subject: Weight Yoga - The Exercise Of The New Decade [print this page] For centuries, Yoga has been done by people wanting to achieve optimum physical fitness and spiritual balance. It is such a potent physical activity because of its comprehensive approach to mind-body harmony and additional focus on breathing techniques.
The monks in olden times practiced Yoga to acquire physical discipline and spiritual balance. Modern practice of Yoga is not much different in its objectives. This is an age of extreme stress placed on people by daily social, professional and economic pressures and Yoga has been experienced to grant mental/emotional and physical relief. It has been felt more strongly by people in urban areas, where Yoga has allowed them to manage and minimize their daily stresses and keep healthy at the same time.
In the last century, Weights Training, a forceful exercise, was developed. It is directed towards making the body healthier, toning muscles and eliminating unnecessary fat. Enrollees in weights training classes go to be and feel physically fit.
Now there would be people who would want toned muscles, shed off unwanted fat and at the same time get spiritual/emotional balance. Is there a possibility of combining these two types of exercises and achieve the desired results?
This is not an entirely new trend in the United States. As early as the latter part of the 1940s, Yoga was done in conjunction with weights training. There was a weights trainer who successfully integrated yoga poses with the use of weights. He applied the breathing methods of Yoga to weight lifting routines.
This method produced a new form of yoga, which now carries the name of Weight Yoga.
Doing yoga poses together with weight lifting leads our bodies towards breathing, stretching and physical development and most of all, to a state of general well-being. This new form is a level-up from traditional Yoga and basic weights training because you get to achieve a combination of power and balance.
How are these two types of exercises done? Usually, first-timers have 1 to 5-pound weights fastened to their wrists and ankles. These weights may not seem a lot but would challenge a first-timer. Your body is driven to exert more effort because of the focus is on gaining power on top of the stretching. After a mere several minutes, you will begin to feel a change.
Mastery of this combo activity is not achievable in days or even a couple of weeks. But once you get the hang of this combination, you will be more comfortable and be able to perform it better and gain more strength. This combo promises maximal benefits to your body. Your body itself will be able to tell the changes.
If you're still unfamiliar with Yoga, it's best for you to join some classes to be acquainted with the poses and routines. When you feel you're equipped enough to meet a challenge, you could then proceed to weights yoga. As you are getting into it, your body gets to be more fit and powerful.
One important reminder that applies to all types of exercise is that you must do it regularly to get the best results from it. Your body progresses from weak to strong, unwell to healthy steadily. It's a continuing process which you must not rush. Within a month of dedicated performance, you will feel and see that you've changed for the better, physically, emotionally and mentally.
You can then easily rebut any objections to combining yoga and weights training. It is the best combination for a physically challenging work out and holistic transformation.
