In this video we’ll discuss the benefits of doing yoga on your rest days from weight training. Active Recovery – Active Meditation – Better Body Awareness & Control.
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For the past 6 weeks I’ve been doing Yoga in addition to my weight training workouts. I find that the combination of the 2 can be very beneficial.
With weight training we focus primarily on aggressive high intensity training. Whereas yoga is more of a gentle, yet still very challenging, form of exercise.
Combining both forms of exercise in your workout routine is almost like a yin and yang situation, where the totally opposing styles of training can help each other.
Some of the main benefits that I’ve noticed from doing yoga are:
1) It’s been helping me learn to relax while under tension.
With weight training most guys will grit their teeth and power through when things get hard. But in yoga you try to remain calm, focus on your breath, and try to find that inner peace – even when your body shaking under tension from holding a difficult pose. It’s a different mindset, but I think that it’s a good skill to develop.
2) It’s helped me to become more aware of my body.
Now I feel that I have pretty good body awareness from 27+ years of weight training. But I’ve found that doing yoga has helped bring even more awareness to certain areas of my body. I’ve felt unique training stimulation throughout my core, my hips, my feet, and my balance and co-ordination have improved as well.
3) It’s great for active recovery and stress relief.
I usually feel drained after a hard weight training workout, but after a yoga session I feel refreshed and relaxed. Even though some of the poses can be very challenging, it’s not as physically demanding as exerting effort when lifting weights.
Doing weight training one day and then yoga the next is a great way to keep active everyday, while still allowing for adequate rest and recovery.
4) It’s a good form of active meditation.
We constantly hear about how good meditation is for the mind and body. But a lot of people find the act of meditating very difficult. It’s not easy to sit still, clear your mind, focus on your breath, and think of nothing. If you’ve tried it before, then you know what I’m talking about.
Doing yoga gives you a lot of the same benefits of meditation, but it’s actually easier to perform because there is a physical aspect to it. During a yoga session you can take time out to just focus on your body, your breath, and just being present. I consider it a form of “active meditation” and it’s a great way to reduce stress.
There are hundreds of different yoga channels on youtube that you can search through. Many of them offer full length, follow along at home, yoga workouts.
One channel in particular that I found helpful is “Yoga With Adriene”. She has a huge following on YouTube and does a great job with her videos. She has a fun and easy going personality that makes it enjoyable to follow along with, plus she is easy on the eyes as well which is a nice little bonus 🙂
I started with her beginners 30 Day Yoga video series at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLui6Eyny-UzwxbWCWDbTzEwsZnnROBTIL
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