We’ve talked a lot about regular yoga practice, and the various types like Yin yoga and dynamic stretching. Yoga captivates both the mind and body. It’s a holistic practice encompassing physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation.
When integrated into your workout routine, yoga can enhance your overall fitness journey. But if you’re trying to incorporate it into your routine, should you do yoga before or after a workout ?” you do yoga before or after a workout?”
While some styles of yoga are a workout in and of themselves, you can prepare sequences that are perfect to mix into your daily routine, before or after a workout. You can use certain yoga poses to prepare for an HIIT workout and other poses to cool down after.
After A Workout
After completing an intense workout session that pushes your limits, like weight lifting or a HIIT workout, your body is ready to be in a state of recovery. Yoga for static stretching is best done after a workout, particularly after using circuit training equipment. This is because you can target all of the areas you just used with a yoga pose and really stretch all of the muscles that you just worked. Restorative yoga poses will help ease muscle soreness and allow your body to recover faster, and cool down. They can also aid in bringing your heart rate back down in order to make you mindful again. This is great especially if you have trouble sleeping after a workout!
Before A Workout
Though yoga does seem to be more beneficial after a workout, or as it’s own workout, you can also use it as a warm-up! Practicing yoga before a workout can be a powerful warm-up, preparing your body and mind. In order to take advantage of yoga before a workout, make sure that you are using dynamic stretching like the ones in the video below. Avoid poses like Shavasana which will be more likely to make you want to snooze than to take on the treadmill. Dynamic stretching gets your heart rate pumping and warms up your muscles, preparing you for the workout ahead. Overall, pre workout yoga will help you improve flexibility, making your body more limber and agile. As you move through yoga poses, gently stretch your muscles to release any tension that might hinder your workout performance.
As A Workout
While we’ve discussed incorporating yoga before or after workout sessions, let’s not forget that it can be an invigorating workout experience itself. It offers a unique blend of strength, flexibility, and mindfulness.
Practicing yoga has the benefit of building strength. Some yoga techniques help in building strong muscles, particularly your abdominal muscles. From balancing poses that work your core to standing poses that strengthen your legs, each contributes to building a stronger and more resilient body.
Check out the video below for a sequence that you can use before a workout routine, after a workout, or even as its own workout routine! All you have to do is continue the poses for a little longer and this little video can take over a whole workout session. So whether you’re planning for a full yoga session or using it before and after working out, it’s incredibly powerful and beneficial for the body and mind.
Do you love practicing yoga? Let us know your favorite form of practice in the comments below!
Reviewed By:
Ani is the Vice President of Fitness at Chuze Fitness and oversees the group fitness and team training departments. She’s had a 25+ year career in club management, personal training, group exercise and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, CA and loves hot yoga, snowboarding and all things wellness.
Sources:
- “Yoga Before Or After Workout: When Is Zenning Out More Beneficial?” Better Me. Updated December 30, 2021. https://betterme.world/articles/yoga-before-or-after-workout/
- “Should you practice yoga before or after a workout?” EOS Fitness. 22 April, 2021. https://eosfitness.com/blog/yoga-before-or-after-a-workout/
- Isaac, Robertson. “Yoga Before Or After a Workout? (Which is Better).” Total Shape. 1 November, 2021. https://totalshape.com/fitness/yoga-before-or-after-a-workout/
- Torres, Abel. “Is Yoga Better Before or After Workout?” Fitness Life Advisor. https://fitnesslifeadvisor.com/is-yoga-better-before-or-after-workout/