Sometimes people can be rather dubious about whether yoga can be a “real” exercise. Afterall, if you log your exercise in most fitness apps, and go to pull up yoga, it’s these super dismal calorie count numbers that –well, if you’re like me, sorta depress you and make you think you gotta go get on some darn machine for half an hour.
Here’s the thing. Yoga wasn’t created to be exercise as we understand it today. In fact, yoga was created so you could sit longer in meditation! (some believe) Personally, i need a LOT of movement before there is any sitting and being still, so yoga definitely provides that “movement.”
Actually, you can run into people that get REALLY offended if you even give them the impression that you come to the mat regularly as your exercise…afterall, to them, the practice is much much more. I am not one to judge (well I try not to at least) and far be it from me to tell you what’s “right” in this case, but for me….I came to yoga because it was a physical exercise. (You can read my bio here.) Basically, I hurt my back really badly, couldn’t do the crazy stuff I used to do and was given the option of having spinal surgery or……
Here it is nearly 10 years later, and I’m still practicing yoga for the exercise, but it is also a LOT more to me now. (more on that later)
Because of the back injury, I can’t do a lot of the higher impact exercises I used to love to do, so with my yoga practice, I find that I get enough of the movement and heart strengthening I need to keep my resting heart rate below 60 bpm. (pregnancy got it up to 70-72) For those of you in the fitness industry, lower heart rates are usually pretty good indications of fitness levels. Through yoga, I have also been able to maintain a lot of muscle strength as well. I mean, when you’re pushing your body up countless times, and holding that body steady in different positions, it’s going to help build strength.
In today’s post, I wanted to share with you a super quick yoga themed workout focused primarily on the upper body, shoulders and triceps. IT’s a quick 5 minutes, but I promise if you try it, you’ll feel the burn. I also promise, if you do this daily, you’ll be sporting those strong and sexy arms you love to look at online!
So without further ado…Here’s a super quick upper body workout for you to try at home.
Here’s another link to the workout
The exercises in this video are:
- Down dog push ups – elbows wide
- Down dog push ups – elbows straight back
- Dolphin push ups
- Single legged dolphin pushups
What do you think? Did you feel the strength coming to your shoulders and triceps? Just think, if you did 3-5 sets of those, you’d be super strong, right?!!!
Yoga is definitely exercise…but it doesn’t to JUST be exercise. If you’re looking for a place to get your practice on with knowledgeable and experienced yoga teachers, Thrive Yoga and Wellness is for you! We are an intimate studio located in the suburbs of Chattanooga, offering nearly 40 classes a week in a variety of yoga styles from the vigorous, strength based practices (like you saw in this video) to the slower paced, deep stretch classes –and everything in between! You’re sure to find your perfect class and your perfect fit right here with us!
If you’re not in the Chattanooga, Tn area, I invite you to check out my online yoga workout program designed specifically for you women that are wanting to strengthen the body through yoga! This program is unique because it was designed by me as I was bouncing back from my second pregnancy; so it focused on all the “mom” areas–tummy, hips, thighs, upper body and heart opening…All the “things” that us women have to really work to get strong and stable, especially after we have our little ones. Whether you’re 6 weeks Postpartum or 16 years, you’ll find your strength and flexibility with Thrive Online. You can busy individual videos or buy the full library of drills and workouts. I know you’ll love the way it burns!