Relax and Get Fit With Yoga

by Neighborhood Trainers Finding a trainer is a personal choice

Some people think of yoga as being some sort of Zen experience where, to use an old ‘60s phrase, you kind of peace-out. They have this view that yoga aficionados are more like granola hippies who like nothing better than an ugly looking, green smoothie for breakfast just before they put their hair in a ponytail.

But really, nothing could be further from the truth. (Okay, there will be someone who does yoga and has lumpy green smoothies for breakfast, but it isn’t everyone, you know.)

If you’ve never tried a yoga session, a yoga Bronx class might be a good starting point for you. The reality is that yoga actually manages to work all of your muscles. There are many different kinds of yoga but bottom line is that if you work the body, you’re going to get fitter.

With an average yoga session – not even a hot yoga session – you will get quite the workout. Even something that is as basic as Salute to the Sun, which is also known as Surya Namaskar, takes you through a series of moves. When you’ve done them properly you will really know you have done something. You will be stretching muscles you didn’t know you could stretch.

If you try to get it to coincide with your breathing you will be surprised at just how difficult it is to do it well. This is why people spend their whole lives perfecting what appear at face-value to be simple moves.

Yoga has a deserved reputation for being a great way to get fitter. It works all the muscle groups and it helps engage the mind and body simultaneously. You’ve probably heard about how yoga can stretch your muscles and help calm your mind at the same time. But it isn’t for everyone. Not everyone can get into the flow.

The good news is yoga has a close cousin - Pilates. Pilates is named after the man who invented it. At the time he was working with ballet dancers. In case you didn’t know, ballet dancers do get injured. But they still have to find a way to stay fit and supple even when they can’t dance.

The result was Pilates. The idea was that dancers could exercise all the other parts while letting the injury heal. Now, as any Pilates Bronx expert will tell you, Pilates has developed into an all-round fitness program which focuses and develops muscle groups one at a time.