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Know Drawbacks Of Yoga

by — Last updated: 2021-10-10 in Physical activities

Table of Contents

Are you getting your weekly and daily recommendation for cardiovascular exercise through yoga? Yoga has many benefits but may also need a little assistance when it comes to aerobic activity.

Some of the drawbacks of yoga evolve around the sudden growth and creation of an industry around yoga:

  • Teachers are less trained than ever before (certifications don't take years as they once did)

  • There are so many styles of yoga, it is difficult to find the right one for your goals

  • Yoga usually requires supervision in a class format (often overcrowded)

  • Yoga alone is not enough activity to effectively lose weight

  • Overcrowded group classes leave lots of room for error and injuries

  • Yoga will minimally improve cardiovascular endurance

Will yoga help with weight loss?

Yoga certainly can be a part of a weight loss program, because it is considered a physical activity, and it is very good for health if done correctly.

However, yoga alone will be a tough sell to a person who is obese, and requires a more drastic intervention to lose weight.

Yoga is not really a cardiovascular exercise, nor is it a resistance exercise. It is actually somewhere in between. Many yoga lovers may argue that they “feel the burn” while performing yoga poses, and they may very well be feeling their muscles work. The best way of gauging how hard one is working is to check your heart rate. Take your pulse while jogging versus during yoga. The harder you work, the faster the pulse will be.

At rest, your heart rate should be between 60 and 80 beats per minute (bpm).

Depending on age and level of fitness, a low intensity workout can raise the heart rate to 100 to 120 bpm while a moderate to high level of intensity looks more like 150 to 170 bpm.

The higher the heart rate, the greater the consumption of oxygen. This means more energy is being metabolized and burned, and more calories being consumed. The harder and longer you push this system, the more efficient it becomes at absorbing oxygen and utilizing energy. This is how the cardiovascular system is trained and improved.

With yoga, this may never happen because it is low intensity. However, yoga is great to 2 or 3 times per week, and supplements a weight loss program well. Yoga helps to maintain core strength and stability, which contributes to a healthy overall body, aiding with weight training and cardiovascular training. Adding yoga to your program will keep you at peace, flexible, and happy!