but it is aimed at mental, emotional and well-being exercise.

Within yoga, there are different modalities, and each of them contains different postures and difficulties. As we mentioned in our last blog post, yoga is not the most aerobic. Hatha Yoga is the most practiced modality.but it is not the most aerobic.

Characteristics to consider yoga as a sport

It is true that yoga offers obvious benefits. During the practice of yoga, you exercise your body through the different postures and movements. What improvements can you notice in you by practicing yoga?

• Improved cardiovascular capacity - During the practice, body postures are combined interspersed or followed by other movements. The best known movements are the sun salutations, which are performed at the beginning of the class to warm up and get the body going. The change of pace and muscles that are used, encourage an improvement in cardiovascular fitness.
• Improved flexibility and strength - With regular, consistent practice, you'll notice your body waking up. Age is not linked to flexibility, so everyone can stretch and mold their body. To gain more flexibility, it is important to accompany your body with correct breathing.
• Improved mood - Through the practice of breathing techniques, concentration and meditation, you will transform your mental health. You will notice over time that your technique improves, your body is more agile and your postures become more defined. This improvement will make you feel good about yourself.
• Improved overall health - All of the above improvements will improve your overall wellbeing. With better fitness, greater flexibility and better mood, you will achieve a better state of health. You will notice an improvement in your body and mind.

What type of yoga is the best for keeping fit

Because of its demanding, dynamic and energetic nature, Ashtanga Yoga is one of the most physically demanding yoga disciplines. It coordinates movement and breathing through dynamic asanas that combine strength and coordination. So, if you are an athletic person and want to combine your sport routines with yoga practice, Ashtanga yoga will be a good option for you.

If practiced regularly, yoga is a healthy and wholesome exercise. But it is advisable to practice other sports and combine it with yoga to promote an active life.

Its similarities with sport

Effort, competitiveness, routine and well-being are often the most common goals among athletes, and what encourages them to train every day. The feeling of belonging to a community, to a group and feeling the support of people who practice the same sport as you, is an important value to generate a commitment between the person and the time dedicated to that sport.

It is common that among people who practice yoga, there is a feeling of commitment to the daily practice, the competitiveness with oneself to improve and correct the postures every day. It is true that one does not seek to have the best body, but as with other sports, yoga brings physical and mental well-being. And of course, yogis love to get together with other yogis and practice in a group to share their well-being.

Although the real purpose of yoga is not to get a perfect body or burn fat, but to connect breathing and concentration through the body and mind, sport and yoga do generate similar feelings among the people who practice it.