Yoga Before and After Workout: When is yoga best for you and your body?

Yoga has so many benefits for the body on its own. But if you’re trying to kick your routine into high gear, consider adding yoga onto your other workouts for an extra bang for your buck. If you’re new to yoga and wondering how adding it into your workout routine can benefit you, no worries! We’re here to help! We'll help you figure out where to schedule yoga into your routine.

Benefits of Adding Yoga to your Workout:

1. Flexibility

If flexibility is one of your fitness goals, yoga is a great way to achieve more physical flexibility. It’s also great to take the place of your stretching routine pre or post workout. Yoga can increase range of motion and help in muscle recovery. 

2. Conditioning

Love HIIT? Yoga is a great way to step up your fitness intensity by helping you condition your body with more stamina and longer breathing patterns for increased cardio abilities. It’s also proven to increase coordination. 

3. Strength

Love to go to the gym for cardio but hate to hit the weight rack? No worries, yoga can take the place of strength training by just using your body weight. Through repetition yoga builds muscle and endurance for strength. No weights required!

4. Mental Clarity

For most people, working out is a great way to increase endorphins and reduce stress. However, if your workout leaves you too tightly wound or doesn’t do the job of lifting your mental load, a slow flow can help bring you down and help you rebalance. 

Why You Should do Yoga Before Workout? (Pre Workout) 

If you’re strength training, or going for an easy walk on your rest day, yoga is great for before your workout. Do you like to get up with the sun and start your day with a workout? Well, starting your day with yoga will bring you clarity and get your body ready to move. MyYogaTeacher is a great place to start your practice and your day. Even if it's gross outside you can still get your practice in. You can pull up our app on your phone or our website right on your computer for 24/7 access to live classes with expert Indian instructors.

You can also use yoga as your warm up! If you’re just waking up or it’s a cold weather season, yoga will help you keep your muscles strong and flexible. If you’re going to the gym for targeted strength training, it can help you focus on balance and alignment to keep your body in check through your workout. Yoga will help you stay balanced and avoid injury by increasing mobility in the body. And finally, Yoga puts your mental health in check. Adding in a moving meditation or some breath work before your workout will keep your body calm, help you align with your goals and avoid the flight or fight symptoms that can come on during an intense or tough workout. 

5 Yoga Poses to Practice Before Your Workout:

1. Child's Pose

This pose will help you open your hips and reduce injury on core or leg days.

2. Cat Cow Pose

Moving through your spine slowly with these stretches will help increase mobility in the back. 

3. Downward Dog Pose

Pushing up into a downdog to start your day will stretch your entire lower body from your toes to your hips.

4. Forward Fold Pose

Folding forward increases the blood flow in the body and helps us maintain spine and core stability. 

5. Mountain Pose

This pose helps us to establish alignment and increase body awareness before a workout! 

Yoga Classes to Try Before your Workout

Rise and shine 30 min flow : Start your day with this quick flow. This class is meant to increase your physical fitness and help build your stamina so you can workout longer!

Hatha Vinyasa : Gain mental clarity at the beginning of your workout with this traditional hatha flow. 

Slow Flow Vinyasa : Start your day slow and steady for your mind and body. The slow pace of this class allows us to connect with our bodies and minds as we focus on our breath and alignment. This class helps to build strength, improve flexibility and stability. 

Why you should do yoga post workout ?

If your workout is more high energy like kickboxing, zumba, cycling etc, yoga after may be best for bringing your body back to homeostasis. Yoga naturally brings down heart rate and reduces stress on the body and mind . You can use Yoga as a cool down or stretching portion of your workout to bring muscles into recovery while extending your burn a little longer. Are you a nighttime warrior? If you tend to work out at night, ending your routine with yoga will help you get a better night’s sleep. 

5 Yoga Poses to Practice After your Workout:

1. Wide Leg Forward Fold Pose

Wide leg forward fold releases our lower back. Reaching down towards the floor will give our calves a much needed stretch post workout!

2. Pigeon Pose

This pose will help to open tight and tired hips and hamstrings. 

3. Bound Angle Pose

This hip opener stretches your adductors and quadriceps. Try this pose after a run or cardio workout. 

4. Seated Forward Fold Pose

This pose provides a full body stretch from your head to your heels! 

5. Happy Baby Pose

This pose helps to alleviate or avoid lower back pain post workout. It can also reduce any stress or anxiety caused by your workout. 

Yoga Classes to Try After your Workout

Breath and Flow : This full body flow will help stretch and rejuvenate your muscles as well as relax your mind with meditation and pranayama techniques. 

Yoga Fusion for Joints : This conditioning class combines light weights and foam roller stretches for an active recovery post workout. 

Breath and Meditation : Join this class to slow down the body and refocus your breathing. Ideal for end of the day or transitions. 

No matter what time of day you choose to workout, adding yoga 2 to 3 times a week will extend the life of your routine and help you maintain a positive outlook on your fitness goals. You can add yoga to your workout anytime with us here at MyYogaTeacher by creating an account, logging in and joining us for class!