I’ve been doing yoga since I was 21, (I’m 32 now) and have tried pretty much every style. From rigorous Ashtanga Yoga to gentle, and supportive Restorative Yoga, I’ve dabbled in many different types of yoga throughout my years.
I know you hot yoga-goers got excited when you read that, didn’t you?
Yoga + Injuries: Yoga Butt
Yogis, Be Careful with Your Joints!
This is especially true for those yogis who are super flexible (guilty). We have the tendency to overstretch our joints since we don’t feel much in our muscles. This overstretches our ligaments and can lead to all kinds of injuries, like arthritis, joint pain, and more!
How do you stop this from happening? You learn how to turn your muscles on and activate them in a yoga pose. And you build strength, so you’re not just flexible but also strong in various poses.
How Strength Training Helps with Your Yoga Practice
The truth is, if you’re doing yoga right, it’s hard, and you may shake from all the muscle activation required. How does strength training help you with your yoga practice, you ask? Here are some ways:
Teaches you how to activate and isolate your muscles.
It builds body awareness (so you’re less likely to hang out in your joints during a yoga class).
It helps improve muscle imbalances.
It gives you better control in more advanced yoga postures.
It helps you prepare for arm balances, inversions, and standing balancing poses.
How to Learn How to Strength Train
Learning how to strength train is easier now than ever before, with tons of resources available online. I suggest trying out a personal training session with a trainer you know, trust, or have heard good things about to get started. That way, you have a professional’s help when it comes to figuring out how to work gym equipment, how to properly perform each exercise, and how to keep an eye out for misalignments in the body.
I did this and worked on improving an anterior pelvic tilt that led to hip pain and hip impingement.
Strength Training Defined
Strength training involves doing physical exercises (typically with weights or some other form of resistance) to improve your strength and endurance levels. Here are some examples of my favorite strength training exercises:
Bulgarian split squats (this is a booty gainer, y’all)
Hip thrusts
Dumbbell bench press
Bent over rows
Strength Training and Yoga Benefits for Women
As I’m a woman, I’m going to go into the strength training and yoga benefits I’ve witnessed. I’ve been doing yoga for over 10 years and strength training consistently for over 3 years. In my opinion, there’s no better combination to improve strength, flexibility, mobility, and proprioception.
Also, this combination of exercises has given me a curvy butt (my 2022 goal), strong, muscular legs, a toned stomach, strong arms, a muscular back, and the flexibility to do any activity I want. I highly recommend combining strength training with yoga. Do this and watch your body transform!
Conclusion
Combining strength training with yoga creates a powerful dynamic duo, boosting strength, endurance, flexibility and body awareness. It’s an ideal fitness combination, especially for women. Consider pursuing a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh to fully reap the benefits of these practices and transform your body and mind.
