HIIT YOGA WORKOUT TO STAY FIT AND SANE DURING COVID-19

Vinyasa Yoga is an awesome way to stay fit and healthy and as you move from pose to pose, you can feel your heart pumping. But besides giving you the body of your dream, Vinyasa Yoga is also an amazing tool to balance your nervous system and help you to lower some of that stress and anxiety we all feel right now.

Vinyasa Yoga, sometimes also referred to as Vinyasa Flow, is one of the most popular styles of yoga. It involves moving in a fluid way from one pose to another. Synchronizing the breath with this continuous flowing motion is an integral part of the practice. The result is almost like a dance and Vinyasa Yoga allows for a lot of variety and gives us the space to be creative.

The term ‘vinyasa’ means to arrange or place in a specific way. The distinctive series of poses from Plank Pose to Chaturanga Dandasana to Upward Facing Dog to Downward Facing Dog, is also known as the Vinyasa.

Modern day Vinyasa Yoga originated when Sri T. Krishnamacharya returned to Mysore to teach yoga to the Mysore royalty as well as sepoy boys. The yoga he taught to the sepoy boys was very intense to keep them out of trouble while the royal family was taught a more gentle version of Vinyasa.

Vinyasa Yoga can be a very intense practice. It allows for a lot of freedom and creativity and no two Vinyasa classes are the same. Vinyasa tests your physical limits while smoothly flowing from one posture into the next.

The dynamic, sometimes vigorous practice of Vinyasa Yoga calms the mind and increases stamina, strength and flexibility. You can build muscle tone and self-confidence and with that get a big boost to your self-image. The conjunction of body movement and breathing improves overall health.

So let’s have a look at some of the amazing benefits that Vinyasa Yoga has to offer.

#1 Builds Strength

Keep in mind, yoga is the original form of functional fitness and bodyweight training and Vinyasa Yoga in particular helps to build lean muscle mass all throughout the body. Not only that, it also creates balanced strength. Vinyasa Yoga acts as a resistance and balance workout and as we flow through standing postures, backbends, forward folds, twists, arm balances, and inversions, every single muscle in our body is given adequate attention.

#2 Boosts Immune System

A happy and healthy immune system is now more important than ever to ensure we stay free from disease. One of the big ways Vinyasa Yoga helps our immune system is that it eliminates stress, anxiety and tension, all of which are a threat to our immune system. On top of that, Vinyasa Yoga boosts our lymphatic system, which means we are much more efficient in eliminating toxins from our body and keeps us vigilant of what our body is absorbing.

#3 Increases Flexibility

Of course, we’ve all heard about the fact that yoga increases flexibility and mobility, which is very important with our mostly sedentary lifestyle. When we sit all day, our muscles stiffen and our body loses its natural fluidity. Vinyasa Yoga is the perfect antidote with its continuous movement that strengthens and stretches our muscles and ensures that every muscle and bone in our body works the way it is intended to. Plus, the synchronization of breath and movement allows for fresh oxygen to rejuvenate our muscles.

#4 Improves Sleep

With everything that is going on right now, it is only natural that we lose our ability to get a good night’s rest. Vinyasa Yoga to the rescue. After you’ve finished your practice, your body, as well as your mind become relaxed and with that it will be much easier to fall asleep and stay asleep to get a good night’s sleep and be stronger — both physically as well as mentally — in the morning when you wake up.

#5 Works as a Stress Reliever

Reducing stress during the COVID-19 crisis should be on top of everybody’s to-do list. We need to make sure that we stay calm and lower stress and anxiety to be able to deal with these trying times. Vinyasa Yoga is known to benefit us on a physical, emotional and mental level, connecting the body and mind. With that Vinyasa Yoga calms the constant chatter in our mind, soothes our central nervous system and has a positive effect on our overall well-being. Keep in mind, Vinyasa Yoga is considered a moving meditation and when we focus on our breath while flowing through the postures, we can steady our mind and reduce stress and anxiety.

#6 Improves Focus and Concentration

With the craziness of the world weighing on our shoulders, we often have a hard time to focus on the task at hand. However, if we don’t manage to focus our attention on staying healthy, fit and sane, it will be hard to attempt anything. Vinyasa Yoga puts an emphasis on our breath and with that our mind can slowly start to increase focus, attention and concentration, eliminate distractions and you can bring more balance into your life.

#7 Increases Lung Capacity

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, so it is detrimental to make sure that we train our lungs and keep them healthy. Research shows that Vinyasa Yoga can be highly effective to help us cope with respiratory issues and increase lung capacity as it encourages long, deep rhythmic breaths that utilize every part of the lung. So while the intensity of Vinyasa Yoga can make us lose our breath for a moment, always bring the focus back to expanding the breath, which will also make the practice a little easier.

#8 Detoxifies the Body

Vinyasa Yoga creates heat in the body and with that improves blood circulation throughout the body. And while we sweat out some of the toxins in our body with this sweat-inducing practice, even the breath can eliminate toxins and with that induces a full body detox. Just think about how you feel after a Vinyasa Yoga practice. Even if you felt tired before you started, you feel a lot more alive and energized when you finish.

#9 Teaches Us About Ourselves

As we all know, we can be our own worst critic and a lot of us have self-limiting and self-defeating tendencies. Vinyasa Yoga teaches us to be more compassionate towards ourselves. This happens because Vinyasa Yoga brings the content of ourselves to the surface so we can be aware of it and see it. Keep in mind, every single emotion we’ve ever experienced — whether it’s positive or negative — is stored as memories in our body. By flowing through the poses, we tap into these memories and can process our past. The Emotions are released out of our body and with that we see ourselves fully and learn to accept ourselves as we are.

#10 Gives You a Cardio Workout

If you are a cardio junkie, you’ll be happy to hear that a Vinyasa Flow practice gets your heart pumping in no time. Since we flow through the poses at a quicker pace than in most other styles of yoga, we can raise our heart rate and with that get our cardio workout in.

Vinyasa Yoga is a great, full-body workout that helps us to stay fit and sane. It affects our body and mind in a positive way and helps us to be happier and learn gratitude. Think of Vinyasa Yoga as a tool to dump negative emotions, burn some calories and build a strong, functional and resilient body.

If you are looking for more HIIT Yoga Workouts, check out ‘Get Fit Faster — HIIT Yoga Workout to Burn Fat’ and ‘HIIT Yoga Workout for Chest and Legs’. And if you are in need for inspiration for a HIIT Workout during the COVID-19 crisis, check out our ‘HIIT Strength Workout‘ and ‘20-Minute HIIT Workout‘.

INDULGE IN A FAST-PACED PRACTICE
Joschi & Monika
JoschiNYC.com

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